once you've reached menopause and your periods have stopped for good, there's no monthly hormonal cycle left to sync seeds to, so traditional two-phase seed cycling doesn't really apply in the way it does before menopause. that said, many people continue eating a rotation of all four seeds simply for their ongoing nutritional value.
what changes after menopause
seed cycling is built around the rise and fall of oestrogen and progesterone across a menstrual cycle, timed to ovulation. after menopause, ovulation has stopped and oestrogen and progesterone settle at consistently low levels rather than fluctuating monthly, so there's no "phase" for flax and pumpkin, or sesame and sunflower, to specifically support.
what people do instead
- eat all four seeds together or rotate them weekly, rather than trying to match a cycle that no longer exists
- focus on the individual nutritional properties of each seed, like the healthy fats in flax and pumpkin, or the vitamin e in sunflower seeds
- use the seeds as part of a wider approach to postmenopausal nutrition, alongside things like calcium, vitamin d and protein, which become more of a focus at this life stage
if you're perimenopausal rather than fully postmenopausal, your cycle may still be happening, just less predictably, and the approach described in our guide to seed cycling during perimenopause is more relevant.
if you're taking hrt or any other medication around menopause, it's worth checking with your doctor or pharmacist before adding seed cycling into your routine, particularly given the phytoestrogen content of flaxseed, so you can be confident it fits well alongside your treatment.