Why You Want Off Hormonal Birth Control

The ubiquitous pill may seem innocuous, but is it really? With roughly 10 million women on birth control, shouldn’t we dig a little deeper? Sure, we all want the magic bullet. But life doesn’t work like that, princess; there’s no fairy dust, there’s no magic wand. While the pill has given millions of women a free pass to fuck like playboy bunnies and avoid pregnancy, there is a darker side.

First, let’s take a look again at the side effects the OBGYN may have failed to mention. Then let’s talk about taking our bodies back. Most of us were not raised to honor our cycles. During my adolescence, periods carried a tinge of shame; they were something to be hidden, not celebrated. Like many, for generations ad nauseam, I never received an owner’s manual nor was taught about the beauty, power and the mystery of my holy yoni.

Gratefully, this dumbed-down blanket of cultural conditioning is finally starting to wear thin. The bottom line is that the more you educate and empower yourself, especially around your own body, the more you change and contribute to the health of all beings.

A Much-Needed Conversation

FYI, it’s toxic: Hormonal contraceptives and hormone replacement therapies are classified as carcinogenic to humans (group 1) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.

It’s irresponsible and a public health threat: Granted, poisoning yourself is your prerogative, but you’re also contaminating the ecosystem and other living beings drinking and showering in tap water. Studies have shown that the hormone ethinyl-estradiol (EE2), the active substance in birth control pills, affects aquatic organisms when released via urination into sewers. As demonstrated in labs, EE2 can also impair human cell function. University of Pittsburgh researchers discovered that breast cancer cells grew twice as fast when exposed to estrogen taken from catfish caught near untreated sewage overflows.

“There is the potential for an increased risk for those people who are prone to estrogenic cancer,” said Conrad Volz, lead researcher on the study.

Given this fact, I can’t help but wonder if there’s a link between our estrogen laced water supply and the steady decrease of testosterone in men. So, if your conscience can handle being responsible for fish spawning infertile offspring (donning a mix of male and female apparatus) and your little brother growing man boobs, then, by all means, turn the other cheek and continue to ignore the science.

There’s a litany of physical side effects: Some of the common side effects of hormonal birth control include diminished sex drive, vaginal irritation, spotting between periods, breast tenderness and enlargement, increase in headaches and migraines, weight gain, insulin resistance, and blurred vision or nearsightedness.

While many of these side effects are temporary, as the body adjusts there are more severe issues you may not be aware of.

Other complications caused when handing your body over to big pharma:

The disruption in hormones can increase yeast infections, cause nutritional deficiencies, make you more prone to gum disease, and increase inflammation.

Additionally, there’s an increased risk of breast cancer, possible future infertility issues, a 35% to 55% increased risk of gallstone formation, and a 60% increased risk of a heart attack. Studies also report that 2 to 4 women out of 10,000 on birth control develop blood clots.

And, the disruption of a woman’s gut biome should certainly cause alarm as it’s becoming increasingly evident that so many diseases start there. It is estimated that women on birth control have a 3 times greater chance of developing Crohn’s Disease. There are also serious emotional side effects to take into consideration such as depression and anxiety, and perhaps disconnection to one of our greatest feminine superpowers, our intuition.

Birth control fucks up your pheromone radar and alters mate preferences: Another startling fact is that hormonal birth control influences your attraction to the opposite sex. Pheromones play a key role in our subconscious attraction to a potential or chosen mate. To ensure the survival of the species and robust immune systems in our offspring, nature has designed women to be attracted to men with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes that differ from our own.

But a study of women rating the smell of men’s T-shirts intimated that women on the pill are more likely to desire men who share similar MHC genes. No one knows why for sure, but scientists reason that because the hormone changes from being on the pill mimic pregnancy, these women are drawn to the body odor of more nurturing, cooperative partners rather than genetically compatible men. Research further shows that when women discontinue their hormonal birth control they’re more likely to cheat on their partners with MHC-dissimilar men. The implications of this for millions of relationships looks a little grim.

I know, I know…make it stop already.

Let’s move on, shall we? It’s time to get back in touch with the moon and out of the clutches of the pharmaceutical companies. Fortunately, we have some wise, wise women to show us how. If you are currently on hormonal birth control, I advise working with a holistic OBGYN or naturopath to support you in detoxing off of it asap.

But don’t stop there, click here for Part 2: Taking Your Body Back from Big Pharma. It’s your birthright to be sexually sovereign and intimately attuned to your marvelous body. A sexy lifestyle is a healthy lifestyle.

XO,