Achieving Hormone Harmony

April 8, 2016
Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS

Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS

Award-winning nutritionist and New York Times bestselling author.

Find balance with natural progesterone.

Let me ask you – do any of these symptoms apply to you?

• The inability to lose weight
• Pain
• Inflammation
• Depression
• Lack of libido
• Insomnia
• Anxiety
• Mood Swings
• Nervousness
• Osteopenia and osteoporosis

All of the above can be signs of progesterone deficiency – an increasingly common problem.

In fact, more than 75% of all women suffer from hormone havoc directly or indirectly related to progesterone deficiency. Whether you’re pregnant or are beginning to experience the first signs of the “change,” it’s critical to balance estrogen with progesterone.

Excess Estrogen

Progesterone counters excess estrogen’s possible negative and often irritating excitable effects. Progesterone means “for gestation” and is touted as the feel-good hormone because it is up to 20 times more concentrated in the brain than in the bloodstream.

As estrogen’s opposing “sister” hormone, progesterone helps burn fat as fuel, is a natural diuretic, stabilizes breast cell and uterine lining growth and is a natural antidepressant! It also enhances sex drive—a very big deal for many women during the “change before the change” and beyond. One very special hormone indeed, progesterone signals the hypothalamus to increase your core body temperature, thereby increasing your resting metabolic rate.

And here’s the kicker.

Low levels of progesterone trigger your body to burn 15,000 to 20,000 fewer calories per year and encourage increased water retention.

I’ve discovered with my clients that progesterone – not estrogen – is actually the first hormone to decline during the perimenopausal years so making sure your progesterone levels are in balance is just as vital as taking the estrogen-modulating flax seeds and high lignan flax oil. When estrogen presides over progesterone, you may even develop hypothyroidism.

The healthy fat connection for blocking hormonal weight comes into focus when we look at the high lignan content of flax seeds and flax oil. Lignans are potent phytoestrogens. Flax seeds have 800 times more concentration than any other source. They can help alleviate hormonal discomforts and have stellar breast cancer fighting abilities. In fact, a study conducted at the Princess Margaret Hospital and the Toronto Hospital in Canada showed how as little as two tablespoons a day of ground flax seeds markedly slowed down tumor growth in women with breast cancer. A similar study was later conducted at Duke University that proved the tumor-slowing ability of flax seeds with prostate cancer.

Science confirms that the essential fatty acid alpha linolenic acid (ALA) content of lignan-rich flax oil has stand-alone benefits all of its own, without having to be converted into EPA and DHA. For example, in several studies of breast cancer risk, the higher the concentration of ALA in breast tissue, the lower the risk of manifesting breast cancer. Moreover, if breast cancer arises, the higher the breast tissue concentration of ALA, the lower the risk of cancer metastasis to other parts of the body.

Fiber can also help to rid your body of excess estrogen. Eating five or more veggies and fruits daily along with fiber-rich seeds (like chia), and of course, flax seeds and legumes are terrific ways to healthfully excrete estrogen so it doesn’t keep recirculating in your body.

Also, nosh on walnuts. Their rich phytosterol content can assist in preventing toxic environmental estrogens from binding to receptor sites.

Natural Balance

I developed ProgestaKey over twenty years ago. The formula is certified to contain USP progesterone through lab analysis and is considered premier on the market. Each pump contains 20 milligrams of progesterone, which is the physiological dose. It’s also as preservative-free as possible. Depending upon your age and stage of life, there are different protocols, but in general the topical crème should be applied to the face, hands, chest, inner arms, and thyroid area. Rotate these as much as possible so that you target all of the receptor sites located underneath the skin.

For Menstruating women – Apply once or twice a day starting on the 12th day after the first day of menstrual flow through the 26th day.

For Perimenopausal women – Apply once or twice a day starting on the 7th day after the first day of menstrual flow through the 27th day.

For Menopausal/Postmenopausal women – Apply once or twice a day for a maximum of 25 consecutive days. Resume after a five day break.

To evaluate your body’s bio-available Progesterone levels (and 5 other hormones), consider UNI KEY’s Salivary Hormone Test.

Right now, UNI KEY is offering 20% off ProgestaKey, so it’s the perfect time to get started! Simply enter the code TRYPG20 at checkout. This offer cannot be combined with other discounts and expires on April 14, 2016.

Isn’t it time you went from out of whack to back on track?

Related Articles and Podcasts

Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS, is an award-winning New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty books including The Fat Flush Plan series and her latest book, Radical Metabolism. She’s been rewriting the rules of nutrition for more than 40 years and is internationally recognized as a pioneer in the field of diet, detox and women’s health issues. 

