1. Yogurt with live cultures or probiotic supplements may
help prevent yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis.
Some doctors recommend yogurts with probiotics or
probiotic supplements to women who suffer from chronic
yeast infections, which are caused by the candida fungus.
Probiotics are live microorganisms, often called "friendly
bacteria," that may help fight infections caused by "bad"
bacteria and boost digestive health. They are sometimes
added to yogurts and available in supplements. Those in
the lactobacillus family are some of the most frequently
used.
However, the evidence that yogurt can really stave off
yeast infections is still inconclusive, said D.C.-based family
physician, Djinge Lindsay, MD, MPH. (The FDA has not
approved any health claims for foods with probiotics.) "A
lot of the studies that have been done were with small
groups of women," and their infections weren't all the
same. "Some women were chronically infected, some
women just got infections once in awhile. And the amount
of lactobacillus," she added, "varied widely across the
studies."
Still, though, eating plain, fat-free yogurt isn't likely to hurt
you. "It's a fairly benign remedy to try and some women do
report improvement with it," said Lindsay. Probiotics are
generally considered safe , but studies on long term effects
and how they impact people with other health issues are
limited.
One more thing to keep in mind: The most effective way to
get your probiotics might not be to eat them. Several
studies have found that vaginal suppositories containing
lactobacillus may help treat bacterial vaginosis.
2. Sauerkraut, miso, and kimchi are also good sources of
probiotics.
What's a non-yogurt-eating, yeast infection-prone girl to do?
Get your probiotics in fermented, homemade sauerkraut .
(Store-bought sauerkraut is usually pasteurized — a process
that kills all of the good bacteria that was in it.) Miso paste
and fresh kimchi also contain probiotics.
3. Eating a lot of sugar may make you more prone to yeast
infections, especially if you are diabetic or pre-diabetic.
Yeast infections are very common: About 75% of women
will get one at some point in their lives and nearly half will
get two or more, according to the Office on Women's
Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services.
There are many potential causes for yeast infections,
including pregnancy, taking antibiotics, or eating too much
sugar. "The idea is that the yeast will eat off of the sugar
and that's how they'll grow," said Lindsay. But while most
women would need to consume a lot of sugar to make it
the culprit, the bar is lower for diabetics and pre-diabetics.
"I commonly see infections in my diabetic patients that
don't have good control over their blood sugar."
Even if blood sugar is not a problem for you, your body will
thank you for limiting your sugar consumption. Follow the
World Health Organization's recommendation of restricting
your daily sugar intake to no more than 10% of your
calories, about six teaspoons or 25 grams for most adults.
4. Cranberries may be slightly beneficial to your bladder,
but they’re not a reliable measure for preventing UTIs.
Raise your hand if you've ever been told to drink cranberry
juice to help your UTI. Researchers have been examining
cranberries' impact on UTIs for at least a hundred years ,
focusing on their potential ability to prevent E. coli bacteria
(the primary culprit behind UTIs) from sticking to cells on
urinary tract walls.
But while doctors have been recommending cranberries as
a preventative measure against UTIs for decades, the
latest research suggests that this advice is misguided. In
2012, researchers reviewed 24 studies examining
cranberries' impact on UTIs. The results may surprise you:
While cranberries can keep bacteria from adhering to
bladder walls and may be slightly effective in preventing
UTIs, the study ultimately concluded, "Cranberry juice
cannot currently be recommended for the prevention of
UTIs."
Recommended methods of preventing UTIs include peeing
after sex, wearing loose-fitting and breathable underwear,
and drinking plenty of water.
Even if cranberries are not a UTI panacea, they are still a
good source of essential vitamins like C, E, and K, so
incorporating them into your diet isn't likely to hurt you. But
steer clear of sugary cranberry cocktail juices. Try making
this healthy whole wheat cranberry banana bread or a
cranberry banana smoothie.
5. Caffeine, alcohol, chocolate, and artificial sweeteners
can irritate your bladder, especially if you suffer from
interstitial cystitis (IC).
As if having IC, aka painful bladder syndrome, wasn't hard
enough, the 1–2 million Americans who have it (with
women outnumbering men 8 to 1) have a long list of
bladder-irritating foods to avoid, including foods with
caffeine, alcohol, histamine, artificial sweeteners, MSG,
and nitrates. (The Interstitial Cystitis Association provides
a detailed guide here.)
Even if you don't suffer from IC, if you're running to the
bathroom more than you'd like, removing certain foods
from your diet may help you make it through your next rom-
com without a trip to the ladies. Caffeine, for example, is a
well-known diuretic, meaning it makes you pee more.
Chocolate, which contains caffeine and other potentially IC-
exacerbating ingredients, should also, sadly, be avoided.
(Don't kill the messenger!)
Organizations like the National Association for Continence
and the Glickman Urological & Kidney Institute also
recommend that anyone with an overactive bladder avoid
artificial sweeteners like aspartame and saccharin. (That
makes a diet soda a double threat since it probably
contains both caffeine and artificial sweeteners.
