Kourtney Kardashian recently promoted gummies, capable of improving the taste and smell of the vagina, which are strongly criticized by specialists.
- Lemme brand gummies, which could make our vagina smell good, contain probiotics.
- The smell of vaginal discharge indicates that a healthy balance of bacteria is present in the vaginal microbiome.
- “In a healthy person, there is no reliable scientific evidence that taking probiotics has any beneficial effect.”
In a video published on the Instagram account of the Lemme brand, we see Kourtney Kardashian lying on the ground and surrounded by cats. After a few seconds, she eats a yellow gummy. It is a small food supplement in the form of gummies, which it promotes. These products are supposed to give a “fruity and sweet taste to the vagina” of the person who will ingest it.
“Your vagina will love it. Introducing our new gummy for vaginal health! It’s an important part of a woman’s overall well-being (and we don’t talk about it enough). (…) Give your vagina the pleasure it deserves (and turn it into a sweet treat.) You know what they say…you are what you eat!We’ve combined real pineapple and vitamin C with the power of SNZ probiotics 1969™ clinically studied to target vaginal health and pH levels that promote freshness and taste”, can we read in the caption of the video.
Vaginal microbiome: “the vagina cleans itself”
Several gynecologists have denounced the fact that this advertisement was guilt-inducing and that the sweets were useless. “Anyone who suggests your vagina isn’t fresh or needs a better taste is a misogynist and awful person,” wrote gynecologist Jen Gunter, author of the best-selling The Vagina Bible, in the comments to the video.
Asked by the BBCER doctor Maddy Dann said these gummies “will not be useful to most people” and that’“there is no impure vagina, the vagina cleans itself”. “Every person with a vulva or vagina will have a different smell, different scent, different taste, and different discharge. And so what this product is suggesting is that every woman should taste the same, smell the same , the same vagina or the same discharge – and that’s just not realistic”, reported the practitioner.
Obstetrics and gynecology specialist Brooke Vandelmolen explained to the DailyMailthat “The smell of discharge is important for vaginal function because it signifies that a healthy balance of bacteria is present in the vaginal microbiome.”
“In a healthy person, probiotics are not always recommended”
Health professionals have also criticized the composition of vagina candies. “In a healthy person – who does not suffer from recurrent infections – there is no reliable scientific evidence that taking probiotics has any beneficial effect. Probiotics is also a catch-all term, which means that ‘they can contain a lot of different bacteria and we don’t know if the ones in this supplement have been tested and shown any benefit or if when taken by mouth they even reach the vagina,’ reported Brooke Vandelmolen.
Maddy Dann shares the same opinion as her. “Although they make a strong case with all those buzzwords, like vaginal pH and microbiome, in a healthy person, probiotics and supplements aren’t always recommended unless it’s there is a confirmed deficiency.” She adds that it is best to consult a gynecologist in case of vaginal odor.
