Why Many Women Have Low Progesterone
When we think about women’s hormones, most of us think about oestrogen. However, progesterone is just as prominent and important as oestrogen. Progesterone is often the forgotten about hormone- but it is fundamental for healthy periods and your overall health.
Progesterone's main role is to hold and nourish a pregnancy.
That is how it got its name Pro-Gestation.
However, Progesterone is not just important for pregnancy and fertility it also plays a role in:
Healthy and regular periods and cycles
Lightening your period
Calming the nervous system
Reducing inflammation and regulating the immune system
Stimulating muscle growth
Promoting sleep
Preventing osteoporosis, heart disease and breast cancer.
Progesterone counterbalances Oestrogen.
When Oestrogen is high Progesterone is low and vice versa.
For example:
Progesterone thins your uterine lining- Oestrogen thickens it
Progesterone boost your thyroid hormones - Oestrogen suppresses them
The MAIN way that we make Progesterone is with ovulation.
If we are not ovulating, sadly we may miss out on all the benefits of progesterone because our bodies don’t make it.
Those who are on the oral contraceptive pill, have PCOS, a missing period , or have anovulatory cycles will not be ovulating regularly.
You can identify if you are ovulating by tracking your basal body temperature. Read how here.
Even if we are ovulating, there is a high chance that you could have low levels of Progesterone.
As well as healthy ovulation, we need a healthy luteal phase to optimise Progesterone production. The luteal phase is the 2 weeks after ovulation (approximately 10-14 days between ovulation and your period). After ovulation, Progesterone prepares the uterus for an egg to be fertilised. If there is no fertilised egg your Progesterone levels drop which is what stimulates menstruation to begin. If there is a fertilised egg, Progesterone helps to maintain the uterine lining throughout the pregnancy.
Signs and symptoms of low progesterone:
Spotting in the luteal phase (premenstrual spotting)
Irregular cycles
A short or no luteal phase (there should be at least 11 days between ovulation and your period)
Fertile mucus in the luteal phase (progesterone dries up fertile mucus)
Acne breakouts
Poor sleep
Miscarriages
Troubles falling pregnant
Mood changes - anxiety, low mood, irritability.
Reasons why you may be low in progesterone:
High stress: Our stress hormone, cortisol, is produced via the same pathway as progesterone. When we are under stress (good or bad stress) our body needs more cortisol to cope. More cortisol production comes at the expense of less progesterone production.
High Oestrogen: Having too much oestrogen causes an imbalance of hormones between progesterone and Oestrogen. Oestrogen should be the dominant hormone in the first half of the menstrual cycle and progesterone should be dominant in the second half of the cycle (luteal phase). They become imbalanced when one becomes dominant throughout the whole cycle. High oestrogen in the luteal phase is what can drive PCOS. It can also contribute to:
Weight Gain
PMS
Irregular cycles
Heavy and painful periods
Mood swings
Breast tenderness
Sleep issues
Low Cholesterol: Our bodies need cholesterol to produce progesterone! Read more about cholesterol and hormones here
Low thyroid function: Our thyroid is involved in hormone production.
There are many ways we can tackle low progesterone. The best way to identify if you are lacking progesterone and ovulation is by tracking your basal body temperature.
You then need to find out why you are not ovulating, is it because you are not eating enough? PCOS, hormonal imbalance, high stress, thyroid dysfunction, nutrient deficiencies? There are many factors that can interfere with our hormones, and getting to the root cause is fundamental to optimise your health.
If you would like guidance to find your root cause and to reach your health goals I would love to chat.
