 A study published in 1999 raised the exciting possibility that cheap, simple, innocuous, and ubiquitous vitamin C supplements could prevent a condition known as preeclampsia. But a decade of research later we realized that was merely a false hope, and that vitamin C supplements appear to play little role in women's health. But they're talking about oral vitamin C, not vaginal vitamin C. Which has been found to be an effective treatment for bacterial vaginosis, an all-too-common gynecological disorder characterized by a fishy-smelling, watery-gray discharge. Bacterial vaginosis can best be described as an ecological disaster of the vaginal microflora. The normal lactobacillus-type good bacteria get displaced by an army of bad bacteria. Probiotics may help repopulating with good bacteria, but the reason the bad bacteria took over in the first place was that the pH was off. I've talked about the role diet may play in the development of this condition. For example, saturated fat intake may increase vaginal pH, allowing for the growth of undesirables. So why not try to reacidify the vagina with ascorbic acid, otherwise known as vitamin C? Now this isn't just plain vitamin C tablets, but specially formulated silicone-coated supplements. They release vitamin C slowly so as not to be irritating. How well do they work? A hundred women suffering from the condition split into two groups and the vaginal vitamin C beat out placebo. But how does vitamin C compare to the conventional therapy in antibiotic gel? This is an important question, although perceived as a mild medical problem. Bacterial vaginosis may increase the risk of several gynecological complications, including problems during pregnancy where you want to avoid taking drugs whenever possible. The vitamin C appeared to work as effectively as the antibiotic, so especially like in the first trimester, when you really don't want to be putting drugs up there, vitamin C can really help. And for women with recurrent episodes, using the vitamin C for six days after each cycle appears to cut the risk of recurrence in half.