How to reduce the side effects of birth control pills

There are various reasons why women use birth control pills.

While some use it for preventing an unwanted pregnancy, there are others who take it on doctor’s advice to address certain health conditions ranging from treating irregular menstrual cycle, reducing heavy bleeding, balancing and controlling hormones and more.

As is with most medicines, there are some side effects of these pills too. However, it is believed that the side effects outnumber the benefits associated with it.

We bring you ways you can reduce the risk of birth control pills.

Birth control pills can lead to the depletion of a wide range of nutrients including vitamin B, C, E, zinc, selenium and magnesium. Thus, when on birth control pills, you must consume food rich in these nutrients. A rainbow diet ensures wholesome nutrition. If you are a non-vegetarian, you must add eggs, meat, seafood and fish to your diet to combat the deficiencies. Add more nuts, fruits, seeds and berries to your diet to get adequate zinc and selenium. If you feel you are unable to get proper nutrients from your daily diet, ask your doctor to prescribe you a multivitamin.

70-80 per cent of our hormones are secreted in our gut, which makes it very important to maintain optimum gut health. Add good quality probiotics to your diet. Some easily available probiotics are curd, buttermilk and rice kalonji. Bone broth also helps in healing the gut and reduces inflammation. Foods like refined sugar, refined oils and refined carbohydrates worsen the gut health. You can replace the refined oil with coconut oil, olive oil, sesame oil and even ghee. Jowar and bajra are also a wholesome option and great alternatives to simple carbohydrates.

The pill can affect your liver as most of our hormones are metabolised in our liver. Our liver is responsible for metabolising hormones and the detox system of the body, which depends on certain nutrients and minerals. You can include herbal tea like tulsi, which is free of caffeine and also helps detoxify your liver.

It has been observed that women on birth control pills sometimes overreact inappropriately to situations that can be managed with rationale thinking. Keeping stress levels under check is important. Indulge in daily exercise, meditation, yoga, reading, etc as these work wonder in relieving stress. Follow the body’s natural clock. Make sure you sleep for 7-8 hours every day to start afresh and have a good mood the next day.

If you don’t feel good after going on pills, talk to your doctor about it. At the same time, you can also wait and give your body some time to adapt.