Got PMS? Stress could be robbing your body of progesterone
Natural remedies for PMS 
Instead of reaching for the progesterone cream at your local supplement store, it’s safer to first address the underlying causes of low progesterone. For many women, progesterone levels take a beating because of chronic stress. Every time you experience stress, your body responds with cortisol, an adrenal stress hormone that works to keep the body in balance.
But in these fast-paced times, we experience stress so frequently that the body’s demand for cortisol is constantly high. To keep up with demand, the body borrows the materials needed to make reproductive hormones, including progesterone, and makes cortisol instead. This is called “pregnenolone steal,” when the body steals pregnenolone needed for other hormones to keep pace with the demands of stress.
Factors that can cause chronic stress:
- Sugar and sweeteners, too many starchy foods (rice, pasta, bread, etc.), and excess caffeine
- Food intolerances (gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, corn, nuts, grains, etc.)
- Gut problems (gas, bloating, indigestion, heartburn, diarrhea, constipation, stomach pain, etc.)
- Lack of sleep
- Chronic inflammation (joint pain, muscle pain, skin rashes and disorders, brain fog, fatigue, etc.)
- Autoimmune disease (such as Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism)
- Overdoing it; pushing yourself without breaks or enough rest
- Poor nutrition