Cordelia is here to lay down the law about sugar and your vagina.

It’s still surprising to me how many people don’t know about the link between sugar and vaginal health – I.e sugar = yeast infections. This is why in a few of the blogs I’ve written, like adding food items such as chocolate/strawberries/etc or using flavored lubes, it’s important to be aware of your vaginal health and understand this can cause a yeast infection.

So what are some good foods for your vaginal health and what are some bad foods?

Good foods:

Plain yogurt –

Yogurt is a probiotic which can help maintain the pH levels in the vagina. Probiotics contain live bacteria, specifically lactobacillus acidophilus in yogurt and it’s great for helping prevent infections. (not so great for those of us with dairy allergies.)

Along with yogurt, Kimchi, sauerkraut, and kefir are all foods that contain probiotics that can help with pH levels.

Cranberry juice-

It’s super important to make sure it’s CONCENTRATED cranberry juice and not cranberry juice COCKTAIL. Cranberry juice cocktail has entirely too much sugar in it and ultimately defeats the purpose. Drinking concentrated cranberry juice can help with UTI’s, especially if you’re prone to them. There’s actually a specific ingredient in the CONCENTRATED cranberry juice that helps add lubrication to the bladder that helps it prevent E. coli (which is typically what causes a UTI). Basically, the cranberry juice helps flush things before they become a problem.

Water –

Water, water, water. This is just vital to survival and I’m admittedly TERRIBLE at drinking the stuff. However, that said, drinking 6-8 eight ounce glasses of water per day will minimize or help with vaginal dryness.

Ginger Tea –

Ginger tea was found to mimic the benefits of ibuprofen in a study the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicate did. The ginger helped relieve some period cramps.

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So what isn’t so good for vaginal health?

Sweets and sugar –

dark chocolate is less terrible for your vaginal health but if you’re prone to yeast infections, it’s advise to take a step back and put down the sweets as well as fruits.

Alcohol

Alcohol is another thing you should avoid if you’re prone to yeast infections. it actually encourages the growth of yeast in the vagina. There are also some recent studies that show alcohol use might actually be a link to breast caner as well.

Coffee

I know a lot of you are going to gasp at this but coffee can be an issue for yeast infections as well as it changing your vaginal odor.

Spices and more

Spices, garlic, red meats, dairy, asparagus (causes bad vaginal odors as well as a change in pH), onion (causes bad vaginal odors), and broccoli (bad odors) can change you balance as well.

Fried or fatty foods

Fried or fatty foods and cards can also cause some major issues with you vaginal health too. It actually increases the potential for bacterial vaginosis and yeast infection.

Cheese!

Finally…cheese…cheese can be absolutely TERRIBLE for your vagina in regards to yeast infections.

The crazy thing is that something you eat or drink can affect you for up to THREE whole days after you’ve consumed it.Foods and drinks can affect your overall pH which can not just cause things like bacterial/yeast infections but it can also change the smell and taste of your vagina.