Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of Find Your Model Health, the official podcast for those looking to optimize their long-term health and weight goals and understand how their body really works. I am your host, I am Shmai Lini, I'm a fitness and nutrition expert, biohacker and certified erydologist. I hope you're keeping really well on this windy Wednesday afternoon in archery. While it'll be Thursday by the time you get to listen to this and hopefully the storm isn't too bad over the next 24 hours, I hope you're keeping awesome and enjoy this second episode of 2021.
We're going to look at bacterial vaginosis and just understand what causes it, some of the treatments you may see and of course some natural treatments, so sit back and enjoy and of course if you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Before week one I must emphasize that the information in these podcast episodes is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice, please do consult your health practitioner before making any lifestyle changes. So bacterial vaginosis popped up a few times for clients of mine in 2020 which is not a surprise, it was quite a stressful year and definitely many of us had our immune systems compromised due to the stress but we were also consuming maybe some foods that we shouldn't have that would cause a rise in infections like this. So the mainstay of conventional BV or bacterial vaginosis treatment is antibiotics but as you're about to learn this treatment isn't foolproof and there is a high recurrence rate and on top of this conventional treatment carries medical risks and side effects so our conventional antibiotic treatments although can be beneficial, it's not a long term solution for BV, it's more of a band aid for what's really going on and what's really going on is a disruption in the vaginal microbiome or ecology so this also will be considered a dysbiosis or an imbalance of the good bacteria ratios.
Bacterial vaginosis is talked about as an isolated gynecological problem more often than not and not really as an imbalance in the vaginal microbiome or the body's bacteria profile even which can be a result of a larger system wide imbalance in your whole ecosystem so the body's total microbiome which includes your skin, your mouth, your hair, pretty much everything. BV isn't as many women think an infection with a specific bacteria or yeast. BV rather refers to an imbalance in the vagina's own good bacterial colonies in which the beneficial organisms are good bacteria and is robust leading to an overgrowth of these bad bacteria in the vagina like Gardnorella vaginosis, mycoplasma hominus and a few other microorganisms and I have had a run in with mycoplasma and let me tell you it is not fun at all. Now BV usually has noticeable symptoms including a thin gray colored discharge, a strong unpleasant smell or referred to as a fishy odor and you will notice it if no one else does because we are obviously very aware of our own scent and what is normal and what's not normal and then vaginal itching or irritation or a feeling of burning.
But BV can also be occasionally asymptomatic until these bigger problems or symptoms occur. Almost 30% of women between the ages of 20 and 50 have BV or are in a state of BV so they have enough vaginal dysbiosis at any given time that their bacteria or microbiome is disrupted and they may not even know it. So unfortunately as is my experience and I'm sure many of your experience, conventional doctors know very little about how to treat this along with a lot of other things dare I say outside of prescribing antibiotics which often don't work leading then to multiple rounds of treatment which eventually do reduce the overgrowth of the bacteria but don't help to reset your vaginal ecology and more often than not wipe out even more good bacteria causing further problems of something else or infection somewhere else in the body like maybe Canada will crop up or bladder or urinary tract infections so it's important to be aware of that. But BV does need to be taken seriously disruption in the natural ecology of the vagina with changes to the pH and the vaginal mucus whose job it is to protect us against infections so BV can reduce these which are defense mechanisms and make us more susceptible to contracting sexually transmitted diseases or infections including HIV which is very scary.
It is also associated with abnormal pap smears which would you believe my doctor told me no nothing at all like that infections would not affect a pap result and of course me being the researcher that I am when she said that I came home and I looked on PubMed and wherever I could and found well actually yes infections will cause a change in pap results and cells for sure definitely and before I had even came across the studies in my mind I was like hold on a second now if these cells are inflamed from an infection of course the cells are going to look abnormal on a test but she was adamant that it wouldn't and thus she was wrong because once I had cleared up my infection my pap came back perfect so my follow-up pap. But anyway so BV is also associated with pelvic inflammatory disease which can cause later fertility problems and ectopic pregnancies and endometriosis due to the inflammation of the lining of the uterus. Bacterial vaginosis is also especially dangerous for pregnant women who face increased risk of second trimester miscarriage or preterm labor. After giving birth women with bacterial vaginosis are also at greater risk for postpartum endometriosis which can be due to several factors and BV having a BV underlying condition is just one of them that works alongside other factors so in that case that would be kind of looking at the individual and their picture if that makes sense.
