Progesterone Basics
When many of us learn about progesterone it's usually because we’ve started an oral contraceptive...
But what is it and why do we need it?
Low levels of progesterone can cause weight gain, irregular periods, anxiety, infertility, even spontaneous miscarriages. Progesterone is a powerhouse in women's health. When it’s balanced, it’s been known to protect against breast cancer, reduce period cramping, even stabilize mood swings and PMS. Progesterone works with estrogen to not only boost fertility but maintain a viable pregnancy as well.
Progesterone is essential for maintaining a healthy immune system as well as regulating estrogen and is known for…
• Being one of the main pregnancy hormones, in deficient states this can cause infertility
• Opposing or helping “police” estrogen so it controls endometrial proliferation
• Helping maintain gut wall integrity
• Protecting endometrium with both progestins and bioidentical progesterone
Before we go any further, let's differentiate between progestin and progesterone! You’ll hear me reference progesterone a lot so this is important to know…
Progestin is the synthetic form of progesterone and bio-identical progesterone mimics our body's natural progesterone.
However, progestin is typically used in birth control and has negative side effects including: increased risk of blood clots, bloating, acne, excess facial hair growth, and increased risk of breast cancer, especially when combined with estrogen replacement therapy in menopause.
On the other hand, progesterone is cancer protective, can reduce bloating and acne, can improve hair loss, sleep, fertility and mood!
So now that you know about the basics of progesterone and the important role it plays in your health, what can you do to help boost your progesterone levels?
Add in a variety of organic nuts into your diet for the mineral content
Eat dark chocolate of at least 75%, avoid milk chocolate or white chocolate
Reduce your stress
Refrain from over exercising
Eat good clean cholesterol, low fat diets could be contributing to low functioning hormones!
The truth is, we’re just scratching the surface of this powerhouse hormone — if you’re ready to learn more and make positive change in your body (and mind), then join me in my Hormone Potential Foundations course where I’ll deep dive into how you can harness the power of hormones to achieve optimal health.
