Vaginal health impacts your urinary tract in addition to your vagina. Body parts like the vagina, urethra, and bladder are all loaded with bacteria, fungi, and other microbes which serve specific purposes for sustaining the health and function of those parts.
For instance, the microbes balance your vaginal pH levels harmoniously to ensure they stay at a healthy range of between 4 and 4.5. Adequate pH levels will help prevent harmful bacteria and fungi from taking over and causing vaginal infections and other issues.
You need more good than harmful bacteria to maintain a healthy vaginal microbiome. However, the balance of the microbiome can become disrupted for various reasons, such as hormonal changes, some medications, stress, anxiety, douching, and more. Once the vaginal microbiome becomes disturbed, it can leave an opening for harmful bacteria to take over.
The signs of too much harmful bacteria in the vagina include abnormal vaginal odor, irritation, and discharge. Post-menopausal or post-pregnant women may experience hormonal changes resulting in abnormal vaginal pH levels and these undesirable symptoms.
Best Vitamins for Vaginal Health
Taking vitamin supplements and consuming nutrient-dense foods can help improve your vaginal and urinary tract health. Below are the top four vitamins and compounds which promote good vaginal health.
1) Vaginal Probiotics
According to some medical research studies, probiotic supplements containing Lactobacillus acidophilus can improve your vaginal microbiome health and vaginal pH level management. Other studies also found evidence that Lactobacillus reuteri and Lactobacillus rhamnosus can improve vaginal health, primarily since the bacteria naturally reside in the vagina. GR-1 and RC-14 are the most studied and clinically proven strains of vaginal probiotics.
2) Cranberries
Cranberries have always been suggested for improving urinary health because they contain natural compounds that fight harmful bacteria in the urinary tract, prevent UTIs, and make it easier to flush them out of your system.
3) Vitamin D
Vitamin D is critical to consume for many reasons, such as maintaining good vaginal health. You can consume Vitamin D supplements or foods loaded with natural Vitamin D, such as cheese, eggs, yogurt, mushrooms, liver, and cow’s milk.
4) D-Mannose
D-Mannose is a natural monosaccharide sugar compound in delicious fruits like oranges and apples. Clinical research studies have found evidence that D-mannose can improve vaginal and bladder health.
Consuming oranges and apples for nutrients and energy is always good, but you might want to take D-Mannose supplements if your main focus is improving vaginal health.
Conclusion
Vitamins can help you improve your vaginal health, but they cannot do everything alone. You must still develop healthy lifestyle habits to improve your immune health, such as practicing safe sex, eating nutritious foods, maintaining vaginal hygiene, and drinking lots of water. With robust immune health, you’ll have the best chance of avoiding severe vaginal health problems.
