Searching for the best foods that boost progesterone? You’re in the right place.
Personally, I’ve gone through my own hormonal journey. After years of severe chronic stress, always a high-energy Type-A woman, I could barely function. If you can relate, stay with me.
Ultimately, I knew I had to do something. As such, I’ve been working hard to improve my mental and physical health for more than a year. One area that I’ve had to focus on relates to multiple hormonal imbalances.
Today, we’re diving into hormonal imbalances related to low progesterone. We’ll discuss our cycles, moods, progesterone, and estrogen dominance, and then foods to boost progesterone and other ways to improve your hormone balance.
It’s time to get your life back, Friend. Let’s do this.
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What are Hormones?
We hear about hormones all the time, and yet, many of us really don’t know what they are.
So, what are hormones?
Hormones such as
- Estrogen,
- Progesterone,
- Thyroid hormones,
- Cortisol,
- Insulin
influence the body in the areas of:
- growth,
- metabolism,
- sexual development,
- reproduction,
- and mood.
Hormones are a vital component of the endocrine system along with glands and trillions of cell receptors throughout the body.
Glands, such as the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland, produce hormones that are released into the bloodstream and then picked up by cell receptors to cause the specific changes mentioned above.
What is Progesterone?
Progesterone is primarily known as a female sex hormone.
However, this hormone, often called the “relaxation hormone,” is found in both men and women.
In females, progesterone production occurs in the adrenal glands and the ovaries. It works with estrogen to regulate the menstrual cycle.
Additionally, progesterone plays a key role in the maintenance of pregnancy.
Let’s Talk About Our Periods
Since most women of our generation were not taught well, let’s do a quick review of our hormones as they relate to our monthly cycle.
It’s time to talk about our periods, Friend.
Follicular Phase
The follicular phase starts on day 1 of your period.
At the beginning of the follicular phase, both progesterone and estrogen levels are low. As a result, the uterine lining breaks down and is shed in the form of a period.
Soon after, the hypothalamus (within the brain) sends a message to the pituitary gland to release follicle-stimulating hormones (FSH) to your ovaries.
This FSH promotes the growth of follicles in the ovaries. The follicles each contain an egg and produce estrogen.
Eventually, one follicle starts to outgrow the others and becomes the predominant follicle. That follicle produces more and more estrogen which can be seen as high estrogen levels in the blood.
Around day 13, the brain prompts a surge of luteinizing hormone (LH).
Luteal Phase
The second half of your menstrual cycle is called the luteal phase.
This second phase generally begins around day 14 about 36 hours after the LH surge.
At this point, the high levels of LH prompt a dominant follicle to burst out of the ovary, leaving the follicle empty within the uterus (ovulation).
Now that the follicle is empty, it closes back up and forms what’s called the corpus luteum.
The corpus luteum then prompts the production of progesterone and estrogen to further thicken the uterine lining to support a healthy pregnancy.
Roughly nine to eleven days after ovulation, if there’s no fertilized egg, pregnancy doesn’t occur and the corpus luteum closes up.
Estrogen and progesterone drop and the uterine lining sheds in the form of a period.
Menstrual Cycle Video Tutorial
Dr. Paulien Moyaert created this excellent video reviewing the menstrual cycle in an easily digestible way. I highly recommend every woman, teen, and preteen girl watch it.
What are the Signs of Low Progesterone?
Now that we have a basic understanding of how our hormone levels naturally fluctuate throughout our cycle, let’s move on to hormone imbalance related to progesterone.
While many women know that low progesterone is highly related to challenges with infertility, we haven’t been educated about the other ways that low progesterone impacts our health.
Some other symptoms of low progesterone can include:
- Weight gain
- PMS symptoms (or PMDD)
- Poor sleep
- Low sex drive
- Hot flashes
- Migraines
- Mood swings
- (Oh, the torture!!)
