🌙 Nourish Your Cycle: Eating for Your Inner Seasons

Hey girlies! 💖

Isn’t it terrible to feel like our life as women hinges on a capricious dictator?

Our Menstrual Cycle.

Two out of four weeks in the cycle, we’re bearable, sometimes overly happy beings, and the remaining two? We’re monsters in the making. And that happens EVERY. SINGLE. MONTH.

Because Yonic Nourishment is highly ignored.

Every month, a woman’s body renews itself. Her hormones don’t follow a steady pattern, so it’s dumb to expect consistent results or productivity throughout the month.

Women should eat foods that support their monthly cycle rather than relying on last-minute fast-food options. As boring as that may sound, food determines the state of mind. And that’s exactly what I want to tackle in this piece.

Let’s explore the cycle phases with their corresponding seasons in nature 🌿.

Menstruation - The Winter Season ❄️

Think of winter. What do we crave most in winter? Rest, sleep, solitude, little to no stimulation, and breathing space.

What to eat: Lightly spiced soups, broths, and congee work well to warm the body. After shedding the uterine lining, the body needs to cleanse itself for the next cycle. Unchallenged hormones, like excess estrogen, can be flushed out through high-fiber or green leafy foods.

Plant greens should be consumed warm—cooked or sautéed in moderate amounts. Try baby spinach, bok choy, fenugreek, or kohlrabi, lightly stir-fried and paired with rice, quinoa, or a grain of your choice. Avoid cold foods like kale or spinach juices mixed with almond or oat milk—they’re counterproductive at this stage. The oxalic acid in raw greens inhibits the absorption of iron and other nutrients.

Yo-Yo diets promoting green smoothies view food as “weight loss” or “collagen boost” injections, not as a source of energy.

I recommend warm foods, including red meat 🥩 to heat the system and create new blood. Meat stews, bone marrow, pigeon or bird meat, and seaweed salad replenish the body with minerals.

Follicular Stage - Spring Time 🌸

Spring feels like growth after the winter thaw.

What to eat: Foods that help follicles mature—think good fats. Coconut, avocado, ghee, butter, raw milk, egg yolk, salmon, and animal fat are all excellent. I personally love trotter meat because it’s easy to add to broths and pairs perfectly with rice. Bonus: It’s high in collagen—win-win!

Avoid A1 dairy products, as they’re highly inflammatory. Instead, source raw A2 dairy for good fats and rely on meat for protein. Dairy protein (casein) isn’t as digestible as protein from meat.

Ovulation - Summer Time Baby! ☀️

Ah, summer. My favorite! Just like this joyous season, we feel our best during ovulation.

At this time, the body releases an egg and prepares for possible conception. Even if we’re not looking to conceive, it’s crucial for our hormones to function optimally so we can live as nature intended. Women are naturally cheerful and, yes, horny during this phase 😉—our primitive need to create life at work.

What to eat: If you have a naturally hot (pitta) constitution, go for cooler foods like cucumbers and watermelon. However, if you’re actively trying to conceive, maintaining a warm body temperature is vital. Foods like chicken soup, meat stews, and chickpea curries are great for keeping the womb warm.

Luteal Phase - The Autumn Melancholy 🍂

The luteal phase is the longest stage of the menstrual cycle. For some, the days leading up to their period can feel depressing—autumnal melancholy, if you will. Maybe it’s the sadness of saying goodbye to the unfertilized egg 😛.

Many of us (guilty 🙋‍♀️) fall victim to emotional eating during this phase. But it’s essential to make a conscious choice against sugar and refined carbs to keep blood sugar in check.

What to eat: Estrogen-dominant women with low progesterone often crave fast food. Instead, focus on releasing excess estrogen and adrenaline by eating beans and whole grains.

Hormones are removed through stool, so good bowel movements should also be a focus. Eat soluble fiber through broccoli and soaked beans (avoid canned beans—they contain phytic acid, which inhibits nutrient absorption). Berries, apples, and naturally red foods are excellent for enhancing blood and thickening the uterine lining in case the egg gets implanted.

This was my quick and easy guide to eating through your menstrual cycle! 🩸

In today’s world, knowledge about food is often inverted or corrupted. Maybe, if we focus on what our bodies actually need using simple reasoning, we can save ourselves.

Love,
Zitni Zun 💕