Foods for the Flow: Summer Phase
Foods for the Flow: Summer Phase
Getting fertile like a tomato!
Hello fellow cyclers and supporters of cyclers!
How are you? Spring is in the air and it makes me long for every moment of sun that is available!
Today’s hot topic is all about supporting ovulation with food!
Things to know:
Each menstrual phase is divided into 4 weeks and lines up uniquely with the 4 seasons of the year starting with Winter phase/Menstruation/Day 1.
Winter Phase: Menstruation:Day 1-Day 6ish
Spring Phase: Follicular: Day 7-Day 12ish
Summer Phase: Ovulation: Day 13-Day 20ish
Fall Phase: Luteal: Day 21-Day 28ish
If you are new to my posts, check out how the phases affect every aspect of our lives in my previous posts Winter Spring Summer and Fall.
When I think of summer foods, I immediately envision heirloom tomatoes. They are on my top 10 list of summer harvest foods. Their juicy cells held together in plump texture and a mix of sweet and tart that hits the back of the jaw and makes the salivary glands go “eek!”
Nothing says fertile like a perfect tomato, am I right? And growing the perfect tomato takes the right amount of conditions, like, food, sun and water to get it just right. It’s alot like ovulation.
So, what’s the deal with ovulation?
I never paid attention to whether I was ovulating or not until I was trying to get pregnant and then I paid attention to it a lot! After 3 years of trying to conceive I used an ovulation test every month and from what I could tell, I wasn’t ovulating every month. And since God has a great sense of humor, it was during an ultrasound that the technician showed me that I was going to ovulate that very month. This little egg I saw on the screen turned out to be my son. But I digress.
Ovulation triggers the second half of the cycle to flow with ease. Progesterone builds to create a healthy environment in the uterus for an egg to become fertilized, attach to the lining and begin a big miraculous life. Progesterone puts the mind and body at ease and not only that but also “progesterone plays an essential role in the physiology of non-reproductive tissues, such as the cardiovascular system, the central nervous system, and bone tissue. In the brain, progesterone is neuroprotective, and its metabolite allopregnanolone is a GABAergic agonist”.
So, yes it is about bringing beautiful people into the world, but it also plays other vital roles in our health during our menstruating years.
When Ovulation Stops!
Hormonal birth control stops the body from ovulating. Over time this mechanism stops the body from producing progesterone. Even when getting off birth control, the body can take a long time to figure out how to ovulate and make progesterone again. If you know you aren’t ovulating due to hormonal birth control or you are in menopause, then eating these foods is not imperative to timing. But, they are still great for overall health and certainly still provide key vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants. More on Pandora’s box about birth control
Back to what the hormones are doing!
During the Summer/Ovulation phase, estrogen continues to rise up to peak and then falls which signals ovulation. All of this rising and falling action happens around Day 12-Day 16.
After the egg sac ruptures, progesterone is released for the following 14 days until menstruation. It is important for progesterone to be higher in the Fall/Luteal phase. It peaks around Day 21 and then falls to signal menstruation. We want healthy levels of progesterone because it regulates the health of the endometrial lining and prepares it for conception. It also keeps estrogen in check to prevent the lining from thickening too much.
Estrogen Dominance
To avoid estrogen dominance in the Fall/luteal phase we need to successfully eliminate circulating excess estrogen. Ideally, estrogen rises slightly after ovulation but should stay well under the level of progesterone. If estrogen is not properly eliminated we can have symptoms of estrogen dominance:
Endometriosis
Fibroids
Reproductive cancers
PCOS
Tender painful fibrous breasts
Headaches
Weight gain
Worsening PMS
Fatigue
Heavy menstrual bleeding
Don’t forget to water your tomatoes!
Just like tending a garden at full harvest time, it’s important to remember to tend to ourselves. During our summer phase we have energy to play, feel sexy, and generally enjoy being outgoing. This is such an important phase to support and because we feel so flirty and free we may forget to take care of ourselves. This is a natural mother/nurturing phase and all the outward energy may make it hard to remember to support this time. Personally, during this phase I tend to forget to journal, drink enough water, take vitamins and get to bed on a schedule. Especially if I’m feeling great, I tend to neglect some self care. I think this is very natural and normal. The outward energy has peaked and we forget ourselves so that we can love and play. Especially as Summer phase winds down, it’s a good time to check in with ourselves and turn our care to us.
Estrogen Up, Estrogen Down
Supporting Summer/Ovulation phase with foods and micronutrients comes in three parts:
Support estrogen rising and LH spike
Phyto-estrogens found in vegetables, nuts and seeds and legumes
Healthy oils like Omega’s to control inflammation and support LH surge
Anti-oxidants to control inflammation and oxidative stress (i.e. mediterranean diet)
Support process and eliminating estrogen
Pre and Probiotics to process estrogen
Fiber to support LH and estrogen metabolism
Cruciferous veggies to process and eliminate estrogen
Support rising progesterone
Support progesterone production with foods containing vitamins B, E, C, D3 and Omega-3.
Protein to support energy needed for all of these mechanisms
Summer Veggies
We don’t need to drastically change what we eat from Spring phase to Summer phase, as the garden foods just naturally shift to warm weather fruits and vegetables.
Foods to consider adding to support the Summer Ovulation Phase:
Leafy greens (spinach, baby kale, lettuces)
Beans, lentils and quinoa
Sweet potatoes, corn
Eggs
Yogurt
Fish, lamb, chicken
Sunflower and sesame seeds
Melons, berries and grapes
Tomatoes
Eggplant, bell peppers, squash
Brussels, asparagus
Avocado
Olive oil
Apricot, fig
Most of these foods, I would consider summer harvest foods, which continues to line up with my hunch that the cycle phases are lined up with the seasons of the year. I’m finding this to be very intriguing, are you?
Putting it all together to go with the flow
Using this list, I can try to see how many foods I can eat each day. If it seems daunting, try just getting in 2 a day to start.
Recipes for Summer Ovulation
Now that we have our understanding of how important ovulation is to our health, it’s time to choose a few yummy ingredients and find some recipes to try out. This is making me long for summertime watermelon!
Spaghetti Squash Bake
I was never really big on spaghetti squash until I had this dish! I found this delicious dish on allrecipes.com after having it at my friend’s house (Thanks Jenna!). I substitute ground beef for ground lamb sometimes and it is really good. It is a favorite in my house.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/72143/baked-spaghetti-squash-with-beef-and-veggies/
Fruit Salad
Typically, I choose whatever fruits I’m craving, or are in season, and just add vanilla yogurt or plain yogurt with some honey.
This fruit salad caught my eye and sounds really yummy to try once watermelon is in season.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/214986/strawberry-melon-summer-salad/
…And last but not least, my Cucumber Tomato Salad recipe!
I won’t get fancy with recipe specifics. This cucumber tomato salad screams summertime. I typically make it without quinoa the first day and then mix the leftovers into quinoa and add a bit of goat cheese. YUM! My camping favorite.
small english cucumbers thinly sliced
cherry tomatoes halved
salt, pepper
olive oil
balsalmic vinegar
fresh chopped mint
*optional- mix into prepared quinoa
*optional- add small bits of goat cheese
That wraps up Summer Ovulation foods to try!
What do you find you gravitate toward in your Summer phase?
What do you look forward to the most in Summer?
Feel free to add foods that I missed in the comments!
Thanks for being here!
… as we continue the series on foods, next up is all about Fall foods!
Resources:
https://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(18)30429-1/fulltext
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8705436/