Most women that are sexually active and engage in oral sex experience that niggling anxiety about their smell and taste at some point. Let’s face it, ladies, it’s true. When I first wrote this article, I got feedback from several male patients and friends that this is often true for men too.
I frequently get asked: “Are foods or products that could take away this sexual anxiety?” The answer is yes. But let’s start with a little biology lesson first.
Your vagina is a self-cleaning oven. It does not need any products to make it smell better or to be cleaner. You have a natural balance of flora (helpful microscopic bugs) that help keep your nether regions clean and healthy. If you disrupt that balance of bugs, you can wind up with funky smells.
The biggest disruptor of a healthy microbial world in the gut and vagina is antibiotic use. Antibiotics wipe out the good bugs with the bad bugs. Other culprits are steroids, sweets, alcohol, caffeine, and stress.
The top 3 issues women face when their vaginal flora is not balanced, and their vaginal pH is acidic are:
- Yeast infections
- Bacterial vaginosis
- Urinary tract infections
If you have any of these issues, you will not smell very good. The solution is not to cover the smell with perfumed chemical products. These slickly marketed so-called “vaginal health” products are very damaging. The real solution is to find the “root-cause” and to fix it. Below are some foods that can help.
Foods that help to prevent yeast infections:
- Leafy greens: Eating a lot of leafy greens every single day helps alter your body’s pH. Yeast and harmful bacteria cannot survive outside of an acidic environment.
- Warm Lemon Water: Start your day with a cup of warm or room temperature water with ½ lemon squeezed into it. Again, this helps to wake up your digestion and to create a healthy pH. Raw apple cider vinegar will act similarly. You only need one tsp in your water.
- Unpasteurized fermented foods: Coconut water kefir, coconut milk yogurt (without sugar), kimchi, sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables are all great food choices for keeping your vaginal microbiota healthy and happy.
- The best way to prevent yeast overgrowth in your vagina is to avoid antibiotics, alcohol, sugar and other carbohydrate-rich foods, and caffeine. Instead use stevia, xylitol, monk fruit, or Luo Han Guo as sweetener options.
Foods that can beat the “fishy bacterial vaginosis” smell:
- Fenugreek seeds: Soak two tablespoons of fenugreek seeds in a glass of water overnight. In the morning, drink this water on an empty stomach. Do this daily for at least a month until you are back to normal.
- Raw Apple Cider Vinegar: Add two cups of raw, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar to your bath water. Sit in the bath water for about 20 minutes. Rinse with clean water and gently pat dry. Repeat this daily until you are doing better.
Foods to prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs):
- If you are sensitive, intolerant, or allergic to certain foods, you will become inflamed. Urinary tract infections are inflammation of the genitourinary tract. The best way to prevent inflammation is to avoid sugar, alcohol and caffeine and any foods you are intolerant to. Want to know what foods are causing inflammation for you? You can order the food sensitivity test here and then book a 20-minute consultation with Dr. Keesha or her team to go through a personalized medical plan for you: https://www.drkeesha.com/product-category/consults-lab-tests/
- Cranberry Juice: No sugar added, not from concentrate cranberry juice added to water each day can help women who are susceptible to UTIs. I recommend just a splash of cranberry juice added to 8 oz of water each day.
- A diet rich in anti-oxidant laden foods: Eating a rainbow of colored vegetables each day is the best way to prevent any infection. I recommend getting 9-12 cups of a variety of vegetables each day. Sometimes it is difficult to eat that much food every day. The easiest way to make sure you get 12 cups of vegetables? Juice ½ of them each morning. I like to take my low glycemic index veggies and juice them first thing in the morning and drink them for breakfast. I can easily eat 6 cups of veggies if they have been-juiced. My favorite juicing vegetables are kale, collard greens, cabbage, cilantro, cucumbers, celery, zucchini, yellow squash, limes, ginger, and a green apple. YUM!
Foods that can make you smell and taste bad:
Body odor can be a result of your body’s detoxification system having a difficult time getting rid of your internal garbage. Your liver, kidneys, lymph system, intestinal tract, skin, and lungs all contribute to the detox functions that are so necessary for you to stay healthy. If you have stinky armpits, it is more likely you will have a stinky vagina.
Some foods that can make everything a little bit worse. Anything strong smelling like asparagus, curry or garlic can alter your smell and taste…everywhere on your body. Red meat can also change your vaginal sensory experience, which is why vegetarians and people who eat a lot of pineapples are thought to have lighter smelling genitalia.
Does this mean you should be a vegetarian to smell and taste good? No. A vegetarian diet is only good for about 10% of the population (based the APOe gene in your DNA). So what can the meat eaters do? Anyone who is not an APOe 4 gene carrier can eat a primarily paleo style diet and follow the advice of the ancient health system of Ayurveda; detox each time the season changes. If you are changing your wardrobe, it’s time to do a detox (medically supervised and individualized) and to change your menu options.
Want to know your gene type so you can know your perfect diet? You can order gene testing kit here and then book time with Dr. Keesha for a one-hour genetic consultation: https://www.drkeesha.com/product-category/consults-lab-tests/ Then you can be sure to always “taste and smell” your best because your diet will match the needs of your unique digestive system.
Regain Your Energy, Re-kindle your Passion and Realize Your Inner Sexy here.
Big love,
Dr. Keesha
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