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COMING OFF HORMONAL CONTRACEPTIVES TO CONCEIVE
what to consider
How long it will take your body and fertility to regulate once you've decided to discontinue HC's will depend on a number of factors like:
↠ If you had a pre-existing condition before you went on HC's (maybe it was the reason you got the prescription)
↠ How long have you've been on 'em
↠ What kind have you've been taking
With these in mind, it often takes anywhere from 6 months to 2 years (give or take) for your fertility to be in a strong enough position to conceive.
Regardless of where you're at on the spectrum we know that, to some extent, HC's have been:
↠ Disrupting your gut microbiome
↠ Depleting your nutrient stores
↠ Shrinking your ovaries
↠ Burdening your liver
Regardless of how much of a buffer you're able to give yourself, your post HC + preconception season should involve:
↠ Feeding your gut health
↠ Replenishing nutrient stores
↠ Encouraging your natural hormone production
↠ Loving on your liver
Here are some simple foods and practices to get you started:
FEEDING YOUR GUT HEALTH
1. Probiotics
⋒ Sauerkraut
⋒ Kimchi
⋒ Yoghurt
2. Sooth your gut lining
⋒ Broth
⋒ Aloe vera juice
⋒ Castor oil packs
3. Tend to your digestive fire
⋒ Avoid iced drinks
⋒ Avoid raw vegetables + other foods
⋒ Avoid cold meals or foods straight out of the fridge
REPLENISHING NUTRIENT STORES
Here are some big ones to note with some foods to help replenish:
1. Folate
⋒ Lentils
⋒ Garbanzo beans
⋒ Asparagus
⋒ Spinach
2. Vitamin B6
⋒ Salmon
⋒ Turkey
⋒ Avocado
3. Trace minerals: zinc, selenium, phosphorus, magnesium, coenzyme Q10
⋒ Grass-fed and pasture-raised organic animal products
⋒ Bone broth
⋒ Liver
⋒ A wide variety of vegetables
ENCOURAGE NATURAL HORMONE PRODUCTION
⋒ Seed cycling
⋒ Dry brushing
⋒ Sleep hygiene
⋒ Stress management
LOVE ON YOUR LIVER
⋒ Cruciferous vegetables
⋒ Reduce refined sugar and alcohol
⋒ Reduce your exposure to xenoestrogens: the best way to do this is cycle out toxic cleaning products, nonstick cookware, and BPA products