5 Key Vitamins to Increase Progesterone
Progesterone is the hormone released in the second half of your menstrual cycle after ovulation. The corpus luteum is the sac that remains once you ovulate and turns into a hormone-secreting gland during the luteal phase and will release progesterone during this time.
It’s essential to maintain balanced progesterone levels to have a stable mood, regular menstrual cycles, optimal fertility, and minimal PMS symptoms.
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Progesterone:
makes the uterine lining sticky for egg implantation
protects the uterine lining
has anti-anxiety benefits due to it’s relationship with releaseing GABA – our natural relaxation mood chemical
has muscle relaxation effects (which may also be why if you ARE ovulating you could experience some constipation around ovulation because it’s slowing things down)
balances out estrogen levels
Signs and symptoms of low progesterone include:
PMS
cramps
painful periods
heavy periods
cyclical headaches / migraines
irritability
anxiety
poor sleep
breast tenderness
bloating
ovarian cysts
irregular periods
infertility
1st trimester miscarriage
LEARN EXACTLY HOW TO SUPPORT HEALTHY PROGESTERONE LEVELS NATURALLY IN LESS THAN 1 HOUR!
What can cause low progesterone levels?
Stress: Having too much cortisol (our stress hormone) circulating will offset hormone production. In a state of stress, your body does not prioritize hormone function and fertility.
Overexercising: This is another form of stress on the body because when you push yourself too far, you won’t have time to recover, and exercising is a form of stress. Signs you are overexercising are if you exercise too hard per session, too often during the week, or if you give yourself little to no recovery time in between workouts.
Lack of ovulation: If you do not ovulate, the egg will not be released from the corpus luteum, and progesterone will not be produced.
Not eating enough fat: Some of the vitamins for hormone building are fat-soluble, meaning that the vitamins need to be consumed with a fat source to be absorbed in the body.
Nutrient deficiencies: Nutrients are the building blocks of hormones. If there aren’t enough nutrients, then we won’t be able to build hormones like progesterone.
You may be wondering: “which vitamins can help to increase progesterone levels?”
Luckily, there are certain vitamins to support healthy progesterone levels.
This important question we need to be asking is: why is my progesterone low in the first place?
This is taking a root cause approach when it comes to understanding our health and hormones. When we answer this question, we are understanding what is driving the imbalance (which is showing up as symptoms in the body).
By addressing the root cause, not simply just the symptom (or the hormone imbalance for that matter), we can find long-term, sustained healing.
I’m here to help you have better periods, symptomless cycles, and optimize fertility (whether that’s now or in the future) all through simple nutrition and lifestyle shifts that feel simple, doable, and empowering (not overwhelming).
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As always, I’m giving away my best hormone tips here, answering your burning questions, and letting you in on the what the science says.
This is the kind of insider info I share with all of my 1:1 coaching clients and students in my signature course, Heal Your Period.
I’m so passionate about sharing this info with anyone on a hormone healing journey, so I’m letting you in with all the info here!
So, let’s dive in into it!
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Are there vitamins that can increase progesterone?
Here are 5 vitamins to help increase progesterone levels:
*Consult with your healthcare provider before beginning any supplements and focus on incorporating food sources!
1. Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 is one of the important water-soluble vitamins to increase progesterone levels. B6 is also a powerful vitamin for cognitive development, gluconeogenesis, lipid metabolism, and protein metabolism. A study pooled a group of women who reported having premenstrual tension syndrome had originally higher estrogen and lower progesterone levels to start the study. After supplementation of 200-800mg of vitamin B6 per day, results showed that the women had decreased their estrogen blood levels and increased their progesterone levels. Food sources of vitamin B6 include pinto beans, bananas, potatoes, oats, tuna, turkey, pistachios, and salmon.
2. Vitamin D
Vitamin D is another one of the fat-soluble vitamins to increase progesterone because it can improve menstrual regularity. Irregular periods often occur in women with low progesterone because they are not ovulating every month. These women may experience a menstrual cycle every few months, or maybe their cycle is more than 35 total days. Luckily, vitamin D is the only vitamin that acts as a hormone in the body and can help regulate menstrual regularity, increasing ovulation and progesterone levels. Vitamin D is most bioavailable when you get it from sun exposure, but certain animal products like salmon, tuna, cod liver oil, and milk.
Source: 30423869
3. Vitamin C
Vitamin C is one of the water-soluble vitamins to increase progesterone naturally. This vitamin also has many other beneficial functions like improving immune function, creating scars for wound healing and maintaining tissue and skin integrity. A study found that vitamin C supplementation was associated with higher progesterone levels in perimenopausal women. This is significant because perimenopausal women usually have lower levels of progesterone naturally. Food sources of vitamin C include citrus fruits, cantaloupe, kiwi, strawberries, broccoli, sweet potato, and red pepper.
Source: 26581679
4. Vitamin E
Vitamin E is another one of the fat-soluble vitamins to increase progesterone because it has antioxidant properties and estrogen detoxification properties. Thus, vitamin E helps to clear excess estrogen in the body which will cause progesterone levels to rise and become stable. In addition, research has found that vitamin E is uptaken by the corpus luteum, which is the sac that holds the egg and eventually releases progesterone. Food sources of vitamin E include wheat germ oil and nuts and seeds like almonds, pumpkins seeds, and sunflower seeds .
5. Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is one of America’s most common deficiencies with about 50% of the population being deficient. Similar to B6, B12 has many functions in numerous metabolic reactions in the body. B12 can also regulate hormone levels and the internal stress response. Vitamin B12 influences the clearance of homocysteine in the blood. Homocysteine is an amino acid produced when proteins are broken down, but at elevated levels, it is called hyperhomocysteinemia which is damaging. These high levels are not good for the body because it can degrade the arterial lining, and increase stress levels. Increased stress levels have a negative effect on hormone balance, including progesterone. Due to this, vitamin B12 is one of the vitamins to increase progesterone. Food sources of B12 include oysters, clams, beef, turkey, eggs, and dairy.
Source: 28545069
*NEW*
LOW PROGESTERONE TOOLKIT
Key Nutrition & Lifestyle Foundations for Supporting Healthy Ovulation & Increasing Progesterone Naturally
FINAL THOUGHTS
There are several vitamins that may help increase progesterone levels.
While we chatted through lots of different options, remember that every body is unique and it’s about determine what works best for your body.
Remember: simple shifts build to make a big impact over time!
Healthy progesterone levels are possible for you.
-Krista
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KRISTA KING, MS, RDN, LDN, IFNCP
If you’re looking for individualized support for period problems, PCOS, endometriosis, stopping birth control, and/or fertility I’m your person! I have select spaces each month for:
Krista is an integrative dietitian helping you have regular, pain-free periods, symptomless cycles, and optimal fertility! Together we cover: nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress management, cycle tracking, supplements, navigating doctor appointments, and lab testing.
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