Unveiled connection: Vitamin D potentially influences birth control mechanisms
Hear This: Researchers are cracking the code on a brain-blowing connection between estrogen-based birth control and vitamin D levels in women. Here's the lowdown on this curvaceous chemical romance!
Vitamin D, the calcium-whisperer, reigns supreme as the keeper of healthy calcium and phosphorus levels in our bloodstream. Aside from that, it's a rockstar when it comes to the body's calcium absorption, which is crucial for strengthening those beautiful bones of yours.
Filling the bill as top bone-builders, foods like fish and eggs are brimming with vitamin D. But here's a wild factoid: A whopping 90% of our vitamin D isn't from the munchies, no sir! It's produced like a boss in our skin, thanks to a chemical reaction with—you guessed it—sunlight!
When vitamin D levels plummet, folks can end up with rickets (yep, that 19th-century bone-bending ailment, harkening back to the days of Dickens) or osteomalacia (softening of the bones—not cool!). As vitamin D is the vital essence in forming bones (especially during pregnancy), it's a bona fide superstar in raising tiny humans.
Got your attention? Dr. Quaker E. Harmon of the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, NC took the reigns and decided it was high time to uncover any vitamin D-changing associations with taking oral contraceptives.
A Love Affair! 💘
The research squad dug into the Study of Environment, Lifestyle, and Fibroids (SELF), a poignant study about reproductive health. This investigation targeted almost 1,700 African-American women aged 23-34 living in and around Detroit, MI.
The women provided the deets on their contraceptive use, with questions about the amount of sunshine they soaked up and any vitamin D supplements they swallowed. Almost 1,662 girls gave blood samples for the analysis, measuring the primary circulating form of vitamin D, called 25-hydroxy vitamin D.
The Results
Dr. Harmon spills the beans: "Our study observed that women using contraception containing estrogen had higher vitamin D levels than other gals." After some fancy accounting for confounding factors like sun exposure, the investigation still pointed to women on the pill having 20 percent higher levels of vitamin D on average.
Here's the lowdown: current users of birth control had stellar vitamin D levels, while former users settled in at the average.
Vitamin D and Early Pregnancy
Gearing up for a baby? The numbers reveal that women might face the risk of becoming deficient in vitamin D after they quit their birth control. If you're planning to chill the birth control, it's wise to look after those vitamin D levels both before conception and in pregnancy.
Medical News Today took a keen interest in learning more about how estrogen-based contraception influenced vitamin D levels and asked Dr. Harmon. She spilt the tea: "We're still figuring out why estrogen-based contraception affects vitamin D levels, but other studies suggest that the metabolites of vitamin D change when women use estrogen-containing birth control."
Beyond African-Americans
This study looked solely at African-American women, leading to a crucial question: does race play a role in this equation? Not so much, says Dr. Harmon. "In the United States, African-American women are more prone to being vitamin D-deficient, so slight boosts or decreases in their vitamin D levels could be more significant."
Dr. Harmon's also cooked up another group of participants to explore how vitamin D levels differ throughout the menstrual cycle. If you're curious about how higher vitamin D levels could impact your health, check out our article on research pointing to lower cancer risks! 🥳
- Vitamin D, known as the calcium-whisperer, is crucial for maintaining healthy calcium and phosphorus levels in our bloodstream and aiding in calcium absorption, essential for bone strengthening.
- A significant portion of our vitamin D comes from the skin's production via sunlight, but food sources like fish and eggs are also high in it.
- Low levels of vitamin D can lead to conditions like rickets or osteomalacia, which involves softening of the bones.
- In a study called the Study of Environment, Lifestyle, and Fibroids (SELF), researchers found that women using contraception containing estrogen had 20 percent higher levels of vitamin D on average compared to others.
- During early pregnancy, women might face the risk of vitamin D deficiencies after discontinuing their birth control. It is advisable to monitor vitamin D levels before and during conception.
- Dr. Quaker E. Harmon, an endocrinologist, is conducting further research to understand the exact relationship between estrogen-based contraception and vitamin D levels, as well as the influence on women's health and health-and-wellness.
- The findings of this study are significant, considering African-American women are more susceptible to vitamin D deficiencies, but the implications may extend beyond racial lines.
- Research in the field of science and nutrition suggests that higher vitamin D levels may be linked to lower risks of certain cancers, highlighting the importance of proper vitamin D intake for overall women's health.
