56: What’s going on ‘down there’: the vaginal microbiome and how it affects your health with Angela Heap (The Fertility Nutritionist)

The PCOS Nutritionist Podcast

I’m sure you’ve heard all about the gut microbiome but what about the vaginal microbiome? Everywhere that we have a bacteria, we have a microbiome, and the vagina is no exception! And like the gut microbiome, you need that balance of different bacteria in order to maintain good vaginal health.

We know that our microbiomes are really important and that we need certain strains and hopefully not any fungi or an imbalance of bad bacteria. But again like the gut, we’ve neglected the importance of the vaginal microbiome for some time, but I think we need to start talking about it.

So yeah - we’re going to be talking about down there! Like most female health issues, we don’t really talk about it enough but in this episode I decided to bring on the lovely (and extremely knowledgeable) Angela Heap, otherwise known as The Fertility Nutritionist! We’re talking about all things vaginal microbiome. We're going to be talking all about how the vaginal microbiome works, what lives there, what can make it go a little bit haywire, and how you can get it tested and how you can get things back on track.

Your vaginal microbiome as well as all things vulva and cycle related are such fantastic windows into our health, so it’s really important we start talking more about everything going on down there.

This episode is for you if:

• You’ve ever experienced issues down there like bacterial vaginosis, UTIs or thrush
• You’re actively trying to get pregnant or thinking of trying to conceive in the near future
• You’ve had or have gut issues

Some things we cover in this episode:

• What actually is the vaginal microbiome?
• How the vaginal microbiome actually works
• The different strains of bacteria down there - the good, the bad and the ugly
• How your vaginal microbiome affects your vagina’s health as well as your overall health
• How your vaginal microbiome affects your fertility

Resources and References:

• Association between polycystic ovary syndrome and the vaginal microbiome: A case‐control study
• Angela’s Instagram
• Angela’s website
• Angela’s email

Links to our programs:

• The PCOS Protocol
• Eggducated