Understanding Progesterone

If I had to pick a favorite hormone, it would be progesterone. It’s the calming, soothing hormone, the one that makes you feel like everything is going to be okay (who doesn’t need more of that?).

But progesterone isn’t just hanging out all the time waiting in the wings to comfort you. It’s made in the ovaries (until menopause; after menopause, progesterone is produced in the adrenal glands) after you ovulate, showing up on day 21 of your cycle. Progesterone doesn’t just help you keep your calm, it also keeps estrogen from acting out—if progesterone is too low, estrogen can get of whack which is what creates the storm of symptoms women experience around menopause.

Menopausal women experience low progesterone because DHEA goes low. DHEA, a steroid hormone, can make cortisol, progesterone, and testosterone. When your body is under stress and has been in that state for a long time, your DHEA reserves are running on empty because they’ve been used to make cortisol which means there is no DHEA to make progesterone or testosterone. Side note: One of the many reasons I love the DUTCH is that we get to see your exact DHEA levels.

Progesterone wears many hats and it contributes to many body functions including:

• assists in bone formation

• balances estrogen

• breast development

• helps maintain blood-sugar levels

• regulates body temperature

• regulates sleep

• relaxes the muscles in your gut

• supports the thyroid

When progesterone is in balance, you most like feel less anxious, less irritable, and less prone to mood swings. Sufficient progesterone is a good, good thing.

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Progesterone declines when ovulation becomes less frequent during peri-menopause and when your cycles stop in menopause. Low progesterone can also be caused by:

• poorly functioning thyroid

• stress

• taking antidepressants

• too much sugar in your diet

• vitamin deficiency (especially vitamins A, B6, C, and the mineral zinc)

How do you know if your progesterone levels are low? You might experience one or more of the following symptoms:

• breast tenderness

• hot flashes

• increased anxiety

• increased cramps

• migraines

• night sweats

• PMS

• painful menstruation

• shorter menstrual cycles

• sleep disturbances

• weight gain

If you suspect you have low progesterone, ask yourself, WHY is my progesterone low?

• Age

• Brain injury

• Breastfeeding

• Changes in body weight

• Infection(s)

• Medications (especially hormonal birth control)

• Mitochondrial dysfunction

• PCOS

• Over-exercising

• Thyroid issues

Any of these sound familiar? Start with the simplest thing:

• Use an ovulation predictor kit to see if you’re ovulating 

• Test your progesterone levels during your luteal phase (I like running the DUTCH on days 19-21)

If you test and discover your progesterone levels are indeed low, consider:

• Consume dietary fats (cholesterol is the backbone of your sex hormones)

• Eating more progesterone supporting foods (avocado, beef liver, broccoli, cashews, chickpeas, ground beef, oysters, pumpkin seeds, red and green peppers, tomatoes)

• Get a handle on stress

• Magnesium

• Supplement with Vitex (Chaste Tree) and an adaptogen like Rhodiola

• Vitamins B6 and C (whole food sourced preferably, not ascorbic acid)

To learn more about working with me to balance your hormones, book a free 20-minute Discovery Call to get your questions answered and see if we might be a good fit.