For a FREE daily dose of tips and strategies for maintaining healthy weight, conquering insomnia, and much more…check out my Radical Health Tips.

I’d like to meet and greet you on my Facebook groups, so won’t you check us out at the Radical Metabolism RevolutionFat Flush Nation, or my Inner Circle!

22 Comments

  1. Linda Smock

    Hello,
    I have questions about progesterone. I have tried several types and none work for me. I tried pellets, and sublingual and the tube kind. I get stomach aches and they just do not work for me and yet my progesterone is so low that I have no clue how to deal with it anymore. Do you have any suggestions on the foods that you mentioned and how to know what to take? I am 68 years of age and have been on hormones off an d on for 10 years.

    Reply
    • Shasha

      HI, I take bioidentical hormone: .5 mg estriol/ ~120mg progesterone/3.5 mg testosterone.
      Each person needs a different amount/ratio. Progesterone alone felt like drinking too much water. I get the Bioidentical hormones from a compounding pharmacy.

      No gluten helps heal my gut lining/stomach/intestines. When gluten hurts intestines less nutrients absorb. Gluten may hurt all glands and brain/body. Best wishes.

      No gluten/dairy/soy/sugar/GMO and vitamins/good oils, LDN and detoxing help me. Vit D3 5000IU, zinc 50mg if detoxing, 2000mg fish oil , 20000mg evening primrose oil. 2000 mg lecithin, Phosphatidylserine/DMAE, krill oil, CLA, Coenzyme Q10, Rhodiola, Mg citrate 400mg, Vit C, 5000mcg of biotin, Nature’s Plus- Source of life multiple, HCl and enzymes with meals, dairy free probiotic, Vit B12 methylcobalamin shot/spray/under the tongue kind/intrinsic factor kind, MTHF folate, coenyzme Q10, rhodiola, may help brain/body/thyroid/depression/immune system and more. Gluten is wheat/barley/rye..oats may act like gluten with avenin. GMO corn/soy/canola oil may hurt. Amour thyroid maybe needed since gluten may made antibodies to the thyroid. Coenzymated B vitamins far from synthetic kind make make me calm.

      Sunlight (helps the immune system and helps to heal the gut lining),exercise, organic food, good water..not tap water, cooking by scratch pure food….. no food in a box/bag/premade/label/restaurant which may help avoid hidden gluten. Certified gluten free food may have 20ppm of gluten…too much. Nuts not sold in the shell/meat basting/some spices may have hidden gluten and lotion/make up etc. One restaurant cooks special for me…rice/veg/tea/extra mushrooms (no meat since the woks may have MSG/gluten in them).

      EDTA/DMPS IV chelations from an Alternative doctor, 600mg of cilantro, organic sulfur, Now brand- Detox support, Far Infrared Sauna and more may help detox. Hair tests show good minerals and heavy metals. Heavy metals can block thyroid and other chemical reactions in the body/brain.

      LDN may help block hidden gluten/heal the gut lining and help the immune system, but the Celiac diet is still needed. 100% no gluten..no hidden or microscopic gluten may help. Cutting back on gluten or cheating by eating gluten hurts the immune system. It may take 1 1/2 months to heal the gut lining after getting hidden gluten.

      Amour thyroid has some T3 and Calcitonin. Synthroid is only T4..may not convert to T3. Zn/Se/enough iron/strong probiotic may help convert T4 to T3 for thyroid.

      Alternative doctors/chiropractors/acupuncturists and more may help with health/vitamins etc.

      Longer version:
      http://articles.mercola.com/members/Shasha/default.aspx

      Reply
  2. Team ALG

    Team ALG here: The ProgestaKey that Ann Louise developed is a transdermal cream which should bypass your digestive tract entirely. We are not sure what is exactly going on but we can tell you that zinc is the mineral precursor to progesterone, so loading up on more zinc rich foods (eggs, organic beef, pumpkin seeds) would be a good start. You might also consider bile builder to insure that your hormones are being properly broken down and the metabolites excreted in the body.

    Hope this helps.

    Reply
  3. Amy

    I find the issue of phytoestrogens so confusing! Some say to avoid them and others, like you, say to embrace them. I have never really understood if they are a form of estrogen or not.

    Reply
    • Team ALG

      Amy: The issue of phytoestrogens is not truly cut and dry. For many women, flaxseeds function as an estrogen modulator, resulting in reducing estrogen dominance which is evidenced by clinical studies where flaxseeds were found to reduce breast cancer tumor growth. For others, however phytoestrogens seem to increase symptoms. The key is to make sure your system is in balance with adequate progesterone. This is where a salivary hormone test comes in very handy to individualize treatment.

