How Seed Cycling Can Benefit Women In Every Stage of Life
Our hormones are constantly shifting—throughout the month, the seasons, and the decades of our lives. Whether you’re in your cycling years, navigating perimenopause, or stepping into postmenopause, your body is always seeking balance. One of my favorite simple, nourishing tools to support hormonal harmony is seed cycling—and it’s something every woman can benefit from.
What Is Seed Cycling?
Seed cycling is a food-based approach to supporting your hormones through different phases of your cycle. It involves eating specific seeds during each half of your cycle to help balance estrogen and progesterone naturally. These seeds are packed with essential fatty acids, minerals, lignans, and nutrients that act like little messengers, encouraging your body to find its rhythm again.
Days 1–14 (Follicular Phase): Eat flax seeds and pumpkin seeds.
These support healthy estrogen production as your body prepares to release an egg. Flax seeds contain lignans that help modulate estrogen levels—whether they’re too high or too low. Pumpkin seeds provide zinc and magnesium to support ovarian function and mood.Days 15–28 (Luteal Phase): Eat sunflower seeds and sesame seeds.
These promote healthy progesterone levels, which support mood stability, better sleep, and a sense of calm. Sunflower seeds are rich in selenium, which supports liver detoxification (so excess hormones can be cleared out), and sesame seeds help balance estrogen and progesterone with their lignans and healthy fats.
How to Practice Seed Cycling (Even Without a Cycle)
If your cycle is irregular or you’re no longer menstruating, you can align with the moon phases (because our bodies are naturally connected to those rhythms too).
New Moon = Follicular Phase (Cycle 1): Use pumpkin + flax seeds.
Full Moon = Luteal Phase (Cycle 2): Use sunflower + sesame seeds.
If your energy tends to peak around the full moon and you bleed near the new moon, you’re following what’s often called a White Moon cycle. If your cycle is reversed (like me, a Red Moon girlie), you can reverse the seed phases to match your cycle.
Why Seed Cycling Matters at Every Age
For menstruating women: It helps ease PMS, cramps, mood swings, acne, and cycle irregularities.
For perimenopausal women: It supports the body’s natural hormone transitions, easing symptoms like hot flashes, sleep disruptions, and irritability.
For postmenopausal women: It provides continued hormone and nutrient support for bone, brain, and heart health, while helping maintain steady energy and emotional balance.
Over time, you may notice better moods, clearer skin, easier cycles, improved digestion, and more!
My Favorite Hormone-Balancing Breakfast
This cozy porridge is one of my favorite ways to incorporate seed cycling daily. It’s warm, grounding, and deeply nourishing, especially for those of us who need a gentle morning start.
Happy Hormones Porridge
Ingredients:
¼ cup organic gluten-free oats
¼ cup organic quinoa
1 cup organic coconut milk (or other non-dairy milk)
Date syrup (to taste)
Organic wild blueberries and raspberries (fresh or frozen—if frozen, stir in for just the last minute of cooking so the natural sugars don’t break down)
1–2 Tbsp of the following seeds based on your cycle phase:
Days 1–14: Pumpkin seeds + flax seeds
Days 15–28: Sunflower seeds + sesame seeds
Instructions:
Add oats, quinoa, and coconut milk to a small pot.
Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover.
Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until creamy.
Remove from heat and stir in date syrup, berries, and your seed blend.
Enjoy warm and feel your body thank you.
Why This Recipe Is Great for Hormones
This porridge isn’t just comfort food, it’s functional nourishment.
Oats and quinoa together create a beautiful balance of complex carbohydrates, fiber, and complete plant-based protein. Quinoa adds additional amino acids, magnesium, and B vitamins that support metabolism and hormone production. The combo helps stabilize blood sugar more effectively than oats alone, keeping your energy even and your cravings in check.
Coconut milk provides healthy fats that your body uses to make hormones.
Seeds deliver essential fatty acids, minerals like zinc and selenium, and plant compounds that help your liver process hormones efficiently.
Date syrup is one of my favorite sweeteners. It’s made from whole dates, so it retains minerals and antioxidants, and it doesn’t spike blood sugar the way refined sugars do. It’s a beautiful way to add sweetness that actually nourishes your body.
Berries and dates add antioxidants and fiber that reduce inflammation and support gut health (where much of our hormone metabolism takes place).
Why Women in Perimenopause and Postmenopause Need More Carbs
As we move into perimenopause and postmenopause, our bodies naturally produce less estrogen and progesterone. The ovaries begin to retire, and other organs (especially the adrenals and liver) take on more of the work of hormone regulation. During this transition, cholesterol becomes even more important, because it’s the raw material your body uses to make hormones.
However, when carbohydrate intake is too low for your body’s needs, it can increase stress hormones like cortisol and slow thyroid function. Both of these changes can interfere with how cholesterol is used and cleared from the body, sometimes showing up as elevated cholesterol levels on lab work.
Including moderate, nutrient-dense carbohydrates (like oats, quinoa, fruits, and root vegetables) provides the glucose your body needs to support thyroid activity, liver function, and hormone metabolism. In other words, healthy carbs don’t work against your hormones; they help your body use cholesterol efficiently and maintain balance.
So while low-carb diets can be helpful for short periods or specific goals, most women in midlife do better with balanced meals that include quality carbs, protein, and healthy fats. These foods help regulate blood sugar, calm the adrenals, and provide the steady energy your body needs to thrive in this next stage of life.