When our hormones are balanced, we feel great, have energy and can do the things we love. Many women take the oral contraceptive pill (OCP), so it's important to talk about how you can nurture your body and promote hormone balance while on the OCP.

"When our hormones are balanced, we feel great, have energy, and can do the things we love."

The OCP is used widely for a number of reasons, including contraception, as a solution for common hormone imbalance conditions such as irregular or painful periods, and acne treatment.

This can be very effective at helping manage symptoms, as it works to override any natural hormone imbalances happening within the body when taking the medication. However, it is important to note that while the OCP is effective in managing symptoms, it might not always support the underlying condition and this could lead to complications when coming off the OCP.

When you have full transparency about the side effects of the OCP, you can then work to mitigate them if you're using it for contraception or hormone imbalance management or you might want to seek an alternative based on an informed decision.

How does the oral contraceptive pill work?

The mechanism of action for oral contraceptives is hormonal. Hormones are chemical messages that tell the cells in your body what to do. Oral contraceptives are a form of synthetic hormones that may replace or override the hormones that the body naturally produces. Usually, these include oestrogen, synthetic oestrogen, progesterone or synthetic progesterone.

In replacing or overriding hormones, the OCP works effectively to prevent pregnancy. As mentioned above, adding in these extra hormones is also used to manage any hormonal imbalances that are naturally occurring within the body.

5 Things to know when taking the OCP

Oral contraceptives have broad effects across women’s body systems. It is important to understand the full effects the OCP has on the body, with reduced nutrient levels being one of the main consequence.

When we add more hormones into our system by taking oral contraceptives, we then require more nutrients to process and detoxify these extra hormones out of the body via the liver. This effectively ‘uses up’ the nutrients we have faster and might lead to a nutrient deficiency impacting your health and energy adversely.

1. Vitamin B9

High levels of oestrogen in certain oral contraceptives are known to impair women’s metabolism of vitamin B9. Vitamin B9 (also known as folate) is an incredibly important nutrient for making red blood cells, our energy production, detoxification and maintaining a balanced mood.

2. Magnesium

The OCP is also associated with alterations in magnesium status. Reports found a 26% decrease in serum magnesium after 6 months on the oral contraceptive pill. This is because the body uses more magnesium while on the OCP.

Magnesium controls over three hundred enzymes within your body, meaning a magnesium deficiency can result in a multitude of symptoms, including unstable moods and muscle tension.

3. Selenium

The increased load on the liver from the OCP also results in reduced selenium levels. Selenium is required for the production of glutathione, an important liver antioxidant that helps to protect the liver from damage. With the increased detoxification requirement of the liver, more selenium is then utilised to produce more glutathione, resulting in a deficiency.

Selenium, along with magnesium, are both vital for energy production, mood, the body’s detoxification pathways and oxidative stress protection.

4. B vitamins, Manganese & Zinc

Research shows that the OCP has been associated with altering the metabolism of many other nutrients, such as depleting B vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B6, B12), manganese and zinc. These nutrients are incredibly important to our health and wellbeing, with anxiety and depression shown to be heavily associated with low B6 and zinc.

5. Increased risk of health conditions

The use of oral contraceptives is also associated with the increased risk of health conditions such as thrombosis. This is at least in part due to its adverse effects on the body's stores of vitamins and enzymes and the oxidative defense system.

What can you do?

The OCP is a hard one, as there are not many ideal alternatives when it comes to contraception. However, if this is your choice of contraception, I would highly recommend supporting your body with additional B1, B2, B3, B6, B9, B12, manganese, magnesium, zinc, vitamin E and selenium, on top of your normal daily nutritional support requirements.

Supplementation with vitamin E has also been shown to mitigate some of the adverse effects on vitamins, enzymes involved and the oxidative defense system contributing to symptoms and elevated risk associated with thrombosis.

You can also look at including affordable superfoods in your diet that are high in these nutrients. Good food sources are:

• B vitamins: Beans, green leafy vegetables, avocados and animal products such as organic free-range meats and fish.
• Magnesium: Almonds, green leafy vegetables, and cacao. 
• Zinc: Seafood (especially oysters) and red meat.
• Vitamin E: Spinach, turnip greens, chard, sunflower seeds, almonds, bell peppers, asparagus, collards, kale, broccoli, and brussel sprouts.
• Selenium: Brazil nuts, beef and fish.

As we know, optimal levels of nutrients are often difficult to absorb from our food, due to our soils lacking in nutrients, so it is important to include extra nutritional support to our daily routine. I recommend taking a good quality multivitamin like Be Pure One and a high strength fish oil like BePure Three, to provide you with the additional vitamin and mineral requirements you need to support you while on the OCP.

If you are on the OCP for reasons other than contraception, such as controlling irregular or painful periods or acne treatment, your hormones may be in need of some love. 

"When our hormones are balanced perfectly they coordinate our body like an intricately choreographed dance."

When our hormones are balanced perfectly they coordinate our body like an intricately choreographed dance. Our incredibly intelligent body then gives us signs our hormones are balanced through healthy outward appearance, as well as improved moods, ample energy and menstrual cycles that are a pain-free, non-event.