Foods To Boost Progesterone
When it comes to fertility and preparing for pregnancy, hormones play a crucial role, and progesterone is one of the most important for optimizing our chances of having a healthy pregnancy. Often referred to as the "pregnancy hormone," progesterone helps prepare the uterus for implantation and supports fetal development in early pregnancy. If you're looking to optimize your fertility and increase your chances of getting and staying pregnant, ensuring your body has optimal levels of progesterone is really important. Luckily, there are specific foods to boost progesterone that can naturally support your hormonal balance. In this post, we’ll talk more about why progesterone is so important for fertility and preconception, some signs and symptoms of potentially low progesterone to look out for, and of course my top foods to boost progesterone and optimize your fertility.
Why Progesterone is Important For Fertility and Preconception
Progesterone plays several important roles in our body, including supportng our thyroid, regulating our metabolism, helping with sleep, and keep our mood calm and relaxed. Progesterone is also one of our key reproductive hormones and, along with its counterpart estrogen, rules our menstrual cycle. Progesterone and estrogen work together to regulate the menstural cycle, ensuring that we regularly go through the menstruation-ovulation cycle. When it comes to fertility and conception, progesterone provides essential support to our body in the second half of our cycle in case the egg we released during ovulation gets fertilized and we are pregnant. One of the key ways progesterone does this is by supporting and stabilizing the uterine lining so that it doesn’t shed (i.e. your period starts) and to provide a cozy place for the fertilized egg to implant and grow. Progesterone also plays a super important role in the development of your baby.This is all why we need to have ample progesterone levels right from ovulation, all the way through pregnancy.
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Do I Need to Worry About My Progesterone Levels?
While the best way to know whether or not your body is producing sufficient progesterone is to have your progesterone levels checked by your healthcare provider, there are some signs and symptoms of low progesterone to look out for. Some common signs of low progesterone inclue PMS, anxiety, mood swings, and poor sleep. Another important sign of low progesterone is a short luteal phase. The luteal phase is the second half of your menstrual cycle, from ovulation until menstruation when it is particularly important to have ample progesterone. If you track your cycle, a luteal phase shorter than 14 days may indicate low progesterone. If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, ask your doctor to check your progesterone levels.
Foods to Boost Progesterone
Whether you have a confirmed progesterone deficiency, are experiencing symptoms of low progesterone, or just want to optimize your fertility by supporting your progesterone levels naturally, focussing on foods to boost progesterone can be a great starting point. Here are my favourite foods to regularly include in your diet to boost progesterone and support your fertility.
Vitamin C-Rich Foods
Studies such as this one have shown that vitamin C can be effective in raising progesterone levels in women. My favourite vitamin-C rich foods include bell peppers, citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruit, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and brussels sprouts, strawberries, and kiwi. Make sure to eat several servings of these a day as you’ll need a good amount of vitamin C in order to impact your progesterone levels.
2. Saturated Fats
I know, I know, we’ve all had it drummed into our heads that saturated fat is evil. But this has actually been debunked (read more here) and the truth is, saturated fat plays so many essential roles in our bodies. When it comes to fertility specifically, saturated fat raises the cholesterol level in our bodies. This is actually a good thing when we’re eating healthy sources of saturated fat and looking to optimize our fertility because cholesterol serves as the building material for all of our steroidal hormones, which includes progesterone. While our bodies naturally make most of the cholesterol we need, it is still helpful to get a good amount of saturated fats from our diet so that we have enough cholesterol for our bodies to produce ample progesterone. Great sources of saturated fats include grass-fed meat, full fat dairy, butter, pasture-raised eggs, and unrefined coconut oil.
3. Pumpkin Seeds + Sunflower Seeds
If you’re not familiar with the concept of seed cycling, in a nutshell it refers to the idea that eating certain seeds at specific times in your menstrual cycle can help to balance your reproductive hormones. Eating pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds in the second half of your cycle (i.e. from ovulation until menstruation begins) can help to support healthy progesterone levels. According to seed cycling experts, you’ll want to eat 1-2 tbsp of freshly ground raw sesame seeds and 1-2 tbsp of freshly ground raw sunflower seeds daily in the second half of your cycle.
4. Saffron
Saffron is from a specific type of crocus flower, and has been used for thousands of years as a spice, dye, and medicine. Studies such as this one have linked saffron with redudcing symptoms associated with low progesterone. While there is no clear and direct link between eating saffron and boosting progesterone, it is an easy spice to incorporate into your diet that may be worth trying out. Note that authentic saffron can be pricey, but luckily you just need to use a very small amount at a time. Learn more about saffron and how to use it here.
Incorporating the right foods to boost progesterone into your diet is a simple yet powerful way to support your fertility and hormonal health. By focusing on strategic dietary tweaks like these, you can help your body to ensure your progesterone levels of optimized for conception and ultimately a healthy and thriving pregnancy. Paired with a balanced lifestyle and proper self-care, these adjustments can make a real difference in your journey to conceive.
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