Are you On a Special Diet?

Many of us (or members of our families) have health or other issues that restrict our diets somewhat. This section will make it easier for you to find recipes compatible with many different types of diets.

I have done a tremendous amount of research in order to modify and categorize Nourishing Traditions recipes on this site, but I am still learning. If you see something in the incorrect category please drop me a quick note at kim@thenourishingcook.com or just place a comment on this page. Thank you!

Recipes are Available for These Special Diets:

• Gluten free diet
• Specific Carbohydrate Diet SCD
• Gut and Psychology Syndrome GAPS diet
• Paleo or Primal diet
• Casein free (milk/dairy allergy)
• Grain Free
• Nightshade Free (free of tomatoes, potatoes and peppers)
• Kosher
• Low Carb
• Weight Loss diet such as Eat Fat Lose Fat

via thenourishingcook.com

I love this resource! Thanks to Kim at The Nourishing Cook for seeing the need and coming to our rescue. This is one to bookmark . . .

What I Have Been Learning These Last 18 Months

I have been doing, rather than writing. I have apologized enough for my absence; what I really must do is try to convey what I have been learning.

I have learned that if we have grace enough to accept the discomfort, the unfamiliarity, we can find bounty in what we otherwise might have seen as limitation. We can insist on a lettuce salad in January and find blandness, or we can instead find the song in the celery salad with a tart and pungent mustard vinaigrette. If we eat apples and bananas in June, we will miss the impossible perfection of a tiny scarlet strawberry.

We have chosen more work, more change, much training in new skills. We have given up bland, predictable, empty. In the small amount we now take, utilize, receive, we now have true abundance. FULL. We are full. We experience change, seasonality, lack of things we once depended upon, as the fullness of possibility. Everything is available to us if only we accept what is here.

So last year we bought a cider press. A strange thing for those who live full time on a boat perhaps. We tasted one glass of the nectar of this contraption and, like Rapunzel's mother, knew that whatever price, however foolish the quest seemed, we MUST do this. So we did. We asked the man who built the press, lovingly, with local woods and inlay suited to fine furnishing, where we would get apples, since we live in the middle of the water. He laughed. He told us all we had to do was ask. And indeed, all we had to do was ask. We gleaned about 1000 pounds of fruit last year--apples, pears, plums. Most were fermented into wine and cider, some we drank fresh and canned for eating throughout the winter. There is an abundance--just ask.

This is not a good apple year, though we have found some and currently have two carboys fermenting. But we learned something else this Spring, just as our patience with apples and cabbages was wearing through. I must be channeling Rapunzel's mother, because I had the most intense craving for nettles you can imagine. People say cooked nettles resemble cooked spinach, but to me that is only in the way that a McDonald's burger is somehow teasingly related to a grass-fed burger off of a live fire. Nettles are so alive, so green, that they dance on your tongue. And, as it happens, they make a beer that will blow the winter cobwebs out of your nooks and crannies. So not enough apples for a year's worth of wine? No matter, really. This year we will make more nettle beer.

And we will make more spruce tip beer. More like a porter, almost chewable, this is the antidote to no oranges. Because, how ridiculous is it really to eat citrus at 48 degrees north? Spruce tips, and all new evergreen growth (those soft yellow-green ends on each branch) are not only edible, they are highly antiscorbutic. That is, they are high in vitamin C and whatever else prevents scurvy--because I don't think we really know what does that, not completely, or else the traditional Northern peoples who at times of the year only ate fat and flesh (think the Inuit) would have perished from scurvy long ago. That's too long for me to discuss in this overview, but clearly they weren't getting ascorbic acid. And we are told this is something we need daily, because it is water soluble. But I am wandering . . .

For sour, because we do need sour, we eat sauerkraut and season with apple cider vinegar. I do hope to get enough apples for cider this season to devote a carboy to vinegar--something I really don't want to buy if I can make my own.

Funny how we have to meet the tastes' needs with what we have at hand--sweet is easy, from our berries and stone fruits, apples and pears. And many things have parts with different tastes . . . one-stop shopping of a different sort.

Bitter, for me, is dandelion greens, another deep need that has flourished. Other greens, of course, will fill that need. But dandelion is king. And, if we miss the moment for the greens, we can make wine, dig roots, come at the greens again in the Fall.

Pungent has shifted though. Somehow the hot peppers that seemed right in Miami are not the thing for me here. Instead, we have fallen in love with horseradish, buying whole untamed roots that look like small heads streaming gnarly dreadlocks, grinding them and submerging the mass in brine. Horseradish with shortribs, horseradish with shrimp, horseradish to clear the sinuses. Horseradish is as sweet as it is spicy, sometimes catching me when I am not paying attention, because I am tasting sweet then get sucker-punched by the sharpness underneath.

Umami, meaty, savory--the meat of our land. Brothy, like a winter's warming soup. No challenges here, with wild and farmed within minutes of our home. New tastes, like elk and geoduck keep us moving and flexible. We eat meat, we flavor with meat. It is the anchor of the meal, even if you can't see it. The serendipitous effect of last-night's salad mingling on the plate with this morning's fried eggs--that is our Umami.

