Balancing Progesterone and Estrogen Naturally: A Functional Nutrition Approach

If you’re a menstruating lady here – listen up!

For so many people, hormone health can feel like a never-ending game of whack-a-mole. I hear you—it totally can. But your hormones become way less intimidating when you have what I call cycle awareness—a general understanding of how they shift throughout the month, what your signs and symptoms might be telling you, and how you can actually work with your body to support balance. As I always say, cycle awareness = empowered action. That’s exactly what I hope to bring to the table here in the newsletter and throughout the rest of the blog.

How it’s All Connected:

Your hormone health is like a carefully orchestrated symphony, designed to play in perfect harmony each month. Each hormone—Estrogen, LH, FSH, Testosterone, and Progesterone—is an instrument, contributing to the rhythm of your menstrual cycle. But when just one instrument falls out of tune, the entire melody starts to shift. The song that once felt effortless now sounds offbeat, incomplete, and not quite like itself.

Hormone imbalances—like excess estrogen or low progesterone—are incredibly common, and they can throw off the entire composition, affecting your mood, cycle, and fertility. Yet, conventional approaches often reach for quick fixes, like medications, without addressing why these imbalances are happening in the first place.

In this blog, we’re going to dig into that why. I’ll break down the symptoms and conditions linked to the flux in this symphony that results in hormone imbalance symptoms and share functional nutrition tools to help you restore balance naturally. Plus, I’ll guide you toward the next best step in your hormone health journey.

Let’s talk the Menstrual Cycle

I feel like the best place to start is with a quick overview of what’s actually happening in your cycle (see the reference image below!). Menstruation kicks things off—though technically, it’s also the grand finale of your last cycle—when estrogen and progesterone hit their lowest points, triggering the shedding of the uterine lining. As you move into the follicular phase, FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) rises to recruit follicles, and estrogen begins climbing, thickening the uterine lining and prepping the body for ovulation. When estrogen peaks mid-cycle, a surge in LH (luteinizing hormone) signals the body to release an egg, triggering a rise in testosterone (hello, energy and libido boost!). After ovulation, the luteal phase steps in, and the empty follicle transforms into a temporary organ—the corpus luteum—which starts pumping out progesterone. Progesterone takes the lead here, supporting a potential pregnancy and bringing all its amazing benefits (which you’ll learn more about). If conception doesn’t happen (which, for many not TTC, is exactly the plan!), progesterone and estrogen drop, and over the next seven days, your body preps for menstruation—releasing the uterine lining and starting the cycle all over again.

Understanding Estrogen and Progesterone

While many hormones play a role in this cycle, estrogen and progesterone take center stage.

The Roles of Estrogen and Progesterone:

Estrogen: Supports the first half of your cycle (follicular phase), boosts mood, bone health, and skin elasticity.
Progesterone: Dominates the second half (luteal phase), supports implantation, calms the nervous system, promotes restful sleep, and balances out estrogen (keeping estrogen in check!).

Why Balance Matters: When estrogen and progesterone are out of sync, it can lead to disruptive symptoms, fertility challenges, and long-term health issues.

Signs and Conditions Linked to Estrogen and Progesterone Imbalances

Signs of Estrogen Excess (or as some would say, Estrogen Dominance):

PMS (bloating, mood swings, breast tenderness)
Heavy or painful periods
Fibroids or endometriosis
Weight gain (especially in hips and thighs)
Headaches or migraines around your period
Increased risk of estrogen-driven conditions (e.g., breast or ovarian cysts)
Conditions Associated with Estrogen Dominance:
Endometriosis
Uterine fibroids
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) (with estrogen dominance patterns)

Something to Note: You don’t necessarily need high estrogen levels to experience estrogen-related symptoms. If progesterone is too low—even when estrogen is within a normal or low-normal range—the estrogen-to-progesterone ratio can still be imbalanced, triggering many of the same symptoms. Because of this, I don’t routinely recommend DIM (a compound that helps lower total estrogen) for high-estrogen symptoms without first identifying what’s actually driving them. Addressing the root cause is key to restoring true balance.