- Sagging skin
- (due to decreasing collagen production)
- Anxiety
- Irregular or absent periods
- Estrogen dominance
While these are all symptoms of low progesterone, it’s important to remember that the body is a complex system. This means that almost every biological process in the body is related to other processes.
As such, many of these symptoms can be related to other root issues.
So, in the end, get your hormone levels checked by a functional medicine doctor or an OBGYN who is highly trained in properly assessing blood hormone levels.
Causes of Low Progesterone
It’s important to understand that the menstrual cycle (and the coinciding hormone fluctuations) begin to occur at the onset of puberty.
If you remember from science class, women are born with a finite number of eggs.
Over time, our bodies’ egg supply dwindles. As such, eventually, we’ll have more anovulatory cycles (cycles without releasing an egg).
When this happens, hormone production fluctuates and this can lead to irregular periods, hormone imbalances, and other menopausal symptoms.
For ladies in their 40s like me, we’re getting really close to or may already be in perimenopause (the ten years leading up to menopause). Interestingly, perimenopause causes the difficult symptoms related to these hormone changes and NOT menopause.
In the end, menopause is simply the day you go one year without a period.
Estrogen Dominance and Progesterone
As healthy women, we will always have less progesterone than estrogen. Estrogen is an amazing hormone that makes a woman a woman.
Estrogen is essential for women’s health and is a critical hormone.
- supports neurotransmitters such as serotonin
- helps us maintain and build lean muscle mass
- increases collagen production for our skin
Unfortunately, when estrogen levels become too high compared to levels of progesterone, we can run into trouble.
Estrogen dominance occurs when we have high levels of estrogen without enough progesterone to keep it in check. When the ratio of estrogen to progesterone is off, women start experiencing some toxic effects of estrogen dominance.
Stress & Hormones: All Connected
Further, another potential root cause of low progesterone is related to levels of thyroid hormone and heightened stress levels.
Chronic stress impacts the female body in so many ways triggering the production of stress hormones such as norepinephrine and cortisol.
High cortisol levels and stress look nearly identical to those of low progesterone which tells us that it’s all connected.
The good part about that is by supporting your progesterone production, you’ll be supporting all areas of hormonal functioning.
Benefits of Increasing Progesterone Levels
If you’re low in progesterone, achieving higher progesterone levels can improve your overall health in so many ways.
Improving progesterone levels can support:
- Improved mood
- Decreased anxiety
- Stress resiliency
- Improve healthy cholesterol levels
- Greatly improve sleep
- My best sleep in years!!!
- Improves memory and general brain function
- Increases insulin sensitivity
- Relaxes blood vessels which improves blood pressure
- Emotional and physical relaxation
Progesterone isn’t called the “relaxation hormone” for nothing. Trust me. I know this now.
How to Boost Progesterone Levels
If you relate to these miserable symptoms associated with progesterone deficiency, and your hormone levels indicate low levels of progesterone, there’s really good news.
You can boost progesterone naturally in a number of ways including enhancing your diet with foods that produce progesterone.
So, let’s get to it.
9 Foods That Boost Progesterone
The following foods and supplements are believed to support progesterone production.
When it comes down to it though, there are some macro and micronutrients to look for when trying to increase progesterone.
- Fiber
- Healthy fats
- Vitamin C
- Zinc
- Vitamin B 6
- Protein
- Magnesium
Also, to state the obvious, most of these will support overall health and other hormones as well. As always, speaking with a nutritionally-informed health professional is highly recommended.
1. Fish
Fish is an excellent source of essential fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids support optimal hormone function and production.
Some fish you may want to add to your diet include:
- Salmon
- (be aware of mercury levels)
- Mackerel
- Anchovies
- Sardines
The extra health bonus is that salmon and sardines contain high levels of Vitamin D3, an essential prohormone.
Additionally, if you’re concerned about mercury levels, choose smaller fish like sardines or use high-quality fish oil.
2. Nuts
Nuts like almonds, cashews, and walnuts are full of healthy progesterone-boosting fats and fiber.
