The pil is often considered the easiest and safest way of birth control. Many women take that tiny little pill every day to prevent unwanted pregnancies, plan their monthly cycle or to help skin problems. The pill has been in the news lately because of the so called 'pill fatique', and the many side effects women can expierence when on the pill. But did you know there are foods that interact with the pill? I've learned a lot about the pill over the years, but I had no idea certain foods can make the pill less reliable. Neither did I know that you should be eating certain foods in order to still get important vitamins that the pill makes you lack.
When eaten in normal amounts, foods are very unlikely to interact with prescription birth control pills. However, what is normal to people? It's been proven that several common foods, like dairy products, can actually impair the effectiveness of oral contraceptives. So if you're on the Pill and you like to eat a lot of dairy products for example, you might want to check with your doctor if there's a chance it can influence the effects of the pill you're taking.
Licorice
Natural licorice is potently medicinal; it can have unanticipated effects on reproductive hormones. In theory, eating a lot of licorice could result in the pill not working properly and that can lead to unplanned pregnancies. The chance it'll actually happen is probably small, but still, it could!
Soy
Soy
Soy is often used as a holistic treatment for hormone imbalances caused by menopause and polycystic ovarian syndrome. Soybeans contain natural hormone-like compounds that imitate the role of estrogen in the body. That is why The National Institutes of Health warns women that these hormonal effects could interact with birth control pills.
Grapefruit
Grapefruit
There are certain chemicals in grapefruit that interfere with an enzyme in the intestines, which affects how your body breaks down and absorbs certain medicines, like the pill. When you eat a lot of grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice every day, you can either absorb too much or not enough of these medicines. That means you could get side effects from the pill even more or the pill might not work 100%. Worth to check this with your doctor if you're a grapefruit lover.
Do eat: bananas!
Do eat: bananas!
So when you're on birth control there are foods you should be careful with, but there are also a super food that will help you get the vitamins that the pill makes you miss out on. Bananas! They are super rich of vitamin B6, which is a hormone-regulating vitamin that helps the body make serotonin, which in turn helps regulate mood and can heplp keep you from overeating. Studies have shown that women on the pill metabolize B6 differently, which can interfere with serotonin production. That's where bananas come in handy. Just one contains 40% of your daily value of this crucial vitamin. Luckily there are many ways to eat a banana every day without it getting boring. Slice 'em up with peanut butter, put a banana in your smoothie or make banana bread.
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