Progesterone is a female sex hormone that is very important in maintaining the menstrual cycle and especially in preparing a woman for pregnancy. If there is concern about the side effects of hormone replacement therapy in cases where progesterone deficiency is diagnosed, natural measures to increase progesterone should be considered. Let’s find out the foods that increase progesterone in this article!
Contents
The importance of progesterone
Progesterone is a hormone found in both men and women. It plays a more important role for women, as it is associated with menopause, pregnancy, and overall health. Increasing progesterone levels will greatly help women who want to become pregnant. Low progesterone levels can cause:
- Infertility or miscarriage
- Uterine bleeding, irregular periods, or menorrhagia
- Reduced sex drive
- Weight gain
Doctors may prescribe different forms of progesterone. Synthetic forms, also known as progestins, are also associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. If you are concerned about the side effects of hormone therapy, you can look to natural ways to increase progesterone, with the benefits, risks, and more outlined below.
Where can you buy natural progesterone?
If you are looking for natural progesterone, you can buy products made from soybeans or yams from the variety Dioscorea villosa (Wild Yam). When extracted from these sources, progesterone is considered biocompatible, or chemically similar to the type of progesterone that the female body makes. The regular yams you see at the market won’t offer the same benefits.
Natural progesterone pills are also available. However, the kidneys break down progesterone very quickly, making it less absorbed into the bloodstream. A woman will have to take more progesterone than the cream to achieve the same effect. You can also use progesterone suppositories by inserting them into the vagina. The implant is thought to improve the health of the tissue inside the uterus and improve the odds of a successful pregnancy.
Foods that contain natural progesterone
Certain foods can help stimulate the body’s production of progesterone. Consists of:
- Bean
- Broccoli
- Brussels cabbage
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Kale
- Nuts
- Pumpkin
- Spinach
- Grains
Certain foods have also been linked to reduced levels of estrogen in the body, which can increase the ratio of progesterone to estrogen. Consists of:
- Banana
- Cabbage
- Shellfish
- Walnut
Including these foods in your meals can help boost natural progesterone levels.
Other ways to boost natural progesterone levels
In addition to considering using natural progesterone treatments, there are other ways that women can increase the amount of natural progesterone in their bodies, including:
Maintain a healthy body weight: Excess weight causes a woman’s body to produce more estrogen. This creates an imbalance in the levels of the hormone progesterone. Maintaining a healthy weight doesn’t mean a woman’s body will make more progesterone, but rather helps balance hormone levels.
Reduce stress: Being under stress triggers the production of stress hormones and can cause the kidneys to convert hormones like progesterone into cortisol. Some examples of ways to reduce stress include meditating, journaling, reading, listening to music, or engaging in other relaxing and enjoyable activities.
Avoid excessive exercise: Physical activity goes hand in hand with reducing stress levels and maintaining a healthy weight. However, excessive exercise can have the opposite effect. That can cause the body to produce more of the stress hormone than progesterone.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of natural progesterone?
Benefits
The benefits of using progesterone include:
- Protects the endometrium (the lining of the uterus)
- Prevent uterine cancer
- Maintains levels of HDL cholesterol (also known as good cholesterol)
- Relieves symptoms associated with menopause, like mood swings
- Reduces adverse side effects of synthetic hormones
Side effects
With natural progesterone, you may notice some changes and symptoms such as breast tenderness, headaches, and depression. But these symptoms are more often caused by synthetic progesterone. If you experience these symptoms, they usually go away as you continue to take natural progesterone.
Be sure to do patch testing with topical creams before applying them all over your body. To test for ringworm, put a little cream inside your wrist and wait 24 hours to see if you have an allergic reaction such as itching, redness, or swelling.
Using natural progesterone may be a way for some women to increase their progesterone levels without experiencing the unwanted side effects of synthetic hormones. Many women are interested in increasing their progesterone levels to help increase fertility and reduce menopausal symptoms.
Final thought
But there is little data available on natural progesterone. Supplements are not monitored or regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for quality or dosage as are other over-the-counter products. For this reason, it is important that you consult a specialist before starting to use natural progesterone supplements.
Your doctor will be able to recommend additional treatments and review your medications to make sure you can safely use natural progesterone.
Top News hopes this article can help you learn more about foods that increase progesterone and wishes your health is always good!
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