What can pregnenolone do for me?
What can pregnenolone do for me?
Have you been feeling run down, irritated, or having trouble sleeping? While these conditions may not be unheard of, you may be surprised by the cause. In your body is a little known hormone called pregnenolone. Unlike its famous counterparts, testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone, it's the mother of all hormones. So, the question of what can pregnenolone do for me is an important one, and here’s why.
What is Pregnenolone?
Hormones are essential messengers in the body, and production all starts with pregnenolone. It’s a hormone converted from cholesterol primarily in the adrenal glands and a precursor (foundation) for other hormones, including:
- DHEA
- Testosterone
- Estrogen
- Progesterone
- Cortisol
The body uses pregnenolone biochemically to help balance mood, ease anxiety and depression, and even improve cognition. The super hormone has some serious anti-aging pregnenolone benefits that make supplementation with a topical cream something to consider.
Benefits of Pregnenolone
The benefits of pregnenolone depend on your own body and health concerns. It also may take time before you truly feel any changes. However, there is science-backed evidence to support pregnenolone supplementation to help fight age and alleviate health problems.
Builds Other Hormones
As mentioned, pregnenolone is a precursor hormone. It means that as a parent hormone in the body pregnenolone lays the foundation for the other hormone production. For example, if you have a progesterone deficiency or low testosterone levels, you may be low in pregnenolone. The other precursor hormone is DHEA.
You can improve hormone levels through increasing pregnenolone or DHEA. In fact, that’s usually the desired intent. The uber hormone lays the foundation for all the hormones, so if you’re short on one, it stands to reason you may be deficient in pregnenolone. (1)
Alleviates PMS
Hormones make you whacky is never more true when it comes to premenstrual syndrome (PMS). In fact, two essential hormones regulate the menstrual cycle — progesterone and estrogen. As women move through their cycle, hormones go up and down.
Experiencing PMS is standard for most women; however, severe PMS makes accomplishing day to day tasks impossible. Research shows that pregnenolone helps ease PMS symptoms. (2)
Improves Menopausal Symptoms
As a woman’s period comes to an end, she makes the transition from fertile to infertile. And this stage is known as menopause. But don’t think this transition doesn’t come at a cost.
Women experiencing any stage of menopause (perimenopause to post-menopause) can suffer from hot flashes, fatigue, weight gain, and erratic moods. One conventional treatment for menopausal symptoms is a high-quality estrogen cream. Women may also benefit from pregnenolone.
Soothes inflammation
Inflamed, tight skin is painful and uncomfortable. The throbbing skin may come from a variety of reasons, including low pregnenolone. As a steroid hormone, pregnenolone has neurotrophic and anti-inflammatory qualities backed by research. (3)
It breaks down the proteins in the dermis that promote inflammation. (4) Pregnenolone may also improve other skin conditions, such as dry skin, eczema, and psoriasis.
Improved Memory and Cognition
Memory loss is normal as we age. However, significant loss or having trouble concentrating may come from reduced pregnenolone levels.
It's thought that pregnenolone reduces the GABA transmitter's production in the brain that may impair memory. (5) In another study, pregnenolone, along with other hormones, improved memory and cognition in male mice. (6)
Helps balance the immune system
Having a strong immune system is key for longevity. Pregnenolone may provide homeostasis for a healthy body and your skin's immune system by regulating immune function. (6) When your immune system is robust, you're better able to fight off disease and infections.
Aids Better Sleep
Like eating, sleeping is a normal part of one's day. Yet if you struggle to fall asleep or wake up halfway through the night and can't get back to sleep, your official waking hours are unbearable. Nothing ruins a day more than walking around like a zombie.
Many factors can impair sleep, but one may be a pregnenolone deficiency. Pregnenolone promotes homeostasis and hormone production. Any kind of hormone deficiency may cause you to lose sleep.
Promotes Weight Loss
Weight loss and weight gain are the opposite ends of the seesaw. One day the scale is up and the other down. The reasons for weight gain vary from how much you ate that day to retaining water. Women can also gain weight during menopause.
Whatever the reason for the growing bulge, it can be hormone-related. Estrogen dominance may cause weight gain or too much cortisol, the stress hormone may result in the same outcome. One way to possibly balance hormones is by increasing pregnenolone levels, which may help promote weight loss. (7)
Invigorates Mood
If we had the answer to a happy mood, people would be lining up to take the magic pill. However, there's no easy way to alleviate anxiety and depression. Plus, a myriad of factors can affect one's mood.
Yet there is some evidence that what can help is pregnenolone. (8) Studies show that pregnenolone reduces activity in the brain connected to negative emotions. By lowering this harmful activity, it may invigorate your mood and reduce depression and anxiety.
Pregnenolone is the mother of all hormones. It may improve cognition, memory, and energy levels. The right dose for you depends on different factors from age to the health condition. If you suspect that you have a pregnenolone deficiency, speak to your doctor about supplementation with an all-natural pregnenolone cream. The side effects are minimal, but the reward may be considerable.
- https://www.bostontestosterone.com/blog/2016/10/dhea-and-pregnenolone/#:~:text=4Both%20pregnenolone%20and%20DHEA%20are,one%20of%20the%20desired%20effects
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8772579/
- https://www.jbc.org/content/early/2019/01/15/jbc.RA118.005543.full.pdf
- https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5bcc/dc43155b0b14ef3da1c2dcc2a3751887665a.pdf
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3674137/
- https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/s-2007-1014845
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006322312010931