You are what you eat, and apparently, so is your vagina. Your diet affects pretty much everything from your menstrual cycle to your mood, so eating the best foods for vaginal health can help keep things running smoothly down there.
For the ultimate vaginal health-boosting diet, we asked the experts for their favorite foods.
Your vagina, like your gut, requires healthy bacteria to fight infections and maintain a normal pH. Luckily, any foods that help promote gut health, can also help promote a healthy balance of vaginal bacteria, says Jennie Ann Freiman, M.D. Consuming probiotics has actually been shown to help women with vaginitis—chronic vaginal discomfort that can lead to pain during sex, says Brian A. Levine, M.D. To improve your gut health and your vaginal health, she advises eating a combo of prebiotic foods like garlic, onions, and raw leeks along with probiotic foods like yogurt, kimchi, pickles, sauerkraut, tempeh, and kombucha. (One thing to note: prebiotic and probiotic supplements aren’t as good as actual prebiotic and probiotic foods, says Dr. Freiman. “Lab formulations don’t beat Mother Nature.”)
Healthy fats like those found in nuts, olive oil, and avocados are often touted as superfoods for their role in helping to regulate your cholesterol. But that in turn also helps keep your estrogen levels in balance, creating a healthy mucosal lining that can help ward off infections. Almonds and other types of nuts are especially good, says Dr. Levine, because they contain B vitamins and calcium that prevent vaginitis.
While prebiotic and probiotic foods add helpful bacteria to the gut and vagina, Dr. Freiman says processed foods depress your immune system, which can allow harmful bacteria to take over. This can lead to all sorts of problems down there, including bacterial vaginosis, yeast infections, dryness, pain during sex, and urinary tract infections.
Too much sugar isn’t good for your vagina either. Specifically, it can damage or kill the important vaginal bacteria (dubbed Lactobacilli), says Burt Webb, M.D. Basically, sugar is the opposite of a probiotic. The bacterial imbalance can lead to yeast infections, soreness, and irritation—three things you really don’t want to deal with.
Certain meats and dairy products contain xenoestrogens—artificial hormones that imitate estrogen. According to Dr. Webb, these can block estrogen from the vagina, preventing the mucosal lining from forming which again, can leave you open to infection.
“The vagina is just like the inside of the mouth—when a woman is thirsty and parched, her vagina probably is too,” says Dr. Levine. Hydration can also help prevent any unusual odors from surfacing down there, says Octavia Cannon, D.O.—just one more reason to gulp down those eight glasses a day.
After a journey that began on the last season of The Bachelor, Becca Kufrin will hand out her final rose on Monday night, as season 14 of The Bachelorette comes to a close. So many of our Monday nights were spent finding doppelgängers for the contestants, wondering which of our faves would end up in Paradise (or even as the next Bachelor), and ogling at Becca’s many elaborate outfits.
There are a few labels that come up repeatedly throughout the season and the franchise. One of those is Randi Rahm, a New York-based evening wear designer known for her bridal collections. (Fitting!) This season, she was responsible for two of the most important gowns of the series: the one she wore to meet all of her prospective suitors on the first night, and the one she’ll wear to pick the big winner on Monday night.
The relationship between Rahm and the show stems from her longstanding friendship with Cary Fetman, the show’s stylist. The process goes like this: “I typically have multiple conversations with Cary before filming begins, where we discuss our thoughts and ideas… [He] usually tells me about the personality and characteristics of the current bachelorette—I don’t meet them in advance, so I don’t learn about their individual style and shape the way I normally do when clients come into my atelier here in New York City—[and] I decide which dresses I think would fit his descriptions and which pieces would be appropriate for the show.”
PHOTO: Courtesy of Randi Rahm/Janine Ajamian Photo/SPA Digital
All of the Randi Rahm gowns worn by Becca Kufrin on season 14 of The Bachelorette.
