Weigh the risks: what the use of birth control can lead to

“Contraceptive is the easiest and most natural way to protect yourself,” some say. “Pills are not candy, they will definitely affect your health,” others argue. Who is right?

Jolene Brighten, a nutritional biochemist and naturopath, tried to figure it out. The result of her attempts was a book with a title that will not leave any woman indifferent: “What contraceptives hide: how to regain control over your hormones in 30 days.” In it, the author talks about what actually happens to a woman’s body when she takes hormonal contraceptives. Well, we are publishing an excerpt from this book – with the permission of the Eksmo publishing house.

Nutritional biochemist, naturopath, MD

Birth control pill: pros, cons, and horrors

You’ve probably heard that birth control can make you gain weight or make you feel bad. Well, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which involved over a million women, found that women who take birth control are more likely to be prescribed antidepressants, which means that mood swings are not the only issue. You may have also read about the risk of stroke in the warning against contraceptive use for those over thirty or smoking. But did you know that birth control is also linked to an increased risk of autoimmune diseases, heart attacks, and thyroid and adrenal disorders?

Unfortunately, too many women are prescribed contraceptives for reasons not related to pregnancy control – against painful menstruation, endometriosis, PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), acne – without warning about the possible consequences for the body and the hormonal system. Your doctor really wants to make you feel better, he is just being taught to see these tools as a simple solution to … [insert a specific “female problem” here]. If you are prescribed birth control for reasons other than preventing pregnancy, then perhaps your inner voice whispered, “There is something wrong here.” Well, this voice knows something.

Every day in my clinical practice, I come across women suffering from hormonal disorders. They look for a solution – any solution – to their problems, without resorting to such traditionally dangerous options as birth control, removal of the uterus, or IVF. They want to understand the root cause of their troubles and learn to take better care of their bodies. It is with this that I help and am incredibly glad that you came across this book, since the solution to your problems is now in your hands. My book is for women whose hormonal symptoms have not been taken seriously by doctors, for women who want to gain control over their health and their bodies. For women who were told, “The side effects are minimal. Why are you asking about them at all? ” Birth control will not restore hormonal balance, and you have every right to ask questions. If you are one of those women who suffer from hormonal imbalance or are taking birth control for this imbalance, but want to learn how to deal with your symptoms in a more natural way, then this book is for you.

Perhaps you started taking birth control solely for contraceptive purposes, and then you probably have nothing to worry about, right? No. This problem does not happen “with other girls,” it can affect you as well.

The problem is in the contraceptive itself, and at one point or another it affects the life of every woman. That’s why I’m going to help you learn to recognize side effects, minimize them, and support your body so effectively that when you’re ready, you can give up birth control with minimal risk to your health and reproductive function.

If you are considering or are already taking birth control, you need to be aware of the potential health risks. You will learn more about them on the pages of my book, but I would like to highlight some of them for you right now. So, the side effects of taking birth control include:

• hormonal imbalance: absence of menstruation, irregular or short cycle, heavy or scanty menstruation, infertility, headaches;

• digestive problems: leaky gut syndrome, dysbiosis, inflammatory bowel disease;

• drop in energy levels: fatigue, dysfunction of the thyroid and adrenal glands;

• skin problems: hair loss, dry skin;

• mood disorders: depression, anxiety disorder;

• problems in the female part: low libido (damn, not that!), vaginal dryness, chronic infections, pain during sex;

• deficiencies in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants (such as folate, vitamin B12, and magnesium).

While these side effects are definitely not good anymore, they are just the beginning of the potential harm that birth control can cause to your body. Contraceptives also:

• they hit the thyroid gland;

• increase the risk of blood clots forming, leading to strokes;

• increase the risk of developing breast, cervical and liver cancer;

• increase the risk of developing diabetes;

• increase the risk of a heart attack;

• provoke the development of autoimmune diseases.

Not worried yet? Because they had to. Long-term use of birth control also compromises the integrity of the intestines, provokes inflammation, alters the microbiome, and ultimately leads to so many problems with the immune system that can trigger autoimmune diseases. So, the risk of developing Crohn’s disease when taking contraceptives increases by 300%. We definitely need more research on the long-term effects of oral contraceptives so you know what you’re getting into when you swallow them daily.