Way back on Valentine’s Day, when the world seemed a lot less complicated, I gave a short presentation on seed cycling for hormone balance at an LBB Coffee and Connections.  After, the feedback I received was very extremely positive. So many women stopped me and expressed that they had never heard of the concept of seed cycling and were curious to know more. 

Seed cycling is not a new concept, in the world of holistic health it has been known about for years.  Alternative health practitioners are always trying out different, sometimes unconventional, methods to balance and improve health naturally. Mother nature has provided us with so many tools, we just have to know how to utilize them.

​When it comes to hormones, us women know way more about them than we realize. You don’t have to be a hormone expert to notice when you feel extra irritable, extra tired or even have that intense craving for something sweet during a certain time of the month. Or maybe you are past that time of your life, you no longer get a monthly cycle, but you still feel tired, also irritable and maybe a little extra puffy.  In both instances, hormones are to blame and more accurately it is that imbalance of hormones that is actually plaguing you.
 
Our hormones are constantly changing throughout our lives, actually every 28 days, give or take.  The more in balance they are, the better we feel and better our body operates at an optimal level. It is very easy to throw them out of whack. Chronic dieting, stress, lack of sleep, processed food, over consumption of sugar, overconsumption of food in general, a sedentary lifestyle (to name a few), can all contribute to an imbalance of hormones.  I tell clients that when hormones are imbalanced, it is almost like telephone wires that are crossed.  The signals cannot come through clearly, therefore leaving us stuck in a state of hormonal distress. There are a lot of ways to begin balancing hormones. Many of which were mentioned in the last paragraph.  Yes, ditching sugar helps tremendously, but there are other ways that are less challenging and less restrictive.  Insert seed cycling! 
 
Flax, pumpkin, sesame and sunflower are all part of the seed cycling process.  Each of these seeds has the ability to balance estrogen and progesterone, two very important hormones in a woman’s body. How you do it is quite simple. During the first phase of your cycle (essentially the first day of your period), you begin consuming a tablespoon of flax and a tablespoon of pumpkin seeds daily. It is important to note that these seeds need to be freshly ground, but can be done ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  The whole seed will not break down completely so grinding it allows your body to absorb more of the nutrients from the seeds. You can easily grind them in a food processor, blender or coffee grinder. You continue to consume those seeds daily for 13 days.  On day 14, you switch to freshly ground sesame and sunflower, same amounts.

Most of us would probably agree that men and women frequently behave differently, and these differences often show up in professional, family and social situations. Of course, this certainly doesn’t mean either gender has an advantage in these areas. However, here’s an interesting question:  Do women possess attributes that may make them better investors?
            Some evidence suggests this may indeed be the case. Consider the following:

• Long-term focus – Women seem to focus more on long-term goals, according to some studies, whereas men may concentrate more on short-term track records of potential investments. Generally speaking, taking a long-term approach to investing is a good strategy because it can help you maintain discipline and avoid subjecting yourself to the dangers of overreacting to market swings. One such danger is selling an investment whose price may have dropped but may still have strong fundamentals and good prospects.
  
• Less frequent trading – A well-known study from the University of California found that men traded investments 45% more frequently than women. Other, more recent studies have produced somewhat different results, but the overall picture does seem to show that women do significantly less buying and selling than men. This tendency is important because frequent trading can undercut a long-term, cohesive investment strategy. If you’re constantly buying and selling, you won’t give some investments a chance to achieve their full growth potential, and you might disrupt the diversification necessary for long-term success.
  
• More thoughtful decisions and more receptiveness to professional advice – Women take more time to make investment decisions than men, and more readily accept investment recommendations from financial professionals, according to a survey from InvestmentNews. And women are more likely to consult a professional financial advisor in the first place, according to a study from the Spectrem Group, a financial research firm. Given the number of factors involved in successful investing – setting long-term goals, evaluating risk tolerance, navigating volatile financial markets, diversifying investment portfolios, and so on – it’s important to get solid financial and investment advice from trained, experienced professionals.
  
• Greater risk aversion – When it comes to savings and investing, women are generally more risk averse than men, according to a large-scale survey by BlackRock, a global investment management firm, and supported by numerous other surveys and studies. Having a greater risk aversion can help women investors reduce the likelihood of incurring short-term losses from highly volatile or speculative investments. Nonetheless, it’s not really possible to avoid all investment risk – and it’s probably not even desirable. In fact, there may well be a flip side to women’s risk avoidance, in that an overly conservative portfolio won’t produce the growth potential needed to achieve long-term goals. And this indeed is a danger to which women investors should be alert. Generally speaking, neither excessive risk nor excessive caution will serve investors well.

A long-term perspective, avoidance of excess trading, willingness to take advice from professionals, and careful risk management – these characteristics of women investors can be of value to everyone. Consider putting them to work for yourself.
 

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