7 Surprising Things No One Ever Told You About The Pill

Although the Pill has been around for over 50 years now, there are still many misconceptions out there. Just how effective is your birth control? Does it make you gain weight?(No) Make you attractive to different men? (Yes) Lower your sex drive? (Yes and no) It's hard to separate the truth from fiction—which can make your birth control decision tougher. 

We have some shocking facts about its creation and its benefits that will help dissolve some of the things that you may have heard about the number one prescribed medicine in the world.

1. Thank The Yams For Your Better Sex Life.
Yams should be your new favorite side dish, since they're the reason your Pill is more affordable and able to be mass manufactured, according to LiveScience. A scientist was able to extract the Pill's key ingredient, progesterone, from a wild Mexican yam named cabeza de negro. You rock, yams.

2. A Catholic Fought To Get It Approved By The FDA.
Catholicism is known to be a religion against all forms of contraception, except for natural family planning, so this definitely comes as a surprise. According to LiveScience, John Rock, a devout Catholic medical doctor believed that sex was healthy for marriage. He also believed that the Pill would help married couples so he conducted clinical trials that resulted in the FDA approving the Pill.

3. Your Pills Are Making You Attracted To Certain Men.
You think that you're attracted to him because of his thick, lovely head of hair, his sexy accent, or his humor. But did you know you could actually be drawn to him because of the Pill? 

Research found that the Pill plays a role in affecting a woman's smell, which then affects who she is—and isn't—attracted to. In a man's scent there are signs of histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes, which affect his immune system. Women naturally prefer a scent that has MHC genes different from their own, but the Pill reverses this preference. 

4. The Pill Won't Reduce Your Sex Drive ... Unless You Start It During A Relationship.
Since we know the hormones in the Pill slightly change your idea of the perfect partner, how does that affect your relationship? Well, new research finds that the Pill won't reduce your sexual satisfaction if you take it at the beginning of a relationship or have been taking it before you were dating.

But starting your oral contraceptive during your relationship means you may start to find your partner less attractive—and your sex drive could drop. Anyone else thing this should be on the warning label?

5. The Pill Has Benefits —Even In Your 40s.
Over the hill? You can still get health benefits from oral contraception. According to Best Health Mag, the Pill can help with irregular bleeding and hot flashes that occurs in your 40s. It's important, however, to see your doctor beforehand to see if there is any serious cause for uterine bleeding.

6. When Your Stomach Can't Keep Anything Down, Take Your Pills Vaginally.
According to Best Health Mag, on the days where your stomach won't allow you to keep any medicine or food down, you can actually take your birth control by inserting it directly into your vagina. The trick is you must insert two, since the vagina's absorption isn't as good as digesting it.

Who knew?

7. Chill Out! It Won't Make You Gain Weight.
We can all relax now. Even though there is a well-believed myth that the Pill makes you gain weight, clinical trials have continually proven that there is no correlation between weight gain and oral contraceptives, according to Health. However the depot shot may cause an average 11-pound weight gain over three years according to a study done by University of Texas researchers.