The luteinising hormone, often abbreviated as ‘LH’, is a reproductive hormone in both women and men. The hormone helps stimulate or boost the production of other essential fertility hormones. For instance, it helps produce progesterone and oestrogen in women and testosterone in men.

Although the luteinising hormone is found in men and women, this post will focus on its role in the female reproductive system. Specifically, we will define the luteinising hormone, determine why you need it when trying to conceive (TTC), and how to increase the hormone naturally and with medical help. We will also outline a few tips you can rely on to track luteinising hormones from home and how Fertility2Family can assist you with this.

Keep reading to learn more about how to increase your luteinising hormone.

Understanding the luteinising hormone (LH)

What’s the luteinising hormone or LH?

The LH is one of the primary fertility hormones in the anterior pituitary gland. The luteinising hormone is essential in women as it is responsible for various processes linked to the menstrual cycle.

How does the luteinising hormone affect your fertility journey?

Regarding a woman’s fertility, the luteinising hormone is vital in three phases of the fertility journey. These phases include:

• Stimulating your ovaries to produce estradiol (E2) during the first two weeks of the menstrual cycle.
• Increasing around the 14th day of the cycle to trigger the ovulation process (ovulation will occur about 24 to 36 hours after an LH surge).
• Stimulating corpus luteum after you ovulate to aid in progesterone production and support foetal development during the early days of pregnancy.

Therefore, if you’re trying to conceive, it’s essential to monitor your LH levels regularly to predict the ovulation day and determine your fertile window so you can plan for sex accordingly.

What are the normal levels of LH?

Luteinising hormone levels should typically measure 5-25 IU/L if a woman has a regular menstrual cycle. This range is considered normal. When you experience an LH surge, the levels of LH will rise dramatically, but the exact quantity and percentage of increase will vary significantly from one individual to another.

What causes the levels of LH to be lower than average?

Whenever luteinising hormone levels are low, it signifies a problem with the section of the brain that controls the pituitary hormones. Also, disordered eating or malnourishment can cause the luteinising hormone levels to be lower.

What causes the levels of LH to be higher than average?

Unusually high luteinising hormone levels indicate that something serious is going on, like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) or ovarian failure. Alternatively, the high LH levels could be caused by chemotherapy or recent exposure to radiation and genetic conditions like Turner syndrome.

How to increase luteinising hormone

If you are trying to conceive or looking for the best way to boost the levels of luteinising hormone in your body, there are several options you can consider. This can be done naturally, with the help of a health care provider or a combination of the two options. Below are a few examples of what you can do.

Effective ways to increase the luteinising hormone naturally

Before seeing a healthcare provider assist in increasing LH levels, there are reliable solutions you can try out, such as:

Lifestyle changes

Lifestyle choices can be crucial in regulating your hormones and maintaining your reproductive health. If you are searching for a way to increase the levels of LH naturally, you can start by examining your lifestyle choices to identify the areas that need some improvement.

This may include any of the following:

• Weight – Are you underweight or overweight? Do you create time to exercise regularly?
• Nutrition – Does your diet provide enough nutrients to support your fertility?
• Stress levels – Are you exposing yourself to prolonged periods of stress?
• Alcohol intake – Are you accustomed to drinking over 14 alcohol units every week?
• Quality of sleep – Do you consistently get the recommended 7 hours of sleep every night?
• Tobacco use – Do you regularly smoke or use tobacco products?

If you need assistance managing these lifestyle factors, speak to your doctor; they will offer practical advice and an action plan for a balanced lifestyle.

D-aspartic acid

Also known as DAA or D-Asp, D-aspartic acid is usually found in the pituitary gland and assists the body in producing luteinising hormones. Although there’s limited research on the role of DAA supplements when it comes to boosting LH levels, one research shows that there is a relationship between high DAA concentrations and fertility.

As with other supplements and vitamins, clear it with your healthcare provider before taking D-aspartic acid supplements.

Chasteberry

This is another natural supplement you can potentially use to increase LH levels in your body. Besides enhancing LH levels, Chasteberry is often used to regulate ovulation and aid PMS symptoms.

Like D-aspartic acid, there are limited clinical studies to prove the benefits of taking Chasteberry for fertility. Therefore, it’s advisable to consult your doctor before taking these supplements.

Ways to increase luteinising hormone with medical assistance

Oestrogen replacement

One possible treatment you may consider when increasing your LH levels is oestrogen replacement. This hormone can also assist with other fertility-related issues, like regulating your menstrual cycle and boosting uterine lining thickness. All this will help you increase your chances of conceiving.

Gonadotropin treatment

Gonadotropin is another fertility treatment a doctor can recommend if you need to boost your LH levels. The medication comes with both follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinising hormone. Once injected, the two hormones will work hand-in-hand to produce and develop multiple follicles, enabling you to ovulate.

Human chorionic gonadotropin injections

Human chorionic gonadotropin injections are also known as hCG, and human chorionic gonadotropin injections are an alternative treatment solution for women with low LH levels. Even though the injections don’t specifically increase LH, the hCG will work similarly to LH and boost the release of eggs from the ovaries.

Human menopausal gonadotropin treatment

Human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) is a treatment that aids in boosting FSH and LH levels, just like gonadotropin treatment. This will assist your body in producing eggs and ovulating as expected.

Conceive Plus Prenatal Vitamins 

Conceive Plus, Women’s Prenatal Vitamins & Conceive Plus Women’s Ovulation Support supplements have been proven to help assist with hormone irregularities by including Myo-Inositol, Folic Acid and CoQ10 (Ubiquinone)

Where to start tracking LH Levels? 

If you think your LH levels are too low or causing fertility problems, you should consider testing the levels of LH or tracking them over time. This will let you know the baseline LH levels and identify when LH surges occur.

The good news is that you can rely on Fertility2Family products to test and monitor your levels of LH over several cycles. The information you get will come in handy when determining if your LH levels are within the normal range. If not, you will know it’s time to see a doctor and explore the available treatment options to increase your chances of conception. You can also consider the natural ways to increase LH levels before seeing your healthcare provider or combine them with your treatment.

Evan kurzyp

Evan Kurzyp

Evan is the founder of Fertility2Family and is passionate about fertility education & providing affordable products to help people in their fertility journey. Evan is a qualified Registered Nurse and has expertise in guiding & managing patients through their fertility journeys.