Pregnenolone is manufactured by the adrenal gland and the brain. It is the mother of all sex hormones and adrenal hormones as well. Generally, if you have low pregnenolone levels you will likely have depleted levels of DHEA and testosterone levels as well. Also according to hormone optimization expert Dr. Mark Gordon if you’re on testosterone replacement therapy you need to replace DHEA and pregnenolone as well as testosterone replacement can down-regulate the production of the precursors.
Pregnenolone is the most prolific hormone in the brain and is crucial for focus, memory, and brain health. According to anti-aging expert Dr. Hertoghe “Pregnenolone’s concentration in the brain is seventy-five times higher than in the blood.” If you have a difficult time focusing and find your memory is declining then you need to test your pregnenolone levels as soon as possible as it could be one if not the primary reason for your cognitive issues.
Pregnenolone benefits
- Improves memory
- Studies show it improves memory more than DHEA by a hundred times at the same dosage.
- Clarifies thinking and stimulates concentration
- Reduces fatigue
- Lowers depression
- Protects the joints
- Eases arthritis
- Improves healing
Symptoms of depleted Pregnenolone levels
- Memory issues
- Inability to focus
- Easily stressed
- Depression
- Chronic fatigue
- Poor endurance
- Joint pain
- Excessive urination
Cholesterol is the building block of all sex hormones including pregnenolone so ensuring adequate fat intake is important. Saturated fats in particular such as coconut oil and cacao convert into cholesterol which in turn can fuel the sex hormone chain. The following vitamins and minerals are also important for optimal hormone production
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Zinc
- B Vitamins
- Selenium
- Copper
- Boron
- Magnesium
- Vitamin D
Nutritious food should be the first priority to take in vitamins and mineral and supplementation used when needed to address any deficiency. A few brazil nuts per day supply ample amounts of selenium. Hempseeds are rich in magnesium and zinc. Raisins, lentils, and chocolate have pretty high levels of copper.
Most will find they need to take Vitamin D3 supplementation to get levels into an optimal range. My levels or example were very low until I started taking 10,000iu daily which took my levels from 30 ng/mL to 64 ng/mL in a few months. Vitamin D3 and Vitamin K2 work synergistically so choose a high-quality brand that contains both such as Vitamin D3 recommendation
A company called SpectraCell has excellent testing options to measure vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and amino acids so you have a baseline and can determine what you need to address https://www.spectracell.com
Finally, if your gut health is poor you are not going to have optimal levels of vitamins, minerals, amino acids etc and in turn, your hormone production will be poor as well. Make sure to eat meals slowly, avoid foods that are inflammatory to you, and take probiotics and glutamine to support gut health. Excess inflammation also destroys gut health and ramps up the stress hormone cortisol. Use Restorezyme to mitigate excess inflammation Restorezyme information
If after addressing vitamins, minerals, gut health, inflammation, and sleep quality you determine you’re still depleted in pregnenolone then supplementation makes sense. How much you should take is to be determined by your lab work results and physician recommendation. Just make sure you work with a physician that actually understands hormones. Recommended pregnenolone supplement
Pregnenolone blood test ranges
Men 38 to 350ng/dl, median 194 ng/dl*
Females: 250 to 500ng/dl, median level 205ng/dl*
*Dr. Mark Gordon’s Traumatic Brain Injury: A Clinical Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment
For more information on pregnenolone and hormones, check out Dr. Thierry Hertoghe’s excellent book, The Hormone Solution: Stay younger longer with natural hormone and nutrition therapies
