The Pill.
Read the small print.
Acne, heavy, painful, or irregular periods, endometriosis, or PMS symptoms are some of the reasons you would have been prescribed the contraceptive pill from your GP, aside from acting as a barrier method against unwanted pregnancy. 60% of women are prescribed the pill for reasons other than preventing pregnancy.
Although the pill can help with those symptoms for some women, this solution certainly doesn't address the underlying root cause. And unbeknown to many, this little pill taken daily has side effects that aren’t flagged at the start of the pill journey that many women embark on as young as 14.
What does the pill do?
The pill prevents the ovaries from releasing an egg each month (ovulation). By switching off ovulation, the pill switches off oestrogen and progesterone and induces a state similar to temporary chemical menopause. Essentially the pill shuts off your body’s natural hormone production of oestradiol (the most potent form of oestrogen) and progesterone and replaces it with synthetic hormones like ethinylestradiol and progestin. Sadly, the pill does not have the same molecular structure as real hormones and does not provide the same benefits. For example, oestradiol improves insulin sensitivity (this means cells can take in glucose efficiently, allowing blood sugar to return to normal after eating), whereas the drug equivalent ethinylestradiol potentially causes insulin resistance (1). Anovulation (no ovulation) is also linked to diminished sexual desire; research shows that if you’re not ovulating you are not as interested in your partner… far from ideal!
What are some of these side effects?
Nutrient depletion
The pill depletes your body of vital vitamins and minerals that are needed to carry out the boundless reactions happening every millisecond to keep your body operating (2,3). Antioxidants, B vitamins, zinc, and selenium are just a few of the important nutrients that are depleted. These are crucial for immune system regulation, thyroid hormone synthesis, balancing hormones, creating calm-inducing neurotransmitters, liver detoxification and tissue repair (4). What often happens is women will come off the pill wanting to conceive, and they’ll go into pregnancy with low levels of these nutrients at a time when the body’s nutrient requirements are the highest, they’ll probably ever be. This nutrient deficit can impact the health of the pregnancy and baby.
Mood
If you’ve ever wondered why the pill starts to make you feel crazy, you aren’t the only one and there is a good reason why this happens! Our natural cycling hormones can profoundly impact our mood, so it’s not surprising that synthetic hormones can also greatly impact our mood, mindset, and motivation.
A large study published in 2016 which followed women for 13 years found that women on the pill were more likely to be diagnosed with depression and were 23% more likely to be prescribed an antidepressant (5). The reason for this is due to our body not making progesterone. Progesterone is the reason why we feel calm, it helps regulate our mood, and it’s also why we get great sleep. Instead, synthetic progestin can cause depression, anxiety, headaches, acne, and hair loss.
Impact on the gut microbiome
The pill can disrupt normal flora and create an environment that allows for the overgrowth of harmful bacteria and yeast (6). Our mood and mind are intimately tied to the function of our gut. Knowing that our gut microbiome influences our mood, and the pill disrupts the microbiome then prescribing the pill for PMS symptoms does not get to the root cause. Instead, it masks the symptoms with a drug known to worsen the underlying cause.
In addition, the pill disrupts thyroid hormones, can cause issues with adrenal glands (7), increases oxidative stress in the body and raises inflammation. It impacts joint health and the development of the musculoskeletal system. It also increases the risk of certain cancers including breast (8), cervical (9), liver (10), and uterine (11). Lastly, the pill has long been known to increase the risk of blood clots, stroke, and pulmonary embolism (a clot that is lodged in the lungs) and raises the risk of heart attacks (12).
Some natural alternatives
If you want to avoid synthetic hormones, maintain your natural monthly menstrual cycle, and want long-term birth control, then the copper IUD is an option. It’s a hormone-free, T-shaped device that releases copper, which interferes with sperm movement and egg fertilisation. It’s 99% effective and last 7-10 years. The copper IUD can also be used for emergency contraception. Having an IUD placed within 120 hours after unprotected sex or in other words, within 5 days is the most effective emergency contraception.