So really the answer lies in understanding the underlying cause of BV the body as a whole as we say and the factors that influence it including diet alcohol stress sleep yes sleep can influence BV toxins changes in the body's pH and we're going to look at all of these and other things that may enter the body including into the vagina. So what causes BV? Well BV is the result of as I mentioned disruption in the bodies, vaginal ecology or even brother microbiome in a whole so either the whole body or usually the gut it can be due to local disruptions in that vaginal ecosystem or more kind of more rounded exposure to the body's microsystem which then in turn affects the vaginal ecology. So some causes of this disruption are gut issues or dysbiosis, high sugar diet, alcohol or pearly controlled blood sugar and I know many people are rolling their eyes or saying yeah I expected that high sugar and alcohol generally are blamed for everything or caused the cause of everything which is true in both aspects they are because they are they just are the scientists they're the medicine is there the studies are there we know that sugar alcohol and some other foods are the main causes of many of the issues we see in our health nowadays.
Then we have exposure to chemicals and fragrances that can upset our good bacteria and our vaginal pH antibiotics of course stress changes in the vaginal pH that can specifically happen from aging because our pH does change as we age just as our digestive enzymes and other aspects of good health change as we age. Also from ducing or using other fragrant or so-called cleaning products that are developed for women specifically to help you smell better which I literally roll my eyes at that stuff like come on who anyway I'm not getting into it um changes in the vaginal pH can also be due to exposure of semen or saliva I bet you didn't know that and then personally you may not think of it but personally greatly affects our bacteria our immune system and our blood sugars and if you've followed me for a long time or have listened to many of my episodes you'll remember that too much sugar feeds bad bacteria and yeast they love it so if you do have an overgrowth of bacteria or yeast you will experience more cravings for these foods so first we got to get an accurate diagnosis from your doctor or your health practitioner in order to be diagnosed with bv you must meet at least three of the following four amsl's criteria so amsl's criteria is pretty much a list of markers that are looked for to confirm a diagnosis of bv and these can be detected with a vaginal exam and a swab of vaginal foods but these markers are thin gray colored discharge um a vaginal pH greater than 4.5 a whiff test and yes that is a ping and your doctor may not need to do that you may be able to just tell them that hey I smell different or something that's not right and then the presence of water called clue cells in vaginal fluid so that would be done from that swab um then of course the next step is do I go in conventional treatment or natural treatment the conventional treatments as you know for bacterial vaginosis is antibiotics which can be taken orally or applied topically um these may be necessary in the short term but they can have side effects um like further disturbances to the gut like diarrhea bloating vomiting spasms cramping abdominal pain nausea all that lovely stuff and inflamed or sore mouth loss of appetite you can experience swelling of the lips face or tongue drowsiness dizziness headache um vertigo or shaking or an unsteady walk skin breakouts rashes or itching pain or stiffness in your muscles or joints tacking over the urine visual disturbances confusion depression hallucination liver issues um disorder to the peripheral nerves so neuropathy decreasing the number of white blood cells in the blood seizures and I think if you're not convinced after that list to try the natural way first then I don't know so if using an antibiotic if you do decide to go down that road I always recommend trying the topical treatment first because this is less likely to cause serious side effects and um of course to try and support the gut and the microbiome as much as possible with your vinegars and your bitter tart foods one of the more commonly used antibiotics is metronodiazepal which has an 80% cure rate within four weeks now that's pretty impressive except the reoccurrence rate is disproportionately high as well 15 to 50 percent of women who treat BV with metronodiazepal experience a return of symptoms within three months now one theory about why the reoccurrence rate is so high after a course of these antibiotics or any antibiotics is that the antibiotics kill bacteria but they're not biased they kill everything they kill the good too I always talk about antibiotics like a nuclear bomb to your body like they kill everything they're not just focused on the bad and without the correct approach to supporting the repopulation of good bacteria and yeast you can end up with another imbalance which continues to tilt towards the bad over time or weeks and then you get that reoccurrence again so I'm sure you're saying