Our interview with Kate Morton, co-founder of Funk It Wellness, could not have been more informative. Kate is a registered dietitian with a masters degree in human clinical nutrition and undergraduate degree in kinesiology and nutrition. During our chat with Kate she dove into her personal experience with birth control, the life-changing benefits of seed cycling, as well as encouraging advice for our readers.
“I was living in New Zealand and I got off birth control, I thought I was going to be this holistic goddess, I was going to be so in touch with my cycle. I thought it was going to be the best experience ever. It was literally one of the worst experiences of my life,” shared Kate. Kate began experiencing painful cystic acne and struggled to get her period back for six months after she stopped taking the pill. Further, “my doctor kept telling me it was normal to not have my period. And I was like, ‘I don’t feel like this is normal.’ So that’s kind of what kicked off the research. I started to learn so much about the menstrual cycle and how truly powerful seed cycling was.” Kate’s personal experience with hormones, birth control, and her menstrual cycle kickstarted her journey to co-found Funk It Wellness.
Funk It Wellness and Seed Cycling:
Most women lack understanding and education as to what their period truly means. Funk It Wellness is helping women understand that their menstrual cycle is much more than their period.
Every month your menstrual cycle transitions through four different phases; menstruation, follicular, ovulation & luteal. During this time estrogen and progesterone can have large fluctuations, which can cause PMS symptoms like moodiness, cramps, cravings, sore breasts, and hormonal acne. Which is exactly where seed cycling comes in.
Seed cycling uses food (flax, pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower seeds) to work with your body to support your hormones and menstrual cycle. As you move through your cycle, your curated seed blends will help your body receive micronutrients to counteract your PMS symptoms.
Funk It Wellness breaks down your cycling into two phases: the Follicular phase and the luteal phase.
The first day of your period is when the follicular phase begins. The Follicular phase (day 1-14) is best supported by Funk It Wellness’ Nurture Blend, a blend of pumpkin and flax seeds. These seeds contain important omega 3’s for information support, magnesium for mood and estrogen detox support, zinc for egg growth, and ovulation support, and iron for menstrual replenishment support. Additionally, flax is packed with phytoestrogens that support optimal estrogen and may even help with vaginal dryness.
The second half of your cycle, the luteal phase (day 15-28) is supported by Funk It Wellness’ second blend, Radiate. Using sunflower and sesame seeds, The Radiate blend is packed with vitamin E & vitamin B6 which research has shown to be a PMS-busting combination, again magnesium for mood and estrogen detox support and zinc for immunity support. Fun fact on average you burn 100-300 more calories per day, and this blend is slightly more nutritious for this reason.
“If you really listen to your cycle, it is very intuitive. We call it cycling thinking, a trademark term that means eating with your cycle,” expressed Kate. Many women can relate to having certain cravings during specific parts of their cycle, this is often the body craving certain nutrients. Nourishing our bodies with these super seeds can have immense benefits and change the way we experience our menstrual cycle.
Kate has used the Flo App for over five years to track her period. Tracking your period in a responsible manner is no easy feat. Kate shared that she measures her body temperature each morning using her Oura Ring. She then inputs her data into her Flo app. BUT, something we absolutely loved is that Kate and her husband both have access to her Flo app, in fact her husband often inputs the data for her. Allowing both partners to be knowledgeable and accountable for tracking Kate’s cycle.
Funk It Wellness and Education:
Currently only 14 states require medically accurate sex education. Funk It Wellness has a goal to make tracking your cycle an empowering and educational experience. “A lot of society still scares people out of learning about the woman’s body, how it functions, how it operates, and how we should take care of it,” expressed Kate. In hopes to smash this stigma, Funk It Wellness has a podcast called Period Chats and Side Chats. They also have an incredible information blog that dives into topics ranging from gut health to managing blood sugar.
Kate on her experience on Birth Control:
Kate is super open about her experience on birth control in hopes to help other women with similar experiences. “It’s crazy that when I stopped taking birth control my personality came back. It was like my personality had been hiding for the past ten years.” Kate further shared how she had a very low libido, “I thought I was broken, I thought sex wasan’t for me. I got off birth control and was like, oh, is this how you’re supposed to feel like, wow, you actually are supposed to like people.” Not to discount the acne and cramps Kate also encountered, which seed cycling solved.
Kate on her funding journey as a female:
Funk It Wellness was bootstrapped for their first year. “We were in our early twenties, had just moved back from traveling the world and didn’t really have much money. My husband, co-founder Claire Clark, and I decided to bet on ourselves.” Investing their savings, Kate and Claire were on a mission to give back and really teach women about their bodies.
“If I could teach people about their bodies and make them have a more empowered life, I’d win. It didn’t matter about the money,” expressed Kate. Luckily from a business perspective, Funk It Wellness flourished. Having now closed to angel fundraising rounds and near closing a third, Kate has created a strong female founded and female investor team.
Advice from Kate:
“Bet on yourself because it’s so easy to think, oh, someone else is already doing that. Or, I can’t do this because I don’t have a business degree. If you think you have an idea that’s worth pursuing, just try it because what’s the worst that can happen?”
“As far as funding, don’t be scared to say that you don’t think it’s a good fit. Don’t take money just because you need money. There’s a lot of money in this world, make sure you wait and find the person you really fit with.”
As women, learning about our bodies is very empowering. For many of us, simply being exposed to this knowledge can give us permission to explore ways to improve our well being and tap into our bodies, intuitively. Funk It Wellness’ dedication to creating tangible products to enhance our menstrual cycle and educate women is inspiring.
Don’t sleep on checking out their blog and podcast. Kate recommended “Everything you Need to Know about Seed Cycling” and “How Blood Sugar and Insulin Impact your Hormones” for our readers to check out. Their products also make incredible gifts, from their Seed Cycling Kit to their Funky Time Maca, even a Perimenopause Blend, help every woman in your life reach their highest potential.
Code “2022” will get you 30% of your first three months of product 🙂 Let us know what you think and what you’re buying @StarterNoise.
Interesting Fact: Your menstrual cycle is three months behind. Meaning that the next time you menstruate, it is releasing what was built in your body three months ago. So, give seed cycling a good three months to reap these magical benefits.
