Here’s a headline we bet you never thought you’d read.
Jennifer Gunter, a gynecologist who also writes recurring pieces for the New York Times, tweeted that inserting garlic cloves into your vaginas is a bad idea. Because, sadly, this is a thing that must be said.
Why you should not put garlic in your vagina.
A thread.
Garlic contains allicin, in THE LAB it MAY have antifungal (i.e. anti yeast) properties. This is in a lab, not even in mice. Just a dish of cells. Your vagina is not a dish of cells. #vaginaisanogarliczone 1/8— Jennifer Gunter (@DrJenGunter) April 23, 2019
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The practice of introducing garlic inside vaginas stems from the knowledge that the plant has allicin, a property that’s demonstrated some anti-fungal capabilities when tested in labs. Dr. Gunter explains that even if this chemical had been tested on humans – it hasn’t – people who insert full garlic cloves inside their vaginas aren’t reaping the benefits of allicin. These only appear when the garlic clove is cut or crushed. On a thread of tweets she explains that cloves are in contact with dirt which might introduce even more bacteria to the vagina, an environment that’s notoriously delicate.
So for garlic to work you would have to crush it and stuff it up somehow. There is still the dirt thing. And the cut up garlic on raw tissues thing (OUCH). And the fishing of the garlic out by the gyno thing. #vaginaisanogarliczone 4/8
— Jennifer Gunter (@DrJenGunter) April 23, 2019
RELATED: 5 Things You Should Know About Your Vagina
Vaginas are mysterious creatures, prompting tons of hysteria and ignorance. That doesn’t mean that women should do crazy things to them, like inserting yogurt, lemon juice or oregano to improve smell and get rid of bad things. Yes, people actually have done this.
As a rule of thumb, steer clear from online vaginal remedies, no matter how many reads or views they have. People make up a lot of crap. If something feels off or wrong with your vagina, your best bet is to visit your doctor.
