Essential to sexual health, Progesterone is a hormone that regulates menstruation and breast development in women, where it is produced in the adrenal glands and ovaries. It is responsible for a variety of tissue functions, and can affect female fertility. The hormone’s levels are regulated by the body in a strict manner. Depleted levels will lead to harmful effects. There is also a "natural progesterone", the product of yams that have an active ingredient that can be chemically converted into the form of the hormone that is most often used in industrial configurations.
 
Progesterone in males is created during the testicular production of testosterone. In females, it is produced in the ovaries.  If the ova or the testes are removed, or have simply shut down, presence of the hormone would be greatly reduced.
 
Only recently has the profound nature of progesterone’s multiple influences on the body been revealed. It is a precursor hormone, meaning it can convert into other hormones the body is in immediate need of, usually cortisol. In other words, if you are stressed-out and the adrenals can't produce enough cortisol to naturally ease the symptoms, they may ‘steal’ from your body's storage of progesterone.
 
Low progesterone levels may lead to sexual dysfunction. Like several other hormones, it is involved in the sexual function of females. Studies have indicated that a loss of sex hormones can lead to sexual complications, most often loss of libido. It extreme cases it may cause intercourse pain and and delayed orgasm disorder. Low levels of the hormone may also be troublesome for men. Ultimately, it can contribute to erectile dysfunction. In both cases, hormone therapy to supplement levels of progesterone can alleviate the sexual symptoms associated with depletion.

Initially approved by the FDA as a vaginal gel in 1997, progesterone was subsequently made available as an oral capsule in 1998. Then it was released as an injection in 2001 and a vaginal insert in ’07. More easily accessible is ‘natural’ progesterone. Derived from yams, this form of the hormone is freely available, though it is uncertain whether or not the human body can effectively convert the active ingredient, diosgenin, into the standard form of the hormone in question.
 
Although it was previously dismissed as a primarily female hormone, evidence has since supported the need for proper levels of progesterone in both sexes. It’s regulatory effect and receptor presence in many forms of body tissue make it of universal importance. It has even been suggested that it has neuroprotective properties that may defend against brain injury mortality and even reduce cases of cerebral edema. Plus, the natural emergence of complications that occur with age, such as tumor formations and general patterns of deterioration, coincide directly with the gradual decrease of progesterone. This also supports the need to maintain a healthy level of the hormone.