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Herbal Birth Control

herbal birth control herbal contraceptives natural birth control

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#1 jroseland

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Posted 22 November 2016 - 05:40 PM


Here's what I find a little weird about this topic; I could NOT find that many personal accounts or anecdotal evidence of herbal birth control. Almost any other supplement or drug you find a significant number of personal accounts of whether it works or doesn't work. I just didn't find that many user reports about herbal birth control; 

 

I'd love to hear from someone who has successfully used herbal birth control

 

A very personal anecdote...

A couple of years ago when I was living in South America I faced quiet a dilemma in regards to birth control. I was dating this lovely 21 year old Colombian university student.
One night that we had a date scheduled she told me she was feeling sick; so I hopped in a little taxi that drove recklessly through the streets of Medellin to bring her chocolate.
In a moment that brought me back to high school, we were cuddling on her bed pretending to watch a movie while trysting and listening warily for her madre's footsteps coming down the hallway to make sure she was being a good catholic girl!
She nonchalantly mentioned to me that she was feeling sick because she had just started taking the pill.
Now this Colombiana will remain forever young and nubile in my imagination. She was eager to please and would purrrrr like a cat in bed. It was truly glorious making love to her.
The prospect of her most intimate embrace without protection was truly tantalizing, but as a Biohacker I knew that the pill was bad news for women's health. So I found myself in quiet a predicament, but I really did care for her and she was a pretty sharp girl, who at least pretended to share my passion for all things healthy. So I resolved to talk to her about my reservations about the pill and my willingness to keep using condoms.
Ultimately, I failed to provide her the emotional rollercoaster that the intoxicating women of that country so crave, we stopped seeing each other and the dilemma resolved itself.
However; if I had known about herbal birth control and Vitamin B17 I would have had a viable contraceptive option that satisfied both my bioethics and my most primal desires.

A Dubious Contraceptive Method

Vitamin B17 and apricot seeds in particular likely prevent pregnancy and can even be used for an herbal abortion (Yes, that's a thing!).

From The Tao Of Health, Sex, and Longevity:
For thousands of years, the young women of Polynesia have enjoyed complete and uninhibited sexual freedom prior to marriage, with no worries about unwanted pregnancy. Their secret is to eat a few handfuls of papaya seeds every day. The active ingredient responsible for their freedom from pregnancy is vitamin B17, more popularly known as laetrile, the controversial drug banned in the United States due to unproven claims that it can prevent and help cure cancer. (4571-4574)
From the queerly named book Herbal Abortion: the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge
If you made love with a man during your fertile time (for example, days 10-16 in a 28 day cycle), and you do not wish to be pregnant, here is what you do:
1. After unprotected intercourse on a potentially fertile day, begin eating 5-10 apricot kernels 3 times a day. Continue this until your period comes. This prevents implantation. (The same effect can be achieved with high levels of Vitamin C in this way. Use more than 10 grams per day.)
Is this scientifically proven? Not really.
However, there's a significant quantity of positive anecdotal evidence and a stark lack Nocebo reports; which you would especially expect for a birth control measure. If you wear a BrandX condom but yet somehow end up impregnating Jyll who you met at the Ladies Night at Sky Bar you're going to warn everyone you can for the rest of your existence against buying those damn leaky BrandX condoms!

Ancedotal Evidence

Consider that since time immemorial there's been a significant economic incentive for those who work in the world's oldest profession to prevent pregnancy. People have been having sex in exchange for money, well probably since ever since we invented money, so these herbal medicine traditions arise as a result of pragmatism not mysticism. Anything that didn't actually work surely would not have been passed down through ages from madam, to courtisan, to pimp, to street walker... 

Complimentary Methods

I foresee myself using herbal birth control in the future when I'm in a relationship where pregnancy is undesirable, yet not unacceptable. If I were married or in a serious long term relationship, I would rather have her using a herbal birth control strategy than the pill which is going to fundamentally alter her hormones, psychology and libido.
Depending upon which sexpert you listen to; the pullout method is actually just a little less effective than using condoms.

If a woman uses the birth control pill imperfectly; namely forgetting to take it at the same time every day; it's effectiveness in preventing a little bundle of joy decreases detrimentally.

