When I was originally diagnosed w/ low cortisol (aka. burnout, adrenal fatigue), I went to my naturopath b/c I was experiencing irregularities with my cycle. What I’ve since learned is that cortisol, our stress hormone, steals from other hormones to help compensate. This loosely explains why my cycle had changed because my body was utilizing my progesterone to compensate for my low cortisol. Tricky tricky right?
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Besides some pretty big lifestyle changes, one of the things that I’ve implemented is seed cycling. Essentially, you are consuming certain seeds at the different phases of your cycling to help to:
⚖️ balance hormones⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
😜lessen PMS symptoms⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
♀help the release of certain hormones⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Here’s how it works:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
→Days 1-13 (the first day of your period): eat 1 tbsp daily of either flax or pumpkin seeds to boost estrogen. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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→Days 14-28: eat 1 tbsp daily of either sesame or sunflower seeds to boost progesterone.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Sunflower and pumpkin seeds are low-carb and I use them religiously b/c of their nutrients. @Yupik.ca sent me some of their product to try so I decided to make some chocolate with them 😁.
I used their sunflower seed and pumpkin seed powders in this chocolate but I’ve also been adding them to smoothies, and chia pudding which works really well.
I’m calling this PMS chocolate for one cool reason: we often crave chocolate leading into or during our cycle. Wanna know why?
Magnesium.
True cacao is loaded with magnesium and generally speaking, if you’re craving chocolate around this time, your body may benefit from taking magnesium. In fact, magnesium is the #1 mineral supplement that I encourage all women to take since it does help to alleviate cramps. But, as always, reach out to your medical professional for assistance!
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Chocolate Sea Salt PMS Chocolate⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
1 cup cashews or raw, organic cashews from Yupik. Get here)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
1 cup coconut butter⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
1/2 cup cacao powder⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
1/2 cup ground sunflower seeds or raw, organic sunflower seed protein powder from Yupik. Get here)
1/2 cup ground pumpkin seeds or raw, organic pumpkin seed protein powder from Yupik. Get here)
1 tsp cinnamon ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
1 tsp vanilla ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
2 T yacon syrup or any other sweetener⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Sea salt⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Directions:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Process coconut butter and cashews in food processor until smooth.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Add all remaining ingredients plus a couple pinches of sea salt until smooth.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Pour into a lined 8X8 dish and spread out.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Sprinkle with more sea salt, and top with other seeds such as sesame, hemp, sunflower and pumpkin.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Place in fridge to chill.⠀⠀⠀⠀
Medical Disclaimer: Information provided in this email is for informational purposes only. The information is a result of practice and experience by Julie Pecarski Nutrition. However, this information is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional, or any information contained on or in any product.
