Certain vitamins like vitamin B6, vitamin D, vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin B12 helps to support healthy progesterone levels in the body. Vitamins play an important role in hormone production and are needed to make enough progesterone. Nutrient deficiencies can be a reason behind low progesterone levels. Including certain foods and sometimes vitamin supplements can help to raise progesterone.
All the hormones in the body are connected and when one is too high or too low, this will impact all other hormones. Stress and sex hormones are a family of hormones called steriod hormones, meaning they are built from cholesterol. Other hormones are proteins built from peptide chains (chains of amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein). These hormone balancing foods provide essential nutrients for healthy hormone production and metabolism. Here are 20 hormone balancing foods.
Progesterone is a sex hormone released from the ovaries that is vital for conceiving and maintaining a healthy pregnancy. The hormone can be broken down as ‘pro’ meaning to promote and ‘gesterone’ meaning gestation or pregnancy. It is released from the corpus luteum which is the remains of the ovarian follicle which releases the ovum or egg. Progesterone has 2 different paths each month depending on fertilization and ovulation. If your ovulated egg is fertilized, then progesterone rises after ovulation to help thicken the uterine lining for pregnancy. If your egg does not become fertilized after ovulation, then progesterone peaks and then declines, because you do not need to prepare for pregnancy. The uterine lining will shed and become a period. Progesterone is also involved in breast development and breastfeeding. Problems can arise when progesterone levels are too low regardless if you are attempting to conceive. Certain foods contain nutrients to help increase progesterone in the body.
Seed cycling is a food-based approach for supporting healthy hormones. It is the concept of alternating seeds during the first half and second half of your menstrual cycle to support your hormones throughout your cycle. The idea is that seeds contain a lot of phytoestrogens and healthy fats which have been shown to balance out hormones. Phytoestrogens are components that have structures similar to estrogen, thereby having a weak estrogenic effect in the body. Additionally, the seeds contain other essential nutrients in them that aid in hormone regulation. There is no specific evidence available yet on the concept of seed cycling as a whole, but there is evidence for specific seeds and their benefits. Anecdotal evidence supports the use of seed cycling to encourage menstrual regularity, easing period pain, in addition to other nutrition and lifestyle shifts to support hormones and your individual hormonal story.
To get estrogen back to normal we need to make sure that we are detoxing estrogen. Estrogen can recirculate in the body if this detoxification process is not working which can cause symptoms like cramps, breast tenderness, insomnia, low sex drive, irritability, and migraines. The goal with supporting detoxification is to include nutrients required for this process to run optimally and to provide inflammation support.
Low levels of estrogen occur after menopause, but low levels can also emerge during perimenopause (the stages leading up to menopause). Symptoms of low estrogen include night sweats, sleep issues, achy joints, bone loss, anxiety or depression, vaginal dryness, low libido, and painful sex. Estrogen and progesterone work on a balance, where a high level of one will cause a low level of the other. Here are the 3 patterns: high estrogen and normal progesterone, high estrogen and low progesterone, normal estrogen, and low progesterone. There are foods to raise estrogen that have components to facilitate the increased production of estrogen when levels are low.
Testosterone is an androgen hormone produced in the ovaries and the adrenal glands. Androgen hormones are identified as hormones we typically associate with males, though females produce them too but just in smaller amounts. Just like the other female reproductive hormones, testosterone aids in the menstrual cycle, bone health, mood, libido, and breast development. Of course, these are all functions of testosterone when it is at optimal production. As females, we need a moderate production of testosterone, anything too high or too low can cause dysfunctions in our body because all hormones work together and if one is imbalanced, this can cause imbalances on the rest to compensate. Specifically, if your testosterone is too low you can experience symptoms like fatigue, difficulty building muscle, low libido, and depression. Let's discuss some supplements for low testosterone, so you can better regulate your hormones. These supplements can be beneficial for supporting healthy testosterone levels in women.
As a member of the rose family, raspberry leaf is native to Europe and Northern Asia. In the United States, it is mostly known as a delicious and nutritious fruit that we love to eat in the summer months, but it has been used for many years in Chinese medicine as an herbal remedy. Specifically, raspberry leaf tea benefits hormones.
