Episode show notes
When it comes to female reproductive health we need to get the conversation going! Someone who is at the forefront of championing research and development in the world of periods and breaking the stigma surrounding them is Valentina Milanova, Founder of organic and CBD tampon products, Daye.
With her products rooted in science and inspired by female intuition, Valentina regularly campaigns for changes to the UK education system and against monopolies created in a market saturated with plastics and petrol-derived fibres. We delve into what sets Daye apart as well as advice on keeping your own “lady garden” healthy.
This episode of Living Life Well covers:
• Removing the stigma around talking about female health
• Toxic shock syndrome
• PCOS and endometriosis diagnosis
• The benefits of probiotics over antibiotics
• Lack of regulatory standards for tampons
• Raising awareness for consent and sexual violence
Links & references
Episode highlights
“We have quite a few guys that work on the design engineering team. At the start they were definitely fairly uncomfortable, but now it's a natural thing for them as well. So I think it's about this cultural change around really embracing these conversations. And the main thing that we do to help people embrace these conversations is education.” - 6:07 - Valentina Milanova
“People say ‘Does it really matter whether my tampon is organic or not? I've been using non organic tampons all of my life, will it really make a difference?’ And I'd like to respond to that by saying: would you chew on a piece of plastic for five days each month? You wouldn't.” - 8:43 - Valentina Milanova
“When you've taken a course of antibiotics, or when you treat your recurrent thrush with antifungals, you kill the pathogens, but you also kill the good bacteria, the lactobacilli. And it's the lactobacilli that prevent STIs and future infections - they are the natural immune system.” - 12:49 - Valentina Milanova
“America is the only place where tampons are considered medical devices. In Europe, tampons are not considered medical devices, which means you can put any tampon you want on the market, there is no regulator, no checks and balances - you can do whatever you want. America considers tampons medical devices, but you only have to test your tampons for microbiological contamination once. You don't have to do batch testing, which is so bizarre.” - 17:47 - Valentina Milanova
“We should be forgiven for assuming that the products on the shelf in Sainsbury's and Waitrose and all of these incredible places have been tested. You would never assume that there's more regulations on plasters and hand sanitizer than there are on tampons.” - 26:41 - Valentina Milanova
“In Bulgaria, you have one gynecologist who's with you through all of your life and they were probably your mother's gynecologist. My gynecologist helped my mother give birth to me. She knows all of my history and that's such an amazing asset to have because there's someone that you can go to who remembers your medical history, who knows all of the different things that you’ve experienced as a woman.” - 28:46 - Valentina Milanova
“Why else exist in the world if you're not going to do something of value and something of meaning.” - 39:09 - Valentina Milanova