Most of the time, Rahm says Fetman will pull looks from her existing collections to dress the women of the Bachelor universe, but there have been a few memorable custom pieces, like the Flame Rose Dress that Rachel Lindsay wore on the promotional posters for her season of The Bachelorette. Rahm hasn’t worked with Becca directly (yet), but thinks “the pieces [she] and Cary chose together are all very elegant and romantic.”
They were also, for the most part, quite sparkly: From Randi Rahm’s delightfully embellished gowns to the slinky, sequined dresses Fetman picked out for the Vegas leg of Becca’s “journey,” we remember so many of the season’s best dates based on the statement pieces our Bachelorette pulled out for the occasion. With the highly-anticipated final rose ceremony looming, we’re looking back at some of her best looks from the past few weeks.
Tom Ford showstopper
PHOTO: Craig Sjodin
Hey, if your fiancé breaks up with you in front of a camera crew and you’re about to embark on another season of reality television to try to find love once again, wouldn’t you want to do so in a Tom Ford gown? Becca had the right idea for The Bachelorette season 14 promotional images.
Randi Rahm premiere pearls
PHOTO: Paul Hebert
Becca’s first official gown of the season, to meet all the eligible contestants at the Bachelor mansion, was plucked from Randi Rahm’s bridal collection. “Many of my wedding gowns are extremely versatile and transitional—they can just as easily be worn to walk down the aisle on your special day as they can be worn to a fabulous event or party,” says Rahm. “Every inch of the gown was covered in pearls, which took over three months to hand-sew.” Though she doesn’t like to pick favorites from her designs—”I always say they’re like my children!”—Rahm concedes that the premiere look would rank highly. “My teamand I spent a tremendous amount of time on it, over 600 hours to be exact,” she tells us.
Rachel Zoe bridal
PHOTO: Paul Hebert
Becca really leaned into the bridal theme in those early episodes: For her first daytime date, she opted for a white Rachel Zoe gown from the designer’s Wedding Edit.
We bring you the trends. You make them your own. Sign up for our daily newsletter to find the best fashion for YOU.
Red-hot Randi Rahm
This is one of two Randi Rahm jumpsuits Becca would wear on her early dates. “The delicate but plunging lace bodice of the red Christina jumpsuit is juxtaposed by the tailored, slightly flared bottom,” notes the designer.
Sherri Hill sequins
New levels of sparkle unlocked with this sequined Sherri Hill number.
__Sheer Randi Rahm __
The entirely-sheer bodice of this Randi Rahm jumspuit made primetime-friendly by the 3D embellishments.
Michelle Mason blazer-dress hybrid
Becca’s velvet Michelle Mason blazer dress felt like a pretty realistic date-night outfit, actually. (No shade to the daytime gowns, buuut…)
Strapless Randi Rahm
According to Fetman’s Instagram, red is Becca’s favorite color—something viewers can infer from her on-screen wardrobe.
Becca’s iridescent slip really stole the show from the contestants attempting to serenade her. (Sorry, y’all.)
Randi Rahm fit-and-flare
Randi Rahm’s so-called Barbie gown was “Cary’s favorite,” according to the designer. It’s a black fit-and-flare style that brings red-carpet flair (pun intended) to a rose ceremony.
For just $184, you, too, can channel the Bachelorette while on vacation! A group of men vying for your attention, though, doesn’t come with the purchase.
Off-the-shoulder Cushnie et Ochs
PHOTO: Paul Hebert
It wouldn’t be a Bachelor show if there wasn’t a good off-the-shoulder moment!
Manning Cartell bodycon
PHOTO: Paul Hebert
What to wear when you’re walking into a room filled with all your exes, and it’ll all be televised? Lace bodycon will do. Becca opted for a formfitting, sheer-lace midi dress by Manning Cartell for the Men Tell All special.
Randi Rahm finale
PHOTO: Paul Hebert
That plunging white dress Becca slips on in the Maldives for her final rose ceremony? Yup, that’s a Randi Rahm original.