well what are the natural ways to prevent and treat BV and I have provided if you're a client of mine I have provided a PDF that I can send you if you just reach out to me with all this but basically nutrition and lifestyle choices and overall health are major factors in helping to prevent and treat bacterial vaginosis because these include steps that restore that healthy vaginal ecology and basically they address the root causes of this dysbiosis so here are some steps to restoring your vaginal ecology some of them you may have heard of and some of them you may not so one we're going to look at balancing your blood sugar so as mentioned and if you follow me you know this that blood sugar imbalances excess blood sugar is going to feed these bad bacteria and drive up instances of infection even more so if you're working to prevent or treat BV and especially if you struggle with persistent BV you want to watch the amount of sugar you eat both added and natural and know that even small amounts of sugar can add up and I must highlight that fruit is sugar so many people forget about this but yes fruit is a sugar so where some of your tubers well all your tubers pretty much your sweet potatoes your turn up stuff like that so yes they are sugars so and it's smart to avoid alcohol entirely when you're treating BV and trying to keep it from occurring and then keep it to small amounts only if you are having it if you're susceptible and notice an association between alcohol intake and recurrence because and not only is alcohol a form of poison to the body but when you consume alcohol it prolongs the amount of time that sugar is in your body too so remember that if you have an alcohol I would advise you also pair alcohol with substances or supplements that support the toxification of the alcohol too um heal next so step two heal your gut and bring in some of those good organisms um your microbiome or your gut bacteria imbalance called also called intestinal dysbiosis is commonly a root cause of chronic or re-incurrent vaginal infections including BV but also yeast infections so rebalancing your gut bacteria can go a long way to preventing and halting even the recurrent vaginal infections so those bitter tart and sour foods that I talk about all the time your polyphenols and your mybiotic foods also probiotic rich foods including plain live active cultured yogurts, sauerkraut fermented vegetables, that includes your pickles, kimchi, miso, all that stuff like that um vinegars amazing all of those are going to be super helpful and then if you have used antibiotics you may need to do a cycle or two of a good probiotic to support the re-colonization even further while you do that good probiotic you're continuing though with the foods I just mentioned number three practice healthy sex if you have sex with men know that penises carry their own bacteria backhand disrupt your vaginal ecology um over time if you have the same partner yes your pH and your bacteria they become somewhat the same or familiar but understanding that semen can change the pH of your vagina um causing that environment for BV to occur um condoms have been proven to help prevent BV so even if you've got your birth control under control this may still be something you want to consider oral sex can trigger BV too because the pH of your mouth is very different to the pH of the vagina the pH in your mouth is way more alkaline sex toys are another source of recurrent BV so keep them clean of course even if it just means scalding them or putting them in boiling water number four remember your vagina is self-cleaning so do not do sh do not do sh even with apple cider vinegar if you've heard you should because it's natural and apple cider vinegar is amazing don't do that douches should be avoided at all costs because they disrupt the natural vaginal ecology um so regular douching even with natural products has been shown to double the risk of developing vaginitis also avoid scented products that includes those ones that i mentioned earlier that are specifically made for women like those soaps or fragrant wipes and stuff like that the fragrances in these products are extremely damaging to the vaginal ecology and do more to trigger infections than keep them away so warm water is good enough to keep your lady bar it's clean really and that's usually what i recommend okay number five go green with your period or mensies products if you can if bv is a persistent problem particularly after your period and you use menstrual pads this is really common because um because of a few things but one of them is that increased moistness that occurs from having a pad on all day so you'd want to change your pad more often try switching to tampons or even rotates or consider switching to a menstrual cup like a diva cup also be aware of the toxins in conventional products which can alter the ph and cause inflammation and people forget about this a lot so if you can opt for organic pads or tampons and these are easier to get your hands on than you think i have seen some of these epic box stores like superstore even recently i remember noticing them a while like so they