The hormonal ebbs and flows of a natural, ovulatory cycle bring with them a host of benefits to our mental health, productivity and even longevity.
They’re not just for fertility and making babies!
At FUTURE WOMAN, we strongly believe that women feel their best when they experience regular, ovulatory cycles. For as long as possible. And in this article, we’ll show you 10 important reasons why!
First up, what does a natural, ovulatory cycle look like?
In a natural, ovulatory menstrual cycle we see the rise and fall of three key reproductive hormones: estrogen, testosterone and progesterone.
Each of these hormones play a key role in regulating the menstrual cycle but they also bring a host of other benefits elsewhere in the body.
For example, progesterone has been shown to play a key role in supporting a healthy brain, breasts and bones. Estrogen helps support our brain health and mood. And testosterone helps us sustain a healthy libido, drive and motivation as well as build strong muscles.
When we use hormonal contraceptives (HC) like the pill, implant or injection we don’t benefit from the rise and fall of these hormones. HC prevents us from making our own hormones. As a result, many women experience short term symptoms such as low mood, low libido, skin issues and weight gain and, with long term use, can increase their risk for conditions like hypothyroidism, insulin resistance and osteoporosis.
Users of HC aren’t the only ones who aren’t benefiting from the natural rise and fall of our hormones.
Crucially, we need regular ovulation for these hormonal ebbs and flows to occur and for our hormones to find balance relative to each other. Anovulation (lack of ovulation) is common for women with irregular cycles and occurs up to 30% of the time in women with regular cycles as well.
At FUTURE WOMAN we work closely with women to help them restore regular ovulation and hormonal balance.
The top 10 benefits of natural cycles
So let’s look at the top 10 benefits of natural, ovulatory menstrual cycles.
1. A longer life span
Starting off with a bang, women with regular, ovulatory menstrual cycles have been shown to live longer than women who don’t!
A prospective cohort study in 2020, found that women with regular cycles experienced lower mortality rates, indicating that menstrual regularity is a key marker of overall health and longevity.
2. A useful scorecard for your overall health
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology advises health practitioners to consider periods the “fifth vital sign”. That means they consider menstrual health to be as valuable an indicator of overall health as heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure and temperature.
You can think of your monthly cycle and period like a scorecard for your overall health. Irregular cycles could be a sign of poor diet, stress and lack of ovulation. Whereas heavy bleeding or cramping could indicate imbalanced estrogen, inflammation and poor detoxification. These are just a few examples of how your menstrual health can be a useful indicator that something needs addressing.
However, by shutting off the menstrual cycle with hormonal contraception, you mask what’s going on. Even if you are getting a monthly bleed, this isn’t a real period. This means missing out on this vital information about your health.
3. Better mental health
One of the most commonly reported side effects of the pill is low mood or depression. And mental health concerns are also top of the list for women in perimenopause and menopause too. That’s because our reproductive hormones play a vital role in our mood and brain health.
Estrogen is vital for brain health and cognition. One research paper even found that if a person had their ovaries removed before the age of 40 that there was a related significant loss of white matter in the brain.
Hormones also play a vital role in mood. For example, estrogen has been shown to improve mood, due to the connection between estrogen and serotonin (our feel good neurotransmitter). As estrogen rises, so too does serotonin, and the reverse is also true. And progesterone with its natural sedative effects can soothe anxiety, making us feel calmer and more at ease due to progesterone’s ability to cross the blood brain barrier and act on GABA receptors in the brain.
4. Higher productivity and motivation
Women who are naturally cycling have been found to experience six times more motivation than women on the contraceptive pill! And, furthermore, they’ve been shown to demonstrate greater persistence in both simple and challenging tasks than women using HC.
This is likely due to the surge of estrogen and testosterone before ovulation, which brings with it greater competitiveness and drive as well as improved self esteem.
Learn more about living in accordance with your cycle for better productivity.
5. A healthy libido
Linked to greater feelings of self-esteem and drive is our libido. Low libido is one of the top five symptoms experienced by women using HC.
Naturally cycling women experience a peak in sexual desire around ovulation. This makes evolutionary sense – sex around ovulation is most likely to result in pregnancy. Users of HC however show no mid-cycle spike in libido and report less frequent intercourse.
An interesting study of exotic dancers showed that tips were much higher among those dancers who were naturally cycling compared to those on the pill! This was true across the entire menstrual cycle but earnings also peaked significantly around ovulation for naturally cycling women, whereas there was no change across the cycle for women using HC.
6. Stronger bones
Something you may not associate with hormone health is the state of your bones. However estrogen and progesterone play a vital role in our bone health. In particular estrogen can support and slow the breakdown of bone and both progesterone and estrogen play a vital role in stimulating osteoblasts which help bones to grow and mature.
Studies show that women who experience anovulatory cycles (meaning a cycle where ovulation didn’t take place) see a massive 4% drop in bone density per year. Additionally, women who go on HC in adolescence, a critical period of skeletal development, have been shown never to reach their peak bone density.
7. Healthier breasts
A healthy ratio of progesterone to estrogen is important for breast health. Estrogen is known to promote the proliferation of breast cells, while progesterone aids in the differentiation and functional development of these cells. This balance is therefore essential for maintaining healthy breast tissue.
By contrast, research has shown that all types of hormonal contraception are associated with an increase in the risk of developing breast cancer. This risk declines when HC is stopped.
