Seed Cycling While on Birth Control or Hormone Replacement Therapy
We often post about the benefits of seed cycling and how it works. The right amount and combination of pumpkin, flax, sunflower, and sesame seeds can help balance out certain hormones and manage hormonal symptoms (PMS anyone?).
So…does seed cycling still work if you’re taking birth control or hormone replacement therapy (HRT)?
Seed Cycling is Full of Goodness
The short answer to whether you can still seed cycle on birth control or HRT, is yes! Seed cycling is all about using the good stuff found in natural and healthy foods to live a balanced (and hopefully, happy) life. Seeds are from mother nature, and they don’t negatively affect your current medication. You can seed cycle and keep on with your birth control or HRT per your doctor’s instructions.
Seed cycling is commonly used to help support women coming off their birth control or wanting to come off HRT, and can also be used safely at the same time as these prescribed medications.
About Seed Cycling and Birth Control…
The way birth control works, it stops the communication from the brain to the ovaries so the body stops producing certain hormones, and doesn’t release an egg during ovulation. As birth control pills affect hormone balance and production, you may not feel every seed cycling benefit.
A Few Benefits of Seed Cycling While Taking Birth Control Pills
You may not readily notice these benefits, but seed cycling can still make a difference. Here are just a few ways seed cycling can help:
- Increased fibre and iron from sunflower seeds help better detoxify the body of surplus estrogen (and some other hormones too).
- Pumpkin seeds offer tryptophan, which provides better sleep and mood.
- Sunflower, pumpkin, and flax seeds enhance your skin and promote collagen production.
- Seed cycling increases minerals that are depleted by taking the pill (folic acid, magnesium, selenium, and vitamins B2, B6, and E).
Hormone Replacement Therapy Vs. Seed Cycling
HRT is prescribed medication that primarily focuses on replacing the estrogen and progesterone levels your body no longer makes naturally. There are several reasons why a doctor may prescribe HRT, including helping women deal with the hormone changes during or near menopause.
The four types of seeds used in seed cycling do not contain hormones – their natural goodness just enhances what the body does naturally. When you eat these seeds, you’re helping regulate the body’s hormone functions and helping remove hormone waste.
Live Your Best Life
We’re huge advocates for seed cycling, but more than that, we want people to live a healthy life. If seed cycling is part of a routine that makes you feel your best, that’s fantastic! You can safely add seed cycling to your day, even if you take birth control or hormone replacement therapy. Natural and healthy foods are always a good idea!