I have prescribed the pill thousands of times to my patients, feeling confident as a gynecologist, that I was offering one of the best solutions for birth control. As happens with many “medical miracles”, a more accurate story emerges slowly and quietly. We now know that the birth control pill puts many young users squarely into what looks and acts like menopause, creating symptoms and health problems that were previously relegated to much older women.
It wasn’t until I became deeply immersed in treating menopausal patients with bioidentical natural hormones, that I started investigating my birth control patients more carefully. The information I received back was overwhelming; I was shocked to find that most of my twenty year old patients on the pill, had hormones levels that were on par with my menopausal patients. Normal estrogen levels for twenty and thirty year olds should be 150-250. Most of the pill users had levels of fifteen, twenty or low thirties. Less than thirty is considered to be in the menopausal range.
Information emerging about the female brain reveals that estrogen is an essential hormone for healthy brain functioning. It enhances the connections between neurons, resulting in improved memory and prevention of dementia. Mood, smell, self-esteem, and even the ability of a woman to choose a healthy partner to father her child depend on estrogen. It stimulates the production of serotonin, which is one of the “feel-good” hormones in the brain. When estrogen is low, serotonin levels become low, resulting in depression, OCD, paranoia and ADD. This is why so many women, who have low estrogen due to the birth control pill, end up on antidepressants and other medications. Surprise! These problems happen to the menopausal brain as well, due to loss of estrogen.
Menopausal women gain about thirty pounds, loose their lovely skin, develop arthritis, have increased diabetes, increased heart disease, more thyroid problems, more breast cancer and a loss of their sex drive; all due to low estrogen. Data from the birth control pill shows similar concerns with increased heart disease, more strokes, increased depression, lower libidos, sugar imbalances and an alarming 10% increase in breast cancer. With fifteen women out of a hundred currently developing breast cancer, we can’t afford this deadly side effect. Research from MD Anderson Cancer Center reports that 90% of cancer is due to inflammation. Estrogen decreases inflammation, but menopause and the birth control pill, due to their low estrogen states, both increase inflammation, and therefore the risk of many cancer. Although a recent article states that patients using the birth control pill do not gain weight, most pill users feel it does. I agree. By lowering estrogen levels, the birth control pill raises blood sugar as well as cortisol levels, resulting in weight gain; just like in menopause.
So why do we use such a problematic medication when we aren’t even sick? First, it is really effective at preventing pregnancy. 98-99% of women will not get pregnant while on the pill. Second, some women do feel well on the pill. It can clear up acne in some patients and improves PMS in others. It also seems to offer some protection from ovarian cancer. However, it is always better to correct problems at their root cause, rather than covering them up. Use of natural bioidentical hormones, diet, supplements and life style changes produces better results with all these problems, while actually improving a woman’s overall health.
The birth control pill, by putting women into hormonal menopause, is counterproductive to goals of health and beauty. As a woman and a gynecologist, I ask the question if we really want to hurt our health voluntarily by using the pill? I don’t think women want premature aging, if avoidable. Save birth control pills for true emergencies and use other options for birth control that are safer. Let’s allow our own natural hormones to protect us from disease and aging for as long as we possibly can.
Prudence Hall, MD
The Hall Center
Vitality and Rejuvenation Medicine
This information is for educational purposes only, and is not intended to treat or diagnose any health condition.