Here is a list of foods to eat with BV to help support healthy vaginal pH, which can cure your BV for good!
What is BV?
Bacterial vaginosis is a type of bacterial infection which is caused by the overgrowth of bacteria naturally found in the vagina. It is the most common vaginal infection in women ages 15-44.
Although researchers do not know how exactly some women get bacterial vaginosis, it is linked to factors that upset the natural balance of normal bacteria in the vagina. Some of the factors that disrupt that bacteria balance in the vagina include:
- Douching
- Using feminine washes
- Washing inside the vagina
- Having a new sexual partner
- Having different sexual partners
If you have BV or keep getting BV, then it’s time to consider incorporating certain foods that fight or reduce BV into your diet! Here are 5 foods to eat with BV:
5 Foods to Eat with BV
1. Kefir
I’ve talked about drinking kefir for BV before in this article. It is what finally cured my BV. How? That’s because kefir has high quantities of multiple strains of live lactobacteria. Lactobacteria play a huge role in keeping our bodies well-functioning, they are especially needed for a healthy thriving gut and vagina.
To bring your bacterial balance back to normal, you must replenish the good bacteria found in the vagina. You can do this by drinking one cup of milk kefir every day. I drank one cup of kefir every day for about two weeks until my BV symptoms of pain, itching and inflammation cleared up.
2. Yogurt
Yogurt also contains lactobacteria which helps balance bacteria in the vagina by promoting growth of good bacteria.
Make sure to take yogurt with live cultures in it, and not the sweetened store-bought yogurt because the latter contains no beneficial bacteria needed to fight BV.
3. Kombucha
Kombucha is a fermented drink, much like kefir. It is a sweet, fizzy drink made from yeast, sugar and fermented tea. Kombucha is good for BV because it is full of probiotics, specifically lactobacteria.
Drinking kombucha can help populate the gut and vagina with good bacteria, thereby eliminating the over populated bad bacteria that’s causing BV.
4. Sauerkraut and Kimchi
Sauerkraut is a German dish which is basically fermented cabbage. Cabbage leaves are pickled, meaning it is shredded, layered with salt and left to ferment. Fermentation occurs due to the sugars in the cabbage being broken down (by lactobacteria found in raw cabbage leaves) into lactic acid.
Kimchi is a Korean dish comprised of pickled or salted & fermented vegetables such as cabbage and radish. Since it involves fermented vegetables, it is rich in probiotics just like sauerkraut, kefir and kombucha.
Add sauerkraut or kimchi to your diet to support a healthy vagina. (Also read: Benefits of Sauerkraut for Weight Loss)
5. Garlic
Last but not least on this list of foods to eat with BV is garlic. Garlic is good for BV because it is a prebiotic food. Prebiotic foods stabilize vaginal pH by promoting growth of healthy bacterial populations.
Garlic also has antibacterial properties.
The key is to consume crushed raw garlic, to actually derive the potent antibacterial effects. Crushing raw garlic releases allicin which is the special compound that can help fight pathogenic microorganisms.
You can take about 3 crushed raw garlic pearls with water three times a day. The first on an empty stomach, for best results.
As you can see above, all the list of foods to eat with BV are rich in probiotics or prebiotics which helps support growth of good bacteria in the body. This is very important because BV is caused by insufficient amounts of healthy bacteria in the vagina.
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