A completely natural alternative option is ‘Natural Cycles’. Using a thermometer and app helps you to track your periods, on red days condoms are recommended to prevent pregnancy. The longer you record your temperature over time, the greener days you’ll have. This non-hormonal birth control is 93-98% effective. Currently, the FDA has approved Natural Cycles as a contraceptive device. Ovulation is a one-day event, the egg doesn’t live beyond 24 hours. Sperm can live for 5-6 days; therefore, your fertile window is 6 days out of the month. If you know this, then you know how to get pregnant and how not to get pregnant and you can take precautions when necessary.
If you choose to come off the pill, some considerations
There is such a thing called post birth control syndrome, it’s important to allow your body to turn back on its hormonal system, this can take anything up to 6 months. And during this time, it’s very normal to experience an array of symptoms such as headaches, hair loss, libido loss, mood swings, insomnia, anxiety, chronic yeast infections and UTIs, cystic acne, outbreaks, and rashes, irregular or non-existent periods while your hormonal system gets back up and running.
You might want to include the following foods in your weekly shopping basket such as beetroot, carrots, broccoli and broccoli sprouts, cauliflower, kale, dandelion root, and burdock root. You may want to consider taking good multivitamins to replenish depleted vitamins & minerals and look at some gut-healing herbs and nutrients such as grass-fed Collagen, NAC, Zinc, Slipper Elm Bark, Quercetin, and Aloe Vera.
Tuning in to your body’s hormonal system
Having a natural monthly cyclical menses is a wonderful way to get to know and become attuned to your body. As your hormones play out like a Mozart symphony throughout the month, you’ll start to notice the ebbs and nuances specific to you and your body, and how you can use these to your advantage. You want to experience the benefits of your oestrogen surge during the follicular phase of your cycle. That feeling of confidence, feeling sharp, focused, and wanting to socialise. As oestrogen peaks around ovulation, this is the time to ask for that pay increase, embark on a new venture, or ask that chap out at work. You also want to experience that peak in progesterone during the luteal phase when you feel that sense of calm and relaxation, wanting to be more insular knowing it’s time to take proper care of yourself as you approach your period. And not forgetting testosterone, women on the pill have lower levels of testosterone which is needed for all parts of the sexual response curve; desire, arousal, and orgasm, and to maintain muscle mass. Research says we should probably give women DHEA (which is a precursor to testosterone) so that they don’t have this side effect. Or maybe we suggest alternatives to the pill…just a thought!
The pill has a place for acting as a barrier method for some women that don’t have access to other contraceptive options, there is no argument there. This post is merely to share all the information good and bad so you can make an informed decision that is right for you.
References:
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Massey LK, Davison MA. Effects of oral contraceptives on nutritional status. Am Fam Physician. 1979 Jan;19(1):119-23. PMID: 760421.
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. PMID: 23852908.
Akinloye O, Adebayo TO, Oguntibeju OO, Oparinde DP, Ogunyemi EO. Effects of contraceptives on serum trace elements, calcium and phosphorus levels. West Indian Med J. 2011 Jun;60(3):308-15. PMID: 22224344.
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Pike MC, Henderson BE, Krailo MD, Duke A, Roy S. Breast cancer in young women and use of oral contraceptives: possible modifying effect of formulation and age at use. Lancet. 1983 Oct 22;2(8356):926-30. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(83)90450-6. PMID: 6138501.
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JULIE R. PALMER, LYNN ROSENBERG, DAVID W. KAUFMAN, M. ELLEN WARSHAUER, PAUL STOLLEY, SAMUEL SHAPIRO, ORAL CONTRACEPTIVE USE AND LIVER CANCER, American Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 130, Issue 5, November 1989, Pages 878–882, doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115420.
Weiss NS, Sayvetz TA. Incidence of endometrial cancer in relation to the use of oral contraceptives. N Engl J Med. 1980 Mar 6;302(10):551-4. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198003063021004. PMID: 7351890.
Petitti DB, Wingerd J, Pellegrin F, Ramcharan S. Risk of Vascular Disease in Women: Smoking, Oral Contraceptives, Noncontraceptive Estrogens, and Other Factors. JAMA. 1979;242(11):1150–1154. doi:10.1001/jama.1979.03300110022020.
