Progesterone
Progesterone...progestin... Not the same as tomāto/tomato, these are entirely different and it is vital to your hormone balance that you know why!
In this day and age it is hard to believe that physicians may not know the difference between progesterone and progestin. But many women who have ask their doctors for progesterone are told that it doesn't work, or that progesterone is the same as the progestin that they prescribe every day. With so many trained professionals holding that belief, how will the average woman find out accurate information about progesterone? Will she know that progesterone and progestin are two different animals and that she has the option of which to choose?
Progesterone
Progesterone is the natural hormone that your body creates through the corpus luteum, the empty casing of the egg follicle that breaks apart while you are ovulating. Like a targeted missile, creating PROGESTERONE is the corpus lutem&_ #39;s primary mission. Your progesterone levels rise after ovulation in order to prepare the lining of your uterus to be implanted with a fertilized egg. When you are pregnant, the placenta releases much higher levels of progesterone in order to allow the egg to attach and grow.
Progesterone Definition
Progesterone was originally derived from the word pro, or for, and the word gestation or the growth of an embryo. Years ago, when progesterone was first discovered, it was thought that the only function of progesterone was to help create a healthy pregnancy by protecting the fertilized egg. How things have changed! Today it is known that progesterone is not only found in women&_ #39;s hormone systems, but men have progesterone and need progesterone as well. Even our brains function better with progesterone transmitted into their progesterone receptors.
In earlier years, scientists focused studies on understanding how progesterone functioned in pregnant women or women who were still ovulating and creating progesterone in "normal" levels. Little attention was given to what happens when progesterone decreased in perimenopausal and menopausal women. Science had yet to understand the importance of progesterone as a balancer of the effects of estrogen or what happens when either progesterone or estrogen levels are not what they should be. (You could think of progesterone as the body&_ #39;s neutralizing diplomat, the Switzerland of hormones.) In fact, neither progesterone nor estrogen will function well without the needed levels of each performing their appointed purpose in your body.
In addition to protecting the fertilized egg, progesterone has a number of wonderful effects. Did you know that progesterone can be calming? Progesterone may help as a natural antidepressant. Progesterone may help improve sleep and your body&_ #39;s blood clotting abilities. Progesterone is vital to your health and well being. The bad news? These magnificent effects of progesterone only occur if your body is producing enough progesterone. When you are young and have fully functioning levels of progesterone, you feel great and have little worries about the effects of aging; thinning hair or bones, heart disease or other issues. But what happens to progesterone after your ovaries quit creating eggs?
Progesterone is only available in fully functioning levels if your body is continuing to create it, or you use bioidentical or natural progesterone.
Progesterone Creation
Bioidentical progesterone is made in laboratories using a scientific process to extract diosgenin from a wild yam or soy plant, and then convert that molecule to progesterone. This progesterone has virtually the same molecular structure as the progesterone your body creates. When we use this progesterone, it is accepted easily, without an adverse reaction or rejection by the body. When progesterone is made correctly and progesterone is used correctly to help create proper progesterone levels and balance estrogen, we feel better.
Progesterone is not Progestin
Progestin is a synthetic drug created and patented by drug companies. The structure of progestin is inherently different than progesterone. Unlike the bioidentical molecular structure of progesterone, progestin adds a synthetic molecule and may be rejected or create unwanted effects when the body attempts to process it. On the other hand, natural progesterone, or progesterone created in a laboratory process is a natural approach easily assimilated by the body.
More Information and Related Products
- Frequently Asked Questions About Natural Progesterone
Answers to your frequently asked questions about progesterone from Dr. John Lee and Virginia Hopkins. This is a Hormone Balance Knowledge Center Article. - Progesterone Facts
Read more about progesterone facts, what progesterone is and how progesterone was discovered. Neither yam nor progestin are progesterone.