What is seed cycling?

Seed Cycling is when you take one tablespoon of flax seeds and one tablespoon of pumpkin seeds a day in your follicular stage of your cycle, followed by one tablespoon of sunflower seeds and one tablespoon of sesame seeds in the luteal stage.

The idea being that from the day our period starts, all the way to our next period, our hormones go on a journey. Seed cycling works on the theory that we could benefit from different nutrients depending on where we are in our cycle.

When is my follicular phase?

The follicular stage starts on the first day of your period up to ovulation.

When is my luteal phase?

This phase starts after ovulation and lasts up to the day before your next period, when the cycle starts again.

What do I do?

Take one tablespoon or pumpkin seeds and one tablespoon of flax seeds every day for 14 days from the 1st day of your period.
On the 15th day start taking one tablespoon of sunflower seeds and one tablespoon of sesame seeds every day till the day you get your next period.

I don’t have a period at the moment, what should I do?

You can still start seed cycling but may want to start with the follicular phase kit on the next new moon and switch to the luteal phase kit on the full moon, or visa versa

I got my period mid seed cycling, do I start again?

Some people will state that if you do not have a regular cycle you may wish to continue with a 14 day on each until you have finished 3 rounds of seed cycling and see where you are at then. Meaning, if you get your period early, do not consider that day one of a new cycle and finish your 28 days of seed cycling. However, even the founder of OV prefers to start back at day 1 if her period comes early and moves straight back to 14 days of eating pumpkin seeds and flax seeds. There are little studies in this area, as we learn more from our customers we may update this advice but for now you may want to listen to your own body here.

I want to start right away, can I start at any point in my cycle?

It is really up to you. If you know what stage in your cycle you are at you may want to start your new habit as soon as possible, like many of our customers have done before. But if you are more unsure about your cycle, or want to measure the success of seed cycling by each cycle you may prefer taking the above advice and starting on the first day of your period or next moon cycle.

Should I eat them whole or ground?

The most important thing in the first few months will be starting the new habit, so we say, don’t overthink it and have them how you enjoy them. We provide our seed kits smashed so you get a bit of half and half.

However, there are studies that suggest flax seeds and sesame seeds are best ground to benefit from them the most. You may see that they can go straight through you otherwise. If you have a grinder at home don’t blend too many in one go incase they go off, and keep ground seeds in your fridge for best storage.

How do they help?

Seed cycling itself isn’t well studied. It’s a women’s problem, and like many women’s problems they don’t get well funded or researched. However, lots of women vouch for it and we think that says a lot. There are, fortunately, quite a lot of research on why seeds are so healthy for you and how they help your hormones and reduce menstrual cycle symptoms.

We are working on putting a library of studies together and breaking them down as we deserve access to these, especially when they benefit our health.

I have a long period cycle, how do I take the seed kits?

If you have a longer than 28 days cycle this is perfectly normal. We can offer your two options, but listen to your own body too:

You can switch to the luteal phase bag after 14 days as advised and just continue to take the Luteal Phase mix until your period arrives.
If you are aware of when you ovulate then you may wish to switch on that date, whether it is at day 14 or later.

I have a short period cycle, how do I take the seed kits?

If you have a shorter than 28 day cycle this is perfectly normal too. We can offer your two options, but listen to your own body too:

You can switch to the luteal phase bag after 14 days as advised and just continue to take the Luteal Phase mix until your period arrives.
If you are aware of when you ovulate then you may wish to switch on that date, whether it is at day 14 or earlier.

Can I take more than one tablespoon a day?

Too much of anything can be a bad thing. However, we couldn’t find anything to state that too much of any of these seeds should cause any significant harm. They are a natural food source and we don’t add any additives to our kits. We would recommend no more than two tablespoons a day and to stay hydrated to help digestion.

I’ve missed a day and I don’t always take the full tablespoon?

If you end up taking less than a tablespoon a day this is absolutely fine. We all miss days, or find a meal it doesn’t quite go well with. You may not notice as positive changes if you do but sometimes it’s good to see what a difference it does make when you are taking it regularly.