The Best and Worst Foods For Vaginal Health

Most women choose their diets based on what will help them clear up their skin or achieve their fitness goals. Certainly, not a lot of women select their food based on how it is going to affect their vagina.

Knowing what food to eat and avoid can help you control your mood and other difficulties that come with your monthly cycle. Not only that, a well-balanced diet can regulate your menstrual cycle and even spice up your sex life.

Let’s take a look at some of the best and worst foods for your vagina.

The Best

• Probiotics

Like your gut, your lady parts need good bacteria to ward off infections. Eating foods rich in probiotics such as yogurt, tempeh, pickles, kimchi, and sauerkraut can improve the pH balance down there. Not to mention, probiotics can help women with vaginitis as well as chronic discomfort. Probiotics can be a natural remedy for bv.

• Edamame

A natural remedy for vaginal dryness is edamame, an edible soybean that is picked before it becomes ripe. Rich in omega-3 fatty acids and proteins, edamame can make sure that everything below the belt is working the way it’s supposed to. Adding half a cup of unprocessed edamame to your diet can help ease symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.

• Plant Fats

Healthy fats derived from nuts, avocados, or olive oil are good for your vaginal health. Plant fats can help keep your estrogen levels balanced. In turn, they promote a healthy mucosal lining, which is ideal for warding off infections. Almonds and other nut-based fats will also do since they are packed with calcium and B vitamins. These help prevent vaginitis.

• Garlic

Thanks to its antimicrobial and antifungal properties, garlic makes an excellent remedy for vaginal issues such as itching, excessive discharge, burning, and unusual odors. Eating two to three raw cloves of garlic can lead to a good vaginal health.

The Worst

• Processed foods

Take it easy on processed foods. Apart from depressing your immune system, processed foods promote the growth of harmful bacteria. If that happens, you could start attracting all kinds of issues down there—dryness, yeast infections, urinary tract infections, and pain during sex to name a few.

• Meat and Dairy with Artificial Hormones

Avoid consuming animal-derived products filled with hormones as they can cause all kinds of problems below the belt. Artificial hormones can block estrogen and prevent the mucosal lining from developing. This makes your vagina vulnerable to infection. If you can’t give up processed foods entirely, then make an effort to eat them in moderation.

• Sugar

Too much sugar in your diet can kill the good bacteria in your vagina. Simply put, its effects on vaginal health are quite the opposite of probiotics. If you have a bacterial imbalance, you may have to deal with irritation, soreness, as well as yeast infections.

For smoother operations down under, women should put more thought into how their diet affects the health of their vagina.