8 Ways To Naturally Boost Your Low Progesterone

Progesterone is a female sex hormone that prepares the uterus for pregnancy and maintains pregnancy. A huge percentage of modern women suffer from conditions such as PCOS and endometriosis (both of which often include low progesterone), as well as autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto’s. Even digestive disorders like Crohn’s (also an autoimmune disease) can contribute to low progesterone levels. Low progesterone can be caused by increased cortisol (usually from stress) and testosterone, poor ovulation, low cholesterol, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), and hypothyroidism. Insufficient progesterone can cause fertility issues, thyroid disease, and an increased risk of miscarriage. 

Needless to say, this hormonal imbalance is not fun. You might be moody and/or extra sensitive, your periods are irregular and/or extremely painful and draining (literally, with the severely heavy flow), and your brain fog is negatively affecting basic functions in your everyday life. You might also notice that you have a bad case of PMS or that your luteal phase (the phase after ovulation until your period starts) is short – 10 days or less is considered unhealthy.

Granted, progesterone levels change during your feminine cycle because of hormonal fluctuations in the different phases. But this is why you should know what to eat and when so you can balance out low levels with increased foods and supplements to support those progesterone levels and healthy ovulation and menstruation. We recommend using the 28 wellness app for holistic mindfulness in cycle tracking and hormonal nutrition. You have the natural tools to fix this problem, don’t just sit on it and let it continue to damage your health!

C for P

The more medicinal foods in our diet, the merrier our hormones will be! Vitamin C is one of the most important and deserves its own spotlight. You can naturally boost your progesterone levels with vitamin C intake, so low P levels need increased C. You can supplement with C as well as increase vitamin C foods in your diet: lemons, grapefruits, cherries, berries, and pineapple. Add these foods to your shopping list and switch them up throughout the week (or pack a bit of each into a morning fruit salad)! Plus, vitamin C increases your immunity, so it's really a win-win.

A Nutritional Trio

You need increased magnesium, beta-carotene, and zinc in your diet to produce more progesterone. Foods that are high in beta-carotene and iron include broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, and onions. Chop and sauté these baddies up with EVOO or grass-fed butter with some ginger, garlic, and a dash of cinnamon – which are all anti-inflammatory, by the way – and serve with salmon or chicken, and you have yourself a delicious, savory meal that is low carb, paleo, Whole30, anti-inflammatory, and progesterone-boosting. Talk about the whole works, baby! 

Zinc foods include lean beef, seafood, nuts, and pumpkin seeds. Snack on some dark chocolate with overnight oats and pistachios (magnesium and iron-rich), and you’ll be feeling happy and balanced in no time. 

Increase Dietary Cholesterol

Low progesterone actually means low cholesterol – the body needs cholesterol to produce progesterone, so without enough of the one, you don’t get enough of the other. Women need to eat enough of the right foods that boost healthy cholesterol levels. The anti-egg trend going around because of “high cholesterol” worries? Yeah, not such a great idea for most women. You need natural sources of cholesterol in your diet from foods like eggs, extra virgin olive oil, salmon, nuts, and avocado to stabilize your feminine hormone levels.

High Protein Intake

A high protein/low carb diet is the trick. And this means the carbs you do eat should be complex carbs – try to cut out simple carbs as much as possible. Your body needs high protein amounts to balance out progesterone levels and stabilize blood sugar, especially since you should be reducing sugar in your diet. This will also help you address any weight issues, as low progesterone can often result in difficulty in losing excess weight. Stick to clean, lean protein from single, naturally simple ingredients: pasture-raised, organic poultry and eggs and wild-caught fish.

Dietary Supplements

Here we come to the index of nature’s apothecary! It’s possible to boost progesterone naturally through diet, nutrition, and natural supplements in Traditional Chinese Medicine. We have a simple list of some minerals, herbs, and vitamin supplements that help raise progesterone levels to get you started. 

• Magnesium: Magnesium has multiple health benefits and is essential for hormonal regulation and progesterone support. You can buy an option here and a combo here.

