Pregnane

Why You Need It

• Hormonal Balance: It is the direct building block for progesterone, which helps regulate the menstrual cycle and stabilize mood.
• Stress Resilience: Serves as a precursor to corticosteroids, helping your body manage inflammation and stress responses.
• Reproductive Health: Essential for maintaining the uterine lining, making it crucial for fertility and pregnancy support.

Deep Dive

Your body is a master chemist. While you cannot eat 'Pregnane' directly, you consume plant sterols (like diosgenin) that your body converts into Pregnane. Once in the system, enzymes work to transform Pregnane into progesterone. This process is vital because progesterone is often called the 'calming hormone.' It counteracts the jittery effects of cortisol and estrogen dominance. By supporting the raw materials (Pregnane precursors), you are essentially giving your body the ingredients it needs to bake its own hormonal 'bread' naturally.

Natural Food Sources

Pregnane itself is not found in food; rather, Pregnane Precursors (plant sterols) are. The most famous source is the Wild Yam (Dioscorea villosa), which contains diosgenin. However, the conversion process happens inside the body.

| Food Source | Active Compound | Est. Precursor Content | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Wild Yam | Diosgenin | High | | Soy Beans | Diosgenin (trace) | Medium | | Taro Root | Diosgenin | Low | | Oats | Steroidal Saponins | Low | | Lentils | Phytoestrogens | Low |

Supplementation

If you are looking to support Pregnane levels, look for supplements labeled 'Diosgenin' or 'Wild Yam Extract.' Note that while historically used, modern extraction methods are often required to ensure purity. Always prioritize food sources first to support your body's natural enzymatic conversion.