How To Increase Pregnenolone Naturally

Reviewed by: Dr. Aumatmo Simmons, ND, Medical Advisor at Feminade

How To Increase Pregnenolone Naturally

A hormone imbalance can often leave you feeling tired, moody, and just not like yourself. We’re here to help you learn what your body needs so you can feel your best and make your hormones your superpower.

What Is Pregnenolone?

Known as a “precursor hormone,” pregnenolone is a hormone that helps create steroid hormones used throughout your body, including progesterone, estrogen, and DHEA. 


These can include stress and sex hormones, which are crucial for your body to maintain a healthy hormone balance and keep you running as efficiently as possible.

What Are Steroid Hormones?

Steroid hormones are a group of hormones created by the steroid glands: the adrenal cortex, testes, and ovaries. These hormones are essential to your body’s everyday physical and physiological functions. Listed below, you’ll find some of those most common steroid hormones and their functions.

Cortisol

Often regarded as the “stress hormone,” cortisol causes an increase in your heart rate and blood pressure. Cortisol prepares the body for a “flight or fight” response by flooding it with glucose, supplying an immediate energy source to large muscles. 


Excessive stress can raise your cortisol levels and leave you feeling anxious and restless, while low cortisol levels can cause feelings of mood swings and fatigue. Cortisol is also an essential hormone for protecting your immune system and preventing inflammation.

Progesterone

Progesterone is another female sex hormone essential for the menstrual cycle, conception, and pregnancy. 


Having abnormal progesterone levels can lead to feelings of depression, exhaustion, low libido, and vaginal dryness. On the other hand, low progesterone in your body can cause symptoms such as an irregular menstrual cycle, migraines, and anxiety.

Testosterone

Testosterone, a primary male sex hormone found in males and females, is essential in building muscle mass and strength in the male reproductive system. 


Testosterone also plays a key role in libido levels in both males and females. Having too much testosterone as a woman, however, can produce symptoms such as excessive body and facial hair, irregular menstrual periods, and mood swings.

DHEA

Created in the adrenal gland, DHEA helps your body produce more hormones like estrogen and progesterone. DHEA can also be converted into various sex hormones if your levels are low. 


DHEA has been shown to decrease with age and after menopause. Synthetic DHEA is widely available in supplement form for those with low levels. DHEA supplements may support symptoms such as depression, vaginal atrophy, dryness, and aging skin, often associated with hormone imbalance.

Estradiol

Estradiol (E2), also spelled oestradiol, is a female sex hormone responsible for developing breasts and widening hips during puberty. Estradiol is also essential in creating and maintaining reproductive tissues in the uterus, vagina, and mammary glands throughout your life. 

Factors That Influence Your Hormone Levels

Many factors can have an impact on your hormone levels. These factors include: 

Stress

Stress can have a major role in hormonal imbalance. High levels of stress can significantly impact your cortisol levels as it causes your adrenals to work overtime, leading to feelings of fatigue and depression. 


Stress can disrupt your body’s natural hormone balance, causing low libido, low energy, insomnia, mood swings, and obesity. 

Weight

Excess body weight can play a role in hormone imbalance. Hormones, such as insulin and androgens, help promote our metabolism and appetite. When you have excess body weight, these hormones can become imbalanced, making it harder for your body to metabolize nutrients and maintain proper nutrition.


Fluctuations in weight, or difficulty losing weight, may also signify a hormonal imbalance. If you experience sudden weight changes, consult your doctor or one of our licensed health professionals.

Lack of Sleep

Poor sleep quality can significantly impact your body’s natural hormone levels. Many growth hormones are produced while you are sleeping. If you are consistently not getting enough sleep, you may be jeopardizing your body’s natural growth.


Similarly, cortisol, your body’s stress hormone, also increases depending on the amount and quality of sleep. If your cortisol levels become imbalanced, you may experience mood swings, anxiety, depression, irritability, and increased sensitivity to stress.

Overuse of Supplements

Don’t get us wrong, we love our supplements, but too much of it isn’t always a good thing. Supplements should only be used as instructed and immediately stopped if you notice any adverse reactions. 


Many supplements can be beneficial for hormonal imbalance, but taking too high of a dose, or too many different supplements with the same purpose, can cause adverse reactions such as nausea, headaches, and heart palpitations. 


At Feminade, our licensed medical professionals can help determine the best supplements for your needs and provide proper usage instructions.

How Does Your Body Make Pregnenolone Naturally?

Pregnenolone is naturally made in your adrenal glands from cholesterol. The good cholesterol you get from healthy fats, such as fatty acids, gets converted into pregnenolone in your adrenal gland and is later used to create other hormones your body needs for everyday functions. 

How To Increase Pregnenolone Naturally

Pregnenolone relies on healthy fats and cholesterol to be created in your body. Eating a balanced diet of healthy fats, including fish oil, avocado, and flaxseeds, can help your body maintain adequate amounts of pregnenolone.


Ingredients like sugars, alcohol, and caffeine can inhibit your adrenal glands from functioning properly. Since pregnenolone is made in your adrenal glands, keeping them healthy is essential.

How To Help Manage Hormone Levels

A good thing about hormones is that you are the one who is making them. Therefore, you can have a significant impact on keeping them healthy. We’ve listed some of the best ways you can help keep your hormones well-balanced and in check.

Eat a Healthy Diet

The foods you eat every day are what your body uses to make its fuel. Following a healthy diet full of nutrient-rich foods can help keep your body running smoothly. Opt for foods like pomegranate, kale, eggs, and quinoa, which are nutrient-packed foods that may all help promote healthy hormone levels.

Manage Stress

Stress is a major factor when it comes to hormone balance. Too much stress can increase levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which is often associated with symptoms such as anxiety, restlessness, depression, and fatigue.

Choose the Right Supplements

There are many supplements available to help promote healthy hormone levels. Using supplements as recommended is the best way to achieve optimal results. Here are some of the best supplements to help boost pregnenolone naturally:


  • Ashwagandha: Ashwagandha promotes feelings of calmness, focus, and relaxation in those experiencing symptoms related to hormonal imbalance. Known as an adaptogenic herb, ashwagandha has been used across the globe to help maintain healthy cortisol levels. 
  • Omega Fatty Acids: Also available in vegan algae form, omega-3 supplements are beneficial in maintaining healthy high-density lipoprotein (HDL), also known as the “good” cholesterol. 
  • Maca: Maca is another adaptogenic herb that has been well known for increasing your body’s metabolism and boosting your energy. Maca may be beneficial in promoting healthy hormone levels and lessening the severity of symptoms such as fatigue, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and low libido.

Boost Quality of Sleep

Many hormones in your body are created and released while you sleep, so getting seven to nine hours of quality sleep is another way to help your body’s natural hormone production and balance.


Getting enough sleep is only half of the battle. The other half is getting good quality sleep. You want your sleep to be deep enough to enter REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, where your brain is restoring itself from the previous day. 


The better quality REM sleep you get, the more rested and relaxed you will feel the next day, and your hormones will thank you for it.

In Conclusion

At Feminade, we are ready and excited to be on this journey to wellness with you, and we can’t wait to see you unleash your superhuman hormones.


Pregnenolone, the mother of steroid hormones, is essential in our body’s everyday functions and keeps us healthy. As our hormones change and fluctuate throughout our lives, we must continue to learn how to support our body and recognize its needs.


Our Hormone Test Kits are a great way to test your hormone levels to determine which hormones need your attention and TLC the most. Our licensed health professionals can walk you through your results and help create a custom solution just for you.