Seed Cycling For Hormonal Balance
It’s genius
Eat 2 tablespoons of pumpkin seed and flaxseed (ground only) during your follicular phase and 2 tablespoons of sunflower and sesame seeds in your luteal phase and you’ll never have a heavy period again, your cycle will be regular, there’ll be no PMS, nor PMDD and really, it’s a genius way to rebalance your hormones.
Seed cycling isn’t a new craze but unfortunately one particular woman is doing the rounds on some podcasts right now (podcasts whose listeners are predominantly those who menstruate) like this one
Often these charlatan types go on podcasts that aren’t rooted in science (why should they be) and don’t claim to be rooted in science and so they know they won’t be challenged in literally anything they say and many of you reading this email know better than to listen to hormone or nutrition advice given on a podcast by reality stars (no shade I love reality and therefore reality stars although give me the hills over made in Chelsea any day)
Before I continue I should highlight that although the premise of seed cycling is that some seeds can impact the distribution of reproductive hormones (e.g. flax seed in the follicular phase helps to bind ‘excess oestrogen’ and sesame seeds, which are high in zinc and lignans, help with ‘progesterone balance’ during the luteal phase) there is no evidence that seed cycling works
They can taste great and I’m partial to a sprinkling of flaxseed on my yoghurt on occasion and they don’t do any harm, so including them in your diet is a legit tasty inclusive thing to do
But the issue with this sort of message is that if we spend time and money on the wrong things, we may never actually reach the root of the real challenge we’re experiencing to our hormones (if there is one)
For a large majority of people with menstrual cycle irregularities (irregular cycle length, anovulation, PMS etc.) the ‘cure’ is far more likely to be in these areas:
Physical stress
Psychological stress
Sleep quantity and quality
Energy intake
Diet quality
Body fat levels (over- or under- fat levels can contribute)
Energy expenditure
Genetics
Emotional dysregulation
Mental health
Manifestation of underlying medical issue
Unfortunately, these problems can’t be solved with a tablespoon of flaxseed (imagine they could though how easy would life be if every time you experienced a stressful event you could just deep throat a bag of flaxseed and you’d wake up refreshed and joyful having processed all your feelings)
We’d rather focus on hacks and methods of ‘optimising’ our health than unpack the reality that we’re not treating our bodies well
Or in other cases, it’s a lot easier (and unfairly comes with less stigma) to say we’re biohacking our hormones than seeking support for our mental health
It’s the dark little culture we live in at the moment that is so obsessed with optimising everything, from the time we do our daily poop to the hours of screen time we have (with or without blue light blockers) and I hate this crossover it’s making into women’s health
At ETPHD, I’ve actually recommended flaxseed intake to those in recovery from hypothalamic amenorrhea (HA) but only when every single other box has been consistently ticked and under the premise that it probably isn’t doing anything but it also isn’t doing any harm
That’s the thing with ETPHD coaching – I share a lot on socials and podcasts, but I share just that little bit more when I speak to you readers of this email, and finally, I overshare with the people I work with 1-1, because there is space to chat about the nuance of each health strategy we take
If you’re someone who menstruates and you struggle with them, consider the list above – are you focusing on these things or are you looking for the answer in a supplement or pill or the newest biohacking option?
What’s your reservation to doing the broader, deeper work? Is it the glamour of something new? Or is it the fear of the changes that might be required?
Reply to this email if you struggle with your hormones and I’ll happily chat about things to consider.
And if you don’t have these struggles, remember this email the next time you see some BS messaging targeted at you
Have a wonderful weekend,
I’m always here,
Em
