How do you do seed cycling?

Bottom lineEat 1 tablespoon each of ground flaxseed and pumpkin seeds daily during the follicular phase (period to ovulation), then 1 tablespoon each of sesame and sunflower seeds during the luteal phase (ovulation to your next period); grind the flax, mix the seeds into food, and track your phase so you know when to switch.

Seed cycling means eating two seeds in each half of your cycle. Here is the standard method.

Follicular phase (period start to ovulation)

Eat 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed and 1 tablespoon of pumpkin seeds every day.

Luteal phase (ovulation to your next period)

Switch to 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon of sunflower seeds every day.

Practical tips

• Grind the flaxseed. Whole flax passes through mostly undigested; grinding releases the lignans and omega-3s.
• Mix the seeds in to yogurt, oatmeal, smoothies, or salads - they do not need to be eaten on their own.
• Track your phase so you know when to switch. Guessing "around day 14" defeats the purpose, especially if your cycle is not exactly 28 days. A cycle app like Femora shows you which phase you are in.
• Add fiber gradually and drink water, since a couple of tablespoons of seeds is a meaningful fiber boost.
• If your cycle is irregular, you will not have clear phase boundaries to align the seeds to. Some guides use the phases of the moon instead, but that has no biological basis.

Give it a few cycles and keep notes if you want to judge whether it helps you. See does seed cycling work for the evidence.

This is general information, not medical advice.