The Importance of Vaginal Health

WHEN we consider that vaginas are the portal through which the next generation passes into being, it’s a wonder that we hush them embarrassingly away.  By that measure, they should be exalted on the highest of pedestals and worshiped for all of their glorious abilities.  “The human vagina is an under appreciated organ that is not merely a passageway for vaginal discharge, menses, sperm, and neonates, but can profoundly affect the health of generations.”1  

LIKE all things, health is directly related to the environment that the organism is surrounded in.  Whereas it is well known that gut health thrives in a  diverse and complex microbiome, it may surprise you to learn that the vagina prefers to be dominated by the single bacterial colony of Lactobacillus.  There are five species of Lactobacillus that predominate the region and promote a healthy and well balanced environment, L. rhamnosus, L. gasseri, L. jensenii, L. acidophiuls, with the most common and protective species being L. crispatus.  Diversity further beyond this can raise the pH of the vagina and promote the overgrowth of pathogens.  This can result in frequent urinary tract infections (UTI), or recurrent bacterial vaginosis infections (BV), sexually transmitted infections (STI), or pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), and has been linked to preterm labor and infertility.2  In fact, the vaginal microbiome can even influence the gut microbiome of the neonates that pass through its canal, this serves to seed their newly developing guts.  

A HEALTHY vagina is one that has a very low pH, a thick mucus layer, low microbial diversity, and high levels of glycogen.  As we age, we see the exact opposite environment begin to evolve with a gradually increasing pH, thinning of the mucosal layer, higher microbial diversity, and a lower level of glycogen.  This change to the environment increases risk for disease.  Beyond age, there are several other factors that play a role in the modulation of the vaginal environment.  Your vitamin D level, your stress level, your hormonal balance (or lack thereof), certain medications such as, but not limited to, birth control pills, steroids or antibiotics, and the foods you eat, can all influence the health of your vagina.  While we cannot halt our aging, many of these other modulators can be addressed.

WHEN we look at the standard American diet, and the standard of American living, it is pretty easy to establish patterns that would disrupt vaginal health.  Undergarments and clothing made of endocrine disrupting materials laying against our skin and private areas all day.  Sanitary products loaded with toxic chemicals, deodorants, creams, and douches all introduce additional flora disrupting elements to the body.3  High sugar, high carb, and high alcohol diets all disrupt metabolic health along with the gut microbiome, which in turn changes the pH of the vagina.  Nail polish, hair dyes, body creams, spray tans, and cosmetics all introduce endocrine disruptors that alter hormones,  and toxins that require energy-expensive excretion from the body.4  Add in a little lot of stress, a side order of low quality sleep, and you are looking at a modern American person with a vagina. 

THIS lifestyle taxes the immune system as it chronically works overtime, resulting in more frequent colds, skin issues, gut disturbances, painful, heavy and/or irregular periods, headaches, and mood changes - “minor” inconveniences our society has largely normalized, not because they are normal, but because they have become so common that people view them as such.  These inconveniences, however, can develop into larger, more complicated issues such as, but not limited to: autoimmune conditions, eczema, stomach ulcers, SIBO, fibroids, cysts, disordered uterine bleeding, migraines, or depression.  It is generally only at this later stage when  traditional doctors will consider getting involved.  Medications, diagnostic testing, and surgeries are what drive our healthcare system.  Sickness has become a business.  

I OFTEN tell my patients that reclaiming health is partly a matter of learning how to interpret our body’s language.  The body’s language is nonverbal and relies on the use of physical actions to convey information.  We often think of it as a way of interpreting what another’s body is trying to communicate.  My goal is to try and help patients interpret what their own body is trying to tell them.  When it comes to seemingly minor inconveniences like UTI, yeast infections, or BV, it's easy to absent-mindedly run to the doctor and grab a prescription, or even to attempt to treat it over the counter.  In truth, around 75% of individuals born with vaginas will experience a yeast infection at some point in their life, so if you do get one it is definitely not the end of the world.  But if you notice that you are susceptible to frequent vaginal/urinary infections, or if you suffer from infertility, or miscarriage, there is likely an underlying issue your body is trying to communicate to you.  You could have hormonal imbalances, you could be metabolically unhealthy, you may have food sensitivities, or gut dysbiosis, you may be reacting to your form of birth control, you could be responding to environmental toxicities, or suffering from a weakened immune system.  In any case, do not ignore what your vagina is trying to tell you.  

FUNCTIONAL medicine can help you understand your body’s language.  It believes that the human body can maintain, or regain its fundamental health when it is provided a proper environment.  It understands how to promote a healthy environment, despite our current modern landscape.  It approaches each individual by recognizing that one cause can be related to multiple symptoms and one symptom can be the root of multiple causes.  Looking for these connections and making small changes to daily behavioral patterns leads to a body that enjoys health, and ages gracefully,  an immune system that is capable of fighting off infection and disease, and a life full of vitality, confidence, and energy, that leads to the fulfillment of a life well lived.  To learn more, visit www.soulmindedhealth.com or schedule a free discovery call.  

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1. Younes JA, Lievens E, Hummelen R, van der Westen R, Reid G, Petrova MI. Women and Their Microbes: The Unexpected Friendship. Trends Microbiol. 2018 Jan;26(1):16-32. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2017.07.008. Epub 2017 Aug 23. PMID: 28844447.

2. Chee, W.J.Y., Chew, S.Y. & Than, L.T.L. Vaginal microbiota and the potential of Lactobacillus derivatives in maintaining vaginal health. Microb Cell Fact 19, 203 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12934-020-01464-4

3. Caneparo C, Carignan L, Lonina E, Goulet SM, Pellerin FA, Chabaud S, Bordeleau F, Bolduc S, Pelletier M. Impact of Endocrine Disruptors on the Genitourinary Tract. J Xenobiot. 2024 Dec 2;14(4):1849-1888. doi: 10.3390/jox14040099. PMID: 39728407; PMCID: PMC11676856.

4. Łaniewski P, Ilhan ZE, Herbst-Kralovetz MM. The microbiome and gynaecological cancer development, prevention and therapy. Nat Rev Urol. 2020 Apr;17(4):232-250. doi: 10.1038/s41585-020-0286-z. Epub 2020 Feb 18. PMID: 32071434; PMCID: PMC9977514.