Sponsored by Precision Biotics
As a female-founded gut health company, women’s health and gut health are two things we are very passionate about. In true The Gut Stuff fashion, we do not gatekeep, we want as many of you to know about it as possible.
You might not immediately think of the gut when you think of women’s health, but did you know the two are more closely linked than you might realise? To get a good understanding, let’s first take a look at our gut microbiome – a term used to describe the trillions of microbes living in our gut. Back in the day we used to think of ‘bugs’ aka microbes as bad, but turns out they’re actually really helpful and affect all sorts of things around the body, including our hormonal health.
When it comes to our gut microbiome we’re often asked, what does a healthy microbiome look like? The truth is the research is still emerging and there’s no one size fits all (as with everything gut health), but what we do know is a more diverse mix of microbes is beneficial to overall health.
So how are women’s health and gut health linked? Not only do our gut microbes play an important role in hormonal regulation – but they also influence how much oestrogen is circulating around our bodies at any one time. If this level becomes out of whack, our body fat, metabolism, bowel movements, bone turnover and even skin can all be affected.
We dive into this in more depth here if you want to find out more. Either way, if you’re here, it’s safe to say you’re already pretty on board with supporting your gut microbiome and giving those mighty microbes a helping hand. But did you know your gut microbiome isn’t the only microbiome that deserves some love?
The vaginal microbiome
Introducing your vaginal microbiome – yep something we’ve never really thought about either. But, just like our gut microbiome turns out it’s pretty important – and is home to a whole host of bacteria. However, unlike your gut microbiome, a healthy vaginal microbiome should have less diversity – just to keep us on our toes! (7-10)
You’ve just learnt you have a vaginal microbiome, so why should you care!? Your vaginal microbiome plays a role in regulating pH levels, as well as maintaining a healthy balance of yeast – all key to keeping it healthy.
How to support your vaginal microbiome
As we mentioned, our vaginal microbiome, unlike our gut, doesn’t like too many pals at the party and prefers less diversity. However, there’s one strain, lactobacilli that’s its bestie, and the preferred dominant strain (7-10). Interestingly, the number of lactobacilli that fluctuate during a woman’s life is affected by age, lifestyle, diet and medication, to name a few (7-10).
So we may need a helping hand every once in a while, which is why we’re sharing our top 4 tips to keep your lady garden thriving:
- follow a balanced diet – yes we are still on about our vaginal microbiome, what we eat affects our entire body and our vagina is no exception. Make sure you’re eating a mix of probiotic-rich foods, fibre-rich foods and vitamin D, as part of a balanced diet – all of which will help support your overall body and reduce the risk of infection down there.
- keep it simple – we know they smell great, but stick to perfume on your neck and keep it mild when washing down there. And make sure you wipe front to back when on the loo – womens health 101!
- she likes to breathe! Cotton undies are your besties for down there, try to steer free of any man-made fabrics like polyester.
- consider taking a supplement. As you now know the pH level of your vagina is key to keeping things balanced. The new PrecisionBiotics Daily Womens Flora food supplement is designed for women who are actively seeking to maintain healthy vaginal balance. Formulated with scientifically tested ASTARTE and LA-5 bacterial strains – belonging to the lactobacilli family, a genus that’s prevalent in healthy vaginal microbiome. With added biotin to support the maintenance of normal mucous membranes.
& that’s a wrap – remember to take care of down there.
Written By Annabel Sparrow ANutr
Sponsored by Precision Biotics
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