Seed Cycle with Castor Oil Packs for Natural Hormone Balance.
Seed Cycle with Castor Oil Packs for Natural Hormone Balance.
Written by: Marisol Teijeiro N.D. (inactive) & Melanie Swackhammer B.A.
Medically reviewed by: Victoria Williams R.H.N.
Est. reading time: 8 minutes.
So you may think you know what it feels like to experience hormone imbalance because of your irregular period, cravings and mood swings, right? You’re in the right place because those aren’t the only symptoms that indicate hormone problems.
You see, it goes way beyond that with gut health issues, bloating and a myriad of other symptoms that don’t seem to be related to your hormone imbalance. But, they are all related and sadly, they have the power to disrupt the way your whole body functions.
The seed cycling protocol for hormone imbalance, which is the rotation of seeds during phases of the menstrual cycle, is a method some practitioners, like yourself utilize as a way to help balance hormones.
You’re probably thinking, where’s the evidence? Is it all clinical practice and anecdotal research? How exactly does it work? And is it the most efficient option for improving hormonal imbalance?
Let’s take a deeper look…
Is the seed cycling protocol the most effective method?
Even though the ingredients used in this protocol have nutritional, phytochemical and hormone-balancing merit, research in all aspects of natural hormonal balance is truly in its infancy.
Much is still needed to be uncovered, and one finds the discrepancy between studies, making it difficult to get the facts regarding the efficacy of the ingredients and the total benefit of this protocol.
As an example, flax seeds, in a 1999 study, were considered, due to their lignan content, to enhance the excretion of healthy estrogen metabolites, suggesting that a dose-dependent relationship of flax seeds, up to 10 grams per day, over a 3-7 week period, potentially reduced breast cancer risk.1
10 years later, in a 2010 study, the results weren’t mimicked. Daily intake of flax seeds in the study, as high as 15g/day, by the end of a 12 week period, demonstrated an increase in urinary excretion of the healthy metabolite.2 The opposite of the initial study, concluding more research is needed to get the answer.
It’s common in Integrative and Functional Medical Practitioners’ health practices to use urinary hormone metabolites, like those used in these studies to understand the changes and hormonal fluxes experienced in hormone metabolites with treatments.
And, as always, research is ongoing.
Is seed cycling an effective method to support hormone imbalance?
While ingesting seeds like flax, pumpkin, sesame and sunflower are great sources of fiber, improving gut health, consuming too much can lead to an inflamed gut lining and other unwanted gut health issues. .3
You see, you don’t need to be ‘overfeeding’ yourself the same foods over and over again each day, this often is just a recipe for gut inflammation and leaky gut.
In seed cycling therapy, the healthy fats present in the seeds are thought to play a role in supporting hormonal levels. One study done on lactating cows demonstrated that feed high in Omega-6 impacted and nourished the endometrial lining by stimulating the prostaglandin E2 receptor (PGE2), an anti-inflammatory immune system messenger.4
This is similar to the effect of Castor Oil Packs done on the pelvic region. .
Please be reminded that what happens in a cow with 2 stomachs that is lactating and eating a purely vegetarian diet is likely very different from what occurs in your human body. Makes sense, agreed?
But at the end of the day, eating seeds, like flax, pumkin, sesame and sunflower, may offer many other benefits beyond hormonal balancing effects even just being a source of fiber and can support gut health.
At the very least, improving the frequency of bowel movements that we know optimizes gut health and indirectly has benefits on hormonal balance.
I don’t know about you, but I’m good with trying natural foods (trying to make my food my medicine) even if it’s not understood how and why it works – but like anything keeping things in balance and not overdoing it is key.
Could there be an easier way to support natural hormone balancing? Well, let me ask you this, have you ever considered…
Castor Oil Packs for hormone regulation
Queen of the Thrones®️ Castor Oil Packs can be used by practitioners as a “Single” Seed Cycling protocol alternative to the traditional seed cycling protocol.
The Castor Oil Packs for this practice can be found in your Hormone Balance & Detox Kit.
Castor Oil Packs, when worn daily on different parts of your body (over the liver, over your pelvic region, over your thyroid) on different weeks of your cycle, can be a beneficial alternative to orally consuming seeds.
This topical application regulates gut irritation, calming the body and brings your hormones back to a state of balance.
Because we know that hormonal balance must be supported in order to prevent disease, the practice of “Single” Seed Cycling for hormone imbalance makes the use of Queen of the Thrones®️ Castor Oil Packs a true foundational treatment in regular health practice.
To deepen your knowledge, here are a few blogs you’ll want to read as well:
- Why does the Moon Makes your Hormones go Crazy?
- Why is compliance so low for the traditional seed cycling protocol?
- Can you seed cycle with oils instead of eating seeds?
- How you can “Single” Seed Cycle with Castor Oil Packs (without eating seeds).
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
1. Haggans CJ, Hutchins AM, Olson BA, Thomas W, Martini MC, Slavin JL. Effect of flaxseed consumption on urinary estrogen metabolites in postmenopausal women. Nutr Cancer. 1999;33(2):188-95. doi: 10.1207/S15327914NC330211. PMID: 10368815.
2. Sturgeon SR, Volpe SL, Puleo E, Bertone-Johnson ER, Heersink J, Sabelawski S, Wahala K, Bigelow C, Kurzer MS. Effect of flaxseed consumption on urinary levels of estrogen metabolites in postmenopausal women. Nutr Cancer. 2010;62(2):175-80. doi: 10.1080/01635580903305342. PMID: 20099191.
3. 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.
4. Dirandeh E, Towhidi A, Pirsaraei ZA, Saberifar T, Akhlaghi A, Roodbari AR. The endometrial expression of prostaglandin cascade components in lactating dairy cows fed different polyunsaturated fatty acids. Theriogenology. 2015 Jan 15;83(2):206-12. doi: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2014.09.011. Epub 2014 Sep 19. PMID: 25312818.
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