True to their identity as the female sex hormones, estrogen and progesterone play vital roles in all aspects of fertility. In the menstrual cycle, estrogen and progesterone naturally rise and fall as part of a healthy 28-day (or so) process. Estrogen kicks things off by beginning its rise right after your period ends; it’s followed by progesterone which reigns during the second half of your cycle, with both plummeting during the menstrual phase.
Progesterone’s timing is key to the process of getting pregnant, among other things. “Progesterone helps support implantation for pregnancy, balance mood, build strong bones, and help cognitive function,” says Dr. Amy Beckley, PhD and founder and CEO of Proov. A spike in progesterone confirms you have successfully ovulated (not ovulating is the most common cause of female infertility), while low progesterone levels may indicate that something else is at play, like PCOS, hypothyroidism, or perimenopause.
If you do get pregnant, progesterone becomes the main character. It does this first by making sure the uterine lining can accept an embryo and then its levels continue to rise steadily throughout the 40 or so weeks as it works to support a healthy pregnancy.
Progesterone is also important because it can make you feel relaxed. Whether or not it's needed to support a pregnancy, progesterone metabolizes into something called allopregnanolone, which increases GABA function. This has a feel-good, calming effect on the body and can promote sleepiness and a general sense of well-being. (Though, in women with PMS And PMDD, or premenstrual dysphoric disorder, allopregnanolone has the opposite effect and has been linked to depression and anxiety.)
Maintaining the Progesterone Balancing Act
The first step to maintaining any hormone balance is adopting the main tenets of a healthy lifestyle – improving your diet, incorporating movement into your day, and reducing stress. But there are some specific things that you can do just for your progesterone:
Eat Your B6, folate, and zinc: These three nutrients are particularly good at boosting progesterone levels. While there is some overlap, each has its own places to shine. For B6, try tuna, salmon, chickpeas, chicken, certain fruits (like bananas, oranges, and papaya), as well as dark leafy greens. Folate can also be found in leafy greens as well as beets, citrus fruits, legumes, asparagus, eggs, and nuts (particularly flax seeds and walnuts). For zinc, look to red meat or shellfish, legumes, nuts (think almonds, pine nuts, and cashews), and seeds (like pumpkin, hemp, and sesame).
Skip the intermittent fasting trend: This diet may be all the rage, but emerging studies show that regularly restricting calories can negatively affect levels of progesterone in premenopausal women. While more research needs to be done on women in this age group, early indications are enough to raise concern that intermittent fasting is not friendly to fertility hormones, including progesterone.
Add magnesium to your regimen: Supplementing with magnesium has also been shown to help regulate ovulation and produce progesterone. The easiest way to get more magnesium is through your diet (leafy greens, fatty fish like salmon and halibut, dark chocolate, and nuts like brazil nuts, almonds, and cashews) or taking a supplement. But another way you can add magnesium to your routine is regularly bathing in Epsom salts.
Look to progesterone pills to help you find balance: If progesterone is at the root of your PMS issues, think about giving your body’s natural production a little support with a supplement like Veracity’s Vital Progesterone Boost, which helps to regulate your monthly cycle. If the problem stems from excess estrogen, a supplement like Veracity’s Vital Estrogen + Progesterone Balance can help your body detox estrogen to bring the ratio of the two fertility hormones back to a happier state.