This week’s show is a good one, folks! Dr. B. is joined by nutritional biochemist and leading expert in women’s medicine, Dr. Jolene Brighten, to discuss hormonal birth control and her book, Beyond the Pill: A 30-Day Program to Balance Your Hormones, Reclaim Your Body and Reverse the Dangerous Side Effects of the Birth Control Pill. After some talk about general hormonal birth control statistics, Dr. Brighten talks about potential short-term and long-term side effects of prolonged birth control pill use, her personal history with birth control, and how her personal experience with patients drove her to explore this topic in depth. She spends some time diving into the prevalence of medical gender bias, where women are statistically more like to have chronic pain dismissed, be told that their symptoms are in their head, or receive inadequate medical care. Dr. Brighten explains how hormonal changes can lead to thyroid issues, leaky gut, autoimmune conditions, and nutrient depletion. Dr. Brighten stresses that the primary goal of her book is to make sure that women have the full story about hormonal birth control so they can make educated decisions about their own bodies. You can find Dr. Brighten’s book on amazon.com and wherever books are sold.

Guests