Is Low Progesterone Causing Your Hormonal Symptoms?

What is Progesterone?

Progesterone is one of your sex hormones and it works in opposition to estrogen.  Estrogen is dominant during the first half of your menstrual cycle whereas progesterone is highest a couple days after ovulation until you start your period.

Progesterone’s main job is to hold and maintain a pregnancy (pro-gestation is where progesterone came from).  Progesterone’s abilities don’t stop with pregnancy alone – it’s an imperative hormone for so many other reasons. 

Like I mentioned earlier, it counterbalances estrogen.  In Chinese Medicine, we talk about Yin and Yang and how they, too, work in opposition.  Estrogen makes the endometrial lining thick and progesterone thins it the lining.  Estrogen can promote breast cancer and it’s said that progesterone decreases your risk.  Progesterone increases thyroid function while estrogen suppresses it.  It’s all designed by nature and works like a charm until your hormones are unbalanced. 

One of the parts to your cycle that can become unbalanced is that women can develop progesterone deficiency and therefore estrogen goes on unopposed. 

Benefits of Progesterone

• Promotes sleep
• Reduces anxiety and promotes a sense of calmness
• Protects against heart disease and other inflammation 
• Builds lean muscle

Symptoms of Low Progesterone

• Restless sleep or insomnia especially between ovulation and your period.
• Low sex drive
• Mood swings, anxiety and irritability
• Breast tenderness
• Weight gain
• Irregular menstrual cycle
• Short cycles
• Mid-cycle spotting
• Spotting before your period actually starts to flow
• Long cycles

Reasons for Low Progesterone

1. Stress. In my opinion, this is the most common reason women are deficient in progesterone.  When your body detects mental, emotional or physical stress, it produces a hormone called cortisol.  Cortisol will steal progesterone’s precursor hormone, pregnenolone to be able to produce more cortisol.  Cortisol can also block the progesterone receptors, so we are unable to use the progesterone our body does make. 

2. Age. It is part of the normal aging process that progesterone production declines as we near closer to the menopausal time.  This can begin around age 35, but there are ways to handle this decline, so don’t worry!

3. Hypothyroidism. Thyroid hormones require pregnenolone to be created.

4. PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). In PCOS, there can be elevated testosterone levels in some women.  When this occurs, progesterone levels drop. Progesterone is a necessary hormone for ovulation, which some women with PCOS aren’t doing regularly as well.  We need to be ovulating to be shedding the entire menstrual lining and to be able to get pregnant.

How To Boost Progesterone Naturally

• Watch your stress levels, negative self talk and inner critic. Like I mentioned above, I truly believe that the stress response is the biggest reason women have low progesterone.  You don’t have to be scared of having stress in your life, but you do have to learn how to manage it.  You have to change the dialogue you’re telling yourself about being inadequate, disempowered, victimized, etc.  You also need to learn how to say no, rest more, laugh more, cry more to process through emotions and sleep more.  Once your nervous system feels calm and safe more often, you’ll start making more progesterone.
• Take Vitex (Chaste Tree Berry). Vitex is one of my favorite herbs for raising progesterone. It works by decreasing the hormone prolactin and encouraging the secretion of LH (luteinizing hormone) which in turn increases the production of progesterone.
• Eat healthy fats. Healthy sources of fat are imperative for hormonal health across the board. Cholesterol is necessary to produce pregnenolone which is a precursor hormone to lots of other hormones. Cholesterol also has a positive effect on thyroid health, brain health, ovarian health, joint health, and for the hair, skin and nails.  
• Adaptogenic Herbs. Adaptogenic herbs like ashwagandha, rhodiola, medicinal mushrooms, and schisandra have positive effects on the stress response and helps regulate cortisol.  We know that cortisol steals progesterone, so we want to keep that in balance.  I like a supplement called Innate Response Adrenal Response on Wellevate.
• Magnesium. Magnesium is involved in several chemical reactions in your body and is also essential to hormonal health.  Many of us are deficient in magnesium due to stress, poor soil quality and a diet deficient in magnesium.  Magnesium also helps us to sleep better and relax in all aspects. I recommend taking magnesium oxide or magnesium glycinate because they are better absorbed by your body in comparison to magnesium citrate. 
• Methylated B Complex. B vitamins are really important in hormonal production and stress response as well as many other reactions in your body.  When in a state of estrogen dominance, B6 gets depleted quickly, so make sure that is included. I always recommend a B complex with methylated B vitamins so they are in a readily available form for your body and you can detox them appropriately. 

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