Last modified on September 6th, 2024
If you’re wondering how to increase pregnenolone naturally, you’re not alone.
It’s a vital hormone in our bodies. It’s so important that it’s often called the mother hormone because it’s a precursor to many other important hormones, including cortisol, testosterone, estrogen and progesterone.
Pregnenolone is essential to maintain overall hormonal balance. It supports physiological functions, including mood regulation, energy levels and cognitive function.
As people become increasingly aware of the important role of hormonal health, there’s growing interest in naturally increased pregnenolone levels.
Our guide explains what to know about supplements to increase pregnenolone levels naturally, as well as other natural practices and lifestyle changes that can help. It’s important to understand the role of hormones in everything, including the menstrual cycle, cognitive function, adrenal support, stress management, estrogen levels, muscle mass, and more.
What Is Pregnenolone?
Pregnenolone is a steroid hormone produced mostly in the adrenal glands, gonads, brain, liver and skin. It is a building block for the synthesis of other key hormones.
Pregnenolone’s functions include:
- Hormone precursor: As mentioned, it’s converted into other hormones, including cortisol. This helps the body respond to stress, and pregnenolone is key to reproductive health. DHEA is made from pregnenolone, and it’s further converted into estrogen and testosterone. These hormones are a huge part of our mood, energy levels, metabolism and immune function.
- Neurosteroid activity: Pregnenolone has neurosteroid activity in the brain. That means it influences neural function and can affect mood, memory and cognitive abilities. It modules neurotransmitter system activity, including GABA and NMDA receptors, critical to brain function.
- Anti-inflammatory and immune function: Pregnenolone has anti-inflammatory properties. It plays a part in immune system modulation. Pregnenolone supports the balance of other steroid hormones. As such, it indirectly contributes to immune and inflammation response regulation.
Pregnenolone synthesis starts with cholesterol, which an enzyme converts into pregnenolone. The process mostly occurs in the body’s adrenal glands’ cells and other steroidogenic tissues.
What Causes Low Pregnenolone Levels?
Some factors contributing to low levels of pregnenolone include:
- Aging: As we age, our natural pregnenolone production decreases. This is part of the general reduction in hormone levels occurring with aging and affecting overall hormonal balance.
- Chronic stress: High stress levels can cause the body to produce more cortisol. This can deplete pregnenolone reserves because the body prioritizes cortisol synthesis during stressful periods, removing resources from making other hormones. This is sometimes called pregnenolone steal.
- Nutritional deficiencies: Adequate cholesterol levels and nutrients, including vitamins B5, B6, C and magnesium, are needed to produce pregnenolone.
- Hormone imbalance: Imbalance in other hormones like thyroid hormones or insulin can affect pregnenolone levels. Hypothyroidism can reduce the production of steroid hormones, including pregnenolone.
- Medications: Medicines like statins that lower cholesterol and corticosteroids can inhibit pregnenolone production. Statins reduce the availability of cholesterol needed for pregnenolone synthesis, and corticosteroids can suppress the adrenal gland.
- Chronic disease: Conditions affecting the adrenal glands, like chronic inflammation or adrenal insufficiency, can impair the body’s ability to produce pregnenolone.
Pregnenolone and Adrenal Fatigue
Adrenal fatigue is a term used to describe a condition in which the adrenal glands, which produce stress hormones like cortisol (the stress hormone) become overworked and unable to function properly.
This often happens due to chronic stress, leading to symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, body aches, and a weakened immune system.
Pregnenolone is produced in the adrenal glands and converted into various other hormones, including cortisol, which is essential for managing stress.
When the body is under chronic stress, the demand for cortisol increases.
To meet this demand, the body may divert more pregnenolone into cortisol production, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as the “pregnenolone steal.”
This shift can reduce the availability of pregnenolone for producing other hormones, potentially leading to imbalances.
In adrenal fatigue, the continuous demand for cortisol production can deplete pregnenolone levels, exacerbating the symptoms.
Low levels of pregnenolone can contribute to feelings of fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and a diminished ability to handle stress as the body struggles to maintain hormonal balance.
Pregnenolone’s Role in Hormone Balance
Key Roles of Pregnenolone in Hormone Balance:
- Precursor to Major Hormones: Pregnenolone is the starting point for producing several steroid hormones essential for healthy hormone balance. Depending on the body’s needs, it can be converted into progesterone, which can further convert into cortisol or, aldosterone, or DHEA, which can transform into androgens or estrogens.
- Stress Response: During stress, the body often prioritizes the production of cortisol, a hormone vital for managing stress. Pregnenolone is converted into cortisol in this process. Still, if stress is chronic, this can lead to a “pregnenolone steal,” where less pregnenolone is available for producing other hormones, potentially leading to hormonal imbalances.
- Maintaining Hormonal Equilibrium: Pregnenolone helps maintain a balance between different hormones by providing the necessary substrate for their production. An adequate supply of pregnenolone ensures that the body can produce hormones in the right quantities, helping to prevent imbalances that can lead to symptoms like fatigue, mood disorders, and reproductive issues.
- Cognitive and Mood Regulation: Pregnenolone has neuroprotective properties linked to cognitive function and mood regulation. By synthesizing hormones like DHEA and progesterone, which are involved in brain health, pregnenolone indirectly supports mental clarity and memory and prevents mood swings.
- Adaptation to Changing Needs: The body’s hormonal needs can vary depending on age, stress levels, and health status. Pregnenolone provides flexibility in hormone production, allowing the body to adapt by increasing or decreasing the production of specific hormones as needed.
