How To Naturally Support Progesterone Levels

Helpful ways to balance our hormones with Madeline MacKinnon

I’ve shared with you all before on my journey to balancing my hormones. Like many women, I was very estrogen dominant in my thirties. This led to anxiety, swollen breasts, and ovarian cysts. Sadly our environment makes this balancing act very challenging. The benefits of having healthy levels of progesterone are higher and longer lasting feelings of well being and relaxation, being more fertile, increasing libido, preventing loss of bone density, and so much more.

I’m so happy to have Madeline MacKinnon share her wisdom and knowledge on how to help us in this realm. She is the founder of Natural Hormone Healing, a nutrition consultant, and women’s health coach. This brief interview which gives us a window into Madeline’s rituals is followed by her detailed article on how to naturally support progesterone levels.

Local Rose: What makes your heart sing?
Madeline Mackinnon: Being immersed in nature connects me to my soul. Nothing brings me more joy than cold water dips in mountain rivers and lakes and lying in the sun after.

LR: What started you on this path to helping women with hormonal health?
MM: Actually, a few years back I had really intense PMS symptoms. Starting right after ovulation, my moods were so bad and it took a toll on my mental health and relationships. I also had uncomfortably sore breasts and I couldn’t wear a regular bra. I’d just wear certain clothes so I could go without wearing one. Then I changed some things in my diet and started taking a couple supplements. And for the first time in a couple years my period ‘showed up’ with no warning. I was amazed how well my method worked. That’s when I realized that a lot of ‘normal’ period symptoms like period pain and PMS have an underlying hormone imbalance that can be corrected with a holistic approach. 

LR: Do you feel hormonal issues are becoming more of an epidemic or are we more aware now?
MM: Yes, hormonal issues are a bigger issue now because of our modern lifestyle. We’re exposed to more hormone disrupting chemicals through products and food, we’re constantly in front of technology that disrupts our circadian rhythm, and we manage more stress put on us from our jobs and our social circles to perform at the top of our game. All of these lifestyle factors impact hormones and as a result I see more and more symptoms of hormonal imbalances in women.

LR: What are three things women can do to keep their libido hormones on?
MM: A healthy libido is important for general health, so it’s important to pay attention to it. Stress depletes testosterone which is your main libido hormone. To safeguard your libido, focus on decreasing stress through deep breathing, essential oils, meditation, and anything that helps you get out of your head and into your body. 

You can also incorporate adaptogenic herbs such as cordyceps mushroom, damiana leaf and schizandra berry. These herbs help get the juices flowing and turn the libido on. 

Lastly, Vitamin D is crucial for testosterone production. Spending 30 minutes outside without sunglasses and sunscreen, especially in the morning, is key for optimal testosterone levels. 

LR: Do you have a beauty secret or ritual?
MM: I love spritzing with either rose or neroli hydrosol after I shower or wash my face. When I trained under an herbalist, I learned that most municipal water is alkaline and these hydrosols have the same pH as the skin. I use these hydrosols to rebalance the pH of my skin and supply healing compounds of the flowers too. 

LR: Do you have a mantra or motto you live by?
MM: My mottos are, “Do what makes you come alive” and “Align with your heart”. 

LR: What 3 foods do always have stocked?
MM: Tahini- This is ground sesame seed butter and I love it because it’s so versatile. I use it to make my tahini lemon sauce which I use as vegan gravy, cheese sauce, or delicious topping for any savory meal. I also use tahini to make tahini freezer fudge which is my go-to afternoon treat.

Zucchini- I always buy zucchini because it’s also so versatile. I love to BBQ it and spiralize it for noodle dishes. 

Sweet Potatoes- This is my complex carbohydrate of choice. It’s also great for building progesterone. 

LR: What on your nightstand?
MM: My silk eye mask from Swanwick Sleep, frankincense essential oil, breast massage oil from Living Libations. 

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How to Naturally Support Progesterone Levels

by Madeline MacKinnon

Progesterone is an essential hormone that’s required for balanced moods, bone density and metabolism; however I find that most of the women I work with are deficient. Often, women who have this hormone imbalance believe that their symptoms are ‘normal’ and don’t pursue treatment. 

