5 Foods for Your Vagina

Did you know that your vaginal health is connected to your gut health?

Everything you eat, drink and put in your mouth literally affects BOTH the health of your gut AND your vagina!

Composed of trillions of microorganisms, your gut microbiome plays a role in digestion, elimination, and maintaining the health of your endocrine (hormone) system, your immune system, and your nervous system, which are all connected to your vaginal health as well!

When your gut microbiome is thrown off-balance, it can disrupt the balance of healthy bacteria in the gut, which can trigger inflammation, hormone imbalances, and stress in the body, and negatively affect your vagina’s natural pH levels.

This can cause a variety of health complications including digestive issues like abdominal bloating, cramping, and gas, gut issues like candida overgrowth and leaky gut, food allergies, chronic fatigue, depression, and anxiety, skin irritation, autoimmune conditions, and so much more.

And an imbalance in the healthy gut microbiome and pH levels, inflammation, hormone imbalances, etc., can lead to common vaginal infections like yeast infections, UTIs, and bacterial vaginosis, and STIs like genital herpes and HPV infections.

These infections, especially for people who experience them chronically (meaning, when they keep coming back after treatment), can be not only physically uncomfortable but emotionally debilitating as well.

This is why YOUR DIET is so important to maintaining your gut microbiome AND your vaginal microbiome!

Here are my top 5 food recommendations to balance both your gut and vaginal health:

Fiber – Keeps your digestion and elimination regular and helps your gut and vaginal microbiomes flourish by feeding the good bacteria what it needs to survive.

Include:

• Fiber-rich foods like legumes, nuts, and seeds
• Fresh fruits and vegetables
• Whole (gluten-free) grains

Low GI Fresh fruits & vegetables – Eating the rainbow of fresh fruits and veggies contain essential vitamins and nutrients that help support your gut health.

It’s important to know that there are lots of fruits and veggies that are high in sugar and even though it’s the “good kind of sugar”, it’s still sugar that is not good for your vaginal health. Stick with Low GI (Glycemic Index) fruits and veggies, which are lower in natural sugars.

Include:

• Dark leafy greens, like spinach or kale.
• Orange and yellow fruits and vegetables like sweet potatoes, carrots, and yellow bell peppers.
• Blue and purple fruits and veggies like blueberries, blackberries, and purple cabbage.
• Red fruits and veggies like strawberries, raspberries, and tomatoes.

Incorporating the rainbow of colors and flavors into your diet can support a healthy gut and vaginal microbiome!

Good-quality Protein sources – Helps balance blood sugar, reduces inflammation, boosts your immune system, balances hormones, and supports gut health.

Include:

• Fish – Salmon, tuna, sardines
• Eggs
• Lean cuts of meats like boneless, skinless chicken breast, turkey, lean cuts of red meat
• Protein powder – unsweetened, paleo/vegan protein powders
• Nuts & seeds (luckily those don’t trigger my herpes outbreaks, but for some people who live with herpes they do so be careful!)
• Beans and Legumes

Good fats – Helps to balance blood sugar, balance hormones, improves vaginal lubrication, strengthens vaginal walls, and support gut health.

Include:

• Good quality cooking oils like olive and coconut oil
• Avocado
• Eggs
• Salmon
• Olives
• Nuts & seeds

Probiotics – Probiotic-rich foods and foods that include beneficial gut bacteria like apple cider vinegar, support your gut and vaginal health by replenishing the good bacteria they need to thrive.
Include: Probiotics into your diet is in supplement form. I recommend a good-quality probiotic between 20-50 billion CFU’s.

Drink lots of water! – Not only is drinking water important to keep you hydrated, but it also improves digestion and elimination by keeping your intestines smooth and flexible, helping the food you eat easily move through your intestines.

I recommend drinking a glass of warm water with a squeeze of lemon first thing in the morning to kick-start digestion. It’s a great way to start the day!

In summary, managing your vaginal health with your diet is all about including:

• As many whole, natural, fresh, and GOOD-QUALITY foods as possible to nourish your body with essential nutrients to keep your gut and vaginal microbiome (and pH levels!) happy, healthy, and balanced.

• Good-quality protein, good fats, and low-starch/low-sugar/gluten-free carbs and veggies in every meal to balance your blood sugar and keep you energized, and satiated.

• Eating consistently, 3 meals per day with healthy snacks in between, to balance your blood sugar, promote digestion, reduce inflammation, and so much more!

This type of balanced diet rich in fiber, fresh fruits and veggies, good-quality probiotics, and lots of water help to:

• Reduce inflammation in your body
• Keep your digestion and elimination processes regular
• Feed your gut and vaginal microbiomes what they need to flourish
• strengthens your immune system
• balances your hormones
• supports your mental health
• promotes weight loss
• improves the health of your skin
• improves your vaginal health

and so much more!

If you are experiencing chronic vaginal health issues like recurring yeast infections, candida overgrowth, bacterial vaginosis, urinary tract infections, vulvodynia, and STIs like genital herpes and HPV infections, consider adding these things into your diet to replenish your gut microbiome to manage these infections and prevent them from coming back!

And when you are FED UP with dealing with these infections, and are ready to dive deeper into a holistic approach to manage them, I have lots of ways I can help you!

I have 4 different online programs to give you the tools and knowledge to manage yeast infections, candida overgrowth, bacterial vaginosis, UTIs, HPV, and herpes outbreaks with specific holistic practices – with your diet and lifestyle.

I also offer 1:1 coaching if you need personal support. Here’s the link to access my courses and coaching programs to learn more!
https://stan.store/yoninutritionist