Signs of Low Progesterone:

Short luteal phase or spotting before your period
Anxiety, irritability, or poor sleep before your period
Breast tenderness
Recurrent miscarriages
Irregular or anovulatory cycles
Conditions Associated with Low Progesterone:
Luteal phase defect (a common cause of infertility)
Unexplained infertility
Recurrent pregnancy loss
Signs of estrogen excess (as noted above with an imbalance estrogen:progesterone ratio)

Root Causes of Estrogen Dominance and Low Progesterone

Stress and HPA Axis Dysfunction: Chronic stress suppresses or delays ovulation, impacting progesterone level and allowing estrogen imbalances to develop. We need to ovulate to make progesterone and sometimes even with ovulation under stress, our body simply does not make enough to support balancing out the estrogen we need!
Poor Gut Health: Impaired gut function can disrupt estrogen detoxification due to dysbiosis, sluggish digestion, low bile output, and inadequate detox support. Constipation plays a major role—if you’re not regularly eliminating through bowel movements, excess estrogen can’t be efficiently cleared from the body. Instead, gut imbalances can lead to estrogen being poorly metabolized and reabsorbed, contributing to hormonal imbalances.
Liver Detox Overload: Toxins from food, alcohol, and environment put pressure on the liver, slowing down the ability to eliminate and healthily metabolize estrogen.
Energy Deficiency & Blood Sugar Imbalance: Under-eating or skipping meals signals the body to conserve energy. Since progesterone is a “perceived safety” hormone, the body won’t prioritize its production if it senses a lack of fuel. This can lead to two outcomes: 1) Energy is diverted away from progesterone production, or 2) Progesterone is produced, but at lower-than-optimal levels, contributing to hormone-related symptoms. In short—eating enough is essential for hormone balance!
Nutrient Deficiencies: Key nutrients like B vitamins, magnesium, and zinc play critical roles in hormone production, detoxification, bile flow, the stress response, and stomach acid production—all of which help maintain a healthy hormonal environment. Without them, imbalances become more likely. Remember, your hormones don’t operate in isolation—they’re influenced by many other systems in the body!

Functional Nutrition Strategies to Balance Progesterone and Estrogen

Supporting Estrogen Balance:

Focus on Fiber: Ground flaxseeds, chia seeds, and cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts) aid in estrogen elimination through the bowel.
Liver-Supportive Foods: Add bitter foods like beets, cranberry, lemon zest, cacao, radicchio, endive, dandelion greens, and turmeric to support bile flow and liver detox pathways.
Reduce Toxins: Limit plastic use, choose clean personal care products , and filter your water, can reference the shop page on my site!
Support Gut Health: Prioritize probiotic-rich foods (yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut) and address constipation — if you aren’t pooping, estrogen is not moving!!

Boosting Progesterone Naturally:

The foundation of progesterone production is creating a sense of safety in the body—through energy balance, blood sugar stability, and proper nutrition.

Prioritize Energy Balance:

Understand your nutritional needs—adequate intake is a pre-requisite for optimal hormone health.
Avoid under-eating or extreme fasting, as this signals the body to conserve resources, impacting hormone production – progesterone production is all about resource availability and perceived safety on the body.

Maintain Blood Sugar Stability:

Include protein and healthy fats in every meal (e.g., eggs [protein]+ avocado [fat] toast [carb]).
Minimize “naked snacks”— AKA carbs alone (like fruit, chips, or crackers) without protein or fat, that can cause blood sugar spikes.
Build balanced meals with protein, fat, fiber, and carbs, using the 3 T’s: Meal Timing, Type, and Total Amount.
Eat a balanced plate within 30 minutes of waking to prevent cortisol-driven crashes.

Nutrient Essentials for Progesterone:

Magnesium (leafy greens, dark chocolate, pumpkin seeds) – Supports adrenal function and calms the nervous system.
Vitamin B6 (chickpeas, bananas, wild salmon) – Essential for progesterone production.
Zinc (oysters, beef, lentils, pumpkin seeds) – Supports ovulation and corpus luteum function.
Healthy Fats (olive oil, nuts, seeds, full-fat dairy, coconut, fatty fish) – The building blocks of hormone production.

Lifestyle Support for Progesterone Production:

Audit Stress: This isn’t just about living a stress free life – we know this isn’t realistic – but instead about building resilience to daily stressors. Creating tool-kit that supports nervous system balance – including tools like breath work, journaling, quiet time, walks, or other calming practices, can have a very positive down stream impact on hormone health.
Prioritize Sleep: Aim for 7–9 hours to support adrenal and reproductive hormones. When stress hormones are running the show, your sex hormones have a hard time shining!
Exercise Mindfully: Movement is key, but overtraining can increase stress, deplete resources, and suppress ovulation—balance is everything. I often see women in an eat less exercise more mindset to support their health and in so many ways this does not work with hormone health nor female anatomy. Nourish over restrict is the name of the game!

Balancing estrogen and progesterone isn’t as simple as taking a pill to lower estrogen or boost progesterone—we need to understand the deeper connections within your hormones. The key is looking at the big picture of your health, uncovering why these imbalances developed in the first place, and identifying what needs to shift to truly address them. This is where 1:1 guided support, root cause assessment, and advanced lab testing can be a game changer. Together, we can get clear on your unique barriers to feeling your best and create a personalized plan for lasting change. If you’re ready to stop guessing and start working with your body, schedule your Discovery Call here!