Ah the pill, what a great topic to talk about! It has become so common in today's culture for women, especially young women, to be on the pill. It's casually mentioned in everyday conversations as if it's "no big deal; everyone is on it." Whether a woman is on it to "treat" bad period cramps or to avoid pregnancy, the end result is the same harmful effects.

In the 'Textbook of Contraceptive Practice,' there are over 150 biological changes the pill causes in a woman's body. From dehydration to changing the shape of a woman's eye, the pill's side effects are far too many to ignore. Heart attacks, blood clots, breast cancer, liver cancer, strokes, ectopic pregnancies, mental depression, loss of hair, weight gain, partial or complete loss of vision are just a few of the side effects of this potent synthetic hormone makeup we call the pill (Physicians' Desk Reference, 2416-2417).

Now maybe you're on the pill for medical reasons: ovarian cysts, endometriosis, PCOS, etc. While the symptoms of these issues go away, for the time being, the birth control pill is not fixing any of those issues. It is just a "bandaid" mentality. Doctors are pushing this because it gives your cycles this false sense of regularity, but it's not curing any of the issues; it's just covering them up synthetically until you get off the pill and your same issues still remain.

Your medical matters for taking the pill is only masked by layers of very dangerous hormones. Did you know that the FDA lists the birth control pill as a Class A/Group 1 carcinogen? A carcinogen is a substance or agent that promotes cancer, especially for breast cancer, cervical cancer, and liver cancer. Class A/Group 1 meaning it's in the same category as cigarettes and tobacco, things we know are harmful and cause cancer. Other Group 1 carcinogens include arsenic, formaldehyde, mustard gas, asbestos, etc. That's how dangerous the pill is.

My good friend, who is now in her mid-twenties, recounted when she was in high school: she had bad skin and wanted to go on a certain type of birth control to clear it up so when she went into the doctor's office to ask if there were any dangers of being on it indefinitely, the doctor said, "No, I have two daughters who are both on birth control. There's no risks or harm involved in it." How crazy is it that a doctor can say there are no risks involved when women have had strokes, developed blood clots, and have even died from taking the pill for three months, six months, or nine months.

In Jackie Francois Angel's YouTube video on the pill, she explains how family doctors, gynecologists, internal medicine doctors have told her all they are taught in med school is to prescribe the pill. They aren't taught how to heal the root of your medical issues. She then interviewed a NaPro, OB/GYN surgeon and asked her if she prescribed anyone the pill for any reason. She said, "No, for every single reason people are put on the pill there is a healthier, safer, better alternative." This is the mentality we need to take on.

The longer you are on the pill, the more severe the side effects are. 'JAMA Psychiatry,' a scientific journal, reported that women who were on combined oral contraceptives were 23% more likely to become depressed. Not to mention the rates for teenage girls on combined oral contraceptives, which made them 80% more likely to suffer from depression. 80%!

'The Nurses Health Study' at Harvard Med School found that women on the pill are 250% more likely to have strokes and heart attacks than those who do not take the pill. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic conducted 23 large studies and found, in 21 of them, an average of 44% increased risk of breast cancer in women who were taking the pill prior to their first pregnancy. Another study of women who used the pill for five to nine years shows twice the risk of cervical cancer and three times the risk if they are on the pill for more than 10 years.

Do yourself and your future a favor and get off the pill immediately. I promise you there are much healthier and safer options. Look up NaPro doctors in your area. They are the doctors to be trusted with your health and how to naturally heal your medical issues. You deserve to know how your body works and ways to naturally heal it. I'm working with one right now and I have never felt more empowered, learning and understanding the beauty of a woman's body.

There has been this craze with eating clean, exercising regularly, taking care of yourself, but when we ingest these oral contraceptives, we are living contrary to what we're trying to accomplish with healthy living. The pill changes how our bodies naturally behave and have serious consequences as a result. All in all, the benefits are not worth the risk. If you get off this potent makeup of synthetic hormones right now, your future self will thank you. There is absolutely no doubt about it.