Why I decided to Try Seed Cycling
I had all the questions. Is this too good to be true? How can seeds help my hormones? Is it worth the money? The list goes on. Truth be told, I would never have given it a go if I hadn’t actually met Melissa in person. But even having met her in person, I had to go away and do a little of my own research.
A little about my hormone issues
The more I bring it up, the more I find other women can relate, so here goes with the overshare. I’ve always run a boring 30 day cycle, bled for 5-7 days and just gotten on with life. Then about 2 years ago (at 36 after 2 kids), things went haywire. I started bleeding in excess – 10ml an hour for days. Doctors told me it was Mirena or Iron infusions. Alas Mirena left me bleeding most of the month, light, but annoying. My specialist advised it was medically acceptable, and only had extreme solutions if the symptoms annoyed me enough.Enter a chance business networking even and hearing Melissa introduce seed cycling. What have I got to lose?
What I found out about seed cycling
This is the bit where I got careful. My first thought when I hear about non medical solutions to what I consider medical problems is skepticism. Yep, that’s my truth. But also, if the medical profession considered me ok, and wasn’t even running full tests to check hormones throughout the month, maybe I needed to look elsewhere.Now, let’s start by saying I’m not medically trained at all and I’m not allergic to anything I know of. My medical conditions are all medically considered under control. Feel free to take my thoughts with a grain of salt as they are just my process for decided to seed cycle. There’s not a lot of info on seed cycling specifically, but I did check the seeds themselves.So, did I find any risks associated with the seeds?
Webmd talked about fibre, good fats, lower cholesterol and other benefits for daily flaxseeds. Some mention of needing enough water to avoid bloating – but that’s true of all fibre so all good. It went on to say pumpkin seeds were anti inflammatory and full of antioxidants. Again it didn’t discuss a risk other than caution on calorie density (ok – I won’t live on just pumpkin seeds). Sunflower seeds it says are rich in healthy fats and antioxidants and sesame are full of nutrients and protein. My take away was basically, these are whole foods that seem good for my body. Seems to me like there will be benefits even if it doesn’t fix my hormones.
My experience so far
As the heading suggests, I decided to jump in on a free trial because, on balance, if medicine couldn’t help further without extremes, I had nothing to lose by trying some seeds that might do me good.
As I’ve only been at it for a month, I can’t make any fabulous claims about it solving everything. But I can share a few small wins:
- They taste good – with yoghurt, in Melissa’s recipes, and even in soup one day when I forgot them at Breakfast.
- My skin is looking good this month – coincidence? Maybe, but maybe a direct result. Maybe I’ll write again after a few months to let you know.
- My cycle was a mere 9 days this month. That’s good for me. My specialist might claim it was her last effort to regulate me by throwing me on the pill for a month – but that was a disaster I had to jump off early so I wouldn’t attribute it there myself!
I’ve decided to keep at it. I started with nothing to lose, feel a month in like I may have gained improvements, and look forward to seeing where it might go.
Seems like a no brainier to suggest others try for a few months. Even if the only thing you gain is a new appreciation of the taste of seeds in Melissa’s recipes.
PS. Yes, I am a writer by trade. No I was not paid to write this. I just wanted to share my story if it might help others. Xx
About Beth Baldwin
Beth is a copywriter based in Canberra. She loves working with women’s micro businesses, using her counselling skills to really hear her clients so she can create words for their websites that they would have written themselves.
You can find more of her work at
www.bethannebaldwin.com.au.
