Search Long Natural HealthSEARCH BY:PRODUCTS: SITE: Twitter LinkedIn GooglePlus Sign up for our Newsletter Toll Free: 1-888-337-0511 Local: 303-845-1827 Email Us by Raymond Peat, PhD Naturally balance hormones and protect against the side effects of excess estrogen with natural progesterone Progest-E and these additional products! Relieve symptoms such as hot flashes, cramping, PMS, ovarian cysts and more Support healthy menstural cycles and menopause in younger and older women Support memory and brain function and anti-aging Find More Related Products in Our Store. Read more about Women's Health & Hormone Specific Formulations. Youth Associated Hormones PROGESTERONE From PMS to Menopause Sixty years ago, progesterone was found to be the main hormone produced by the ovaries. Since it was necessary for fertility and for maintaining a healthy pregnancy, it was called the “pro-gestational hormone,” and its name sometimes leads people to think that it isn’t needed when you don’t want to get pregnant. In fact, it is the most protective hormone the body produces, and the large amounts that are produced during pregnancy result from the developing baby’s need for protection from the stressful environment. Normally, the brain contains a very high concentration of progesterone, reflecting its protective function for that most important organ. The thymus gland, the key organ of our immune system, is also profoundly dependent on progesterone. In experiments, progesterone was found to be the basic hormone of adaptation and of resistance to stress. The adrenal glands use it to produce their anti-stress hormones, and when there is enough progesterone, they don’t have to produce the potentially harmful cortisone. In a progesterone deficiency, we produce too much cortisone, and excessive cortisone causes osteoporosis, aging of the skin, damage to brain cells, and the accumulation of fat, especially on the back and abdomen. Experiments have shown that progesterone relieves anxiety, improves memory, protects brain cells, and even prevents epileptic seizures. It promotes respiration, and has been used to correct emphysema. In the circulatory system, it prevents bulging veins by increasing the tone of the blood vessels, and improves the efficiency of the heart. It reverses many of the signs of aging in the skin, and promotes healthy bone growth. It can relieve many types of arthritis, and helps a variety of immunological problems. If progesterone is taken dissolved in vitamin E, it is absorbed very efficiently, and distributed quickly to all of the tissues. If a woman has ovaries, progesterone helps them to produce both progesterone and estrogen as needed, and also helps to restore normal functioning to the thyroid and other glands. If her ovaries have been removed, progesterone should be taken consistently to replace the lost supply. A progesterone deficiency has often been associated with increased susceptibility to cancer, and progesterone has been used to treat some types of cancer. It is important to emphasize that progesterone is not just the hormone of pregnancy. To use it only “to protect the uterus” would be like telling a man he doesn’t need testosterone if he doesn’t plan to father a child, except that progesterone is of far greater and more basic significance than testosterone. While men do naturally produce progesterone, and can sometimes benefit from using it, it is not a male hormone. Some people get that impression, because some physicians recommend combining estrogen with either testosterone or progesterone, to protect against some of estrogen’s side effects, but progesterone is the body’s natural complement to estrogen. Used alone, progesterone often makes it unnecessary to use estrogen for hot flashes or insomnia, or other symptoms of menopause. When dissolved in vitamin E, progesterone begins entering the blood stream almost as soon as it contacts any membrane, such as the lips, tongue, gums, or palate, but when it is swallowed, it continues to be absorbed as part of the digestive process. When taken with food, its absorption occurs at the same rate as the digestion and absorption of the food. The book this excerpt was taken from, and all of Dr. Peat’s books can be purchased by writing to: Raymond Peat, PhD, PO Box 5764, Eugene, OR 97405 USA Find Dr. Peat's Progest-E Complex in our Store by clicking here. FREE SHIPPING on all domestic orders over $100! 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