Woman Shares Diet That Made Her Feel Incredible After Decade on the Pill

When Evelyn Braczko was 13, her doctor put her on the pill. It was meant to be a quick fix for her teenage acne, but it didn't turn out that way.

"For whatever reason, I stayed on it for eight years," she told Newsweek. Hormonal contraception offered "temporary relief" from her skincare problems, but "the reprieve never lasted long." She suffered unpleasant side-effects too: nausea and mood changes.

"The pill made me feel so sick every time I took it," she said. Braczko is now 27 and a holistic wellness coach in New York City.

"I could only ever take it before going to sleep because I would always feel incredibly nauseous afterward. After seeing what the pill had done and how it made me feel, I knew that it was no longer an option for me."

She stopped taking the pill, but the years on hormonal contraception "caused a disruption to my body," she said. "I made the decision to go cold turkey, with no preparation at all. The first couple of months were fine, but out of nowhere all the symptoms hit me like a ton of bricks."

Her acne came back and her periods became irregular and more painful, before disappearing for a year. So, Braczko decided to try something different.

"I started making small diet and lifestyle changes and became more aware of what I was putting into my body and how those things were affecting me," she said.

Below, she sets out how she changed her diet—and a doctor and dietitian give Newsweek their verdict on her plan.

What's in Her Post-Pill Diet Plan?

Braczko adopted a diet rich in beef liver and raw vegetables, which she said helped restore her nutrients and rebalance her hormones. Various studies have found that hormonal contraceptives can reduce the levels of some nutrients.

Beef Liver

Beef liver "is one of the most nutrient-rich foods on the planet," according to Braczko.

"It's jam-packed with so many bioavailable nutrients, from your fat-soluble vitamins like D, E and K, to your B vitamins like B12, B6 and folate [B9], as well as iron, copper, selenium, and choline."

These "are critical for achieving and maintaining hormonal balance, a healthy reproductive system, and a healthy circadian rhythm," she said.

Beef liver is also a rich source of bioavailable vitamin A, which is important for reproductive health and ovarian function.

"It can help people who have come off the pill maintain a healthy immune system, regulate their sleep pattern and promote their skin health. The zinc found in beef liver plays a vital role in hormone regulation too."

The vitamin B6 in beef liver aids progesterone production and regulates the balance between estrogen and progesterone, making it useful for women who have just stopped taking hormonal contraception, according to Braczko.

People who don't wish to eat liver can get those benefits through supplements, she said.

Beans, Broccoli and Bitter Foods

Braczko also added black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, and lentils to her diet. These are a good source of magnesium, a crucial mineral for hormone regulation.

Beans are a rich source of soluble fiber as well. This helps with stabilizing blood sugar levels, which in turn aids hormone balance. "Raw carrots and broccoli sprouts were great for this too," Braczko said.

She said bitter foods like lemons, dandelion greens, and arugula help to support healthy liver function, "which is one of the most important organs when it comes to hormone regulation."

Healthy fats—avocados, organic nuts, wild-caught fish, and extra virgin olive oil—were a key part of the plan too.

After changing her diet, Braczko "saw improvements in my mood, sleep quality and energy levels. It's been tremendously helpful for my overall well-being."

No Cold Turkey

One thing Braczko didn't do, but wishes she had, is to prepare her body before coming off the pill. She advises other women not to go cold turkey, but to start making the changes over a few months to allow for a smoother transition.

"Birth control suppresses your natural hormone production," she said. "Work on supplying your body with high amounts of bioavailable nutrients that the body can easily absorb and utilize to prepare your body for this change."

The Doctor's Verdict

Dr. Bruce Dorr, an obstetrician-gynecologist and specialist in reproductive endocrinology who works in Colorado, evaluated Braczko's diet for Newsweek.

"In changing her diet, [Braczko] set off a cascade of events that led to everything working again," he said. "It was that cascade that made the difference. Just eating one food isn't enough.

"Organ meat is great, but the combination of proteins, good fats, fruits, vegetables, and nutrients is what lays down the right foundation so that our hormones can be made, transported and received by the cells throughout the body."

Dorr said: "When we look at how hormones work, the key factor is the production and availability of the messengers: testosterone, estrogen, progesterone and thyroid. Foods that contain healthy fats such as avocados, nuts and organ meat give us the ability to better make these hormones."

Most people's diets are low on healthy fats, though. "The traditional medical world suggests to restrict fats, making it difficult to start making these things that are essential for our metabolism and well-being," he said.

Broccoli is great for hormone health because it can help "unbind" our hormones, according to Dorr.

"When hormones find their way to our muscle, bone, fat, brain and other areas, they click into the receptors in our cells and it is this connection where the magic happens," he said. "This starts the production of energy, proteins and enzymes that make us feel good, sleep, build muscle or maintain weight.

"Our standard American diet and prescribed drugs bind our hormones so that they can't be released to create this magic. So, even though we make the hormones, they can't bind to the receptors because they are too tightly held in our bloodstream.

"Broccoli contains DIM [di-indolyl methane] that processes estrogen down a cancer-preventing, antioxidant pathway. It's essential to help us repair damage to our cells and can also help unbind our hormones to become better available."

The Dietitian's View

Melanie McGrice, a dietitian who specializes in nutrition for fertility and pregnancy, also looked at Braczko's plan.

McGrice, based in Melbourne, Australia, told Newsweek: "When we experience hormonal changes, it can result in our status quo being thrown off balance, like a storm causing huge waves in the ocean on what was once still water."

Beef liver may not be everyone's cup of tea, she said, but women saying goodbye to hormonal contraception need to brace for change and eat accordingly.

"Optimize your vitamin D levels for healthy hormone production, ensure you are meeting your protein intake to help regulate your hormones, and do keep your sugar intake low as this can exacerbate mood fluctuations," she said.

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