Chile in case you hadn’t heard…Birth control wreaks havoc on women’s bodies!
Most women are unaware that hormonal birth control actually SHUTS DOWN your ovaries. If we asked men to take something that forced them to stop producing sperm what do you think they’d say? When you are on the pill, you’re ingesting hormones every day. This means that when your hypothalamus scans your body, it sees that your body already has a certain amount of hormones available, and it tells your pituitary to chill. So your pituitary gland stops communicating to your ovaries to get to work. This brain and ovary connection then lies dormant, and your ovaries not only stop producing eggs, but they stop producing estrogen and progesterone almost entirely. This is how the pill prevents pregnancy; basically through a straight up SHUT DOWN. Your ovaries actually shrink by up to 50% and begin to resemble that of a woman in menopause!
Many of my clients are seeking alternative natural methods because of the damage BC has done to their bodies over time. There are different types of contraceptive pills which all contain synthetic forms of the hormones estrogen, progesterone, or both.
Side effects may include: spotting, nausea, breast tenderness, headaches, migraines, weight gain, mood changes, missed periods, decreased libido, vaginal discharge, changes to eyesight. Some of the nutritional side effects include depletions in: folic acid, vitamins B2, B6, B12, vitamin C and E and the minerals magnesium, selenium and zinc. If using the copper IUD it’s important to supplement with zinc, as the heightened absorption of copper depletes zinc in the body.
When taking BC, it’s important to supplement all of nutrients being depleted, and maintain a diet high in whole foods..ideally hormone-free to maintain balance. In another post this week I’ll discuss a natural option that has no long-term negative side effects. -XO
Reference:
Palmery M, Saraceno A, Vaiarelli A, Carlomagno G. Oral contraceptives and
changes in nutritional requirements. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2013
Jul;17(13):1804-13. PubMed PMID: 23852908.