BELGIUM: Ernst Rietzschel, with team, of Ghent University conducted a study of 1,301 women aged 33 to 55 in two Belgian towns, 81% of whom use the pill, and found that women who use the pill have triple the expected levels of an enzyme linked with cardiovascular inflammation. They used ultrasound to test carotid arteries on each side of the neck and femoral arteries in each leg. A woman’s odds of having plaque in one carotid artery increased by 17% and in both carotids by 42% for every ten years of pill use. The odds of having plaque in a single femoral artery increased by 28% and in both by 34%. Together, this means birth control pills can cause plaques that build up 20-30% every ten years in arteries and can endanger the heart.

The pill is already known to increase blood pressure and risk of blood clots. Jennifer Mieres of New York University School of Medicine, says, ‘If you’re going to take birth control pills, you need to be aggressive about reducing your other risk factors: smoking, high blood pressure, cholesterol, diet and lifestyle.’

Better solution, long since known to South Indian women: eat papaya every day for breakfast—that’s a preventative. If you want a child, stop eating papaya. If you haven’t been eating papaya, and suddenly want a morning-after pill, eat green papaya.