      Reply
  4. Shasha

    Hi, I can’t take Flax hurts me. 80% of people may not ocnvert Flax into what is in fish oil. I a glad there is help for Progesterone since I can’t be without it. Happiness…

    Reply
    • Team ALG

      Sasha: The issue with flax is regarding the flaxseed oil which is high in ALA, that for many does not convert into the essential Omega 3 fatty acids DHA and EPA. That being said, this blog references flaxseeds and the lignan component – which is a strong phytoestrogen and has estrogenic properties. We are glad that topical progesterone has helped you.

      Reply
  5. Adriane

    I also can’t take flax, it makes my estrogen dominance worse. I used to eat flaxseed regularly and when I learned that it truly is a phytoestrogen, I stopped eating it and my breast cysts diminished. When I had some again, my breast cysts enlarged again. I also used to eat soy based on all the hoopla that the soy phytoestrogen blocks the more potent estrogen from targeting the receptors. Both soy and flax increase my breast cysts, so I avoid them. I also used iodine (with cofactors magnesium, selenium, vit C) and turmeric to reduce my breast cysts. Topical progesterone has helped as well.

    Reply
    • Team ALG

      Hi Adriane: We are curious as to whether you were also supplementing with progesterone when you were ingesting the flaxseeds? Our experience – especially in the past five years – is that many women need progesterone with flaxseed consumption! Iodine is most helpful for reducing breast cysts as it tamps down estrogen dominance. Sounds like you are on the right track now and for that we are glad.

      Reply
  6. terri

    Hi. Can I still take progesterone cream if I have been post menopausal for 6 years.
    Thank you

    Reply
  7. Team ALG

    Hi Terri: We find that most post menopausal women we test are very deficient in progesterone – which is helpful for bone and brain health, beyond just the reproductive system. We would suggest to follow the instructions on the container!! Best of health.

    Reply
    • terri

      Thank you

      Reply
  8. Heather

    I would like to purchase this item but coupon code not recognized for the 20% off!

    Reply
    • Ann Louise Gittleman

      Thanks for alerting us to this typo Heather! The correct code is TRYPG20

      Reply
  9. Sarah

    Should you have your hormones tested before taking progesterone?

    Reply
    • Team ALG

      Ideally, it would be highly recommended to test your progesterone to establish a baseline.

      Reply
  10. Ghislaine M.

    What do you think of the recommendation to apply progesterone inside the outer lips of the vagina ?
    It seems that absorption is better through the mucosa than through the skin and there would be less risk of accumulation.
    Mercola’s site:
    “If you apply the cream to your mucous epithelial membranes that line your uterus and vagina you obtain a virtually ideal administration system. Not only is absorption through these membranes more complete than through your skin, but hormones absorbed through your vaginal membranes enter the very same pelvic plexus of veins that your ovaries normally empty into.” http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/09/18/oral-progesterone-and-progesterone-cream-complications.aspx

    Reply
  11. Team ALG

    Dear Ghislaine: We think this is an excellent idea. Dr. Jonathan Wright, ALG’s personal physician and real pioneer of bio-identical hormones suggests that all bio-identicals be applied via the vaginal membranes. a

    Reply
  12. Edyta

    I would like to ask about seed rotation. I heard that we should rotate consumption of pumpkin, flax, sunflower and sesam seeds depending on the place of cycle we are in. Which ones to eat when? Some support estrogen and others support progesterone production.

    Reply
    • Team ALG

      From Day 1 to Day 15 (or the middle of your cycle), we need more estrogen in order to build up our endometrium (uterus lining). This is called the follicular phase. With seeds such as flaxseed and pumpkin seeds, we can naturally increase our estrogen levels.
      On Day 15 to Day 30, or the second part of the cycle also known as the luteal phase, we see the corpus luteum releasing progesterone. This sex hormone will help thicken the uterus lining and get it ready for implantation.
      The high content of zinc found in sesame seeds and vitamin E in sunflower seeds have shown to stimulate progesterone production (see references below). By adding two tablespoons of sesame and sunflower seeds per day in the luteal phase, we can naturally support the body to produce more progesterone (many women are low in this sex hormone).

      Reply
  13. Penelope

    I have a question about adding some roasted Flax seeds in my 1 year old boys food. I’ve been doing it but someone told me it may not be a good idea because of its estrogenic properties. Any thoughts on flax seeds effects in children and particularly boys?

    Reply
    • Team ALG

      There is some dissenting discussion about the estrogenic effects of flax for children. To avoid the issue you may wish to use chia or hemp seeds instead.

      Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This