6. Strong smelling foods like asparagus, garlic, and curry
can make your crotch sweat stinkier.
Before we go any further, let's state the obvious for a
second: Vaginas can and will smell like whatever they
want. They are not supposed to smell like roses; that
concept is annoying. That said, a concern about the air
down there is hardly abnormal, and certain foods can have
an impact — albeit a slight one — on the smell of your
nether regions.
There is not a large canon of research on how foods
impact your vaginal smell, but it is related to the rest of
your particular scent of BO. "It has not been extensively
studied, it's been inferred from other research," said
Lindsay. Because an important component of the odor is
from sweat, foods that make your sweat more odiferous,
will likely do the same for your vag. "If you ingest foods
with very strong odors like asparagus or garlic or curry, it's
possible that that can translate to a smell in your vaginal
area," said Lindsay.
(As for the commonly repeated myth that inserting a garlic
clove into your vagina can cure a yeast infection, don't
listen. "In reality, inserting any foreign object in the vagina
may cause further complications or even worsen an
infection. And there is no scientific proof that garlic can
cure a yeast infection, so why risk it?" wrote Drs. Yvonne
Bohn, Allison Hill, and Alane Park , OB/GYNs and authors of
The Mommy Docs' Ultimate Guide to Pregnancy and Birth .)
7. Red meat might make you smellier than usual, too.
Eating red meat can make you sweat more and make your
sweat smellier. "You can smell worse within two hours of
eating red meat," E. Adam Kallel, who holds a Ph.D. in
Victrix computational and medicinal chemistry consultancy,
told the Huffington Post last year. Like with other body odor-
causing foods, the results may manifest in the sweat
glands around your private parts.
Eating red meat may also throw off your vagina's pH
levels. "A normal vagina is slightly acidic," said Lindsay.
"There's some evidence that for certain people, some
foods that are high in alkalines, like meat and fish, can
possibly affect the odor."
And BTW, studies indicate that red meat has an impact on
your male companion too. A 2006 study put seventeen
male "odor donors" on either meat or non-meat diets for
two weeks and then tested their scents on 30 women. The
results: "[T]he odor of donors ... on the nonmeat diet was
judged as significantly more attractive, more pleasant, and
less intense."
8. Pineapples might make your vagina smell and taste
better, but it’s not scientifically proven.
We all want our vaginas to smell and taste as pleasant as
possible, but while there are some stories floating around
about how to do that, there is no real corresponding
scientific research. "A common one I've seen is pineapples,
but there's no evidence for that," said Lindsay. But she
added, "If you think it works, then you can try it."
Another important note from Dr. Lindsay for those worried
about vaginal scents and tastes: "Every woman's vagina is
going to be slightly different. The taste is also going to be
different depending on who's tasting it and their taste
buds." So don't stress about it unless you have a reason to,
like a particularly strong or pungent smell. And if that
happens, see your doctor, don't just stock up on
pineapples.
9. Water keeps your membranes ~lubricated~ and your
odors diluted.
"Your vagina is a mucus surface, same as the inside of
your mouth, so the better hydrated you are, the better
hydrated those membranes are going to be," Lindsay told
BuzzFeed. And while some strong-smelling foods can
translate into a stronger-smelling vagina, water can help
bring things back to whatever is normal for you. "If you're
concerned, you can drink water and that can dilute out
what you might perceive to be a bad smell from the food,"
Lindsay said.
10. Flax and soy may improve vaginal dryness in post-
menopausal women.
After menopause, women often experience a natural drop
in their estrogen levels, leading to vaginal dryness. The
phytoestrogens in foods like flax and soy may help women
compensate for this, said Lindsay, but the evidence to back
this up is still relatively sparse. "I've definitely had women
tell me they've added soy milk into their diet and their hot
flashes felt better and their vaginal dryness was better. But
in terms of the hardcore research, there's not great
evidence that it can help."
That said, flax and soy are similar to yogurt and
cranberries in that they are healthful foods which are
unlikely to hurt you, and may even help you in other, non-
vagina ways. Try one of these delicious tofu recipes to add
soy to your diet or wake up with a wild blueberry, mint, and
flaxseed smoothie.
11. The smell of Good & Plenty may actually get your juices
flowing.
Guys, this is not a joke. If you haven't been feeling the heat
lately, you might want to hit the candy store. In 1998, Dr.
Alan Hirsch of the Smell & Taste Research and Treatment
Foundation in Baltimore wrote in his book Scentsational Sex:
The Secret to Using Aroma for Arousal that the scent of
Good & Plenty candy, especially when mixed with a
cucumber perfume, sexually arouses women .
(Hershey Foods Corp., the maker of Good & Plenty, was
not particularly excited about the discovery. A spokesman
told the Baltimore Sun, "We weren't involved in the study.
We prefer not to comment.")
Keep in mind that there’s only so much any one food can
do. “Broadly, as long as you’re generally physically healthy,
you should have a healthy vagina,” said Lindsay. But if you
have specific concerns about your vagina, be sure to see
your doctor.
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