Increase Progesterone Naturally: 4 Tips

Do you want to increase progesterone naturally? Let’s talk about it!

Progesterone deficiency is a common issue in today’s society. A lot of this has to do with the go-go-go nature of our society being completely contrary to our innate design that was created to enjoy going and then resting.

You may be wondering, what are we talking about here? Why would I want to increase progesterone naturally. We are going to talk all about it starting now! in this post, we will discuss what progesterone is, things that may be contributing to low progesterone levels, signs of low progesterone, and how to increase progesterone naturally, through lifestyle and nutritional changes. Let’s start with talking about what progesterone actually is!

What is Progesterone?

Progesterone is such a cool hormone that is produced as the result of LH launching and ovulation. In fact, an empty follicle that has recently ovulated transforms into the corpus luteum, which is a progesterone-pumping machine. A small amount of progesterone is also made in the adrenal glands. Here are some of its functions:

1. Progesterone is such a cool hormone because it makes the conditions for life in the uterus possible. After estrogen is done growing the uterine lining during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle, progesterone swoops in and maintains it, keeping it from growing any more or from shedding in menstruation.
2. Progesterone must be sufficient in order to support a viable pregnancy. If it is not sufficient, implantation will most likely not be successful and can result in miscarriage.
   • Whether a woman is planning for pregnancy or not, each month her innate body is. This means that progesterone must be produced in order to maintain the uterine lining, which is intended to support a baby in utero. Not only does it maintain the uterine lining, but it also stimulates the secretion of nutrients to nourish a fertilized egg once it is implanted. 
   • Progesterone levels rise exponentially in the first trimester of pregnancy, and then level out in the second and third trimester.
   • Once the placenta is developed, it takes over the main production of progesterone in the body at about 10 weeks of pregnancy. Not only does progesterone play a key role in the early days of pregnancy, but throughout pregnancy it creates an ideal environment for the baby to grow. It does so by keeping the uterine muscle relaxed, preventing contractions, and helps the immune system to tolerate the foreign DNA of a baby.
3. Progesterone is key in maintaining strong bone structure.
4. Progesterone performs vital functions related to blood sugar regulation.
5. Progesterone promotes a sense of wellbeing and reduces anxiety levels.
6. Progesterone supports cardiovascular health through relaxing blood vessels and normalizing blood clotting factors.

This is not an exhaustive list, but it absolutely paints the picture of what progesterone is and why it is so important to health and wellbeing. If progesterone levels are low, it can be important to work to increase progesterone levels naturally.

What Causes Low levels of Progesterone?

While there are various root causes to low progesterone, most of them all work to create the storm of these common factors:

Chronically High Cortisol Levels

Now, cortisol on its own is not a bad thing, in fact, balanced cortisol is absolutely necessary to a healthy and thriving body. However, in today’s day and age, it is rare for cortisol levels to actually be in balance. In fact, they are often out of balance, contributing the chronic inflammation throughout the body.

What is cortisol? Simply put, cortisol is a stress hormone. In balance, it keeps the body alert and naturally peaks in the morning to stimulate productivity. Sometimes though, a chronic stress can create chronic cortisol, which can create chronic inflammation.

Cortisol puts the body into action that can be sustained for the duration of a perceived threat. This perceived threat could be a bear in the woods, but it could also be working 60 hours a week, not sleeping well at night, having an ongoing fight with a loved one, etc.

Why might cortisol lead to low progesterone levels?

It is quite simple really. When cortisol is chronically high, the body is going to prioritize escaping the perceived threat over functions such as fertility. In fact, the body probably thinks that with so much stress happening, it is not the safest time to have a baby.

So often what happens is ovulation is inhibited. Remember how I mentioned above that the main source of progesterone comes from the corpus luteum? Well, now you know that if you aren’t ovulating, the body is not really producing progesterone. This is one reason for low progesterone levels.

Estrogen Dominance

Now this is another big one, and can contribute to low progesterone levels. Estrogen dominance essentially means that estrogen is out of balance in the body, in high levels. This can also be caused be stress, and can be in combination with high cortisol levels.

So even if ovulation is still occurring, the high levels of estrogen can overpower the effects of the progesterone being produced post-ovulation, leading to low progesterone levels.

What can cause chronically high cortisol and/or estrogen

There are many things that often work together to create these high levels that put stress on the body. Here are a few potential causes:

• High-stress lifestyle
• Inflammatory foods
• Digestive issues
• Gut microbiome imbalances/dysbiosis
• Environmental toxins/xenoestrogens
• Overexercising
• Exercising while Fasted
• Undernourished
• Mineral Imbalances
• Blood Sugar Issues
• Sedentary Lifestyle
• Birth Control

Symptoms of Low Progesterone

As you can see, there are many different things that can kick off the stress cycle that may ultimately lead to low levels of progesterone, but what are the symptoms of low progesterone? Let’s look into it!

So, now that you know the causes of low progesterone and some of the symptoms, let’s look at how to increase progesterone naturally.

How to Increase Progesterone Naturally

1. Consume a Nutrient Dense Diet
   • This is key to healing low levels of progesterone because a nutrient dense diet supplies all of the nutrients that the body needs to get back to safety. You can read more about what a nutrient dense diet looks like here, but here are a few key foods/nutrients I recommend prioritizing:
     • Adrenal Cockails, Magnesiusm, Foods high in Vitamin C, Vitamin E Foods or Supplementation (there is a really cool study showing the benefits of Vitamin E supplementation for progesterone here), protein, fermented foods, cruciferous veggies, healthy fats, Foods high in B Vitamins, and foods high in Zinc.
2. Regulate Blood Sugar Levels
   • Regulating blood sugar levels will naturally lower cortisol due to the mechanisms involved. Here is my favorite book to learn all about blood sugar regulation.
3. Heal Gut Health
   • Healing gut health is big for many reasons, but a big one is due to the way estrogen interacts in the gut. A gut in dysbiosis cannot properly recycle estrogen, which can greatly contribute to estrogen dominance. An unhealthy gut also greatly contributes to higher inflammation, blood sugar issues, and chronically elevated cortisol.
4. Reduce external stresses
   • Take stock of your life and be honest with yourself. Are you living in tune with your cycles? Are you allowing time in your life for rest and rejuvenation? Are you allowing yourself enough sleep at night? Is your Circadian Rhythm regulated? Are you exposed to toxins in your cleaning and personal care products? Take inventory and see, what is one thing you can change this week that will help lower stress so that your hormones can come back into balance?

Increase Progesterone Naturally Recap

Now you understand why progesterone is so important, but also that it does not have to to increased synthetically. In fact, there are so many things you can do to increase progesterone naturally. You can even start with one thing, and as this becomes a habit, slowly build in everything else.

Want to learn more tips to heal hormonal imbalances? Check out this post!

Want to learn more about progesterone and other pregnacy hormones? Check out this post!