Restoring Nutrients Post-Birth Control
Birth control (BC) can deplete our body of essential fertility nutrients! If you’ve been on birth control for a long time, I recommend supporting your body for at least 3 months before coming off birth control to ease the transition and boost nutrients that support egg quality. But if you are already off, I recommend at least 3 months of support before trying to conceive (TTC), more if your body is struggling to start making its own hormones again.
After stopping birth control, it can take your body anywhere from 6 months to 2 years to find its natural rhythm again. This time frame depends on factors like; what your cycle was like before birth control, how long you were on birth control, type of birth control used and your overall health.
For most women there is a period of sub-fertility or irregularity after coming off of birth control. You see, we don’t ovulate or have a period while on birth control (break through bleeds aren’t periods!) so our body has to restart communication lines, by starting to make its own hormones again including estrogen, luteinizing hormone (LH) & follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). The brain is learning how to talk to the ovaries again by sending FSH to stimulate maturation & then LH to trigger ovulation.
The good news is that you can support this process, potentially shortening your timeline to restored fertility. What can you do?
Replete nutrients that have been depleted by birth control.
Restore gut health with the help of bone broth & fermented foods (BC messes with the bacterial balance & the intestinal barrier).
Eat enough! A nutrient dense diet that includes adequate fat provides ingredients for hormones like estrogen, progesterone & testosterone and is necessary for our body to feel safe in order to start ovulating again.
Get to the bottom of any health concerns! Functional testing can give you SO MANY answers.
Restoring Nutrients Post-Birth Control
Brooke Boskovich, The Fertility Dietitian
Medical Disclaimer:
The information provided in this blog is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be considered as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your healthcare provider or qualified medical professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in this blog.
