In the dark ages, doctors believed that patients' blood was poisoned, and it should be drained to heal the patient. The recommended medical treatment for cases of malaria and high fever included blood-letting of liters of the patient's blood. In that dark reality women were prohibited from the practice of medicine, and only two hundred years ago they returned to work as "nurses". The early nurses worked in hospitals for the church and took an oath to devote their lives to Christian charity. They were the only women in the western world who were exempt from the commandment to procreate, and had to live according to a strict religious norm - "monasticism". As a result of their monasticism they had a clear physical manifestation, a cyclic process of bleeding until 45+ years of age. Since the medical perception of those times maintained that the blood was poisoned and one should be cleaned of it in order to heal, the cyclical bleeding of the nuns was also considered as a healthy process. The belief that "menstruation" is natural and important for women's health was created because of the wrong interpretation given to the (very exceptional) reality of life of the nun-nurses.
In the middle of the previous century we have invented ourselves a "modern" way of life including an innovative idea called "family planning". The western society developed effective technological means, designed to prevent undesired pregnancies. But in our new and planned way a thinking glitch occurred, resulting from the mythical belief in the necessity of menstruation for health reasons.
We should start a new discussion, regarding the common contraceptive today "The pill" (introduced in 1960). The researchers who developed it focused on two hormones: "Progesterone" and "Estrogen". In clinical experiments they were both found to be effective for preventing pregnancy. Estrogen was chosen as the active hormone in the original pill because of the intense Christian belief of some of the developers that sought to receive the blessing of the Catholic Church. The head of the developing team believed that the Vatican will approve the Estrogen Pill because it could simulate the natural menstruation. In order of getting the effect of the "natural" menstrual cycle, the pills were packed in a package containing twenty one pills and were recommended for use with one week break after finishing one package of pills and before starting another one.
The break in the daily pill taking sequence causes a uterine bleeding similar to menstruation. The hormone Estrogen, that was chosen as "The Pill's" hormone stimulates cell division in the breasts and uterine lining, and today it is suspected as the major cause of the breast cancer epidemic.1 How is it possible that a physical process involving bleeding and pain, is perceived by us as a natural and healthy process? Indeed, in other cases, such symptoms indicate an injury and require a comprehensive medical examination and immediate medical treatment.
The common popular belief, that this is a natural clearing process, turns menstruation into a chronic and fatal disease.
Two questions arise here:
What is the extent of the total physical influence of the "monthly period" over the bodily systems of women? Is it possible that diseases that are specific to women only: osteoporosis, fertility problems, menopause, carcinogenic processes (of the breast, uterus and ovaries) considered today as natural signs of "old age", are caused by the accumulated damages of the menstrual cycles?
| 