How many stories have you heard of people that had an unexpected pregnancy even while using mainstream birth control methods? Maybe it's even happened to you!
I wouldn't depend upon herbal birth control alone if I was sleeping with someone who I really didn't want to have a child with. The amalgamation of the limited science done and the preponderance of anecdotal accounts online don't give me the confidence to bet at least $250,000 and 18 years of my life on herbal birth control working.

 Herbal Birth Control Methods

Papya_Seeds.jpg

Conversely though, given the unreliability of conventional birth control methods, if I were sleeping regularily with someone who I really didn't want to make babies with I would hedge my bets and supplement the normal contraceptives with herbal birth control. Specifically...
Californian apricot seeds ($19.99) - Nan Koehler, midwife guru and herbalist, holds Apricot Kernels in high esteem as a birth control method. She recommends women take 5-10 apricot kernels three times a day from sex until menstruation.
Queen Anne's Lace ($12) - Also sometimes known as Wild Carrot but since I'm a geek I'm going to refer to it acronymically as QALshould be used episodically in increments after sex.
I scoured the internet searching for reviews or cases of QAL not working and remarkably I didn't find any! Which you would totally expect if it was less effective than mainstream contraceptives. For example, Sarah G from Kamloops British Columbia, Canada reported:
"So grateful for having the Queen Anne's Lace tincture in my life! As a woman who is very conscious about her body, especially my womanly parts, I hadn't found a contraceptive that made me feel good about taking it... until I found Queen Anne's Lace Tincture. In the past the Pill had killed my libido, the shot took away my cycle, and an IUD made my uterus scream NO! Queen Anne's Lace Tincture is wonderfully gentle. It helps regulate my cycle. I don't have to take it all the time and my PMS symptoms are noticeably reduced!"
Checkout what Vegan Ava has to say about it. {module Queen Anne's Lace}
Neem Oil ($16) - Is spermacidal and a fairly effective form of episodic birth control according the paper Neem: A Tree For Solving Global Problems:
"In vivo studies in rats (20), rabbits (8), rhesus monkeys (14), and human volunteers (10) proved that neem oil applied intravaginally before sexual intercourse prevented pregnancy... Neem oil has also been found to have anti-implantation/abortifacient effect in rats and rabbits if applied intravaginally on day 2 to day 7 of expected pregnancy... One month after the stoppage of neem oil application there was complete reversibility in fertility in these animals. It had no deleterious effect on the subsequent pregnancies and the offsprings."
It should be noted that this paper and the studies referenced in it are over 20 years old, which effects their credibility. If you don't like the smell of the oil (like this classy broad!) the man can just take it in capsule form episodically, so it's one of the few rare male contraceptives!
Rutin - 500 milligrams taken daily after fertilizing intercourse until menstruation begins. From the book herbal abortion:
"Rutin is also known to have the power to prevent pregnancy. In large doses, rutin prolongs the action of the adrenal hormone adrenaline and decreases capillary permeability in the uterine tissues.Decreased capillary permeability in the uterine tissues causes the endometrium to become non-nutritive to the fertilized egg. The egg does not implant and abortion occurs."
Papaya Seeds
This is the bisexual herbal contraceptive that works for both men and women.

From the 2011 paper The Herbal Male Contraceptives:
"Even though traditional medicines used as contraceptives have a long history in Africa, very few studies have been conducted to confirm their efficacy as well as establish their mechanisms of action... The effect of Carica papaya seed extract inducing sterility in male rats has been reported in literature (Das, 1980). Chinoy et al. (1995) reported the contraceptive efficacy of orally administered aqueous extracts of papaya seeds in male albino rats. The extract had a post-testicular action and the effects were reported to be reversible upon withdrawal of treatment."
2005 Indian study confirmed the reversibility of the effect
"Fertility and all other associated changes returned to normal within 45 and 30 days of treatment cessation in the oral and intramuscular groups, respectively. The data revealed that reversible sterility could be induced in male rats by papaya seeds aqueous extract treatment without adverse effects on libido and toxicological profile."
If I had my partner use all of them properly, the cumulative contraceptive effectiveness would be pretty close to 100%. Especially, if I'm also using the much maligned pull out method and Taoist semen retention methods, the chances of inadvertently making a little Roseland are virtually nil.

