Let me start this blog with a disclaimer: I do not believe in birth control, but it's your prerogative. I, like the majority of women out there was sold to believe that the benefits of birth control outweighed the cons, but the more that I learned the more I know this is false. I had been on three different forms of birth control, on the journey to find the "right one for me." One of the forms was the patch, which I stayed on for around 6 months. During my journey on the patch I gained around 15 lbs and for the following two years I experienced abnormal pap-smears that were unexplained by my doctors. I also began seeing a lot of legal claims regarding the patch, due to adverse side effects and even death. For over three years now I have been off any form of birth control; I have a normal menstrual cycle, no PMS, remain a pretty consistent weight, and have prevented any unwanted pregnancy. I just wanted to use this blog to illustrate some facts about birth control that you may or may not have known.Whatever your reasoning is for birth control, whether you were told it would make your menstrual cycle more regular, clear up acne, reduce cramps and PMS, or to purely prevent pregnancy; it may not be the magical pill that you had thought. Yes, it is a convenient option, with promising results, but bottom line whether it is the high or low dose form, birth control is still a form of synthetic estrogen. Hence the reason that birth control can cause symptoms such as weight gain, mood swings, and breast tenderness. Birth control pills have also been suggested to be related to a higher risk of blood clots, cancer, thinner bones, cardiovascular issues, Alzheimer's, etc. Many of the symptoms associated with your menstrual cycle, cramping, irregular periods may just be a deficiency of progesterone and an excess of estrogen. So then why would birth control methods containing estrogen be thought to be the answer for these symptoms?
A women's natural menstrual cycle is based on the rising and falling of estrogen and progesterone. The pill works by tricking the body to think that it is pregnant, by keeping a continuous high level of estrogen and progestin in the body. The synthetic progestin can actually stop the natural production of progesterone, whereas the body will continue to produce estrogen, even when synthetic estrogen is present. The end result is a excess of estrogen in the body, and if you recall one of my previous blogs, this is a big cause of weight gain.
Some birth control methods out there actually prevent women from ever having a period, or having one only four times a year. Yeah, that sounds great! No woman enjoys that time of the month, but that is the way we were designed and I'm pretty sure that it wasn't just for the hell of it. As women, we are actually pretty lucky; every month our body goes through a natural cleanse, expelling bacteria from the reproductive system, as well as iron from the blood (excess iron can cause free radical damage).
Birth control pills can also affect thyroid function, elevating the Thyroid Binding Globulin, which cause a reduction in the amount of free thyroid hormones that can enter the cells. In the brain estrogen has been shown to modulate serotonergic function, which can show a link between birth control and depression.
One of the biggest damage done by birth control is to the liver, which is the organ that detoxifies the excess hormones from the body. When taking pills that contain hormones, the liver has to work even harder to break down these hormones to get them out of the body. This process requires extra amounts of B vitamins, vitamin C, magnesium, and zinc. This is dangerous, especially when it comes to increasing your chances of cardiovascular disease. We know now that a deficiency in B vitamins (mainly B12) can lead to an increase in the amino acid homocysteine, which has been linked to cardiovascular disease (next time you are at the doctor's ask them to test your homocysteine level for you).
What are the alternatives to birth control?
- Condoms (Male)
- Calendar Method
- Contraceptive Foam
- Diaphragm
- IUD
- Contraceptive Sponge
- Cervical Cap
- Female Condom
- Withdrawal
- Abstinence
- Sterilization
The take home message here is that birth control contains synthetic hormones, which can disrupt the body's natural hormone production, causing serious issues such as blood clots and frustrating issues such as weight gain. If you choose to get off birth control, make sure that you go through a liver detoxification protocol to help your liver remove the excess hormones, and to supplement with vitamin B12 to reduce an increase in homocysteine.
Pura Vida!
There can be lots of benefits and disadvantages to the health for using the birth control pills. And therefore this should be controls because this can lead to many problems like blood clotting and therefore this should be stop.
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