About Guides Store Blog Podcast Freebies
Work With Me
1:1 Coaching Pregnancy Prep Course Fertility Recipe Guide Fertility Awareness Masterclass

In chronic stress, the body will prioritize making cortisol over progesterone.

cortisol progesterone stress

Some of the main questions I get daily are around anovulatory cycles and luteal phase defects.

When it comes to these roadblocks, in order to address them, it’s important to understand the physiology of the body.

It’s no secret: we’re more stressed than ever today as a society. And while stress can mean many different things — emotional, physical, chemical, etc. — our body physiologically responds the same way.

Our “fight or flight” response is how we’ve adapted to responding to these stressors. It’s our survival mechanism. During this response, our stress hormones increase, digestion halts, blood pressure increases, etc.

This response is only supposed to be short-lived. But many of us may be stuck in this responsive state for years and not even realize it.

At the end of the day, if it’s between your survival or reproduction, the body will always choose survival. Our brain is perceiving danger and it’s pumping out stress hormones to respond to it.

Progesterone is a precursor to cortisol. And in a state of survival, the body will prioritize making cortisol.

This can be why even though we’ve ovulated, we may not make enough progesterone. This can also be why we may see anovulatory periods. This can also be why we may see completely missing periods.

And this is how a stressful event today can show up later on in our cycle or even 3 cycles from now.

Stress management is an essential piece to helping the body produce more progesterone. I’ll be talking about different ways to boost progesterone levels in my next post. Stay tuned!

___

Not medical advice.

____________________________________________________________

 

References

East West Healing. (2013). Part 2 Female Reproductive System- Hormones and Regulation. Retrieved from: https://eastwesthealing.com/female-reproductive-system-part-2-hormone-balancing-2/.

Guilliams, T. (2017). Re-assessing the Notion of "Pregnenolone Steal". Retrieved from: https://www.zrtlab.com/blog/archive/reassessing-pregnenolone-steal/.

Nourished with Nina. (2019). HIGH CORTISOL & LOW PROGESTERONE...COULD YOU BE STRUGGLING?. Retrieved from: https://www.nourishedwithnina.com/blog/2019/4/12/high-cortisol-low-progesteroneare-you-struggling-with-this-common-hormone-imbalance.

The Fork Functional Medicine. HORMONE SERIES PART 2: CORTISOL AND PROGESTERONE. Retrieved from: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eQ7Qh0pntUF02RUpDYL0QtjE8lyuESG4ReimbxtQ8tc/edit.

Peat, R. (1993). Nutrition for Women. Eugene, OR.
Rubin, J. Rubin, J. (2015). The Female Body Blueprint. Retrieved from: https://eastwesthealing.com/wp-content/uploads/edd/2016/04/The-Female-Body-Blueprint-format-KLR-PDF.pdf.

TTC? Get empowered with Conscious Conception, the ultimate fertility blueprint created to help you optimize your fertility and enter pregnancy empowered.

GET EMPOWERED >>

Stay in touch.

Sign up for my newsletter to get access to exclusive content and resources all about fertility and beyond.

We will never misuse your information.

Categories

All Categories #ttc acne active acupuncture adrenal cocktail adrenal fatigue adrenals aging ala alcohol allergies allergy aloe vera amh anabolism anemia anti-inflammatory antioxidants anxiety artificial sweeteners atp autoimmune autoimmune disease b3 balancing hormones beauty bee products beets beta carotene birth control bloating blood donation blood sugar blood tests bone health bones boron bpa breakfast breastfeeding calcium carbohydrates carbs care carnivore carrots castor oil catabolic catabolism cellulite ceruloplasmin chinese medicine chiropractor cholesterol choline circadium rhythm coffee cold collagen constipation copper copper deficiency cortisol cramps crossfit cycle dairy dairy free dao detox detoxification dha diabetes diet digestion diseases efas egg egg health egg quality egg quantity eggs electrolytes endometriosis endotoxin endurance energy essential fatty acids estrogen estrogen dominance estrogren exercise fam fat fat-free fats ferritin fertile fertility fertility awareness fertility treatment fertility window fitness folate folic acid food formula fruit fuel gelatin genes gestational gestational diabetes gifts glucose glutathione gluten gluten free glycine glysophate gratitude gray hair grey hair grounding guava gummies gut gut health gut issues hair loss healing health health journey healthy healthy pregnancy heartburn hellp syndrome herbs hfcs high fructose corn syrup histamine hormonal birth control hormone d hormones hypoglycemia hypothyroidism if immune immune system immunity infant feeding inflammation inflammatory inositol insomnia inspo insulin insulin resistance intermittent fasting iodine iron iron overload iron recycling iron toxicity iud ivf journey keto lactation lactoferin lifestyle lime liver low iron low-carb lps luteal phase macros magnesium male male fertility meat medication medicinal mushrooms mega trans fats melasma melatonin menstruation metabolism microbiome milk mindful eating mindset minerals miscarriage mood morning sickness motivation mthfr multi-vitamins mushrooms myth nails neural tube defects new habits nutrients nutrition oil oranges organic osteoporosis ovaries ovulation pathogens patience pbcs pcos pelvic floor performance period period problems periods pesticide phytoestrogens pms pooping post-birth control symptoms postpartum postpartum depression potassium pottasium pre-eclampsia precon preconception pregnancy pregnancy loss pregnancy prep pregnancy spacing pregnant prenatal vitamins prenatals prep preterm birth preterm delivery progesterone progress over perfection protein proteins pufas quercetin raw foods raw milk rcp recipe red raspberry leaf tea relax rest retinol riboflavin root cause protocol royal jelly salt seafood selenium self care serotonin skin skincare sleep soaking sodium soy sperm sperm health spirolactine spotting sprouting stomach acid stress sugar sun supplements sweeteners sweets swelling symptoms tcm testosterone thankfulness thoughts thymus thyroid toxemia toxicity toxins trans fat trans fats trauma tryptophan ttc vaginal health varicose veins vegan vegetables vegetarian vitamin a vitamin b vitamin b12 vitamin b6 vitamin c vitamin d vitamin e vitamin k vitamins water retention weight weight loss weightgain whole foods workouts x factor zeolite zinc

 

Remember: this post is for informational purposes only and may not be the best fit for you and your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your own physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here. While the owner of this website tries to keep the information up to date, there may be things that are out-of-date and out of their control.