Delayed Ovulation? Could It Be Low Testosterone?
Ovulation, it’s everything when it comes to fertility! And despite what you have been told not all women ovulate on day 14. In a ‘normal’ cycle ovulation should occur between day 12 and 16. Ovulating later than day 16 is known as delayed ovulation and not only is it not good for fertility it is a sign of hormonal imbalance, particularly low testosterone. One thing that is guaranteed is that your period will arrive maximum 14 days after you have ovulated. So, if you are struggling with long menstrual cycles (>30 days) then chances are your body is struggling to ovulate.
Reasons why you may ovulate later than day 16 include:
PCOS i.e. high testosterone
Low Testosterone
Low oestrogen (which is linked to low testosterone)
Secondary amenorrhoea (which can involve low testosterone)
Stress (which can involve low testosterone
What’s the link between low testosterone and delayed ovulation?
Testosterone in females is converted by the enzyme aromatase into oestrogen, in particular oestradiol (see diagram below). Therefore, low testosterone equates to low oestrogen levels and oestrogen is essential for growing and maturing the egg and stimulating ovulation.
Without testosterone you cannot produce oestrogen. Without oestrogen you cannot ovulate.
How do I know if I have low testosterone?
A reason why low testosterone is often not talked about is that it is hard to identify based on symptoms alone. The best way to identify what your testosterone levels are is to do a blood test (on day 3 of your cycle) or a saliva hormone test (on day 21 of your cycle).
What causes it?
High levels of SHBG – Sex Hormone Binding Globulin is a protein present in the blood that binds to testosterone and oestrogen. Any hormone bound to SHBG is inactive within the body so if the majority of your testosterone is bound to SHBG then you will have low testosterone signs and symptoms. Testing SHBG levels is easy with a blood test.
Current or previous use of the OCP – The OCP increases SHBG by up to four times its normal levels. Even 12 months after stopping the OCP levels of SHBG can still be twice that of the normal level. There are ways to try and lower SHBG with herbal medicine but this is just another example why taking the OCP is bad news for your hormones.
Low DHEA levels – DHEA is a precursor hormone to testosterone. Low DHEA is usually a result of stress (or age) and therefore reducing the stress is going to be important in correcting the low testosterone. DHEA is also an antiaging hormone so we want as much as we can get of this hormone.
Overactive thyroid – Increases the conversion of testosterone to oestrogen by accelerating the actions of aromatase. Testing thyroid function and oestrogen levels are important to assess whether this is an issue for you.
How to fix it
Dietary aromatase inhibitors – Some foods have shown to reduce aromatase activity so slowing the conversion of testosterone to oestrogen (see diagram above). Only pump up your diet with these foods if in fact your aromatase is overactive otherwise just eat them in moderate amounts. The foods include: white button mushrooms, oranges, parsley, celery, coriander, onion, dill, fennel, grapes, berries, alfalfa sprouts, chickpea and green tea (reference here and here).
Reduce stress – Stress is the ultimate hormone imbalancer! When the body is in stress is can’t make testosterone as efficiently so the most important part is to get a handle on your stress. Whether that’s by meditation, yoga, changing things up in your life you really need to get on top of whatever is causing your body to stress.
B vitamins – B vitamins are essential for converting cholesterol into testosterone. Particularly vitamin B3 and vitamin B6. Making sure you are getting plenty of B vitamins in your diet is important for boosting testosterone levels. Foods rich in B vitamins include: meat, eggs, wholegrains, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds.
Nettle root (Urtica dioica) – Nettle root is used extensively in herbal medicine to address high SHBG. Studies have shown nettle reduces the ability of testosterone and oestrogen to bind to SHBG and therefore results in higher levels of these hormones in the blood. Make sure it is nettle root you use not nettle leaf as they have very different actions. The daily dose of nettle root in a 1:2 tincture is 4-8mL/day.
Tribulus (Tribulus terrestris) – In men tribulus directly boosts testosterone levels but its mechanism of action in women is very different. In women it boosts testosterone by increasing production of DHEA (reference here), which is then converted to testosterone – see diagram above. Making it a great herb when DHEA is also low. If testosterone and oestrogen are both low then tribulus is a wonderful herb as it also increases FSH, which in turn increases oestrogen – double whammy! The recommended dose is 7-14mL/day of a 2:1 liquid but it is also available in tablet form as the liquid can be a bit hard to swallow.
Withania (Withania somnifera) – is my favourite herb when it comes to reducing the stress response. It can be used when cortisol is high or low and it’s non stimulating. It also helps boost the immune system, energy and has anti-inflammatory properties. The daily dose of a 1:1 liquid is 3-7mL/day or up to 4g/day in tablet form.
Delayed ovulation is only one element that can affect fertility, download this FREE Fertility Guide to find out what else might be preventing you from getting pregnant and tips to boost your fertility naturally.