Can I seed cycle without eating seeds?
Written by: Melanie Swackhammer B.A.
Medically reviewed by: Marisol Teijeiro N.D. (inactive) and Victoria Williams R.H.N.
Est. reading time: 12 minutes.
So you’ve been thinking about the seed cycling protocol and its benefits, wondering if this is an effective method for improving hormone imbalance for you or your patients. But a question comes to mind, “is seed cycling for hormone imbalance truly the best route to take?”
You’re in the right place because we’re going to uncover why seed cycling for hormonal imbalance without eating seeds is actually the easiest and most efficient method for patients to prescribe to. Are you ready?
Before we can get into seed cycling without eating seeds, here’s a glimpse into the common seed cycling protocol.
The risk of gut inflammation from eating seeds.
To begin, the seed cycling protocol requires that you orally consume seeds like, flax, pumpkin, sesame and sunflower on specific weeks of your cycle. Although these seeds have many benefits to them, consuming too much in a repetitive timeframe can result in unwanted gut health issues.
Evidence suggests that your excessive intake of healthy fats like omega-6 found in sesame and sunflower seeds and oils can aggravate and weaken the tight junctions in the gut1.
With all the hype surrounding good fats versus bad fats, it’s a grounding realization that supports Paracelsus’, a philosopher from the 1500’s, who claims that…
“All things are poison depending on the dose.”
Not only bad fats, but healthy fats as well, can lead to the increased risk of hormone imbalance and autoimmune problems2-3. If it feels like a lot to wrap your mind around – I hear you.
What a conundrum and confusion when it comes to our foods and what to do, agreed?
Now, this begs the question…
Is oil the better option compared to eating seeds?
Since seeds cause stress on the gut environment when ingested in repetitive amounts4, is oil the better option?
You may be prescribing your patients oil as a substitution for seeds, thinking this is the better choice, right?
It would make sense, since diets that are vegetarian, and high in mono and unsaturated fats promote health,5 but do they always?
The answer? Well, it depends on multiple variables.
Because they can also be problematic for those with certain conditions, women with thyroid problems are at higher risk for gallbladder stones or often have a need to have their gallbladder removed altogether,6 likely due to errors of liver metabolism and immune system dysregulation as in the case of hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
Along with this, you and many women, with hormonal problems and gallbladder issues often cannot tolerate oils well. 7. This could be due to a variety of excess weight, high cholesterol, metabolic liver problems among other situations.
You see, eating flax and pumpkin seeds for two weeks straight and then for the same period of time eating sesame and sunflower seeds can either lead or aggravate an immune reactivity to a food, magnification of other coexisting leaky gut, hormonal, metabolic syndrome and lead to autoimmunity.8
Yet, on the other hand, the omega 3’s found in flax and pumpkin seeds, could be beneficial. The evidence at the end of the day is confusing.9
Perhaps it all comes down to this major variable, known in the natural health and wellness space for a few decades that in general Omega 3 type oils, such as in flax and pumpkin seed have a tendency to be antiinflammatory, while sesame and sunflower is pro inflammatory, in most cases.10
Is it possible to balance this in your body, or your patients?
What’s the alternative? If we reduce exposure to eating seeds and ingesting oil of the same type repetitively from the equation, what’s left?
Well…
You can apply oil topically using your Castor Oil Pack
You can use a different vegan health-promoting oil, known as Castor Oil. However, you wouldn’t recommend drinking it, like how you would recommend eating seeds.
You will work with the oil topically, over the liver, for the follicular stage of the women’s cycle, or if not cycling as in menopause or post menopause, or premature ovarian failure, work with the cycles of the moon.
Using the oil topically helps to bypass the leaky gut issue altogether..
You see, your Castor Oil Pack works with the Castor Oil to support…
- Improved bowel movements11 and better absorption12
- Reduced core inflammation13
- Liver detox14 and microbiome gut health15-16-17-18
- Enhanced relaxation and better sleep19-20-21-22
Wait a minute, “could I develop a sensitivity to Castor Oil?”
The answer? Yes and no. Stay with me here.
As with anything, and in rare cases with Castor Oil, you can have a hypersensitivity reaction to the oil when putting it on the skin.23-24 Typically this would present as a rash on the skin in the area where the Castor Oil was applied.
