Discover Health Podcast

The Birth Control Side Effects Doctors Rarely Explain (Hormone Expert Tells All)

Joshua Sharp, DC Season 2 Episode 32

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0:00 | 45:06

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Birth control is often prescribed as a fix for painful periods, irregular cycles, acne, and mood swings, but is it actually solving the problem, or just masking it? 

In this episode, Dr. Joshua Sharp sits down with women's health educator and author Tierra Duncan (The Birth Control Illusion) to unpack what hormonal birth control is really doing in the body, the risks that rarely come up in a 10-minute doctor's visit, and what root-cause, lifestyle-based support for hormone balance actually looks like.

Tierra shares her own 14-year journey on birth control, the two-to-three-year recovery process that followed coming off it, and the foundational pillars (sleep, stress, nutrition, and movement) that support real hormone health at any age. 

You'll learn the four phases of the menstrual cycle, why alcohol is one of the most disruptive foods for hormones, which foods actually support balance, and the early warning signs that your sleep and stress levels are working against you.

This conversation is for every mom raising a daughter, every woman who was put on the pill as a teenager without being told why, and anyone ready to understand their body instead of just managing symptoms.

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More from Tierra Duncan:
Book: The Birth Control Illusion (available everywhere books are sold)
YouTube + Instagram: Tierra Duncan Author

00:00 Intro: a teenager's terrifying birth control side effect
01:47 Meet Tierra Duncan and her path into hormone health
04:53 The birth control risks most people are never told
07:32 Why birth control doesn't fix the root cause
09:17 What's really driving hormone imbalances today
12:43 How different birth control types affect mood and energy
14:56 The four phases of the menstrual cycle, explained
17:12 The number one food that disrupts your hormones
18:54 Foods that actually support hormone balance
20:01 Why fiber matters for hormone detox
21:26 Signs you're not getting quality sleep
22:13 Building better sleep hygiene
25:29 Coming off birth control: what to expect
28:39 The priority order: sleep, stress, nutrition, movement
31:13 How to manage chronic stress
34:01 Why small changes beat extreme overhauls
37:31 Over-exercising vs. under-recovering
39:59 Inside Tierra's book, The Birth Control Illusion
41:26 Where to find Tierra Duncan
42:13 Final words of encouragement for moms

Topics covered: birth control side effects, hormone balance, menstrual cycle education, coming off birth control, sleep and hormones, stress and hormones, foods for hormone health, functional medicine, root cause healing, women's health education

#BirthControl #HormoneBalance #WomensHealth #FunctionalMedicine #RootCauseHealing #MenstrualCycle #HormoneHealth

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