Common signs of low progesterone are:

-luteal phase less than 9 days
-menstrual cycle less than 23 days
-PMS mood imbalances such as anxiety, depression and weepiness
-dysmenorrhea
-heavy periods
-ovarian cysts
-uterine fibroids
-fertility issues
-frequent miscarriages
-night sweats
-cyclical acne

From this long list of symptoms, it’s easy to see how low progesterone can have a severe impact on quality of life. In this article, I’ll explain how to restore progesterone levels naturally using diet, herbs and lifestyle.

What is progesterone?
The body creates progesterone through the process of ovulation. After ovulation, the follicle that surrounded the egg transforms into the corpus luteum, which produces progesterone. Eventually the corpus luteum shrinks and dissolves, and low levels of both progesterone and estrogen cause menstruation.

You can test progesterone levels with a blood or dried urine test taken between days 19-21 of your cycle. If you are tracking your cycle by monitoring basal body temperature, adequate progesterone levels will cause your temp to rise and stay high for at least 10 days before your period. 

So how do you increase progesterone?
If you have chronically low progesterone, doctors and alternative practioners often prescribe progesterone cream or bioidentical progesterone pills. This method does work for women women but it may suppress ovulation when not used correctly.  I prefer to help the body produce its own progesterone if possible. This can be done by improving follicular health, which impacts the quality of the corpus luteum and consequently the level of progesterone produced.

Here’s my 3-part approach to increase progesterone naturally:

Manage stress
Stress depletes progesterone and other essential hormones like thyroid hormones. Have you ever noticed you’ve had a longer or shorter cycle because of stress? That’s because the body prioritizes survival over fertility in times of stress. In order to boost progesterone, you may have to see what can be done to reduce and manage stress.

Decrease inflammation
Inflammatory foods can increase the production of chemicals that cause pain and nausea during your period. You may need to eliminate refined sugar, gluten and dairy and avoid PUFA fats like vegetable, corn, and canola oil.

Increase nutrition
Certain nutrients are the building blocks for hormones and others support the health of the corpus luteum.

Here are my top 4 for building progesterone: 

#1 Healthy saturated fats such as organic ghee, coconut oil and egg yolks
#2 Selenium from Brazil nuts, shellfish, grass fed beef, and bison
#3 Vitamin B6 in sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, turkey, wild cod, and radishes
#4 Beta Carotene and Fat-Soluble Vitamin A from yams, cod liver oil, and seabuckthorn berry

I also recommend including healing herbs that can help to support progesterone such as oregano, thyme, and saffron.

Recipe for increasing progesterone
In my practice I create nutritious recipes to support specific hormones. My signature approach to healing includes elixirs, which are herbal tea lattes that provide a delicious delivery system for food-based medicine. 

My ‘liquid sunshine’ elixir uplifts the mood, boosts energy and alleviates PMS symptoms. Seabuckthorn bushes grow in abundance in Canada’s prairies. They produce a bright orange berry that is high in Vitamin E which helps your body process estrogen and is great for the skin. 

This delicious drink also has food-grade citrus essential oil to detox excess estrogen. Enjoy this elixir daily after ovulation to reap all of its benefits. 

Seabuckthorn Saffron Liquid Sunshine

2 cups gynostemma tea, warmed

2 Tbsp Solberry seabuckthorn puree or powder

1 Tbsps coconut oil

1 Tbsp lucuma powder

2 tsp honey

2-3 threads saffron

1 drop food-grade tangerine or orange essential oil

1 pinch sea salt

Place all ingredients into a high-speed blender. Blend until light and frothy. 

Conclusion

Some sort of hormone imbalance is at the root of all period-related issues, and low progesterone is so common. This hormone imbalance causes short-term problems as well as long-term health issues, so it’s important to make sure that progesterone levels are normal. Regardless if you have low progesterone or not, you can boost it by actively managing the amount of stress you’re under, avoiding inflammatory foods, and including enough of the right ‘hormone healthy’ foods in your diet. Simply doing these three things on a regular basis will make a big difference in your hormonal health.

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