What is Progesterone?
Progesterone is a steroid hormone involved in the female menstrual cycle and plays a vital role in the stages of pregnancy and fetal development.
What Progesterone Is NOT
To talk about Progesterone we need start the conversation with what Progesterone is not. Provera (medroxyprogestorne) is not progesterone. Provera is a synthetic form of Progesterone known as a progestin, but is structurally different. In other words, Provera is NOT Progesterone. Provera is commonly prescribed by many medical practitioners in on order to replace progesterone. However, many studies have shown that Provera increases the risk of breast cancer and heart attacks as it eliminates the production of the protective P53 gene. Progestins, such as Provera bind to the natural progesterone receptor sites and inhibit natural progesterone.
Bio-Identical Progesterone
Bio-Identical Progesterone, which has the same chemical structure at that found in the human body, has many beneficial effects in women. Bio-Identical Progesterone can only be found in the human body or in a laboratory from plant hormones. Remember how great you felt in your second to third trimester of pregnancy? That was due to Progesterone. After a women delivers a baby her Progesterone drops significantly which is a cause of post-partum depression.
Low Progesterone Levels
Symptoms of low levels of progesterone include:
- Mood changes, anxiety, irritability
- Depression
- Headaches
- Hot flashes or night sweats
- Low libido
- Weight gain
Optimizing Progesterone Levels
Optimizing Progesterone levels has many great benefits:
- Increases bone density in women
- Increases breakdown of fat
- Decreases the risk of heart attacks
- Decreases breast and uterine cancers
- It is a natural anti-depressant
- Decreases PMS symptoms
- Decreases carbohydrate cravings
- For Pre-Menopausal women it decreases PMS, moodiness, irritability, bloating, and headaches
- It gives the feeling of overall well-being
Most Importantly in post-menopausal women it:
- Improves and helps prevent osteoporosis by the stimulation new bone growth
- Improves good cholesterol levels
- Decreases total cholesterol
- Increases libido
- Decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer
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