What Water Is Doing to Women’s Health

Natalie Tysdal (01:41)

Ray, thank you for joining me on the podcast.

Ray Latham (01:43)

Hi Natalie, thank you so much for having me.

Natalie Tysdal (01:46)

So I talk a lot on this podcast about the gut, gut health, microbiome, but you have a completely new spin on this. And I want to hear about how you started the company and how it's going and what you found in your research.

Ray Latham (02:02)

I created the VCL out of my own need to protect my own vaginal microbiome after a long arduous journey with my gut microbiome, kind of like spending years trying to get to the bottom of some imbalances that I was having in my digestive tract and how that was impacting my intimate health, especially in water environments. Basically, any time I would get in a body of water, whether it was a pool or a lake or a hot tub,

even my own bathtub, I would end up with some kind of imbalance down there.

Natalie Tysdal (02:32)

How did you figure out that this was the problem? Were you getting yeast infections, UTIs, and did you talk to a doctor about it?

Ray Latham (02:40)

Yeah, I was getting basically everything under the sun, any kind of imbalance you can have I was basically cycling through them all. And of course, I had many, many doctor's visits and was sort of caught in this vicious cycle of what I call the treatment trap. So basically, I would go to the doctor, I would take antibiotics or antifungals or whatever it was for the problem that I was having, and then it would end up...

solving that problem and then leaving me vulnerable to other problems. So if I had a UTI and I took antibiotics, then it would throw off my microbiome even more and then I would end up with a yeast infection. And I would treat the yeast infection and then if I would get in the water without protection, then I would end up with BV. And it just sort of like spiraled like this for a long time, which was of course really emotionally taxing.

Natalie Tysdal (03:28)

what did you find in your research that the microbiome, the vaginal microbiome, how similar is it to the gut microbiome, which we now know a lot about?

Ray Latham (03:40)

so obviously they each have their own sort of species of microbes that, you know, the balance of beneficial microbes and harmful microbes. So the gut microbiome, if the gut microbiome is out of balance, a lot of women can end up with vaginal microbiome imbalances because they're connected and because 70 % of the immune system lives in the gut. So when your gut microbiome is out of balance,

The immune system is also out of balance and that sort of leaves the vaginal microbiome defenseless to even minor disruptions.

Natalie Tysdal (04:13)

I'm curious what research has been done in improving this, we know in the gut it's a balance and that you need a lot. That's why we take probiotics, right? Are probiotics helpful in our vaginal microbiome as well?

Ray Latham (04:22)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, there are certain specific types of formulas that are formulated for the vaginal microbiome. Usually those contain lactobacillus. And there are two different kinds. One you can take orally, another one you can insert directly. know, one example of this would be seed probiotics. offer a vaginal insert. Yeah, and other companies like Evvy where you can test your vaginal microbiome at home. So there has been a lot of innovation in this space lately.

But unfortunately, as with many areas of women's health, the research is falling behind of what it could be. So that's one of the things that we're trying to help pioneer at the VCL as well.

Natalie Tysdal (05:04)

So you came up with a product to help yourself and tell me about that and how it's helping women, how it's used.

Ray Latham (05:11)

Yeah, so I came up with the BCL, which is basically a transparent adhesive liner that you apply to your intimate area before you get in the water. It keeps the water and everything in it out. So the chemicals and bacteria that might disrupt your pH or microbiome are no longer going to get in. And also you can use it for like leak proofing your period. If you want to swim on your period without worrying about getting in the water with a tampon or leaking through your bikini. So it's a multi-use product.

Originally, it was going to just be a solution for myself, but the more that it started coming up in conversation, the more women started confiding in me about similar challenges that they had faced. And I remember growing up, my sister always avoided getting in the water because she had similar issues. So that's when we kind of did more market research. And in a survey of over 500 women, we realized that 80 % of women have had some kind of imbalance after getting in the water.

So that's when we sort of realized this is a huge gap in the market that has not been addressed. And as a holistic health coach, proactive care is really important for me. So it was always really frustrating when I was sort of getting caught in the treatment trap, going on the FIM care aisle and seeing nothing but reactive treatments. were basically no proactive solutions out there. So that's kind of what lit the fire in my belly to create the VCL.

Natalie Tysdal (06:30)

It's interesting that something seemingly so simple has never been created.

