Best Vitamins to Increase Estrogen and Progesterone Levels

Estrogen and progesterone are two major hormones essential for women’s health, but your levels can fluctuate over time.

Low levels of estrogen and progesterone can negatively affect your mood, reproductive health, bone health, and more.

However, many hormone medications are prescription-only or run the risk of causing long-term side effects, so can you use vitamins to increase estrogen instead?

Estrogen is the main female sex hormone responsible for women’s physical development and reproductive capabilities, while progesterone supports healthy menstrual cycles and pregnancy. Low levels of natural estrogen and progesterone can affect your mood, bone health, and much more, so regulating your hormonal levels is key to staying healthier for longer.

Although certain hormonal changes – such as plunging estrogen levels during menopause – are largely unavoidable, many people can tackle low estrogen symptoms with the right vitamins. In this article, we’ll discuss how to increase your estrogen and progesterone levels naturally and how to tell if you’re suffering from a hormonal imbalance.

What are the signs of low progesterone?

Progesterone is mainly produced in the ovaries and helps regulate your menstruation cycle, though its main function is to prepare your body for pregnancy. After ovulation, progesterone helps thicken the uterus lining in anticipation of a fertilized egg and (if there is a fertilized egg) maintains the uterine lining throughout pregnancy.

Although the effects of high progesterone can be extremely uncomfortable, insufficient levels can make it extremely hard to have children or get pregnant in the first place. Low progesterone levels tend to cause fertility issues but can also cause the following symptoms in women who aren’t pregnant:

• Headaches or migraines
• Mood changes such as depression and anxiety
• Irregular or missed periods

How long does it take to get progesterone levels up?

Whether you’re concerned about your progesterone levels or trying to increase your chances of a healthy pregnancy, there are plenty of reasons to try and increase progesterone levels. One of the most effective ways to boost your levels is through hormone therapy, though your results may vary based on what products you use and biological factors like your lifestyle, body mass and hormonal balance.

Depending on what kind of progesterone vitamins or hormone therapy you are on, it may take several months to raise your progesterone levels to desirable levels. This is especially true when using over the counter (OTC) medications, such as creams and gels, which tend to contain lower doses than clinical progesterone medication, so be patient and use consistent doses for the best results.

The Effects of High Progesterone

Although progesterone is essential for healthy pregnancies – because it helps thicken the uterine lining to receive a fertilized egg – it can have unpleasant side effects. While your natural estrogen and progesterone levels tend to fluctuate throughout your menstrual cycle, high levels of progesterone can cause hormonal imbalances and symptoms which are easy to dismiss as premenstrual syndrome (PMS), such as:

• Breast swelling/tenderness
• Anxiety or agitation
• Bloating
• Fatigue
• Depression
• Low sex drive
• Weight gain

High progesterone levels are not usually dangerous but could be a sign of underlying conditions, including ovarian cysts or an abnormal pregnancy, so it may be worth seeing a doctor if you suffer from these effects of high progesterone.

Best Supplements to Increase Estrogen and Progesterone Levels

Although changes to your diet and lifestyle can do a lot to raise your hormone levels into a healthy range, taking vitamins to increase estrogen will only get you so far. Natural interventions won’t work for everyone, and some people are extremely sensitive to the symptoms of low estrogen, which is where these supplements come in handy.

These supplements contain a range of herbal extracts, vitamins and minerals to help regulate your levels of estrogen and progesterone, as well as support your overall health:

Conclusion

Estrogen and progesterone are important sex hormones, especially in women, and any imbalances can cause unpleasant symptoms or even serious health conditions, so it’s important to keep them in check. Fortunately, there are plenty of treatments and vitamins to increase estrogen or manage your hormone levels, so you don’t have to suffer from hot flushes, fertility issues or mood swings forever.

However, trying to increase progesterone levels with OTC medications and supplements may not be the best way to address a hormonal imbalance. If you suffer from a hormonal imbalance like low estrogen, you should seek professional medical advice, as they may be linked to serious health conditions, such as PCOS.