• Vitamin C: You can buy an herbal supplement from here or at your local grocery store. Acerola cherry powder is one of the best forms of supplemental vitamin C. 

• B-vitamins: B vitamins, especially B6, are very important for progesterone levels. You can buy a B6 supplement here, and a B vitamin combination here.

• Black Cohosh is a TCM herb and one of the best for feminine hormone support. You can buy a supplement here. 

• Vitex/chasteberry is another TCM herb and is very beneficial for progesterone levels. You can buy it in tincture form (the most efficient way to ingest) here. 

As with any supplement or medication, please talk to your doctor about adding it to your regimen before you start to make sure it’s beneficial for your particular case and won’t counteract anything you’re already taking. 

Boost Your Thyroid

Hypothyroidism can be a serious root factor in causing low progesterone. If your thyroid hormone is low then you can’t produce pregnenolone, which you need to produce progesterone. Essentially, progesterone helps the thyroid hormone to do its job, so low levels make it harder for the thyroid to function, which also often involves high estrogen levels/estrogen dominance. With low thyroid hormone, you’re also dealing with interrelated problems like low blood sugar and low metabolism (which is why hypothyroidism often involves weight gain and/or difficulty losing excess weight). 

Foods to help support thyroid function include seaweed, fish/shrimp, iodized salt, green peas, eggs, yogurt, and bananas. You can buy a TCM herbal thyroid support supplement here and another here (specifically for metabolism and weight management). Kelp is derived from seaweed and provides iodine and trace minerals to help support thyroid function and energy. You can buy a natural kelp supplement here. 

Reduce Stress

This includes mindfully reducing exposure to stressful triggers and people in your environment, as well as increasing mindfulness for stress management. As Dr. Jolene Brighten points out, the body will always choose survival over procreation, and the body literally will start deteriorating under chronic stress exposure and reducing hormone production in order to preserve energy. This process is called the Allostatic Load (AL), which can lead to irregular periods, infertility, diabetes, anxiety, and increased inflammation. 

Of course, there will always be environmental stressors in life, but the key is to control how your brain reacts. Mental stress is only as serious as the mind perceives it to be. So, just like pain management uses distraction and visualization to reduce pain sensation, we can practice coping skills to manage our stress reaction better. Practice meditation and do deep breathing with counting in stressful scenarios while mentally reminding yourself that you are in control. Do at least one enjoyable self-care activity for yourself every day to boost your mood, relax your system, and soothe your hormones. 

Observe your day of rest. Yes, enjoy a social life – everyone needs community – and most definitely keep a consistent exercise routine. But there comes a day when your body needs to just rest and recharge. This is not a question of introverts vs. extroverts; science proves that a day of rest is physiologically and mentally restorative (besides any specific religious observance). Intentionally resting helps to lower cortisol and balance your hormones, including progesterone. Pick a time or two during the weekend to do a fun activity, then use Sunday to let yourself unwind and relax and have some quiet time outdoors. Try to unplug for a bit and learn to appreciate being in your own company while enjoying the silence. 

Hormones Need Movement

Being overweight or obese will cause a woman’s body to secrete more estrogen, which creates an imbalance in progesterone. Healthy weight management will help stabilize hormones in general, but especially progesterone. Regular exercise with low-impact, low-stress workouts – like Pilates, swimming, and outdoor activities like biking and walking – will help with your weight as well as manage stress and rebalance your progesterone levels. Don’t do super intense workouts that will increase cortisol production, especially those designed for men; you can find more workout options designed for women here. 

Closing Thoughts

Sometimes, especially in extreme cases, you need to go on a bioidentical compounded progesterone supplement just to get things somewhat back on track. But you can also try the above methods to naturally help balance your body so that it can get itself where it needs to be. No one wants to be stuck on medication indefinitely, and you shouldn’t have to stay on progesterone if there are so many remedies in nature at your fingertips. I was very low in progesterone for a long time, but I slowly got rebalanced by eating for my hormones, using 28 wellness, and supplementing with herbal vitamins. You can too!

Don’t miss anything! Sign up for our weekly newsletter and get curated content weekly!