EATING TO SUPPORT YOUR MONTHLY CYCLE AS A WOMAN

BEFORE YOUR FLOW:

The building stage (Winter). Your body needs energy from more calories & nutrient dense foods with bioavailable intense nutrition. The brain needs glucose from sweet carbohydrates like papaya, banana, carob, sweet potato & pumpkin. More dense foods like mucusless grains like quinoa & millet, pumpkin/hemp/flax seeds to keep you satisfied & full of amino acids & buffer the acids and allow energy to flow. The body needs a large amount of greens 3-6 cups a day for minerals to support the body & algae & seaweeds. Dates & Figs are great as they are high in B vitamins & zinc which is good for stress & hormone balancer. Liquorice & Ginseng and other Adaptogen herbs will support you to. Beetroot/cucumber /celery juice will help detox the liver & cleanse the blood as will lemon juice. (be aware if you have a fatty toxic liver you may find beetroot makes you nauseas as it dislodges toxins) – avoiding salt as salt is contracting & this is an expansive stage. Avoiding sugar so the body can be utilising the anti inflammatory foods consumed.

ON YOUR FLOW:

The beautiful time of purging & releasing (Autumn). This takes energy from the body & oxygen from the brain function, so resting & surrendering is essential. Pulling back from work, agendas, schedules, study & exercise so all your energy can go to releasing the emotions and toxins. Allowing all to come up & out without needing to be anything to anyone.

If you have cramps using castor oil packs with doTERRA claryCalm can sooth you. Ginger & Fennel tea is good for nausea & cramps, chamomile tea for calming. Vetiver & Lavender Essential Oil deep relaxation in magnesium & sea salt baths. Tens machines & Pilates or yoga. During this time your uterus swells in size & puts pressure on the digestive system, so simplifying your food to soups & smoothies & fruit meals i.e easy to digest food giving your digestive system a break as it will not being working to its full capacity. If you are constipated I suggest prunes or celery juice if you are loose in your stools I suggest bananas – avoiding salt as salt is contracting and this is an expansive stage. Avoiding sugar & stimulants which will falsely stop you surrendering.

AFTER YOUR FLOW:

YOUR TIME TO SUPPORT YOUR BODY TO DETOX!
This time is cleansing time, the start of another detox round for another month ahead to prepare for ovulation. (Spring)

I suggest Green Juice Cleanses at this time or mineral rich broths – drinking lots of lemon water, eating lightly with loads of water rich hydrating foods like watermelon and big salads with raw veggies & even mono meals of fruit. Go lightly on nuts, grains & heavy oily cooked spicy foods, sugar, & anything that stops detoxification as this is a time to set your self up for the rest of the month and will determine how your next flow is.

OVULATION:

Releasing an egg takes energy & in nature you would be looking to reproduce and find a mate (Summer)- so the body gets very heightened & your temperature raises. It produces surges of hormones giving you energy & mental clarity & this uses mineral stores…so choose naturally mineral rich foods especially high in sodium like tomatoes, celery, carob, mesquite, seaweed, silverbeet, dates, rich variety of greens, sprouts & pumpkin/flax/chia/hemp seeds will help you here. Often we are more physically active around this stage, so using mineral rich dates & dried fruits for energy can be helpful, packing green berry smoothies on the go and keeping hydrated. Seaweed is incredibly helpful for hormones & organ support as is Ashwaganda & nettle teas and horsetail tea.

Most importantly is to listen to your body & when it needs rest…switch it off & cancel your day no matter what & when you have energy….support it with herbs & foods that allow it to thrive and achieve super women goals!

Woman when we run around in a forced energy falsely stimulating our nervous system….when our body is asking for inner peace & calm we cause it to not trust us. We loose the connection of listening to our intuition & we force our cycles to loose the rhythms of the land & the planets. We can command our bodies to return to a cycle connected to the moon….we can use herbs and foods to support our cycle to support our bodies. We can love our cycles & see the beauty in our amazing female bodies.

Allow for flow not force…intuitively eat for your cycle & needs.

with love Hannah x x