Abortion?!

Some maybe reading this article with a growing ethical discomfort about the idea of aborting a pregnancy and the truth is that I identified as a Pro-Lifer for the longest time, however upon more robust philosophical examination I recognized that it's a false dichotomy that you have to be in one of these militant Pro-Choice or Pro-Life camps. There's a 3rd (and much more scientific and rational) approach to this issue that allows us to totally respect women's rights and bodies while respecting human lifeI believe in women's rights, I believe in the unborn human's rights but I do not believe in embryonic rights. After 8 weeks of gestation the amorphous combination of the cells transforms into something that has all of the characteristics that we define as human (heart beat, brain waves, distinct internal organs, eyes, fingers, etc).
So the most ethical public policy would be to give women 8 weeks to make their reproductive choice, which is sufficient time for an adult to make a serious life decision. After those 8 weeks what's growing within them is objectively a human being and should be treated as such. This approach accounts for all the classic Pro-Choice arguments and is compatible with the herbal birth control strategy I outline above.

Are there any other natural birth control options that should be considered?


Edited by jroseland, 22 November 2016 - 05:46 PM.


#2 Scorpio

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Posted 27 November 2016 - 08:11 PM

Hi,

Thanks for sharing your story. I'm actually quite impressed that you take such a thoughtful attitude towards contraception AND the health and wellbeing of your partner. As a woman, I have always felt that contraception was left up to me.

I tried taking the contraceptive pill in my early twenties, and it had horrible side effects - crazy, unpredictable mood swings, bleeding in-between periods, and worst of all, a complete disinterest in sex! After trying about six different brands and then spending 12 months working with a naturopath to correct my hormone levels, I made the firm decision that hormonal contraception was not for me.

After lots of research, I decided that I wanted an IUD. The IUD that I have (and have been happily using for six years now) has no hormones. However, I had a lot of trouble at first, as my doctor hadn't heard of it and tried to pressure me into getting the Mirena IUD, which releases hormones into the uterus. I searched around and found a clinic that could insert the non-hormonal IUD, and then even on the day of the appointment, the doctor tried to convince me to go with the Mirena - to which I adamantly said no!

I recently saw your posts on the Bayer-Monsanto buy out, and was surprised to learn that Bayer makes the Mirena. I can't help but wonder if all the pressure I received from doctors was due to big pharma push...

Anyway, I suggest you look into non-hormonal IUDs as an alternative to the herbal methods above.
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#3 aconita

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Posted 28 November 2016 - 11:28 PM

IUD comes with its own arrays of side effects even if they might be not as evident at first.

 

The uterus trembles continuously in the attempt to get rid of the foreign object that the IUD represents and that causes in the long run quite a lot of stress which might lead to severe complications, including cancer.

 

The IUD thing is an old trick, desert Bedouins insert a stone in the female dromedary vagina before starting desert crossings in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies since long time ago.

 

You can obtain the same from inserting any object, even a small stone, as from the most sophisticated IUD on the market, it just doesn't matter, it is the foreign nature of any object in that particular place that does the trick, the uterus trembles just unable any spermatozoa to get in and stick.

 

Contraceptive pills containing BIO IDENTICAL progesterone are few but the only ones worth attention, all the rest contain progestin (a synthetic patented analogue much more profitable) which is just criminally dangerous.

 

Chinese medicine offers a few alternatives, like a practice that stops menstruating tricking the body into pregnancy or inserting a slowly reabsorbable "acupuncture needle" (actually made of dry cat guts) in the forearm which continuously stimulates an acupoint preventing any pregnancy.

 

Those practices are basically totally unknown outside China. 


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#4 jroseland

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Posted 29 November 2016 - 11:16 AM

After lots of research, I decided that I wanted an IUD. The IUD that I have (and have been happily using for six years now) has no hormones. However, I had a lot of trouble at first, as my doctor hadn't heard of it and tried to pressure me into getting the Mirena IUD, which releases hormones into the uterus. I searched around and found a clinic that could insert the non-hormonal IUD, and then even on the day of the appointment, the doctor tried to convince me to go with the Mirena - to which I adamantly said no!

