One of the first things I looked into when I started my natural living journey, was getting off of my birth control. (Of course, the very first thing to go was the medications I was taking for my acne, antibiotic oral medication and topical medications, but that is a whole other post altogether, that I will address that at another time.) I was having some symptoms that led me to believe I should get off of birth control, such as hormonal and emotional fluctuations, bad cramps, low libido, yeast infections and an overall bad attitude. Not to mention, it wasn’t helping with my acne, so I thought, “Why not just get off of this stuff. I’m trying to live a healthier life. Maybe I should stop putting artificial crap in my body EVERY day.” So, as always, I started my research.
One of the first things I read was “4 Ways to Repair the Hormonal Damage from The Pill” by Empowered Sustenance. She highlighted all of the damaging effects of birth control that we don’t hear about. Here are just a few things that she talked about.
The damaging effects of birth control:
- Birth control robs your body of nutrients, important nutrients that help it function as it should, such as folate and magnesium.
- It robs your body of vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6 and B12. Low levels of these vitamins are connected to irritability, depression, insomnia and fatigue. Sounds like my overall bad attitude!
- It robs your body of zinc, which can lead to a poor immune system and insulin resistance. Getting sick much? Gaining weight much??
- It also disrupts the balance of healthy bacteria in the gut. Over the course of my journey, I have found that a good balance of gut bacteria is VERY important and easily disrupted. Poor gut bacteria can lead to candida overgrowth (yeast infections!), more nutrient deficiencies and irregularity (poop irregularity!).
- Not to mention you’re putting artificial hormones in your body that effect the flow of things. Everything in our bodies is connected. Hormonal levels affect a lot more than we realize. Adding more estrogen and progesterone throws off the normal flow of things.
More symptoms of hormone imbalance caused from birth control:
- weight gain
- low libido
- depression
- anxiety
- water retention
- hair loss
If this list is starting to scare you, then you probably want to get off of your hormonal birth control. I have a follow-up post coming soon called “How to Get Off Birth Control & NOT Get Pregnant” to help you transition off of the pill and remain baby free! Sign up for my email list so you don’t miss the next post!
I know the BCP is pretty toxic, and has some nasty side effects. But, I think you need to be aware that some people require the pill for reasons other than contraception, such as endometriosis management, polycystic ovarian syndrome, or heaving bleeding causing anemia. The benefits of controlling these symptoms outweigh the harms in most cases, given that there is no natural treatment for these conditions. Although the idea of being chemical free is wonderful, I think you need to realise that it is also somewhat ableist, as disabled and chronically ill people require these medications to function.
Hazel,
Thanks for your comment. I would recommend reading Alisa Vitti’s Woman Code. In it she talks about how hormonal birth control can actually make Endometriosis and PCOS worse. And she outlines a thorough plan for diet and lifestyle change to address these diagnoses naturally. I didn’t intend for this post to appear ableist and I would never want people to experience worse symptoms by doing something I recommended. But I do believe that many health issues, including hormonal ones, can be addressed naturally, without medication.