Kourtney Kardashian: take my gummies for your vagina!

Kourtney Kardashian believes that vaginal health is an important but not sufficiently talked about part of women’s well-being. So, why not make a bit of money on the subject? A recent article explains in more detail:

The reality TV star recently launched a vitamin sweet called Lemme Purr to boost the health of your vagina. On her Instagram channel, she says these gummies use pineapple, vitamin C, and probiotics to target vaginal health and pH levels that “support freshness and taste”.

Kourtney continues with the selling words “Give your vagina the sweet treat it deserves (and turn it into a sweet treat)”. One of the claims she makes is that the vitamin sweet supports a healthy vaginal microflora. As a researcher specialising in the role of vaginal microflora for women’s health, I was curious and wanted to find out which active ingredients this claim is based on.

Lemme Purr contains pineapple extract (probably for its taste), vitamin C (not really needed if you have a balanced diet), and a clinically tested probiotic (Bacillus coagulans). According to the product description, the probiotic has been shown in clinical studies to support vaginal health, freshness, and odour. This surprised me – I should know about these studies and effects as this is my primary research field.

A healthy vaginal microflora is composed of lactobacilli that keep the pH low and protect us from infections. My colleagues and I never identified Bacillus coagulans as being important for the health of vaginas, even though we have analysed thousands of samples during recent years. From other research groups and our own results, we know that Lactobacillus crispatus is the species that is associated with vaginal health and female fertility.

As I may have missed something important, I immediately checked what has been published on that probiotic in scientific journals. I found one systematic review and meta-analysis (a type of analysis where many individual studies are taken together) that mentions Bacillus coagulans. Apparently, it may improve stool frequency and symptoms of constipation, although the authors conclude that more research is needed.

On the topic of women’s vaginal health, I could only find a single study. There, 70 women with vaginal discomfort reported symptom relief after direct vaginal administration of the probiotic. There is nothing published on the oral administration of the probiotic that could support the claims made by Kourtney.

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I was not entirely sure where women are supposed to put Kourtney’s gummies. So, I watched a video where Kourtney applies one of these items herself. I am very pleased to report that, in the video, she put one in her mouth!

After this relief, I ran a few Medline searches to get an impression of what the evidence tells us. In contrast to the author of the above article, I found plenty of literature on the subject and quite a few clinical trials. So, maybe Kourtney is on to something?

Somehow, I doubt it. I did not find a study with her product. Call me a skeptic, but I do get the feeling after looking at Kourtney’s website that she is much more interested in money than vaginal health.