How To Boost Your Progesterone (Naturally)

Estrogen often takes the spotlight when it comes to women’s hormones, perimenopause and menopause.

But there's another hormone that’s critical to our health (and sanity!) that really needs our attention and support:

Progesterone.

It’s the steep decline in progesterone levels that kicks off challenging perimenopausal symptoms as we come into our late 30s and early 40s (and will continue into menopause if unsupported).

If you've been grappling with headaches, migraines, intense PMS, menstrual discomfort, anxiety, depression, fatigue or irregular cycles, insufficient progesterone may be the culprit.

So let's delve into some natural methods you can use support your progesterone levels.

Progesterone Versus Progestin

First, it's essential to clarify the distinction between progesterone and progestin.

When referring to progesterone, I’m talking about the hormone naturally produced by the body - the “bioidentical” kind.

In contrast, progestin is a synthetic hormone found in hormonal IUDs and combination birth control pills.

Progestin and progesterone differ significantly on a biochemical level: you may have heard warnings about progestin because it has scary side effects and can be very damaging!

Unfortunately, a lot of doctors and even researchers mistakenly use the word “progesterone” to describe progestin…

So be warned - when your physician mentions "progesterone," they're likely referring to progestin! No bueno!

The Role of Progesterone in the Body

Progesterone is primarily generated in the body post-ovulation, during your luteal phase (if you’re still cycling).

When you ovulate, an egg is released from a follicle (like a little sac of cells that hold the egg). The remaining follicle cells form the corpus luteum, which secretes progesterone.

If you get pregnant, you need progesterone to help support the pregnancy. 

Asides supporting pregnancy, progesterone serves MANY additional, vital functions:

It acts as a calming counterpart to estrogen's stimulating (sometimes crazy-making) effects, supports heart and nervous system health, and plays a pivotal role in brain function.

Progesterone in Perimenopause and Menopause

Here’s where things get tricky:

As we age, we ovulate less frequently and our bodies stop preparing us to get pregnant every month. Consequently, progesterone production declines, producing symptoms.

These hormonal fluctuations typically start in our mid-late 30s or early 40s, leading to a sudden decrease in progesterone levels and the emergence of uncomfortable symptoms.

Note that other factors can also prevent ovulation and reduce progesterone levels, such as hormone imbalances (ie. endometriosis, thyroid disorders, or PCOS), lifestyle choices (ie. excessive exercise or stress), and medical conditions (ie. eating disorders). So if you have low progesterone, it’s important to understand why you aren’t ovulating if you wouldn’t expect to be perimenopausal.

Natural Ways to Increase Progesterone

1. Stress Reduction

CRUCIAL.

You hate hearing this one, I know, but please hear me out.

Chronic stress impacts progesterone levels.

We women tend to be very busy in our 30s, 40s and 50s, AND this is the time when we (and our hormones) are the MOST sensitive to stress.

This is a BIG problem for any stressed-out woman who’s already low on progesterone…AKA perimenopausal women!

Incorporating stress-reduction techniques like exercise, yoga, proper breathing (nasal, diaphragmatic) and setting boundaries(!) can be invaluable.

More “me time”, more quiet, less crazy workouts, diets, sleep disruption…all the things.

Reducing your toxic load is also important for alleviating hidden cellular stress, which is just as important as perceived stress: plastic water bottles, soda, fast food, smoking, toxic cleaning products…and sorry, keeping alcohol to a minimum.

To counter stress, it’s also important to cultivate meaningful relationships and hobbies - these help release of oxytocin, which helps regulate cortisol levels and indirectly supports progesterone production.

There are lots of other cool tricks to reduce cortisol and cellular stress, which I’ll cover in another post (and which I dive deep on in my program, Better Beyond 40).

2. Adequate Fat Intake

Consuming sufficient healthy fats (fatty fish, olive oil, avocados, etc) is crucial for hormone production, especially during perimenopause.

This is because your adrenal glands are your backup hormone factories. When they aren’t busy producing cortisol (while you’re under stress), your adrenals can focus on turning cholesterol into hormones like progesterone. This can serve as a nice backup source of progesterone when you’re no longer ovulating. Adequate fat intake is required for this.

3. Essential Nutrients

Adequate intake of essential nutrients is vital for optimal hormone production is super important.

Key nutrients like zinc, selenium, vitamin C, ALL of the B vitamins (not just B12), vitamin D and magnesium support various aspects of hormone balance and can be obtained through a balanced diet and careful supplementation.

Since every body has different needs, I can’t tell you how much of each YOU need. The best way to know is to test your levels through lab testing (VERY important for vitamin D).

Your genetic make-up also provides hugely important insights as to the best nutrition/supplements for your unique body. (If you want an excellent DNA test - best on the market IMHO - get a DNA testing kit from my favourite company, SelfDecode. You can opt out of their yearly subscription model once you sign up, btw.)

(I know nutrition / supplements can feel overwhelming. It’s one of the biggest things I help clients figure out. And, it’s absolutely worth doing.)

4. Quality Sleep

Sleep is truly the BFF of your hormones. (So it’s kind of ironic that low progesterone levels disrupt sleep patterns.)

Make sure you prioritize great sleep hygiene, have a solid bedtime routine and take magnesium before bed (usually ~200mg is good).

5. Bioidentical Progesterone - Pills or Cream (or both)

Bioidentical progesterone offers a natural solution for increasing progesterone levels.

It’s the secret weapon that many women find helps them sleep better, feel less anxious, more calm, more patient, and keeps moods more even.

Unlike synthetic progestin, it’s well-tolerated and can alleviate peri/menopausal symptoms effectively.

Oral and topical versions produce different effects in the body: some women do better on pills, others prefer the cream and some do best with a little bit of both.

It’s trial and error to know what you’ll like best, but it’s thought that oral tends to work better for countering sleep issues and anxiety because metabolites that are active in the brain are produced through processing in the liver, which doesn’t occur with the topical.

Both forms can also help to regulate the menstrual cycle and reduce PMS in perimenopause.

Please consult with a healthcare professional before initiating any hormone therapy regimen.

How long will it take to increase my progesterone levels naturally?

It takes time to boost hormones, especially if you exclusively take a lifestyle-based approach (rather than taking supplemental hormones).

Unless other systems in your body, your sex hormones (and thyroid hormones, which influence sex hormones) can be very slow to come back up following a period of say, intense stress or illness: it may take anywhere from 3 months to several years in the most extreme cases. (Mine took 1.5 years to fully bounce back after I suffered burnout/hypothalamic amenorrhea in 2015.)

So please stick it it and don’t worry if you don’t see results right away.

Keep refining and optimizing and you’ll probably find your groove.

And if you don’t, it may just be that your hormone production ‘facilities’ (ie. your ovaries) are slowing down and replacement is actually the best option.

Testing your hormones a few months after making changes to support them can help you understand where you’re at and your next best move.

If you’d like my support and guidance along the way, I offer a deep dive program for perimenopausal women that covers everything you need to know.

We’ve got this. You’ve got this!

❤️

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