Microdosing truffles for your cycle and hormonal balance?
Many women long for a natural way to support their cycle—a way that helps them listen to their bodies again. Microdosing truffles is one such approach, and it has been attracting increasing attention recently. Microdosing can be a pleasant way to support your hormones, mood and body throughout every phase of your cycle.
In this blog, you can read what microdosing actually is and how it can contribute to hormonal balance or help with PMS symptoms. I guide you through the subject from my own experience and from what I encounter in my work with women.
What is microdosing?
Microdosing means taking a very small amount of a psychedelic substance—so small that you do not trip. You do not experience intense effects. You can simply carry on with your daily life: working, studying, looking after your children or whatever else you do during the day.
You can microdose different psychedelics, such as mushrooms, truffles or LSD. In the Netherlands, only truffles are legal. Microdosing truffles is therefore the safest and most accessible method.
An average microdose is around one gram of fresh truffles. Pay close attention to that: this means fresh, not dried, truffles. Dried truffles are much stronger, so the same quantity can quickly be far too high. Microdosing is personal, however. For one person, one gram of fresh truffles is just a little too much; someone else may need slightly more. I recommend starting low so you can calmly notice what suits you.
By way of comparison, when a woman comes to me for a full truffle ceremony, we use around 15 grams on average. You immediately sense how great the difference is from that small microdose.
Why microdosing and the female cycle?
Microdosing is often discussed in relation to greater focus, energy and creativity, or as a way of supporting your mood. But I am hearing something else from women with increasing frequency: it can also do something positive for their cycle.
This applies especially to common PMS symptoms such as mood changes, irritability, restlessness or low mood; feelings of anxiety and insecurity; crying spells or sudden angry outbursts. While microdosing, women often experience more inner calm and stability during the second half of their cycle. Sometimes there is a physical difference too. Symptoms such as abdominal pain, headaches and fatigue can ease.
A deeper connection with your inner rhythm
What I find most beautiful to see is that microdosing opens a deeper connection with the cycle for many women—with their inner rhythm and natural flow. Microdosing makes you more attuned to your body.
As a result, you become more aware of which phase of your cycle you are in and what you need. In the first half, after your period, your energy often returns and you feel space to take action. In the second half, as your period approaches, your body is more likely to ask for rest and for you to turn inwards. Microdosing seems to deepen your connection with yourself and your sense of womanhood, helping you notice those physical and mental-emotional signals sooner.
That is what many women long for today. We are accustomed to always being switched on, carrying on and carrying a great deal. We live according to the linear rhythm of five working days and a two-day weekend, while our bodies follow a cycle of around 28 to 34 days. It can be healing to reconnect with that cyclical rhythm within yourself.
Microdosing with intention
You always microdose with intention. It is a conscious choice made for a particular period and according to a particular rhythm. By rhythm, I mean a genuine schedule. You do not microdose every day, but include fixed rest days. This is important because your body quickly becomes accustomed to the active substance. If you take it too often, the effect decreases and you need more and more for the same feeling. Rest days keep your system sensitive and receptive, preserving the subtle effect.
The Fadiman protocol
The best-known schedule is the Fadiman protocol, developed by psychologist and researcher James Fadiman. It works in three-day blocks. Day one is your dose day. Days two and three are rest days. On day four, you begin again. This means that you microdose roughly once every two days. What happens on the rest days is interesting. On the day after your dose, you often still feel a slight after-effect. On day three, you experience your baseline again. This allows you to become familiar with the difference between yourself with and without the microdose.
You generally follow such a protocol for four to eight consecutive weeks, then take a break of several weeks. This gives you an opportunity to notice what has changed, and your body can truly reset. Some women then complete another round; others find one block is enough.
A protocol for the second half of your cycle
Alongside the Fadiman protocol, there is another method. It is specifically attuned to the female cycle, and personally I find it the most beautiful. You can choose to microdose only during the second half of your cycle, from ovulation until your period. This is known as the luteal phase. It is precisely during this period that progesterone first rises and then falls quickly, and PMS symptoms become most noticeable.
This approach has a valuable benefit. You use the support at the time when you need it most, rather than throughout the month. You truly attune the substance to your own rhythm and hormones. In the first half of your cycle, you naturally have more energy and resilience, so you leave it out. In the second half, you give yourself more support. In this way, you move with your cycle instead of against it.
I do not experience very many PMS symptoms myself, yet I still like to microdose during that second phase. It helps me bring my attention inwards, be gentler with myself and take more rest. It is a period in which I feel out of balance more quickly, and this supports me.
Microdosing intentionally
Whichever schedule you choose, set an intention for it. Your intention is what you direct your attention towards: the aim towards which you consciously want to move. It gives your microdosing direction.
But you do not set an intention once and then finish with it. It is something you repeatedly return to, and writing and meditation can help, for example. They offer a way to reconnect with your intention—your aim—again and again. By writing briefly each day, you keep your intention alive. You notice what is happening within you. You see what is changing and what is still getting in the way. In this way, you remain consciously engaged with where you want to go. Something similar happens in meditation. You turn inwards and sense whether you are still on course, repeatedly bringing your attention back to your intention.
It is therefore about the process: consciously noticing what happens and reflecting on what you feel and experience. This helps you notice the subtle effects and take steps that fit what you long for.
What does the science say?
I want to be honest about this too. At present, there is very little research on microdosing and the female cycle. There are studies of microdosing in general—for example, its effects on mood, focus, energy and creativity—but its effectiveness has not yet been scientifically demonstrated.
There is hardly any research specifically focused on women and their cycles, which I find disappointing. At the same time, it is not surprising. Both psychedelics and women’s health have been under-researched for years. For a long time, women of childbearing age were not even included in studies. Researchers considered changing hormone levels during the cycle too complex, so they often included men only. Fortunately, this is now—finally—beginning to change. The same applies to psychedelics. Serious interest in them has grown only in recent years, so this research is also still in its infancy.
Nevertheless, I have seen a great change in recent years, and I am convinced that women’s experiences will play an important part. While there is still little research, we mainly have those stories to learn from: women sharing what microdosing does for them, what works and what does not.
Finally
Microdosing truffles is not for everyone, nor is it the solution to every symptom. It does not replace medical or therapeutic guidance. But perhaps you feel that your hormones and cycle have a significant influence on how you feel, and you long for more calm, balance and connection with yourself. In that case, this can be a valuable path to explore.
I am genuinely curious about what this is like for you. Do you notice that microdosing helps with PMS, hormonal balance, menstrual symptoms or your mood? Or does it mainly bring you into closer contact with your cycle and natural flow? I would love to hear. I believe your story deserves to become part of this wonderful movement.
Lotte Boekhout practice
Are you a woman looking for a deeper connection with yourself, your body, your feelings and your feminine energy? Or are you experiencing concerns relating to women’s health and would you like to support your body with care?
Then I invite you to a special one-to-one experience with psychedelic truffles in the Netherlands. Curious about what may be possible for you? You are welcome to book a free discovery call.