Ways to Naturally Induce Ovulation and Regulate Your Cycle

Ovulation Booster for Woman

Ovulation is a sign of good health since it occurs regularly each month and indicates that your hormone levels are optimal and, for the most part, balanced. Even though you could still bleed each month if you are not ovulating (anovulation), this is generally a sign that something is wrong. What you should know about anovulation or delayed ovulation, as well as methods for naturally inducing ovulation, are provided below.

What are the signs of anovulation?

The typical anovulatory woman experiences erratic menstruation, protracted cycles, or possibly no cycle at all. In fact, 20% of anovulatory women do not have periods, which is frequent, for instance, when nursing. A woman with anovulatory periods could also exhibit symptoms of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), a disorder where the ovary develops cysts (unruptured follicles).

However, having allegedly “regular” menstrual cycles, or bleeding that appears to occur a set number of days apart, does not always indicate that a woman is ovulating throughout those periods, according to a 2018 paper published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health.

A fertility awareness technique (FAM) documenting the indications of ovulation may aid you (and your healthcare practitioner) in your search for solutions if you believe you might not be ovulating. Anovulation, which can indicate estrogen and progesterone levels that are out of balance, can raise your risk of breast cancer, early heart attacks, osteoporosis, and bone loss. Ovulation is crucial for overall health. Women genuinely need to ovulate and have periods for a ton of different reasons.

What are the signs of ovulation?

We now know how crucial ovulation is, but how can you tell whether you’re truly doing it? On this subject, a lot has been written, but it isn’t necessarily accurate. Charting cervical fluid and/or basal body temperature, confirming a “peak day” with the aid of a qualified fertility awareness method (FAM) instructor, testing for an increase in luteinizing hormone (LH), and recording Mittelschmerz and/or breast pain are among the best ways to predict ovulation without medical assistance.

Even if they want to use an app to anticipate ovulation, we advise women to study a tried-and-true fertility awareness method (or Natural Family Planning method, or Fertility Awareness-Based Method) from an instructor who can teach them how to read their individual charts.

But how do you know if you’ve actually ovulated?

While ovulation prediction is critical while trying to conceive or monitoring your cycle, it’s as important to check that you actually ovulated—especially after talking about the possibilities of anovulatory periods!

So how can ovulation be verified? monitoring progesterone levels.

The empty follicle, also known as the corpus luteum, produces the hormone progesterone following ovulation. Progesterone is in charge of maintaining the uterine lining and getting it ready to take in an embryo. For ovulation to be regarded as “healthy,” meaning the ovulatory event gave rise to the best potential likelihood of conception, progesterone must remain increased during the full implantation window (days 7–10 after presumed ovulation). It could be harder to conceive if your progesterone levels are low.

There are several ways to confirm ovulation, including body basal temperature (BBT) tracking, cycle day 21 progesterone blood tests, and progesterone metabolite (PdG) tracking.

A shift in BBT will tell you if you’ve ovulated, but it falls short of offering any information surrounding post-ovulatory progesterone levels. It’s also easily influenced by factors such as room temperature, poor night’s sleep, snuggling a loved one, or even alcohol consumption.

A cycle day 21 progesterone blood test will give you an accurate progesterone level, but this only shows your levels at that particular point in time. Since progesterone needs to remain elevated for a long enough period of time after ovulation, a one-time blood test doesn’t always accurately represent progesterone levels over the whole implantation window. Plus, serum progesterone can fluctuate up to 30 times in just one day.

PdG tracking, however, offers non-invasive ovulation confirmation via urine testing. After progesterone cycles through the bloodstream, it’s metabolized by the liver into urine. Studies show that progesterone in blood directly correlates to PdG in urine. Using a PdG test, such as Proov, on days 7-10 after suspected ovulation, can confirm that healthy ovulation did in fact occur.

If you’re using a PdG test like Proov, ideally you’ll want to see four positive test results during the testing window to confirm healthy ovulation. Anything less than four positive results may be a sign that PdG (and therefore progesterone) levels aren’t adequately elevated and could be preventing you from successfully conceiving.

Factors to address to help naturally induce ovulation

If you suspect that your cycles may be anovulatory, consider addressing some of the following factors that may be causing your anovulatory cycles. Some of the most common but overlooked factors contributing to ovulatory dysfunction include:

Low body weight
Poor diet, i.e. lacking in essential vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and fats
Excessive athletic training
Excessive alcohol intake
Stress
Hormone imbalances

Ovulation Booster for Woman

Five simple changes to help your body ovulate naturally

1. Increase your body weight.

First, determine your BMI. If it’s low, then gradually increase your caloric intake to achieve a slightly higher body mass.

2. Swap low carb for slow carb.

If you’ve been skipping grains, fruit and starchy vegetables, gradually add back some whole grains, delicious fruits and veggies like sweet potatoes and peas that contain sugars that release slowly into your bloodstream. Bonus: Your ability to cope with stress may improve!

3. Add some good fats–including animal fat.

Steak? Yes, please. Preferably grass-fed for an optimal fatty acid profile. Keep eating the avocados, oily fish, and nuts and seeds, but don’t forget the occasional serving of red meat! Balance in everything is key.

4. Improve your sleep: Not just the length, but the quality of your rest.

Easy changes to do so include making your bedroom darker (or using a sleep mask), regular bedtime and waking hours, and adjusting the room temperature. Also, avoid or reduce any caffeine intake or smoking at least six hours before bed. Add a bedtime routine that includes a time of meditation or prayer, a good read, and no digital screen exposure at least an hour before bed. More about sleep here and here.

5. Balance hormones naturally

There are numerous techniques to increase ovulation quality and hormone balance naturally. To maintain a healthy balance of hormones, seed cycling entails consuming specific types of seeds at specific times of the menstrual cycle. There is some evidence, although some research have suggested a connection between eating foods high in lignans (such flax seeds) and having an impact on the activity of sex steroids.

Additionally, you can improve ovulation and naturally raise progesterone levels by making small lifestyle adjustments. For instance, a variety of foods, such as broccoli, spinach, beans, and pumpkin, among others, can support the generation of progesterone. Herbal supplements or pharmaceutical drugs may work in some cases. We advise speaking with your doctor if one of those alternatives appeals to you.

These are just a few broad suggestions for supporting a healthy, regular cycle, and for helping to naturally induce ovulation through your food and lifestyle choices.

If you have already made these changes effectively and your cycles are still not functioning normally, you need to consult a physician who will be able to understand the unique pattern of your cycles and hormonal levels and diagnose the root cause of this problem. Using contraceptives to regulate your cycle may reduce symptoms and hide such dysfunctions, but will NOT eliminate them.