Can Yogurt Help Vaginal Health?

Rate This

The consensus seems to be yes. Fermented milk products contain so-called “probiotic,” or “good” bacteria, including lactobacillus, acidophilus and bifidobacterium that compete with Candida in the vagina. Candida is a common yeast found in our colon and in women's vaginas. It can overgrow if healthy bacteria are killed (when taking antibiotics) and lead to a yeast infection. The probiotics found in yogurt are thought to counter the growth of Candida. That is considered a desirable effect.

In a Finnish study conducted of 320 women, researchers found that those who ate three or more servings per week of yogurt, or in some cases cheeses made from fermented milk, had far fewer UTIs than those who didn’t eat yogurt or ate it only infrequently.

Several studies have found that to cause a significant reduction in the occurrence of yeast infections, people need to consume at least one serving of yogurt per day. In these studies, the yogurt contained acidophilus bacteria, which is generally noted on food labels as containing “live” or “active” cultures.

Half of all women will experience a yeast infection in their lifetime. Women who suffer from repeated infections may want to add yogurt to their regular diets and have at least one serving daily. Because yeast feeds on sugar, most researchers recommend choosing low sugar or unsweetened yogurts.

Once you have a yeast infection or UTI, you must take antibiotics to treat them- yogurt will do nothing for an active infection, but it can help prevent them.

-Matthew E. Karlovsky, M.D
Female Urology & Urogynecology blog
femaleurologyaz.blogspot.com/

Natural Remedies to Prevent and Treat Vaginal Thrush

UTIs and Yeast Infections: How to Know the Difference

Why Do I Keep Getting Yeast Infections?

Why Am I Getting Yeast Infections After My Period?

Add a Comment1 Comments

Anonymous

Yogurt, clean diet and Intivar helped me get from yeast infection back to health in just under 2 weeks. I've also been using these intivar vagina creme and my doctor said it's ok to use so I think it must be good ingredients. sorry for my bad english!

I'm not sure if it was just the yogurt or the creme, what do u think

September 19, 2011 - 1:03am

This Comment

Improved My Health
Changed My Life
Saved My Life

Add a Comment

Matthew Karlovsky M.D. View Profile Send Message

We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.