The Pregnenolone Steal: How Stress is Silently Sabotaging Your Hormonal Balance
By Dr. Beth Meneley, DAOM, L.Ac. Founder of Evolved Menopause
Have you ever felt like stress is draining you, not just mentally but physically? As we navigate the highs and lows of life, especially during perimenopause and menopause, it often feels like our bodies are working against us, turning each day into a delicate balancing act. If you’ve been feeling unusually anxious, moody, or battling persistent fatigue, there’s a chance that something deeper is at play—a hormonal shift known as the pregnenolone steal.
This concept isn't just some obscure medical term; it's an explanation for why your body, when under stress, can rob you of the hormones that are meant to nurture and calm you. It’s a beautiful, albeit challenging, reminder of how intimately connected our mental, emotional, and physical health really are.
What Is Pregnenolone and Why Should You Care?
Imagine pregnenolone as the first building block in a hormonal domino effect. Produced in the adrenal glands and brain, it is the precursor to some of our most essential hormones: progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, DHEA, and most importantly in this case, cortisol. This delicate orchestra of hormones is responsible for regulating everything from your mood and energy levels to your reproductive health and immune system.
But here’s where things get tricky: when your body perceives stress—whether physical or emotional—it prioritizes survival. It taps into its reserves to produce cortisol, the hormone that keeps you alert and ready to face challenges. Cortisol is vital for managing stress in the short term, but if stress becomes chronic, your body starts taking shortcuts.
The Pregnenolone Steal: When Stress Hijacks Your Hormones
Under chronic stress, your body begins what’s called the pregnenolone steal. In simple terms, your body diverts pregnenolone away from the production of progesterone and other hormones to make more cortisol. The logic is simple: cortisol is essential for managing stress, so your body will prioritize its production over other hormones that, while important, are not as critical in a "fight-or-flight" situation.
But when this stress response becomes chronic, your body stays in survival mode, siphoning off resources that would otherwise be used to produce hormones like progesterone—the hormone responsible for calm, sleep, and emotional stability. As a result, many women in perimenopause experience amplified symptoms like mood swings, anxiety, insomnia, and even more severe hot flashes. The body’s natural hormone balance is disrupted, and we feel the effects in every corner of our lives.
The Science Behind the Steal
Hormonal balance is a dance between multiple pathways, but at the heart of it all is pregnenolone. Here’s how the steal works:
Cholesterol is converted into pregnenolone.
Pregnenolone has two primary pathways: it can either become progesterone, which is a precursor to other sex hormones like estrogen, or it can be used to make cortisol.
Under stress, the body prioritizes cortisol production, pulling pregnenolone away from the sex hormone pathway. This diversion is what’s referred to as the pregnenolone steal.
Over time, this persistent stress response leaves your body starved for progesterone and estrogen, which explains why perimenopausal symptoms can feel so intense. Your body is not only dealing with the natural decline of hormone production due to age, but it’s also robbing itself of the few reserves it has left.
Why It Matters for Women in Perimenopause and Menopause
As estrogen levels naturally begin to decline during perimenopause, your body already feels the effects of hormonal imbalance. Throw in the pregnenolone steal, and it’s like adding fuel to the fire. Without adequate progesterone, you may experience more severe symptoms, such as:
Increased anxiety and irritability
Trouble sleeping and insomnia
Heightened PMS symptoms or irregular cycles
Fatigue and low energy
For many women, this hormonal storm feels like an unraveling, with stress triggering a cascade of symptoms that seem impossible to control.
How to Manage the Pregnenolone Steal and Reclaim Balance
The good news is that understanding the pregnenolone steal gives you the tools to begin taking control of your health again. At Evolved Menopause, we believe in empowering women with knowledge and comprehensive strategies that address the root cause of hormonal imbalances, not just the symptoms.
Here’s how we approach it:
Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT): Restoring hormonal balance is crucial to alleviating perimenopausal symptoms. BHRT replenishes declining levels of progesterone and estrogen, helping to rebalance your hormones and bring relief to anxiety, insomnia, and mood swings.
Stress Reduction Techniques: It’s not just about managing stress—it’s about changing your relationship with it. Meditation, yoga, and deep breathing exercises help activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps calm the body and mind, reducing the demand for cortisol.
Targeted Nutrition: Incorporating foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, and magnesium supports both adrenal function and hormone production. These nutrients help the body cope with stress and reduce inflammation, further supporting hormone balance.
Sleep Support: Sleep is a cornerstone of hormonal health. We work with our clients to develop strategies for improving sleep quality, whether it’s through sleep hygiene practices or supplements that promote relaxation.
Supplements for Adrenal Support: Supplements like ashwagandha and rhodiola are adaptogenic herbs that help balance cortisol levels and support adrenal health. By reducing the stress load on your adrenals, these supplements can mitigate the effects of the pregnenolone steal.
How Acupuncture Helps Restore Balance
At Evolved Menopause, we offer acupuncture as a powerful tool to help rebalance the body during times of hormonal imbalance and stress. Acupuncture works by stimulating specific points in the body that help regulate cortisol levels, improve circulation, and promote relaxation. By calming the nervous system and enhancing the body’s natural healing processes, acupuncture supports hormone regulation and can alleviate symptoms like insomnia, anxiety, and mood swings that are often triggered by stress and hormonal imbalance.
The combination of acupuncture, BHRT, and lifestyle changes provides a holistic approach that addresses the underlying causes of hormonal disruption, allowing you to feel more balanced, calm, and connected to your body.
Healing from the Inside Out
As we navigate the challenges of perimenopause and beyond, it’s important to remember that our bodies are always seeking balance, even when we feel out of sync. The pregnenolone steal is a powerful example of how deeply intertwined our stress levels are with our hormonal health. By addressing the root causes of stress, replenishing depleted hormones, and nourishing our bodies with the right nutrients, we can begin to heal from the inside out.
At Evolved Menopause, we are here to help you regain that balance. If you’re struggling with hormonal symptoms or feel like stress is taking control of your life, we invite you to schedule a consultation. Together, we can create a personalized plan to support your hormonal health and bring you back to a place of vitality and well-being.
