As Women we have a lot to deal with, and at certain times of the month, our perspective on reality can be quite distorted! After you are done with the ups and downs of monthly cycles it can be a smooth or rather ‘hot ride’ for the next few years while your reproductive years, and for some, filled of pain and misery, just fade away into a distant memory.
This month I am going to be discussing hormones and when we think of Hormones, usually the major players usually come to mind like Oestrogen for a Woman and Testosterone for a Male.
My topic today is Progesterone and how this hormone interplays with us as Women and how it is very easy to be low in this hormone, way before you even know it.
So, all hormones never really act alone and Progesterone is part of a hormone web that ebbs and flows depending on our daily and monthly cycles of nature that is a part of being a Woman.
Hormones are so powerful and the result of their imbalances are so far reaching through the body anywhere from physical changes to the way we feel and even digest.
What’s the big deal about Progesterone and what does it do for us Women?
It is quite an incredible hormone and sooo important to the making of babies that it actually accompanies the release of the egg during the monthly cycle to make sure the uterus an awesome spot for a that fertilised egg to begin to grow. This is where it got its name from, if we think of ‘Pro-Gestation”
There are also many other benefits of Progesterone too.
- You get better sleep, as Progesterone goes on to make, what is called, allopregnanolone or (ALLO) for short. That’s a neuro (brain) steroid that interacts directly with GABA receptors in the brain. You may have heard about GABA being used to calm the mind, so this is how Progesterone helps reduce anxiety.
- Progesterone also increases an enzyme, DAO, which is responsible to process histamines so anxiety associated with histamine intolerance is minimised, along with the other numerous symptoms that histamine produce, of which the most common is itchy skin with redness, hives, eczema etc.
- It raises the basal body temperature – so that is the temperature that you are at rest. This is why you know it is the right time to have a good time if you know what I mean, and if, of course, you are wanting to make babies, (as well as having a good time) lucky it also increases sex drive for that time too.
- It also boosts energy by stimulating the thyroid and heating up metabolism as there evidence suggests that progesterone has a positive effect directly on the thyroid cells.
- Progesterone nourishes your hair so it grows faster and results in clear skin with less oil secretion as it reduces the male hormones called androgens.
- Periods are not so heavy as Progesterone counteracts estrogen’s stimulation of the uterine lining.
- Builds bones and muscle by stimulating osteoblasts (bone-building cells) and the growth of new muscle and relaxes the body’s muscles – especially in the lungs and uterus.
So, that’s all the good things that Progesterone do, we want to keep it right?
Before you consider randomly taking some nutrients or herbs, it is always best to check where you are at. Always a full blood panel of various systems is always best to give a clearer understanding of what is happening in the body, everything is connected to everything and there is not one condition in the body that is not an isolated case when it comes to hormones.
Progesterone is best tested with blood, and on close to day 21 as possible.
Another way to do it is through a dried urine test, it sounds yucky, but really is easier than coming up with saliva at the perfect time. Saliva is also another way to test. Both the Urine and Saliva Progesterone tests are normally included with an array of other hormones. It is the relationship of hormones that too have a lot to say with how a hormone is acting out.
Find out in my next blog “The Most Common Reasons Women Have Low Progesterone & Why That’s a Big Problem.”
If you’d like to know more about this or other topics, you are welcome to join my free membership on face book. Thyroid, Metabolic, Hormone Harmony Hub.
I’d love to see you there
Inspiring Wellness
Beth