Wellness warriors seem to be obsessed with telling women to stick random things into their vaginas.

And the latest piece of bizarre advice suggests sticking parsley up there can help induce your period.

In a recent article by Marie Claire on how to bring on periods, the author said that the herb is a natural emmenagogue – meaning that it can stimulate or increase menstrual flow.

While that is true, there’s a massive difference between sprinkling a bit of parsley over your pasta and shoving a bunch into your vagina.

Marie Claire said: “Parsley can help to soften the cervix and level out hormonal imbalances that could be delaying your cycle, helping your period come faster.”

“If you’re struggling to find a dish based on parsley, don’t panic – the most effective forms are said to be parsley tea and parsley vaginal inserts.”

But what the mag fails to mention is that putting parsley into vaginas can be extremely dangerous and in some cases, fatal.

So, should you stick parsley up your vagina if you want to bring about your period faster?

Absolutely not.

Rule 101 of vaginal health: do not stick anything up there that isn’t medically approved/made for vaginal insertion.

Dr. Sarah Jarvis told The Sun: “I don’t recommend anyone put parsley – or any other herb – into their vagina.”

“We do know that many foods can affect your hormones. For instance, soy foods like tofu may reduce hot flushes around the menopause.”

“Parsley contains a compound called apigenin which has been studied in relation to a possible role in reducing the risk of cancer in women taking HRT. In fact, while early results were promising, other studies suggested it might actually increase the risk.”

In fact, she says that there is “no strong evidence that any herbal supplements – including parsley – will bring on a period.”

And aside from its reliability, herbal inserts can be really dangerous.

“It’s a bad idea to insert anything not prescribed by a practitioner inside your vagina. Your vagina has a natural healthy balance which can be upset by the introduction of foreign objects,” Karin O’Sullivan, Clinical Lead at FPA Charity told The Sun.

“When it comes to plants, hygiene can be an issue, with the introduction of new bacteria. Herbal inserts have not been medically tested and cannot be considered safe. As they’re untested, there’s also no guarantee of any health benefits. There is no evidence to suggest that taking parsley orally, or vaginally, will help to induce a period.”

“More importantly, there is a risk that introducing foreign objects to the vagina can cause infections and even lead to toxic shock syndrome if left inside, which can be deadly.”

In fact, a pregnant woman died last year after inserting parsley stems into her vagina in a botched bid to induce a miscarriage.

She went into septic shock and when doctors tried to treat her, they found a load of parsley stuck in her uterus.

Ana Paula Fagioli, spokeswoman for the health professionals network Decision Right Net, said at the time that the uterus is normally sterile – it doesn’t carry any germs.

“When a stem is introduced into the uterus the germs from the parsley go inside and increase the number of germs inside the vagina.”

“This causes a serious infection.”

All food is going to carry germs to some extent – even if you give it a rinse under the tap. While that’s totally fine for you to eat (your digestive acids can deal with a lot), your vagina is much more sensitive. Sticking an unsterile object up there just creates a germ highway straight to your most sensitive organs and bloodstream.

There’s literally no safe way of doing it because you can’t sterilize a herb.

Google it and you’ll find a ton of alternative blogs suggesting it as a herbal alternative but not a single medical professional will ever tell you it’s a good idea.

How to induce a period safely

Of course, if you do want to speed up your cycle, there are medically-approved things you can do.

Karin told us: “There are some hormonal methods that may help to plan a period if it is due at an inconvenient time.”

“Some benefits of the combined oral contraceptive pill include shorter, lighter and less painful bleeding. Oral contraceptive pills can also be used on alternative regimes by skipping a “pill break,” which would mean skipping a monthly bleed.

“This could include tricycling (taking your contraceptive pill continuously for three months in a row), or extended use (taking your contraceptive pill continuously for three weeks or more until breakthrough bleeding occurs for 3-4 days).”

“There are no medical or health reasons to take a break from oral contraceptive pills so that bleeding can occur, so there are no problems with taking them continuously. If you are regularly experiencing problematic bleeding, seek medical advice from your GP.”

Progesterone

If you’ve got PCOS and haven’t menstruated in a while, for example, you can be prescribed a week of progesterone which can induce a period within a couple of days.

That’s not a contraceptive but a little hormonal boost which can help your womb to shed its lining.

“The most reliable way to do it is to take a hormone called norethisterone, which is licensed for delaying periods too,” Jarvis explained.

“You take a course and your period usually starts a couple of days after you stop. But it can lead to irregular bleeding, so unless there are particular reasons you want to bring on a period, my advice is to let nature take its course and wait for your period.”

Have sex

A far safer and more enjoyable method is to have sex.

Sex gets the blood flowing to your pelvic area and afterward, the vagina relaxes – making it easier for the uterus to shed its lining. Sometimes that can result in speeding up your period.

And apparently, semen can soften the cervix, which can also bring about early menstruation. It’s also credited for speeding up your period window in general – making it shorter and easier to deal with.

See, sex had got a lot going for it.

Try to relax

Easier said than done, but relaxing can have a miraculous effect on the body.

Reducing stress can have a whole host of benefits – including encouraging menstruation.

Take hot baths, try breathing deeply, be kind to yourself and make sure you’re getting a good amount of sleep.

Exercise

Moving your body can release those crucial endorphins and they can lower estrogen levels – which is what you want ahead of your period.

But don’t go too crazy – stress can delay or halt menstruation as your body doesn’t know whether it needs to protect itself or not from imminent danger.

Yoga, jogging, walking, swimming – anything that gets you moving without making your heart jump out of your chest is good.

So to conclude: do not stick parsley into your vagina.

In fact, don’t stick anything into your vagina that isn’t a tampon or moon cup, a sex toy, or a body part.

Keep the herbs in the kitchen where they belong.