How to Use Progesterone
Before considering progesterone use, it is important to understand that it is not a panacea, and that you will benefit most from implementing a bioenergetic diet approach that effectively burns glucose as your primary fuel without backing up electrons in your mitochondria. My new book, Cellular Health: The Unifying Theory of All Disease for Ultimate Longevity and Joy, is coming out soon and covers this process in detail.
After adjusting your diet, an effective strategy to help offset excess estrogen is to take mucosal progesterone (i.e., the one you put on your gums, not orally or transdermally). This is a natural estrogen antagonist. Progesterone is one of four hormones that many adults believe can benefit from it. (The other three are thyroid hormone T3, DHEA, and pregnenolone.)
I do not recommend transdermal progesterone. Since the skin contains large amounts of 5-alpha reductase, a significant portion of the progesterone you take will be irreversibly converted to allopregnanolone, which cannot be converted back to progesterone.
The ideal way to administer progesterone
If you use progesterone topically on your gums as I advise, the FDA believes it somehow converts to a drug and prohibits any company from recommending it on their labels. This is why companies like Health Natura promote their progesterone products as “topical.”
However, please understand that it is perfectly legal for any doctor to recommend a drug off-label to their patient. In this case, progesterone is a natural hormone, not a drug, and is very safe even in high doses. This is different from the synthetic progesterone called progestin, which is used by pharmaceutical companies but is often and incorrectly referred to.
Dr. Ray Pitt pioneered progesterone research and is probably the world’s leading expert on progesterone. He wrote his PhD on estrogen in 1982 and has spent most of his professional career documenting the need to address the dangers of excess estrogen with a low LA diet and mucosal progesterone supplementation.
He found that most solvents do not dissolve progesterone well, and that vitamin E is the best solvent for optimal delivery of progesterone to the tissues. Vitamin E also protects against damage caused by LA. Most supplemental vitamin E on the market is worse than useless, and will do more harm than good, so you have to be very careful about which vitamin E you use.
It is important to avoid using synthetic vitamin E (alpha tocopherol acetate – the acetate indicates that it is synthetic). Natural vitamin E is labeled “d alpha tocopherol.” This is the pure D isomer, which is what the body can use.
There are other vitamin E isomers, and you want the full spectrum of tocopherols and tocotrienols, especially the beta, gamma, and delta types, in the effective D isomer. For an example of the ideal vitamin E, look at the label of vitamin E sold in stores. Any brand with a similar label will do.
You can buy pharmaceutical grade bioidentical progesterone in the form of Progesterone Powder, Bioidentical Micronized Powder, 10g for about $40 from many online stores like Amazon. This is almost a year’s supply, depending on the dosage you choose.
However, you will need to buy a small stainless steel measuring spoon as you will need 1/64 tsp (25 mg) and 1/32 tsp (50 mg). The usual dosage is usually 25-50 mg and is taken 30 minutes before bedtime. It has anti-cortisol properties and increases GABA levels to help you sleep better.
Unfortunately, this seller is often out of stock, and in that case, you can use Simply Progesterone from Health Natura. It is pre-mixed with vitamin E and MCT oil. Health Natura says that the product is for “topical use only,” but I recommend applying it transmucosally by rubbing it into the gums.
Menstruating women should take progesterone during the luteal phase or second half of their cycle. This can be determined by starting it 10 days after the first day of menstruation and stopping it once menstruation begins.
If you are a man or a woman who does not menstruate, you can take progesterone daily for 4 to 6 months and then stop your cycle for a week. The best time to take progesterone is 30 minutes before bedtime. It has anti-cortisol properties and increases GABA levels to help you sleep better.
This is the method I have personally used for over a year with very good results. I am a doctor so I have no problem doing this. If you are not a doctor, you should consult with your doctor before using this treatment. Transmucosal progesterone therapy requires a doctor’s prescription.