are there um number six don't hate me but you may need to say goodbye to your g-strings and tongs at least for a while tongs inevitably right up and they allow bacteria from the anus to pretty much use that pin strip of fabric as a highway to travel to your vagina so instead where your boy shorts your briefs or your panties or even go commando if you like so whatever underwear or choice you do make make sure that it has at least a crotch that is continting because that's going to be gentler and more breathable okay number seven take antibiotics only when necessary antibiotics save lives and they can be useful when needed um but up to 70 percent of antibiotics prescribed are unnecessary so only if you absolutely need them and then number eight supplements herbs stuff you can consider using to treat bv naturally so in addition to all of the steps i just mentioned there are some natural things we can add in to our diet or supplement regime to address bv so zinc being the first zinc we're looking at 30 to 40 milligrams a day vitamin e about 400 international units a day and vitamin a 10,000 units a day or more and i pause there because some health professionals will only recommend 10,000 units but i have seen studies where up to 60,000 units a day was treated or used to treat candida so it depends but all zinc vitamin e and vitamin a are very important for supporting that immune response on the immune system and even making sure that the androgens or the sex hormones go where they're supposed to go which they do play a big part and stuff like this um so all of these dosages are for pretty much everyone except in pregnancy when it's best that you only take what's in your prenatal or in your diet but otherwise you can get these in your diet or your supplements and you can use some tracking apps to kind of get a guesstimation and it is only a guesstimation or approximation of how much you're consuming you can take berberine one of my favorite products are supplements ever for many reasons but it is a strong antimicrobial and antibacterial and even anti fungal herbs so berberine is a derivative of golden seal and berberine also will help you manage those blood sugars so you can take berberine oregano and garlic daily as part of your protocol or you can just take two of these if you wanted but oregano is considered the big guns when it comes to infections you want to take apple cider vinegar daily to balance those blood sugars and support good bacteria and body pH the apple cider vinegar will also stimulate vial production and vial is pretty much a storage site for our antibacterias you can then if you're not doing an antibiotic take one capsule of a good probiotic orally and the timing will very much depend on the foods you eat on your lifestyle but some people will benefit more from taking probiotic in a fasted state and some people will benefit more from taking a probiotic with some sort of starter resistance starch so that those good bacteria can hit your right down to the intestines and on those fibers next you can treat bv using topical yogurt applications so this is an option it is disputed but once study found that 88 percent of women who applied unsweetened plain live active culture yogurt internally to the vagina twice a day for minimum of seven days remains bv free two months after the study you can also apply the yogurt to a tampon or a sanitary pad if you'd prefer that and if you're experiencing extreme itching or burning you can place the sanitary teller tampon in the fridge for 30 to 60 minutes before putting yogurt on it and then use that as relief so once you cool down the pad or the tampon and put the yogurt on it you should get some nice relief there and then lastly you could use a herbal suppository so positories that contain golden seal or berberine as i mentioned and essential oils are my antimicrobial so you can purchase a good quality pre-made vaginal suppository online or in most health stores but just a side no berberine like turmeric is yellow and will turn closed or sheets yellow if it gets on them so lastly if you were pregnant within a few months of postpartum or having persistent infections so if it doesn't clear up within a few days of natural treatments or you develop abdominal pain fever or other symptoms you need to go to your doctor immediately or even urgent care okay remember bv is annoying sometimes it's really uncomfortable but it does carry risks of other things so it's important that you do treat it effectively okay well that's that i hope you found this episode very helpful and informative and like i mentioned at the start of the episode if you have any questions for me don't hesitate to reach out you can reach out to me on facebook or instagram at chamendsmodelhealth or you can go to my website chamendsmodelhealth.com and there's a button at the top of the page there that allows you to message me but otherwise please share what anyone you feel may benefit from this information sharing is caring and now is the time as i always say for us to take responsibility for our health enjoy the rest of your day stay safe and i will chat to you guys really soon bye bye