In summary, pregnenolone is foundational to overall hormone balance. It supports the production of a wide array of hormones necessary for optimal functioning, making it a crucial component of maintaining hormonal health and equilibrium.
Signs of Low Pregnenolone Levels
If you notice any of the following, you might wonder how to increase pregnenolone levels naturally.
- Fatigue: Lack of energy or tiredness can stem from the reduced production of cortisol and other hormones that regulate energy metabolism.
- Cognitive decline: Brain fog, memory problems and concentration issues can be due to low pregnenolone levels because of its neurosteroid activity in the brain.
- Mood changes: Depression, irritability, or anxiety can be signs that your levels of pregnenolone are low. It influences mood regulation, with low levels disrupting the balance.
- Reduced libido: Because of the role pregnenolone plays on testosterone and estrogen as a precursor, low levels can lead to declines in sexual desire.
- Joint pain and inflammation: Since pregnenolone has anti-inflammatory properties, low levels can lead to joint pain or inflammation.
- Sleep problems: Difficulty falling or staying asleep could be due to the role of pregnenolone in regulating sleep patterns and stress responses.
- Hormonal imbalance: Symptoms like low testosterone in men or irregular periods in women may be due to low pregnenolone because it causes disruptions in the synthesis of sex hormones.
How to Increase Pregnenolone Naturally with a Supplement
If you’re looking for how to increase pregnenolone naturally, one of the easiest and most direct ways is with a supplement.
Pregnenolone supplements are available over the counter, and they can be used to support hormonal balance and alleviate symptoms linked to low levels.
The ideal pregnenolone supplementation dosage varies depending on your needs and the condition you want to address. Start with a low 5-10 mg daily dose, then gradually adjust based on your response. Higher doses may be used for some conditions, but you should work with an endocrinologist or someone who can monitor your hormone levels professionally.
The best time to take pregnenolone is in the morning. The timing aligns with your body’s natural production of pregnenolone and cortisol, which peaks early in the day. Taking the supplement in the morning can support alertness, normal energy levels and hormonal balance throughout the day.
For the best results, it’s also a good idea to take pregnenolone consistently at the same time every day to stabilize hormone levels.
How to Naturally Increase Pregnenolone Levels with Other Supplements
Along with an actual pregnenolone supplement, other options can support your body’s natural production.
These include:
- Cholesterol: Since it’s the direct precursor to pregnenolone, you can get cholesterol through your diet. Healthy fats like fatty fish, avocados and olive oil can help you maintain the cholesterol levels you need for proper hormone production.
- Vitamin B5: Also called pantothenic acid, is needed to synthesize coenzyme A, which produces steroid hormones. A deficiency in this vitamin can impair your hormone synthesis. Foods high in vitamin B5 include eggs, meat, legumes and whole grains.
- Vitamin B6: This nutrient plays a role in the metabolic processes that convert cholesterol into pregnenolone. Vitamin B6 also helps regulate neurotransmitter function and hormone levels. Food sources include fish, bananas, potatoes and poultry.
- Vitamin C: This is needed for your adrenal glands to function properly, where a lot of pregnenolone is produced. It also protects cells involved in hormone synthesis.
- Magnesium: Involved in many reactions, including the ones related to hormone synthesis, magnesium supports enzymes that turn cholesterol into pregnenolone.
- Zinc: This nutrient is needed for overall hormonal balance and supports adrenal gland function. It’s found in meat, shellfish, seeds and legumes.
- Healthy fats: Healthy fats are important to maintaining hormone production. Along with fatty fish, they’re in chia seeds, walnuts and flaxseeds.
- Adaptogenic herbs: Adaptogens like ashwagandha, rhodiola and ginseng help your body adapt to stress. This can support your adrenal function and boost pregnenolone levels.
- DHEA: This is another precursor hormone, and supplementing it can increase pregnenolone levels.
How to Increase Pregnenolone Naturally with Lifestyle Changes
Along with the supplements above, some other things you can do to give your pregnenolone levels a boost include:
- Manage stress so that your cortisol levels aren’t elevated. That allows more pregnenolone to be available for other hormone pathways.
- Exercise regularly to support endocrine health, reduce stress and improve circulation. It also enhances hormone production.
- Eat a balanced diet to have the raw materials needed for hormone production. Your diet can also support adrenal gland function.
- Adequate sleep helps your body regulate its hormonal rhythms.
- Reducing exposure to toxins like plastics, pesticides, and certain personal care products can help prevent endocrine system disruption that could impair pregnenolone production.
- Maintaining a healthy weight can support optimal hormone production and prevent imbalances affecting pregnenolone levels.
- Proper hydration supports cellular health and the efficient functioning of the endocrine system.
These lifestyle changes can naturally support hormonal health, reduce factors that deplete pregnenolone levels and help with production.
Signs Your Pregnenolone Levels Are Increasing
Once you’ve figured out how to increase pregnenolone naturally, how do you know it’s working? Some of the signs you may notice as your levels start to go up and your hormones become more balanced include:
- Improved energy levels and less fatigue because of enhanced adrenal function and cortisol regulation.
- Clearer thinking and better focus.
- Improvements in mood, including less anxiety and depression.
- Better quality and duration of sleep.
- Increased libido.
- More regular menstrual cycles in women.
- Less joint pain.
- Better skin texture and elasticity.
Learning to naturally increase pregnenolone levels can be a key component of hormone balance and well-being. Supplements and lifestyle changes can support your body’s natural hormone production processes.
Finally, hormonal health should be approached holistically, taking a balanced approach.
Ashley Sutphin Watkins
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