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Did you know one of the side effects of hormonal birth control actually is hormone imbalance?
There are a lot of women all over the world who use hormonal birth control, and a lot of women also have a hormone imbalance and have no idea.
Today, I want to go over a few things you might not know about birth control, and hormone balance.
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First off, I want to clarify that this is not a post bashing birth control or anyone who uses it.
This is not a medical opinion.
This is information from a woman who is passionate about women’s health and an advocate for women being informed about what they are putting in their bodies.
This information is for your benefit, and to make you more aware of what birth control is and what it does.
(This page probably contains affiliate links, if you want to read more about that check out our disclaimer page)
Using contraceptives to prevent pregnancy when you are not ready for kids yet is not wrong in my opinion.
But you may want to consider the side effects of hormonal birth control before you start using it.
I am against uninformed women taking something that could harm them.
One: Hormonal Birth Control makes imbalances worse
A lot of women take birth control because their hormones are imbalanced, but truth be told…it can make them worse.
Hormonal Birth Control suppresses hormone communication.
This means that your brain cannot communicate with the ovaries. (Why you don’t get pregnant while using it.)
Because your brain stops communicating with the ovaries, it has the potential to alleviate symptoms like acne, cramps, heavy bleeding, etc.
It also prevents ovulation.
We can’t have a real period without ovulation.
We can have something called an anovulatory cycle, which leads to some bleeding that appears to be a period.
Basically, it is the ultimate band-aid solution to hormonal imbalance symptoms.
I absolutely do not think taking it for acne, heavy periods, bad PMS… anything other the pregnancy prevention is okay, because it doesn’t truly fix anything.
Two: It may take you a long time to get pregnant after stopping it
I’ve known mom’s that it took 5+ years to be able to conceive after being on birth control for an extended amount of time.
Because Hormonal Birth Control messes up your hormone balance, the hormones that help you conceive take some time to reset and help you regain fertility.
Three: Using Hormonal Birth Control could cause Pill-Induced PCOS
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is a testosterone imbalance that can cause a loss of periods, trouble being able to lose weight, and excess body hair in women.
(Amongst other things)
Because birth control pills cause your body to stop ovulating, and reduce insulin resistance in women, which can sometimes be the cause of PCOS symptoms.
Related Content: 5 Natural Supplements to help Balance Hormones
Four: Can cause adrenal fatigue
Adrenal fatigue (or HPA Dysregulation) is when your adrenal glands (the gland responsible for cortisol and other hormone production) get worn down from overproduction.
Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue may include:
- Fatigue
- Worsened PMS symptoms
- Insomnia
- Cravings
- Depression
- Skin issues and acne
- Lightheadedness
- Irritability
- Inability to reduce stress levels
Taking the pill gives your body a daily dose of extra Estrogen.
This causes the cervix’s mucus to thicken, preventing sperm from being able to get to an egg. (Similar to when you are pregnant.)
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All this extra Estrogen causes your body to produce more Cortisol, to fight off the inflammation from the added hormones.
Because you are adding daily doses of Estrogen, your body is trying to suppress it with extra Cortisol, long-term wreaking havoc on your Adrenal glands.
Five: Can cause leaky gut and decreased gut health
Oral contraceptives have since the 60’s been known to cause damage to the intestines.
Because the pill is something you swallow, and then passes through the digestive system, it exposes that tract to hormones that don’t need to be there.
Side effects from hormonal birth control in the gut include:
Vaginal Yeast Infections, lowered metabolic function, lowered immunity, and even Crohn’s disease.
Six: Causes nutrient deficiencies
Being on the pill for extended amounts of time can rob your body of essential nutrients.
These vitamins and nutrients include: B vitamins (such as Folate, B6 and B12), Vitamin C, E, as well as minerals your body desperately needs like COQ10, Magnesium, Zinc and Selenium.
Seven: Long-term use can cause the Hypothalamus to shrink
You read that correctly, SHRINK.
Our hypothalamus is the part of our brain that releases hormones to help regulate our moods, heart rate, sleep cycle, hunger, and sex drives.
There was a study done that showed women taking oral contraceptives had much smaller hypothalamus than the women in the study not taking the pill (up to 6% smaller).
Something to be aware of…
Balancing your hormones increases your chance of pregnancy, compared to the pill.
Why?
Women’s bodies are made to function a certain way when it comes to reproduction.
We…
- Ovulate
- Start our period
- The menstrual cycle starts over.
Estrogen increases after our period stops, falls, and progesterone (the hormone that helps with pregnancy) rises as we ovulate, drops and then our period starts again.
This is the normal cycle and promotes healthy hormone levels and fertility.
(To learn more about the program shown above, follow this link: 3 Week Hormone Reset)
When our hormones are out of balance (too much estrogen, progesterone, or testosterone), this cycle falls apart. We miss cycles altogether, gain/lose weight, emotions fluctuate, and we have labeled it PMS.
Related Content: How to naturally fix a hormone imbalance (the #1 product I used)
Further Understanding Birth Control
This is your brain on Birth Control is a book I heard of from Marisa from Miss Fit and Nerdy.
She talks about it in her video (featured below), and also explains more of the science about how birth control works and what the side effects are.
She is very smart and has a LOT of great info on Hormonal Birth Control.
I highly suggest watching her video and subscribing to her channel on YouTube if you enjoy fact filled nutrition, health and fitness videos for women.