- Micronutrients included in nuts:
- Vitamin E
- Biotin
- Magnesium
Even better, nuts are easy and portable snacks.
3. Seeds
Seeds (not seed oils) are a high source of fiber, healthy fats, magnesium, and zinc which all support healthy hormone levels.
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Flax seeds
- (Grind up whole flax seeds with the outer husk to obtain the Omega-3 fatty acids)
In the end, seeds are good sources of good fat, fiber, and minerals.
4. Avocado
Avocados are an amazing superfood and I’m so glad they’re excellent sources of healthy fats and fiber. Further, avocadoes are a good source of magnesium.
And each nutrient is critical for hormonal balance and supports the production of progesterone.
Adding guacamole to my daily salads has been a great way to add in this progesterone-supportive food!
5. Cruciferous Veggies
When consumed, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage mix with stomach acid to produce a compound called DIM, or diindolylmethane. (Let’s stick with DIM, ok?)
DIM works to remove excess estrogen from the body and, thus, improve the ratio of progesterone to estrogen.
In the end, it’s the ratio of estrogen to the progesterone that is important in reducing the signs and symptoms of low progesterone and estrogen dominance.
- broccoli
- cauliflower
- cabbage
- Brussel sprouts
- leafy greens such as kale
Additionally, cruciferous veggies are great sources of prebiotic fiber which supports a healthy gut microbiome.
6. Lean Meats
Lean meat such as chicken and turkey are great sources of complete protein.
A complete protein contains all 9 amino acids and protein plays an important role in boosting neurotransmitters like dopamine as well as hormone synthesis.
Additionally, when our hormone levels are off, weight gain is one of the tough side effects.
Unfortunately, lean muscle mass declines as we age due to the changes in estrogen and progesterone. One of the best ways to improve body composition and drop unhealthy body fat is by increasing lean protein.
Increase Protein and Lose Fat
A recent study found that over a 12-week period, women who increased their protein intake (without adding any exercise or cutting calories) increased their lean muscle mass and dropped body fat.
Short on time?
Add a scoop of clean whey protein isolates to your morning coffee on your way out the door.
(That’s what I’ve been doing.)
7. Vegetarian Sources of Protein
Vegetarian sources of protein will not provide all nine amino acids but can be combined with other foods to create a whole protein source.
Some high-protein vegetarian foods include:
- oats
- black beans
- lentils
- nuts
- broccoli
- spinach
Additionally, if you include them in your vegetarian diet, eggs and dairy products like greek yogurt are excellent sources of protein.
8. Chocolate Isn’t Just for PMS
Here’s where it gets even sweeter. Dark chocolate is full of hormone-supporting magnesium as well as iron.
To optimize the nutritional benefits, when choosing dark chocolate, the higher the cocoa content, the better.
9. Citrus Fruits
Citrus fruits are high in Vitamin C which is a powerful antioxidant. Vitamin C is truly a powerful weapon to support hormone balance and overall health.
- Reduces inflammation throughout the cells of the body
Vitamin C-rich foods include oranges, apples, pineapple, kiwi, cherries, and other citrus fruits.
10. Healthy Fats
Healthy fats are essential for overall health and support multiple systems in the body.
- Reduction in heart disease rates
- Improved blood pressure
- Reduces insulin resistance
- Thus, improving blood sugar levels and reducing the risk of diabetes.
- Improves inflammation
- This supports cognition and joint health to name a few.
Most importantly for our purposes, healthy fats support the production of progesterone as some of the foundational building blocks of hormone production.
Healthy fats include saturated (coconut oil and butter), unsaturated (olive oil), and polyunsaturated fats (fish oil).
Progesterone in Men? Fun Fact
As mentioned earlier, progesterone, like estrogen, and testosterone, is found in both men and women.
In a 2021 study, doctors added SUPPLEMENTAL PROGESTERONE IN MEN with low blood oxygen levels related to a severe virus.