However, most people feel excellent and absolutely love the Queen of the Thrones® Castor Oil Pack for Liver, because it is a gentle topical practice to support your body from the outside in.
Unlike eating seeds in the ever-popular seed cycling protocol, which you might not want to do repeatedly due to reactivity.25-26
So, consuming the same foods over and over again can be bad, but, topical low doses of oil with the pack aspect is a new easy habit and retraining technique you can do. Amazing, agreed?
You see, most of us don’t really understand the true impact of both gut inflammation and leaky gut syndrome since it really isn’t common knowledge, and you can’t always feel it in your gut, so a topical practice for hormone balancing can feel like a strange concept.
Just like seed cycling, Castor Oil Packs are increasing in popularity
When it comes to hormones and leaky gut, the real question isn’t if you have a leaky gut, because a leaky gut is a natural protective mechanism of the body, it’s…
“What are you presently doing to keep your gut healthy?”
Is there another way you can seed cycle without affecting your gut and making it more leaky?
There is no need to consume copious amounts of seeds anymore to regulate your body each month because…
Your Queen of the Thrones® Hormone Balance & Detox Kit is your easy way to use only one seed, the Castor Oil seed, which is called the “Single” Seed Cycling method.
This is your new opportunity to support natural hormone balancing and help restore your gut health and reproductive organs back to a state of calm.
Are you a practitioner, health coach or wellness influencer? If you’re interested in recommending our easy-to-use tools and practically applying them in your health and wellness professional practice, in clinic, or online with the people you serve, you can join now!
Click here for references
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2. Usuda H, Okamoto T, Wada K. Leaky Gut: Effect of Dietary Fiber and Fats on Microbiome and Intestinal Barrier. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Jul 16;22(14):7613. doi: 10.3390/ijms22147613. PMID: 34299233; PMCID: PMC8305009.
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11. Holm T, Brøgger-Jensen MR, Johnson L, Kessel L.Glutathione preservation during storage of rat lenses in opti-sol-GS and castor oil. PLoS One. 2013 Nov 19;8(11):e79620. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0079620. eCollection 2013. PMID: 24260265.
12. Boddu SH1, Alsaab H2, Umar S3, Bonam SP2, Gupta H2, Ahmed S3. Anti-inflammatory effects of a novel ricinoleic acid poloxamer gel system for transdermal delivery. Int J Pharm. 2015 Feb 1;479(1):207-11. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2014.12.051. Epub 2014 Dec 24.
13. Holm T, Brøgger-Jensen MR, Johnson L, Kessel L.Glutathione preservation during storage of rat lenses in opti-sol-GS and castor oil. PLoS One. 2013 Nov 19;8(11):e79620. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0079620. eCollection 2013. PMID: 24260265.
14. Löken LS, Wessberg J, Morrison I, McGlone F, Olausson H. Coding of pleasant touch by unmyelinated afferents in humans. Nat Neurosci. 2009 May;12(5):547-8. Epub 2009 Apr 12. PMID: 19363489.
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18. Marcela Moreira Salles, Maurício Malheiros Badaró, Carolina Noronha Ferraz de Arruda, Vanessa Maria Fagundes Leite, Cláudia Helena Lovato da Silva, Evandro Watanabe, Viviane de Cássia Oliveira, Helena de Freitas Oliveira Paranhos, Antimicrobial activity of complete denture cleanser solutions based on sodium hypochlorite and Ricinus communis – a randomized clinical study. Randomized Controlled Trial J Appl Oral Sci Nov-Dec 2015;23(6):637-42. doi:10.1590/1678-775720150204. PMID: 26814466.
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22. Löken LS, Wessberg J, Morrison I, McGlone F, Olausson H. Coding of pleasant touch by unmyelinated afferents in humans. Nat Neurosci. 2009 May;12(5):547-8. Epub 2009 Apr 12. PMID: 19363489.
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26. Strowig T, Henao-Mejia J, Elinav E, Flavell R. Inflammasomes in health and disease. Nature. 2012 Jan 18;481(7381):278-86. doi: 10.1038/nature10759. PMID: 22258606.
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