The human vaginal microbiota is composed of a balance of both beneficial microbes and opportunistic pathogens, including bacteria and yeast. In a healthy vagina, the microbiota exists in a mutualistic relationship with the body.

Why your Vaginal Flora Matter 

The human vaginal microbiota is composed of a balance of both beneficial microbes and opportunistic pathogens, including bacteria and yeast. In a healthy vagina, the microbiota exists in a mutualistic relationship with the body.

Both internal and external factors can disrupt the balance of the vaginal microbiome. When there is an imbalance of the vaginal microflora, this is called vaginal dysbiosis. One feature of vaginal dysbiosis is an increased vaginal pH, which can be caused by reduced concentrations of lactic acid. Lactobacillus species, commonly found in the female reproductive tract, are believed to play an important role in the vaginal microbiome because of their production of lactic acid, which helps maintain the vaginal pH.

The composition of the vaginal microbiome is constantly changing. Hormonal fluctuations throughout the women’s reproductive life (eg, menstruation and pregnancy), medications (eg, antibiotics and hormonal contraceptives), sex, and vaginal douching are all factors that can disrupt the normal flora.

To maintain the balance of the vaginal flora, women may benefit from a daily probiotic formulation that contains Lactobacillus strains to help maintain the microflora in a normal range and help support vaginal health.

Lactobacillus 
Lactobacillus are the dominant bacteria species found in a healthy and balanced vagina. This bacteria species thrives in an anaerobic environment, like the vagina, and produces byproducts such as lactic acid, hydrogen peroxide, and bacteriocins. As the main source of lactic acid production in the vagina, Lactobacillus species help maintain the pH of the vagina below 4.5.

How to be a Good Host 
Ultimately, the provider of the resources needed to support a healthy vaginal microbiome is…you.  Lifestyle factors that can affect the ‘liveability’ of the vagina include hygiene practices, sexual health, climate, clothing, smoking, alcohol and sugar intake, birth control methods, medication use and more.

Female hygiene products, in particular, can have a significant impact on the balance of vaginal flora. The instinctual desire to keep the vagina ‘clean’ has led an expansive market of female hygiene products, including washes, wipes and creams. The thing is, your vagina is akin to a ‘self-cleaning oven’, thanks to the anti-infective capabilities of the vaginal flora.  Using female hygiene products, such as soap for instance, can actually have the opposite of the desired cleaning effect.  The use of soap can alter the pH of the vagina, disrupting the important balance between beneficial and pathogenic bacteria and contributing to vaginal dysbiosis-related symptoms which are responsible for the ‘unclean’ feeling.

Generally speaking, what keeps you healthy also keeps your vaginal microbiome healthy. By applying the classic rules of a ‘healthy and balanced diet and lifestyle’, you can help support balanced vaginal flora, keep that ‘self-cleaning oven’ doing its thing and your vagina healthy!