Ray Latham (06:37)

Yeah, and that's exactly it. Sometimes the solution is just simple. that's the feedback I get often, you know, a lot of comments on our Instagram or when I'm speaking to women, they're like, how did this not exist sooner? Because it is a very simple solution, but it's also very effective.

Natalie Tysdal (06:54)

Yeah, you mentioned like when you get in a body of water, like you get in a lake. What are some of the things that we might not know? I mean, I'm always a little bit grossed out by like.

you know, the the hotel pool or you just you don't know who's been in it, what they have. You know, it's when you see something, a baby's diaper explodes or something like that. Now I know how gross it is, but we don't see a lot of the things that are in bodies of water that we might we might want to get into the pool or the lake. What are some of those things other than the obvious ones that are problematic?

Ray Latham (07:31)

Yeah, that's exactly it. You can't see these bacteria with the naked eye. you know, the quantity of bacteria ranges according to the body of water. Obviously, a lake is going to have more bacteria than a chlorinated swimming pool, which has been disinfected. However, chlorine in swimming pools doesn't completely sterilize the water. And the CDC found that actually the majority of swimming pools contain E. coli, which is the leading cause of UTIs.

So even the pools that we swim in that we think are super clean, unfortunately are not always completely sterile, of course, because the amount of chlorine that would be required to get it to that state would be really harmful to the body. even in a properly chlorinated pool, the chlorine creates chemical reactions when it interacts with organic matter like sweat or urine or sunscreen or anything like that. And it creates this chemical byproduct.

called chloramines. these, you know, since the vagina is such an absorbent zone, kind of like, you know, your nasal passage or your mouth, it's that like really mucosal tissue that's the most absorbent kind of tissue in the body. So these chemicals can also be absorbed vaginally. So beyond throwing off the pH and the microbiome by killing the beneficial bacteria, it can also be pumping chemicals into your system.

So there's so many different ways that being in the water can have a negative impact, both locally and systemically. And not to mention, yeah, go ahead.

Natalie Tysdal (09:01)

You mentioned before we

started recording, you were talking about even your home bathtub, which I love an evening relaxing bath. How is that harmful when it's water right in my own home that I'm not sharing with anyone?

Ray Latham (09:15)

Yeah, so if you're taking a bath without products, this is less likely to pose a risk. And most women won't have a problem with this. But if you're a woman who's hypersensitive to getting imbalances down there, just the difference in pH between your own intimate microbiome and the pH of the water, that contrast can lower your pH where normally the vaginal pH thrives in an acidic environment.

That is one factor. And another factor is if you're using products, even if they're natural products like Epsom salts or essential oils, these can cause irritation to the urinary tract. So again, whether it's a natural product or not, it can still be throwing things off.

Natalie Tysdal (10:01)

Well, yeah, and then you think about the other things. Like, I mean, don't we all love a good bubble bath or bath bomb? But those have a lot of ingredients in them ⁓ that could throw off that balance as well.

Ray Latham (10:06)

Mm-hmm. Yeah, love a bath bomb.

Mm-hmm.

Of course, of course. Yeah, like the amount of chemicals that are in the products that we use without even kind of being fully aware, that's obviously a huge factor here as well.

Natalie Tysdal (10:27)

Yeah, so I love helping young companies grow. It sounds like you're growing. Where can people find the product and what's your hope for the future with it?

Ray Latham (10:38)

Yeah, so everyone can find our product. We're on Instagram at The VCL. Our website is thevcl.com and they can also email us directly at hello at the VCL. And our vision is a really holistic care of feminine care products with a really proactive focus. Like I was saying earlier, we kind of want to change the way that women's intimate health is addressed instead of, you know,

offering treatments and after the fact products, we really want to focus on that intimate healthcare routine, just like we have a skincare routine, just like we have a haircare routine, just like we care for our gut and every other part of our body. The intimate area is one that is lacking. And, you know, as women, this is one of the most important parts of our body. So we want to change that and we want to empower women to sort of take that care into their own hands.

Natalie Tysdal (11:35)

Yeah, well, I love what you're doing with it and I wish you well. It's something that I certainly hadn't thought about, but there's nothing worse than when you do have an infection, UTI, when it gets to that level, you know you could have done something to prevent it.

Ray Latham (11:48)

Mm-hmm.

Natalie Tysdal (11:51)

Yeah, well, thank you again.

Ray Latham (11:52)

Alright, thank you so much, Natalie.