Do birth control pills affect cholesterol levels?
Birth control pills can affect cholesterol levels. How much of an effect depends on the type of pill you’re taking and what concentration of estrogen or progestin it contains. The estrogen in birth control pills causes an increase in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels (the “good” cholesterol), a decrease in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels (the “bad” cholesterol) and an increase in your total cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Progestin in birth control pills has the opposite effect. Birth control pills with a greater concentration of estrogen can have a slightly beneficial overall effect on your blood lipid levels. In general, though, the changes aren’t significant and don’t affect your overall health.
