Getting your cycle back on track with seed cycling

Irregular and missing periods are not only stressful, but they can seriously throw a wrench into your planning. It’s a pain not knowing if it’s safe to hit the beach in that pale bikini, or to constantly be dealing with on and off spotting. According to studies around 14 percent of women deal with irregular or missing periods (also known as amenorrhea) during their menstruating years.¹ ²  

The reason? You guessed it: your hormones. 

There are lots of reasons your hormones might be amiss and wreaking havoc on your cycle. It could be related to your thyroid, which is basically your hormone distribution center, not releasing the proper amounts of each hormone.

Another common culprit is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome or PCOS, a condition marked by hormonal imbalances that cause irregular periods, weight gain, excessive hair growth, and acne among other symptoms.³ Or it could simply be related to lifestyle factors such as consistently elevated levels of stress or overdoing it with your new exercise regime.⁴

Fortunately, there are lifestyle changes within your control that can often help you get your cycle back on track — focusing on high quality food, getting enough sleep, and dialing down the stress in your life. But one major lifestyle hack you may not have considered is seed cycling.

What is Seed Cycling?

Seed cycling is the process of using specific blends of nutrient-rich seeds to support your hormones throughout your menstrual cycle and can help stimulate menstruation if it's absent or irregular. This is achieved by using a blend of pumpkin and flax seeds during your follicular phase (first half of your cycle), and a blend of sesame and sunflower seeds to support your luteal phase (second half of your cycle). These seed blends contain nutrients such as magnesium, zinc, and tryptophan that are critical for the hormonal balance of estrogen and progesterone that guide your menstrual cycle.

How to Make Seed Cycling Easy

The best way to get the maximum benefits from these powerhouse seeds is to freshly ground them and add them to your favorite smoothie, yogurt or oatmeal, or eat them by the spoonful. Freshly grounding seeds every week sounds like a lot of work, so we’ve made it easy for you with the Beeya Seed Cycling blend. A monthly supply of seeds for Phase 1 (follicular phase) and Phase 2 (luteal phase) of your cycle. Check it out here. 

When Should I Start?

If you aren’t getting your period, you would start with the follicular phase (pumpkin/flax) as Day 1 on the new moon. On Day 15, you would switch to the luteal phase blend (sunflower/sesame), finishing your seed cycling on Day 28. Over time, seed cycling will mimic the natural ebb and flow of the hormones in a stable cycle, so it can help promote a more regular cycle.

Why The New Moon?

Lunar cycles and healthy menstrual cycles both land between 28-30 days, and it’s believed that historically our ovulation synced with the full moon so we’d have more light during our fertile peak (much like other creatures rely on moonlight for reproduction).⁵ Studies conducted in both 1986 and 1987 found a large percentage of women started their periods “around the new moon” and yet another study found an increase in fertility for women whose menstrual cycles are linked to the lunar cycle.⁶ 

There doesn’t seem to be a strong link to lunar phases in more recent research, though some scientists believe that we may have strayed from our lunar cycles due to an influx of artificial light that messes with our circadian and hormonal rhythms.⁷ Since we’re focused on getting back to baseline here, using the lunar phases makes sense as we try to get our bodies back on track.

Final Thoughts

While seed cycling isn’t the only way to promote a healthy period, it can play a key role in addition to other, complementary lifestyle adjustments. You might also want to try reducing your stress through meditation, eating a more nutrient-dense diet, and prioritizing high-quality sleep to promote healthy hormones as well. 

Sources Referenced:

¹ Am Fam Physician. 2012 Jan 1;85(1):35-43
² PMID: 30889222
³ NIH: About Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
⁴ Healthline: Reasons You Might Miss a Period
⁵ Menstrual Cycles Intermittently Sync with Moon Cycles: Study
⁶ Healthline: Connection Between Your Menstrual Cycle and the Moon
⁷ DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abe1358