Progesterone (synthetic progestin or bio-identical progesterone) is often prescribed for women looking to balance their hormones. But is hormone replacement always necessary? Naturopathic Medicine uses foods, herbs, supplements and lifestyle changes to help normalize hormone levels and bring the body back to balance. Although Naturopathic Doctors can prescribe bio-identical hormones, adding new hormones into your body is often a last resort.
Progesterone can be low due to relative excess of estrogen – including exposure to environmental estrogens such as those found in plastics, cleaning & beauty products, and pesticides. Other factors contributing to low progesterone include high stress levels, low thyroid function, and blood sugar regulation dysfunction.
Low progesterone can lead to a number of symptoms including:
Options for enhancing progesterone levels naturally include:
Regulating hormones starts with lifestyle and nutrition. If you give yourself a good foundation for health, your body often does the rest on its own.
– by Dr. Jennifer Schmidt-White