Men who received 100 mg of supplemental progesterone (twice daily) in addition to the standard of care saw reductions in hospital stay duration and the need for supplemental oxygen.
| Progesterone? | No | Yes | Net Reduction |
| Days of Supplemental Oxygen | 7.5 days | 4.5 days | 3 days |
| Days in Hospital | 9.5 days | 7.5 days | 2.5 days |
Bottom Line:
Men hospitalized with viral-related hypoxia who were given progesterone supplementation in addition to the standard of care ended up staying in the hospital 2.5 days less and needed supplemental oxygen 3 fewer days than those without progesterone.
Progesterone has powerful anti-inflammatory properties for health.
5 Natural Ways to Boost Progesterone
Sometimes natural progesterone supplements are needed to support progesterone production. Some of the best progesterone natural supports include:
1. Chaste Tree Berry (Vitex)
According to Dr. Sara Gotfried, chaste berry increases progesterone by increasing the amount of LH hormone released by the pituitary.
She recommends between 500-1000 mg/day
2. B6
Taking a quality B-Complex made up of multiple B vitamins is a good supplement for a number of health reasons.
Specifically, research suggests that Vitamin B6 increases progesterone levels and thus, supports pregnancy and miserable PMS symptoms.
The recommended dose of B6: 200 mg to 800 mg per day
3. Magnesium
With nearly half of the Western population low in this essential mineral, Dr. Mark Hyman and Dr. Thomas Levy recommend magnesium supplementation for virtually anyone.
As we’ve discussed earlier, magnesium is a great mineral to boost progesterone levels by supporting the pituitary gland.
Additionally, it supports mitochondrial function and steroid hormones like progesterone are made of mitochondria.
4. Natural Progesterone
There are a couple of natural progesterone options available for women. Natural progesterone is bioidentical which means it’s made of the same compounds as the progesterone that’s found in your body naturally.
- Natural Progesterone Cream
- Prometrium
It’s important to understand that birth control pills do NOT contain natural progesterone, but rather, progestin, a synthetic compound.
Natural progesterone cream made from wild yams is an option. While you can get it over-the-counter, if you’re taking birth control pills, please discuss it with your doctor.
Prometrium is a bioidentical form of progesterone that must be prescribed by a doctor. While working with my functional medicine doctor, I began taking Prometrium.
It radically improved my sleep, anxiety, and emotional regulation. However, it’s been a process of adjustments and is part of an overall holistic plan.
I’ve recently begun using Progesterone Cream and will update you soon.
5. Adaptogens
Dr. Stacy Sims, an expert in female health, recommends adaptogens such as Ashwagandha and Rhodiola.
Adaptogens work by adapting to the needs of your body and help with hormonal imbalances, neurotransmitter regulation (serotonin and dopamine), and overall stress reduction.
I’ve recently begun supplementing with Ashwagandha and have noticed a huge improvement in my stress response.
Signs of Too Much Progesterone
What happens if you take too much progesterone or are making too much progesterone?
Signs of high progesterone include:
- breast tenderness
- bloating
- constipation
If you notice these signs when working to increase your progesterone, be sure to work with your doctor to make adjustments as needed.
Recap: Foods that Boost Progesterone
Many in my community are mothers who’ve lived under a state of chronic stress for years. As such, that chronic state of fight or flight has led to many physical and mental health challenges.
Speak with a nutritionally informed healthcare professional about getting your hormones tested. Additionally, I can’t more highly recommend seeking mental health support with a trauma-informed therapist.
If you relate, know that you’re not alone. Join us in AHFAS Private Facebook Community. We’re a group of moms who’ve been through some serious struggles so we’re there to support one another.
We’d love to have you join us. You’re worth it.
So, Friend. Got any questions? What did I miss?
About the Author:
Lindsay is a trauma-informed educator with a Master’s Degree in Teaching. Her mission is to support moms to equip neurodivergent kids (ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, Anxiety) to thrive as exactly who they’ve been created to be. Wait until you hear the story that led to it all…
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