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One very interesting thing I’ve learned working mostly with women with hypothyroidism is that many of us don’t realize how much our sex hormones impact us.
When my clients come to me talking about their symptoms and feedback they’ve had from their doctor, so many of them say that they never even thought of discussing their sex hormones, as they didn’t realize they could be connected to thyroid function.
Of the sex hormones, the one I see impacts the thyroid the most is progesterone.
Along with helping the uterus prepare for pregnancy, progesterone eases your period symptoms, stabilizes blood pressure, regulates mood, improves sleep, and reduces fluid retention.
Progesterone enhances thyroid function, and thyroid hormones can help make the progesterone receptors more sensitive. So, these hormones feed off of each other.
Meaning, if one is out of whack, it can mess up the other, as well.
Low progesterone can lead to a slow thyroid, and a slow thyroid can lead to low progesterone.
This is why many women with a slow thyroid feel extra hormonal. They feel like they can’t control their emotions.
When you’re feeling these symptoms, it likely means your slow thyroid has made your progesterone levels drop.
If you’re feeling these symptoms, it’s important to get your progesterone checked, as this is such a crucial hormone for women. While you can test this through blood, I usually recommend a DUTCH Hormone Test, which measures the hormones through urine and is a lot more accurate.
So what can you do if your progesterone levels are off?
First, I never recommend supplementing progesterone unless you know what your levels are at. Again, these levels should come from a urine sample, not blood, to make sure they’re as accurate as possible. If you have done the right tests and these show abnormally low progesterone levels, going on artificial progesterone could be an option.
Another route is looking at your diet. Eating a clean, balanced diet with a lot of colorful vegetables can ensure you’re getting the macro and micronutrients your body needs to support progesterone.
For example, progesterone really needs magnesium, B6, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, and Zinc. Including foods such as dark leafy greens, nuts, beans, lentils, salmon, chicken, and eggs in your diet can help you get these nutrients.
Healthy fats are also really important for supporting progesterone levels. Think about eating more avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, almond butter, and tahini (sesame seed butter).
There are also medications that can lower your progesterone levels. Antidepressants and birth control pills are two of the biggest culprits. Now, often times women are prescribed these for a good reason. I’m not necessarily saying you should stop these medications, but it’s something to be aware of and talk to your doctor about.
Finally, stress. Your
stress levels can lower progesterone, too. It’s so important to get your stress levels under control because if you’re in a constant state of stress, your body will put sex hormone production on the back burner.
Getting a full thyroid blood panel along with your DUTCH hormone test can really help you get to the bottom of why you’re having thyroid symptoms and how your sex hormones may also be impacted.
If you want help getting started on that testing,
reach out to me.
Phone: (314) 226-3137