Side effects of Hormonal Contraception

Personally, during my time on hormonal contraceptives, where I tried a handful of different pills, as well as the depo provera injections and the implanon bar, nothing ever felt right.

lt wasn't until I was about half way through my Naturopathic studies that I made the decision to come off hormonal contraception altogether. It was the best decision and I have never looked back since!

Whether or not you use hormonal contraception is completely your own decision, you know your body and what feels best for it. I do however, just want to touch on the subject briefly, as many ladies do not understand the full effect it has on the body.

Firstly, the oral contraceptive pill (aka OCP, or "the pill") does not balance our hormones, it essentially turns them off. It does this by suppressing our body's own natural production of oestrogen and progesterone, by providing steroid, hormone-like replacements. The bleed that occurs when you take the 'sugar pills' is not actually a period, as you do not have a cycle. They are essentially break through bleeding that occurs from stopping the pill for those few days, which results in a drop in hormones.

A side effect of taking these forms of hormone replacements long term is that it depletes the body of important nutrients including the minerals zinc, magnesium and selenium and vitamins folic acid (B9), riboflavin (B2), pyridoxine (B6), cobalamin (B12), vitamin C and vitamin E. It does this primarily by increasing intestinal permeability of the gut lining and disturbing the microbiome, so the body's ability to absorb and assimilate nutrients from food is compromised.

This impact on the gut also affects the brain directly, as most of our serotonin is produced in the gut, which leads to many women experiencing increased signs of anxiety and depression. If that wasn't enough, the OCP also reduces libido and increases risk of blood clots, weight gain & hair loss.

When we are taking hormonal contraception, our body is not producing our own hormones, so it misses out on the benefits that real oestrogen and progesterone provide us with. There are numerous benefits, some of which include a sense of calm, female intuition, sex drive, stronger immune system, higher energy, reduced inflammation and better sleep.

So essentially by taking hormonal contraceptives long term, your nutrient status, immune system and gut health is compromised, which increases the risk of hormonal imbalance.

In addition, one of the most concerning aspects of hormonal contraception for me as a Clinical Naturopath is the bandaid effect it has on the body, particularly when ladies are started on hormonal contraceptive for hormonal imbalance to begin with.

Pain, discomfort, cramping and headaches are all signs and ways for our body to tell us that something is not right. As the pill often suppresses these symptoms, the cause is not addressed and women potentially go years with hormonal, gut and liver dysfunction slowly manifesting.

My advice for those on hormonal contraception is keep this knowledge in mind, and consider supporting your body with key nutrients to prevent these side effects of hormonal contraception from occurring.