Healthy Foods, Healthy Vagina

Your lungs, your heart, your liver... the media bombards you daily with recommendations and recriminations about keeping these admittedly important parts of your body happy and healthy.

But nobody ever talks about having a happy and healthy vagina. And that's a shame.

What makes for a healthy vagina? Acid, mostly. Think back on your high school chemistry. The pH level of your vagina needs to be slightly acidic, in order for the healthy bacteria to grow and chase away infection from the less desirable micro-organisms. You could check your pH levels everyday – or you could just eat certain foods that will establish the correct vagina acid/alkaline balance.

You probably guessed that yogurt was one of these “vagina-friendly foods, as it is the most famous food medium for probiotic active cultures. Make sure the brand you choose is low in sugar and high in these cultures. If you are vegan, or yogurt is just not your bag, miso, kefir, kimchi and even sauerkraut will also deliver the probiotic goods.

Fresh fruits, vegetables, and nuts should also be on your menu. A diet rich in these can help prevent menstrual cramping. Special attention should be paid to avocados, which are particularly rich in Vitamin E, which helps to prevent vaginal dryness. Sweet potatoes are rich in Vitamin A, and are known to strengthen uterine and vaginal walls. Dark, green, leafy vegetables are good for you across the board, but offer particular benefits for vaginal health. Spinach, broccoli, kale and the like offer vitamins and minerals that stimulate the flow of blood throughout all parts of the body, and also naturally purify your blood. This goes a long way towards ameliorating your menstrual cycles.

If you are concerned about your health, you have probably already substituted soy for any number of other protein sources that are higher in fat. But soy has the added benefit of being a natural vaginal lubricant when ingested in its natural form (i.e., not as a “soy burger” or the like). This is because it contains low doses of estrogen that your body might be craving to produce moisture.

Finally, there is the cranberry. Cranberries and cranberry juice are filled with the right kind of acidic compounds that will swing your vaginal pH balance in check, and create an environment that will be a bastion against encroaching bad bacteria. Cranberry capsulized supplements are actually your best bet, as these can also help fend off urinary tract infections, but if you choose to go the juice route, be sure that what you select is low in sugar.