Biohacking Women’s Health
Happy Women’s History Month! Today’s post covers all the apps, devices, and tests for biohacking women’s health. From hormone-free birth control, to tracking your fertility– not just your period– there’s an app for that, and I’ve tested them for you. Let’s dive in.
Biohacking your cycle
Natural Cycles app
I’ve been using Natural Cycles since 2019, when I wanted a more natural alternative to hormonal birth control. What I love most about it is that it puts me in control of my body and my health. I’m not vilifying hormonal birth control or medicine–sometimes they’re genuinely needed!– but I love that this app allows me to own my reproductive health naturally. And because I’m not taking medicine, I can see what’s actually going on with my cycle each month.
What is Natural Cycles?
Natural Cycles is a digital birth control app that is FDA cleared for use as birth control. This puts it in a league of its own: no period tracker app can say the same. That’s just one thing that makes Natural Cycles different from any period tracker you’ve been using. It also predicts and confirms your ovulation, helps you track PMS symptoms and onset, and even has a “partner mode” where you can allow your partner access to your daily fertility status. It can be used either to prevent or to plan and monitor a pregnancy.
How Natural Cycles Works
Our body temperatures rise or fall with different hormone levels, and a temperature spike shortly follows ovulation. Natural Cycles tracks your temperature throughout your cycle, and predicts your “fertile window,” during which ovulation may occur, to help you plan for pregnancy, or avoid conception. Natural Cycles is 98% effective at preventing pregnancy with perfect use, and 93% effective with typical use. That’s the same as “typical use” with the pill. For extra convenience, pair Natural Cycles with the Oura Ring and let it measure and sync the data for you. Without the Oura Ring, you’ll use a thermometer provided by Natural Cycles to take your temperature orally, first thing in the morning. The app has a subscription fee, but this ensures your data is never sold to third parties. Use the link below for 25% off!
*Everyone’s medical situation is unique; check with your doctor before stopping/starting/changing any medications.*
Modern Fertility Hormone Test and APP
Speaking of hormones, Modern Fertility, part of Ro, offers a range of tests to measure and track your key fertility hormones to better understand your fertility. Depending on whether or not you’re taking hormonal birth control, you can test 6 hormones, from the comfort of your home. With the Modern Fertility Hormone Test, you’ll test and learn about AMH, TSH, FSH, E2, fT4, and LH, to get a clearer picture of the amount of eggs you may have remaining, whether your hormones are acting as expected each month for successful ovulation, and more insights tailored to you. The Hormone Test requires a blood sample, and you’ll need to take it on a specific day of your cycle, but it’s very easy to do at home with a simple finger stick. Be sure to watch their how-to video first!
proov HORMONE TEST AND APP
Looking for a cycle-by-cycle picture of your hormone levels? Proov Test offers at-home test options to test FSH, LH, and PdG, as well as hCG to confirm pregnancy, and sperm tests for a partner. All of these are tested without a blood draw, and the Proov app makes it easy to interpret the results by reading the colored test lines for you. In addition, the app gives you a “score,” for your hormones, along with suggestions for how to support your hormones throughout your cycle. The Proov app will prompt you when to test, and tracks your hormone levels across multiple cycles so you can identify trends. Interested? Use this link and code “mermade20” for 20% off.
Quick tip: use a reusable shot glass to collect your sample, or compostable cups from Amazon.
To avoid plastic waste, skip plastic cups and use a reusable shot glass to collect your sample. (How cute is this little cup Proov sent me?!).
If you want to avoid glass in the bathroom like me (I’m very prone to breaking things), try these compostable cups instead.
Biohacking overall health
Oura Ring
DIVE in
Looking for more? For tips on how to make your period eco-friendly, check out this post on menstrual cups, and see why they might be the best sustainable swap you could ever make! I recommend starting with the brand Saalt. My favorites are below.