Birth control is such a weirdly politicized issue... All I have to say is where is the male birth control pill?! Why wasn't that invented 40 years ago!

 

IUD comes with its own arrays of side effects even if they might be not as evident at first.

 

Chinese medicine offers a few alternatives, like a practice that stops menstruating tricking the body into pregnancy or inserting a slowly reabsorbable "acupuncture needle" (actually made of dry cat guts) in the forearm which continuously stimulates an acupoint preventing any pregnancy.

 

Those practices are basically totally unknown outside China. 

So it still sounds a combination of 

  • Herbal birth control
  • Natural rhythm method
  • Male semen retention

Is the best option! 

 

Do you got a reference for dry cat guts acupuncture method? I've read two books now on Taoist methods and this is the first I've heard of acupuncture effecting pregnancy...


Edited by jroseland, 29 November 2016 - 11:19 AM.


#5 aconita

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Posted 29 November 2016 - 02:01 PM

No reference, my Chinese doctor (a TCM university professor and researcher in China) told me about it.

 

Dry cat guts insertion in order to obtain continuous stimulation of an acupoint is well known in China but almost unknown elsewhere, I had it done on me once and it is much less frightening as it sounds.

 

A cat gut strip which is dry and looks like a tiny stick is inserted in a relatively big injection needle that is used on the selected acupoint, once in place a normal acupuncture needle without the tip is inserted in the injection needle while the latter is withdrawn leaving the cat gut in place beneath the skin embedded in the acupoint.

 

Using cat guts might sound a bit unacceptable, especially to cats lovers, but I suppose a reabsorbable stitching thread or other reabsorbable material can be used as an alternative. 


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#6 Scorpio

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Posted 29 November 2016 - 08:03 PM

You can obtain the same from inserting any object, even a small stone, as from the most sophisticated IUD on the market, it just doesn't matter, it is the foreign nature of any object in that particular place that does the trick, the uterus trembles just unable any spermatozoa to get in and stick.


From my understanding, the IUD prevents pregnancy through the sperm coming in contact with the copper that is contained in the rod, not by physical blockage. Apparently copper is poisonous to sperm.

Chinese medicine offers a few alternatives, like a practice that stops menstruating tricking the body into pregnancy or inserting a slowly reabsorbable "acupuncture needle" (actually made of dry cat guts) in the forearm which continuously stimulates an acupoint preventing any pregnancy.


Sounds like the TCM version of Implanon!

All I have to say is where is the male birth control pill?! Why wasn't that invented 40 years ago!


It's probably a good thing. After experiencing my own horrible reactions to the contraceptive pill, I'd say hormones are best not to be messed with!
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#7 aconita

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Posted 30 November 2016 - 01:41 AM

IUD is commercially available since 1902, copper IUD only since 1968.

 

Copper might improve efficacy but is not the main actor and it isn't the physical barrier either (that's a different contraceptive device to be used in conjunction with spermicide gel which is called diaphragm).  

 

Sounds like the TCM version of Implanon!

 

Completely different indeed!

 

Implanon is an implant releasing a drug which causes the contraceptive action, actually is the already mentioned progestin which comes with its own arrays of troubles.

 

What I am talking about is no pharmacologic action whatsoever, it is just continuous acupoint stimulation with no side effects whatsoever (well... it is a quite big cat gut not exactly comfortable to set in, if I remember correctly a local anesthetic is required).



#8 jroseland

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Posted 31 January 2017 - 08:06 PM

Just did a podcast version of this


Edited by jroseland, 31 January 2017 - 08:07 PM.


#9 maxwatt

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Posted 15 February 2017 - 09:18 PM

Silphium was a plant used as a contraceptive in antiquity.  Its effectiveness was attested to in ancient literature. by Pliny among others.  Unfortunately it became extinct around the second century BC, perhaps due to overharvesting and desertification in North Africa where it grew.  It's botanical identity is a matter of debate, but one theory has it related to wild carrot (Queen Anne's Lace) which is an effective abortificant properly prepared, and is said to be an effective means of birth control if used shortly after intercourse.

 

An image of the plant appears on ancient coins from the North African city of Cyrene, whose economy was based on trade in the plant.






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