Are You Having Trouble Ovulating Regularly? Here Are 11 Reasons Why...
For women, whether or not we want to have a baby, our ovulation cycle needs to happen for balanced hormones, a healthy menstrual cycle and mood, our fertility and overall health.
Ovulation is the main event of the menstrual cycle. It happens during the halfway point in the menstrual cycle for about 24 to 48 hours (1-2 days). Ovulation is when the egg gets released from the ovary into the fallopian tube to prepare for fertilization and pregnancy.
Here are 11 different reasons for why you are not ovulating:
1. Stress
Stress is likely one of the reasons you're not ovulating, because stress is the root cause of all imbalance, whether physical, mental, emotional or environmental. The body's stress response produces cortisol, which can counter your normal hormone levels of estrogen and progesterone.
This happens because when stressed, the body does not prioritize pregnancy. It's a defense mechanism, prioritizing survival over procreation. High-stress levels encourage energy conservation as much as possible, so hormone levels and digestion will take a back seat.
This is why I recommend women purchase Adrenal Support for cortisol hormone balance. No matter the cause of your stress, it causes this same stress-response in your body.
2. Nutrient Deficiencies
Many nutrients are essential to maintain stable hormone levels for promoting ovulation. Consequently, nutrient deficiencies are one of the reasons for not ovulating. Healthy fats are necessary for stable hormone levels and nutrient absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.
One of these types of vitamins is vitamin A which helps to improve egg quality. Magnesium soothes our uterine muscles to defend against PMS, and it promotes hormone production and regulation. Iron and copper helps oxygenate our cells and is one of the essential minerals in our body for ovulation.
3. Over Exercising
Over-exercising is any exercise performed at a high frequency and intensity during the week with minimal to no rest days. It is important to note that exercising, in general, is okay and beneficial for hormone levels. It is the excessive nature of exercise that is harmful.
Over-exercising puts a large stress on the body and it's a large energy output. With little rest and recovery time it can create more stress on the body and inflammation. If you are overexercising your body will have a hard time recovering, and will not prioritize a menstrual cycle or ovulation because those things require a lot of energy - resulting in you missing your period.
4. Low Progesterone Levels
Progesterone is the hormone that promotes ovulation and pregnancy, and if progesterone is low then you may not be ovulating. Studies suggest low serum levels of progesterone are associated with low percentage of ovulation in women struggling to get pregnant with regular menstrual cycles and women with unexplained infertility.
Naturally increase your progesterone levels with Adrenal Support and Fertility Support.
5. Not Eating Enough
Undereating is one of the reasons for not ovulating because of its effect on hormone levels. Undereating refers to the decrease in your calorie intake below your energy output per day. Habitual undereating patterns put our body into a state of panic and stress because we are trying to survive at an energy level insufficient for our current size.
From this stress, estrogen and progesterone levels decrease because we are not prepared for pregnancy. Estrogen is additionally essential to be maintained in a healthy range, just as progesterone is to achieve ovulation. Estrogen is released from our ovaries, but also our fat tissue. After prolonged undereating, our body fat percentage will decrease, and as a result, ovulation will not occur when you go below your body’s comfortable threshold of body fat.
6. High Prolactin
Another one of the reasons for not ovulating because you have high prolactin levels. Prolactin is a hormone typically released right after childbirth and throughout breastfeeding. Its function is to provide the milk from the mammary glands in the breast for baby. During this time, prolactin will lower progesterone and this is what causes a missing period, due to no ovulation.
Now, prolactin is not just produced during breastfeeding; many women can have a missing period due to high prolactin without having been pregnant. High prolactin in women that are not preparing to breastfeed can occur due to stress, thyroid issues, alcohol, and undereating.
7. Low Thyroid Function
Low thyroid or hypothyroidism can also explain one of the reasons for not ovulating. The thyroid is a gland in our throat that needs to release hormones to maintain a stable metabolism, among other things. If these hormones are not released as frequently as they should, this is called low thyroid or hypothyroidism in more intense situations.
As mentioned, low thyroid and high prolactin have a connection to what causes low progesterone. Our body will try to stimulate more thyroid output, so additional hormones in the brain, specifically the hypothalamus, will be released to generate more thyroid hormones.
These hormones, unfortunately, can also increase prolactin production and will therefore decrease progesterone. Decreasing progesterone will affect the endometrial lining build-up and cause you not to ovulate, resulting in a missing period.
Purchase Thyroid Support for low thyroid hormone.
8. Not Eating Enough Fat
Fat is an important nutrient for hormone production and nutrient absorption. Without fat (and cholesterol specifically) the body can not make hormones. It's impossible! Fat is also required for the absorption of vitamins, minerals and enzymes.
Any diet that lacks a sufficient amount of health fats is a hormone killing diet. This is why I believe low-fat and non-fat diets are problematic for women's overall wellbeing.
9. Hormonal Birth Control
Hormonal birth control is another reason for not ovulating. For the duration of the time that you take an oral hormonal contraceptive, you are not ovulating. This is because birth control administers artificial hormones to the body to stimulate the hormone levels of when you are pregnant. During this time your brain-ovary connection is shut off, and you do not release an egg to ovulate because the synthetic hormones work to interupt your natural ovulation cycle.
This is the reason I caution for women who are taking hormonal birth control for non-contraceptive reasons like a heavy, painful or irregular period, to instead go purchase my herbal Period Support to effectively address root cause of your period problems.
10. PCOS
PCOS or polycystic ovarian syndrome is a condition that can be one of the reasons for not ovulating. One of the three diagnostic criteria for this condition is anovulation/irregular periods due to not ovulating regularly. This happens because women with PCOS have high androgen levels, which cause their progesterone and estrogen levels to be much lower, resulting in missing periods and occasional ovulation.
11. Elevated Androgens
As in patients with PCOS, elevated androgens cause estrogen and progesterone levels to be low which is one reason for not ovulating. These androgens are testosterone and DHEA. Androgens are male hormones that we produce too, just in smaller doses. When these androgens get too high we stop ovulating because of the decline of progesterone and estrogen hormone.
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- Shavonne