The Dark Side of Birth Control: The Pill Still Has Many Adverse Affects Glossed Over By Big Pharma
17 March, 2010
On the 50th anniversary of the pill, we need to appreciate this remarkable innovation while also being honest about its limitations.
In part reads...
Rarely in any contraceptive debate is the issue of respecting a womans natural reproductive cycle raised. If men were asked to take a hormonal therapy that would cut off the healthy production of their sex cells, would they take it? Would they take it if it would reduce their sexual appetite and adversely affected their moods? Would they take it if it increased their risks of developing high blood pressure, metabolic problems, certain cancers and having a stroke? Maybe. Yet, women everyday take on these risks to suppress ovulation without ever considering whether they are loosing something essential when they do so.
More at: http://www.alternet.org/health/146041/the_dark_side_of_birth_control%3A_the_pill_still_has_many_adverse_affects_glossed_over_by_big_pharma?page=entire
Cervical cancer risk seen higher when on pill
Reuters Fri, 09 Nov 2007
Women who take oral contraceptives run a higher risk of developing cervical cancer, but this risk is transient and reverts to normal about 10 years after they stop, British researchers said on Thursday.
Other studies have found a link between taking the pill and cervical cancer, but this is the first to show how long this risk persists, according to the study in the journal Lancet.
More at: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0827656320071108
There's a heap of stuff on the health issues relating to the pill.
Another issue... see article below.
A cause of reduced fertility?
Estrogen 'Flooding Our Rivers,' Montreal Study Finds
Science Daily Sun, 21 Sep 2008
The Montreal water treatment plant dumps 90 times the critical amount of certain estrogen products into the river. It only takes one nanogram (ng) of steroids per liter of water to disrupt the endocrinal system of fish and decrease their fertility.
These are the findings of Liza Viglino, postdoctoral student at the Universit de Montral's Department of Chemistry, at the NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Drinking Water Treatment and Distribution, who is under the supervision of Professors Sbastien Sauv and Michle Prvost.
The presence and effects of estrogen residues on aquatic wildlife are well documented. However, this research is unique because it didn't only consider natural hormones and those used in oral contraceptives - it also included products used in hormone therapy that is prescribed to menopausal women. Data indicates that 128 million contraceptive pills and 107 million doses of hormone therapy are consumed every year in Quebec.
Water samples were taken in five different spots: the Mille-les river, the St. Lawrence River, the two water collectors entering the Montreal treatment plant and at the exit of the plant.
The only compound detected in the St. Lawrence River was estradiol, a natural hormone. The water still contained 90 ng of estradiol per liter after being treated. "If other products weren't detected it doesn't mean they aren't present," says Viglino. "Our method doesn't detect amounts lower than 7 ng per liter."
According to Professor Sauv, ozone treatments could eliminate these hormonal compounds. He also stresses that 80 to 90 percent of antidepressants remain in the water after treatment. These molecules can have a variety of effects on aquatic wildlife. Again, ozone treatment could destroy these molecules.
Journal references:
1. Lajeunesse, A., Gagnon, C., and Sauve%u0301, S. Determination of Basic Antidepressants and Their N-Desmethyl Metabolites in Raw Sewage and Wastewater Using Solid-Phase Extraction and Liquid Chromatography−Tandem Mass Spectrometry. Analytical Chemistry, 2008; 80 (14): 5325 DOI: [link].
2. L. Viglino, K. Aboulfadl, M. Prvost and S. Sauv. Analysis of natural and synthetic estrogenic endocrine disruptors in environmental waters using online preconcentration coupled with LC-APPI-MS/MS. Talanta, 2008; 76 (5): 1088 DOI: [link].
Adapted from materials provided by University of Montreal, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
