Help the development of the site, sharing the article with friends!

Protective pills for use in hormonal contraception, such as Asequrella or Harmonella, are advertised as a remedy for all side effects associated with the use of contraceptive pills and patches. They contain herbal extracts that have, among others, prevent weight gain, mood swings and protect the liver. Do protective pills for contraception actually work and what is their effectiveness?

Cover tabletsforhormonal contraception(e.g.Asequrella ,Harmonella ,Asevia ,Femi Protect ) are to neutralize the harmful effects of artificial hormones on the functioning of the body. Although modern contraceptive pills, patches and discs have been developed to minimize the risk of side effects, many women still complain about, inter alia, for weight gain, decreased libido or liver problems caused by their use. Protective supplements with vitamins, minerals and herbal extracts are supposed to remedy all these ailments.

However, do the natural ingredients contained in these preparations have any effectiveness and is it worth buying at all?

Protective tablets for contraception - action

Protective supplements for contraception are recommended for women who use contraceptive pills, patches or discs, or undergoing hormone replacement therapy (HRT). It is known that these methods of contraception (or treatment) entail a risk of side effects. These include:

  • weight gain caused by water retention or increased appetite;
  • libido decrease;
  • headaches;
  • mood swings;
  • vaginal dryness;
  • gastrointestinal problems.

Protective tablets recommended for hormonal contraception contain a composition of herbs, vitamins and minerals, each of which is to counteract the above-mentioned side effects. And like this:

  • chromium (Harmonella), green tea extract (Femi Protect, Asevia), fig opuntia fruit, brown algae and grape seeds (Asequrella) are to help in maintaining the correct weight;
  • choline (Harmonella) and turmeric and dandelion extractmedical (Asequrella) is to regulate the functions of the digestive tract (including the liver);
  • B vitamins (Harmonella) and ginseng (Femi Protect) and Maca root (Asequrella) are supposed to "add energy" and ensure the proper level of libido;
  • zinc, selenium, vitamin D (Harmonella) and field horsetail (Femi Protect, Asevia) should take care of the good condition of the skin, hair and nails.

Protective pills for contraception - do they really work?

First of all, the use of the term "protective supplements" or "protective drugs" in relation to the above-mentioned preparations is an abuse.These tablets do not create any beneficial barrier that would protect the gastrointestinal tract against the effects of taking oral hormonal agents . In fact, only synbiotics, i.e. drugs containing probiotic bacteria and their nutrients, or probiotics (drugs containing only bacteria), which care for the proper bacterial flora of the gastrointestinal tract, e.g. during antibiotic therapy (sometimes the term "casings" are also used in in reference to drugs for the liver or stomach, but this is more of an abbreviation than a professional term). Therefore, contraceptive supplements are "protective" in name only - in fact, there is no guarantee that they will protect against the negative effects of taking birth control pills, especially when it comes to the digestive tract.

The amount of herbal ingredients in one tablet of the protective preparation is too small to have any effect on the functioning of the body when using hormonal contraception.

Another issue concerns the content of herbal extracts in these supplements. They are well composed, because each ingredient is supposed to counteract a different type of side effects (ginseng for decreased libido, green tea for excess water in the body, turmeric for the liver, etc.). However, their total number istoo small to have a noticeable effect on how you feel when using hormonal contraception . The composition of Asequrelli, for example, contains 50 mg of green tea, which is supposed to have a diuretic effect and burn fat - it is hard to believe that such a small dose would help to get rid of water from the body and speed up weight loss. If this amount really worked, it would be enough to drink 2-3 infusions a day and enjoy a slim figure. The same applies to chromium - first, research into its effectiveness in fat burning is inconclusive, and second, even if this ingredient is intended to help with weight loss, its daily dose should be at least 200-400 mcg. Meanwhile, in 1 tablet of Harmonella there is himonly… 40 mcg. This amount will not affect fat metabolism.

What is very important - manufacturers of preparations do not inform on the packaginghow many active substances are contained in individual herbal extracts . And it is their percentage that determines the beneficial effect of a given plant. For example, ginseng may have 7% ginsenosides, but if it is of poor quality it may well be 3%. Even if we assume that the composition of Asequrelli contains ginseng with a high content of active ingredients, the amount of ginsenosides contained in one tablet of the "protective" preparation will be 8.4 mg. And research shows that an increase in libido occurs only at doses of the order of 20 mg of the active substance per day.

Protective pills for contraception - to buy or not?

As you can see, the effectiveness of preparations advertised as protective and recommended for hormonal contraception is questionable. It can be assumed with a high probability that tablets of this type do not have a significant effect on the well-being. This is due to the fact that they contain herbal extracts with poorly documented medicinal properties, and secondly - even if they are effective, they are too small to counterbalance the negative effects of hormone use.

Instead of buying supplements, it is better to put more emphasis on choosing the right contraceptive. There are many hormonal preparations available on the market that may have a different effect on each woman. The one that can cause mood swings and a decrease in libido in one person, may be suitable for the other. Therefore, whenever we feel that a given preparation worsens our well-being - instead of believing in the effectiveness of supposedly "protective" tablets, let's go to the gynecologist and ask them to change the drug to another, better tolerated by us.

According to an expertRafał Karwowski, a resident physician, specializing in obstetrics and gynecology

The effect of active substances contained in protective supplements in contraception has not been confirmed or documented in any scientific studies. International scientific societies also do not recommend using them as the so-called. protective drugs when using hormonal contraceptives.

It is worth adding that often supplement manufacturers refer to side effects that cannot even be associated with the use of hormonal contraception, and ignore the actual and documented side effects, such as an increased risk of thromboembolism. Most of the side effects are reported by women during the first months of taking contraceptives - but during the first few months of taking contraceptivesthe era of low-dose preparations, the number of troublesome side effects is minimal, and the tolerance of most people is very good.

If adverse symptoms related to contraception occur and persist, the most reasonable solution is to change the drug or change to another method of contraception. The use of substances with unconfirmed effect, which we deal with in the case of "protective" supplements, is not a correct procedure.

Help the development of the site, sharing the article with friends!

Category:

Pregnancy