8. A more diverse gut and vaginal microbiome
We know that a healthy and diverse microbiome is important for many aspects of our overall health. But did you know that our hormones also play a role in maintaining a healthy balance of bacteria? It’s a bidirectional relationship, with hormones influencing the balance of bacteria in our gut and our gut health influencing our hormones.
Lower hormone levels in menopause are associated with lower gut microbial diversity and higher levels of inflammation. And an increased risk of development of IBD in association with oral contraceptive pill exposure has been shown in numerous studies. While more research is needed, it’s likely that lower estrogen levels negatively impact the gut flora.
Read more about the impact of gut health on hormones.
Interestingly research has suggested that hormonal contraception negatively impacts the vaginal microbiome too, one study finding that there was an increased risk of candida infection in those on oral contraception.
Finally, better gut health means better nutrient absorption. The pill is known to deplete the body of many important nutrients such as folate, B vitamins, vitamin C, E, magnesium, selenium and zinc, which have implications for our overall health.
9. Weight management
Our reproductive hormones are insulin protective. This means that when we are naturally cycling we have an improved ability to balance our glucose levels, helping us to maintain a healthy weight. Estrogen in particular seems to play a role in various insulin-sensitive tissues and organs by improving and/or modulating our glucose response.
Slow thyroid activity can also be a driver of weight gain. Long term contraceptive use of more than 10 years has been linked to hypothyroidism. And women over 60 are also at greater risk of developing hypothyroidism, demonstrating a potential link between our reproductive hormones and the health of our thyroid.
Finally, synthetic hormones in HC may be a driver of weight gain in and of themselves: progestin-only contraception, particularly injectables, are correlated to moderate to significant weight gain. This is because they can demonstrate androgen-like effects. These androgens can increase adipose (fat) tissue, in particular around the abdomen.
10. Better skin
Finally, natural ovulatory cycles are also linked to better skin health.
Estrogen in particular is protective of our skin health. We can see this across the menstrual cycle – where skin thickness is lowest during menstruation and increases as estrogen rises – and in menopause, when many women report a sudden onset of skin aging several months after symptoms begin. This can present as an increase in number and depth of wrinkles, increased skin dryness, and decreased skin firmness and elasticity.
When our hormones are in balance, we should experience clear skin. But of course hormonal imbalances can be a driver of acne – high androgens and poor estrogen detoxification are two common drivers we see at FUTURE WOMAN. But while many women use hormonal contraception to relieve their acne, in fact progestin-only contraception is linked to worsening acne. This is because progestins can have androgen-like effects which can increase sebum production.
Get the Advanced Hormone Test
What's next?
By now you can see all the amazing advantages of a natural, ovulatory cycle each month!
If you’re looking to get off hormonal contraception, or you’re cycling but you’re experiencing symptoms of hormonal imbalances, we’re here to help. Our Advanced Hormone Test assesses more than 30 markers related to hormone health, and comes with a personalised plan prepared by experts to help you feel your best.
References
Menstrual cycle regularity and length across the reproductive lifespan and risk of premature mortality: prospective cohort study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7526082/
The Role of Estrogen in Brain and Cognitive Aging: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31364065/
Fertility predicts self-development-oriented competitiveness in naturally cycling women but not hormonal contraceptive users: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40750-022-00198-4
The most common side effects of hormonal contraception: https://thelowdown.com/blog/contraception-side-effects#sex-drive
Hormonal contraception and bone health in adolescents: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7472551/
Spinal Bone Loss and Ovulatory Disturbances: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199011013231801
Combined and progestagen-only hormonal contraceptives and breast cancer risk: A UK nested case–control study and meta-analysis: https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004188
Form and function: how estrogen and progesterone regulate the mammary epithelial hierarchy: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4596764/
Any type of hormonal contraceptive may increase risk of breast cancer: https://www.ceu.ox.ac.uk/news/any-type-of-hormonal-contraceptive-may-increase-risk-of-breast-cancer
Spotlight on the Gut Microbiome in Menopause: Current Insights: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2147/IJWH.S340491
Use of contraceptives and risk of inflammatory bowel disease: a nested case–control study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7612921/
Spotlight on the Gut Microbiome in Menopause: Current Insights: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2147/IJWH.S340491
Lopez LM, Ramesh S, Chen M, et al. Progestin-only contraceptives: effects on weight. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016(8):CD008815.
Beksinska ME, Smit JA, Kleinschmidt I, Milford C, Farley TM. Prospective study of weight change in new adolescent users of DMPA, NET-EN, COCs, non-users and discontinuers of hormonal contraception. Contraception. 2010;81(1):30-34.
The Role of Estrogen in Insulin Resistance: https://ajp.amjpathol.org/article/S0002-9440(21)00245-5/fulltext#secsectitle0065
Birth control pills and risk of hypothyroidism: a cross-sectional study of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2007–2012: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8230965/
Hormonal Contraceptives and Acne: A Retrospective Analysis of 2147 Patients: https://jddonline.com/articles/hormonal-contraceptives-and-acne-a-retrospective-analysis-of-2147-patients-S1545961616P0670X/
Hormonal contraception and magnesium: https://www.gynecology.su/jour/article/view/393?locale=en_US
Vaginal microbiome and contraception: https://bmcurol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2490-12-22
