ISBN: 9781624889752

Copyright © 2013 Ross Pelton

Oral contraceptives were first approved for use in the United States in 1960. Since that time it is estimated that over 80% of women born in the U.S. after 1945 have used oral contraceptives at some time in their life. The “pill” ushered in a new era of sexual freedom for women. For the first time women had the freedom to enjoy spontaneous sex without the fear of becoming pregnant. However, studies report that about 50% of women who begin using oral contraceptives will discontinue use within the first six to 12 months due to side effects.

There are several different classes of oral contraceptives including monophasic, biphasic, triphasic as well as high-dose and the newer low-dose varieties. I am not going to discuss the pros and cons of these different types of oral contraceptives. All oral contraceptives contain synthetic, chemically-altered hormones that are unnatural to the human body. I believe that oral contraceptives produce some side effects in all women.

Two Types of Problems

The side effects from birth control pills can be grouped into two main categories. The majority of side effects are related to nutrient depletions that are caused by oral contraceptives. Oral contraceptives also cause many women to have sexual side effects due to the dysregulation and disruption of normal hormone balance.

Nutrient Depletions

Oral contraceptives cause a depletion of a wide range of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, neurotransmitters and antioxidants in women’s bodies. These nutrient depletions increase the risk of depression, sleep disorders, anemia, low energy, migraine headaches, heart attacks, strokes, blood clots, diabetes, a weakened immune system, giving birth to an infant with birth defects, and cancers in the uterus, colon and breast. That’s a quite list of health problems to be concerned about.

Birth control pills are regularly taken by over 12 million women in the United States and over 100 million worldwide. Unfortunately, most women don’t realize that taking the “pill” substantially increases their risks to the health problems listed above. However, I am not suggesting that women should stop taking birth control pills. The primary purpose of this book is to educate women about the nutrient depletion problems associated with oral contraceptives AND to present some relatively easy and inexpensive steps that can be taken to minimize their risks.

Many of the problems that can develop do not initially cause noticeable symptoms, so women are not even aware of a problem. In fact, some of the problems take years to develop. For example, B-vitamin depletions enable damage to the blood vessels, which causes plaque buildup. In most cases, a woman is unaware of a problem until 20 or 30 years later when she has a stroke, a heart attack, or requires cardiac bypass surgery. It is important to realize that B-vitamin depletions caused by oral contraceptives can cause or greatly accelerated the development of these problems.

Outline

Introduction: Ross Pelton

Oral Contraceptives are Vitamin Robbers

Historical Perspective

Health Issues

Introduction: Ross Pelton

This book is a natural evolution of my 30 years in the fields of health and nutrition. In addition to being a pharmacist and a certified clinical nutritionist, I am a health educator and the author of 10 books. Two of my books are on the topic of drug-induced nutrient depletions. The Drug-Induced Nutrient Depletion Handbook is a reference book for physicians, pharmacists and other health professionals. The Nutritional Cost of Drugs presents the same information, but is written for the general public. This may make me the world’s leading expert on this topic. While most classes of drugs deplete one or several nutrients, oral contraceptives are one of the worst.

Oral Contraceptives are Vitamin Robbers

In my books, I have collected and organized published scientific studies which document that oral contraceptives deplete vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B12; the minerals magnesium, selenium and zinc; the amino acid tyrosine and the critical antioxidant named coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). In most cases, the actual cause of these nutrient depletions is not known. However, a substantial number of studies have been published which report that women taking oral contraceptives have substantially lower levels of these nutrients compared to women who have not been taking oral contraceptives.

I have speculated for years about WHY birth control pills cause so many nutrient depletions. Although the reasons have not been explained scientifically yet, I want to share my thoughts and opinions on this topic. Hormones are very powerful chemicals and they affect virtually all tissues and cells that they come into contact with. If you stop to think about it, women’s bodies were not designed to put synthetic estrogen and progesterone-like hormones in their mouths, stomachs and digestive tracts. For millions of years covering 99.99% of human evolution, no woman ever swallowed any of these hormones orally. The human body was not designed to have these sex hormones in the stomach and intestinal tract. I think that when these powerful synthetic estrogen and progesterone-like hormones are ingested orally, they have a negative effect on the delicate cells that line the digestive tract, which results in decreased absorption of many nutrients.

Many people ask me, “Why hasn’t my doctor informed me about this?” Unfortunately, most doctors are not aware that these studies exist. Doctors don’t have the time to research the archives of scientific journals. Also, when studies on drug-induced nutrient depletions get published, they don’t get much publicity. Drug companies do not spend their time and money to tell us that their drug is causing ill effects.

When I started researching this topic in the late 1990s, I was astounded at the number of studies I found reporting that various drugs caused nutrient depletions. I have now accumulated approximately 500 studies that have been published in a wide range of scientific journals over a period of 30 to 40 years.

Historical Perspective

In 1957, the drug company G.D. Searle gained FDA approval to market a drug called Enovid, which contained synthetic hormones, to treat menstrual disorders. Three years later, on May 9, 1960, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Enovid as the first oral contraceptive for use in the United States.

In June of 1975, a study titled The Effect of Oral Contraceptive Agents on Vitamin Nutrition Status was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.(1) The author of this study reported that women using the newer low-dose oral contraceptives for six to 12 months had lower levels of vitamin B1, B2, B6 and folic acid. So you can see, information about nutrient depletions caused by oral contraceptives began being reported in the scientific literature decades ago. Unfortunately, this information has not been communicated to women.

In October 1980, after oral contraceptives had been on the market for 20 years, a report titled Nutritional Effects of Oral Contraceptive Use: A Review was published in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine(2). After oral contraceptives had been available for two decades, the author, Dr. J.L. Webb, stated the following, “Concern about the nutritional status of women consuming oral contraceptives prompted this review.” His review of the current scientific literature at that time indicated that birth control pills caused depletion of six nutrients in women (vitamins B2, B6, B12, folic acid, vitamin C and the mineral zinc). In this paper, Dr. Webb also states: “Most studies support the contention that oral contraceptive usage leads to a deficiency of vitamin B6. Approximately 80% of all women using oral contraceptives for 6 or more months experience abnormal tryptophan metabolism. In order to solve this problem, 25 mg of vitamin B6 daily, or 12 times the normal RDA daily requirement, is needed.”

Here is the significance of what Dr. Webb reported:

• Tryptophan is an amino acid that comes primarily from protein foods.
• In our body, tryptophan is converted into a substance called serotonin.
• Vitamin B6 is required for the conversion of tryptophan into serotonin.
• Most women (approximately 80%) using oral contraceptives have lower levels of vitamin B6 which reduces their ability to produce serotonin.

Many of you are probably familiar with the term serotonin. It is an important neurotransmitter that is involved in regulating moods and emotions. It is generally believed that low levels of serotonin result in depression. Prozac and many of the other commonly prescribed antidepressant medications are called select serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs.

Does This Make You Angry?

In 1980 (over 30 years ago) Dr. Webb reported that approximately 80% of women taking oral contraceptives for six or more months experience abnormal tryptophan metabolism. This is because oral contraceptives cause a depletion of vitamin B6, which inhibits the metabolic pathway for converting tryptophan to serotonin. This means that most women taking birth control pills will have lower levels or serotonin and will be much more likely to become depressed.