Salt, well, we live in salt, we breathe it. We eat oysters and glasswort and kelp. Salt is our blood. Maybe even more so for living on a boat, but I would venture that most of us on the Peninsula are replete with salt . . .

People have asked me if I am going the Weston A. Price Foundation conference this year. I have learned so much at the ones I did attend, and I would go again, but life is keeping me here. The land and the wind and darkness are my teachers here. This winter they taught me a big lesson, a hard and necessary one--they whispered (I hear Miss Clavel here . . .) "something is not right." I looked inward, past the melancholy brought into painful sharpness by the grey of the sky, and saw what I have been skirting for years, a metabolic imbalance that I could address, would address. Letting most things unfold, allowing change to grow out of new circumstances allowed me to see what I could exert my will upon, indeed, that it was appropriate to do so. For the last nine months I have been learning everything I could about thyroid and adrenal (and other hormonal) issues. I have been experimenting with herbs, glandulars, foods, more sleep. I have kept careful notes. And I have been getting better. There is more clarity and evenness in my days, my skin, hair, nails and weight are happier. I keep at it.

Who can say what the dark of the coming winter will bring? A new test, I am sure. More learning. Who knows? The shadows? We shall see . . .

"Wedding feast gleans from local fields" in the Peninsula Daily News

via peninsuladailynews.com

Check out what I have been up to recently!  I have had some requests for recipes from the wedding, so will follow this with a menu and some selected recipes . . .

 

Study shows growing price gap between healthy and junk foods

Study shows growing price gap between healthy and junk foods

By Caroline Scott-Thomas, 02-Aug-2010

Related topics: Food finance and prices, Science & Nutrition

There is a growing disparity between the price of nutrient-dense and less nutritious foods, according to a new study in the journal Food Policy.

The researchers behind the study, from the University of Washington’s Center for Public Health Nutrition and the Nutritional Sciences Program, tracked the pricing of nutrient-dense foods, such as vegetables and whole grain fortified cereals, and nutrient-poor foods, such as those that are high in fat, sugar and refined grains, from 2004 to 2008. Over the four-year period, they found that the supermarket price of the top 20 percent most nutrient-dense foods increased 29.2 percent, while those in the least nutrient-dense 20 percent rose by 16.1 percent.

These findings could mean there are added barriers for Americans when it comes to following dietary guidance, they said. And this could prove to be particularly significant at a time when many US consumers are dealing with lost or diminished incomes.

“There is a growing price disparity between nutrient-dense foods and less nutritious options,” the authors wrote. “Cost may pose a barrier to the adoption of healthier diets and so limit the impact of dietary guidance.”

Measuring nutritional quality

The researchers measured nutritional quality by comparing energy density in kilocalories per gram, and nutrient density, using two separate frameworks that assess nutrients per calorie. One of these frameworks is based on 14 nutrients to encourage, such as protein, fiber, monounsaturated fatty acids, and a range of vitamins and minerals, and the other is based on nine nutrients to encourage, as well as three nutrients to limit: saturated fat, added sugars, and sodium.

The researchers found that the average price of the top quintile of foods for nutrient-density using these indices cost $27.20 per 1000 calories, while the bottom quintile for nutrient density cost an average $3.32 per 1000 calories.

Economic constraints

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans – the guidelines currently in use, until the 2010 guidelines are published later this year – recommend that consumers should increase their consumption of nutrient-dense foods across all food groups, but the authors suggest that rising prices could make this goal unrealistic for some.

“The sharp price increase observed for nutrient rich foods relative to other less nutritious foods indicates that economic constraints may pose a barrier to a healthful diet,” they wrote. “Lost or diminished incomes combined with rising food prices could have adverse consequences for consumers’ diet quality, and as a result, their nutritional status and health.”

The researchers added that nutrient profiling could help to emphasize the most affordable and acceptable sources of nutrients in the food supply, irrespective of food group.

Source: Food Policy

(2010), doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2010.06.004

“The rising disparity in the price of healthful foods: 2004–2008”

Authors: Pablo Monsivais, Julia Mclain, Adam Drewnowski

via foodnavigator-usa.com

This is a pressing, fascinating issue. I strongly believe that people are essentially discouraged from eating real food, and economics is one of the most powerful barriers in the availability of nutrient dense foods. There's much more to be said on this topic, but this study is a good way to begin the conversation.

Posted via email from justine's posterous

Graphic Gumbo on Cool Hunting

via coolhunting.com

Very cool! A graphic ethnography of food . . . (click on "via coolhunting")

Posted via email from justine's posterous

In Heels and Backwards – Women Butchers Break Bones and Barriers | the GoodEater Collaborative

via goodeater.org

Nice article about an emerging trend that is piggy-backing on the local/sustainable food movement (and "nose-to-tail eating")--artisan butchers and women undertaking that demanding work. You go, girls!

(click on the "via goodeater.org" link for the full article)

Posted via email from justine's posterous

La Plus Ca Change . . .

Yikes. This is more fodder for my belief that we shouldn't be taking any advice from government hacks on what to eat (among other things!)

A press release from the Weston A. Price Foundation:


PROPOSED 2010 USDA DIETARY GUIDELINES --A RECIPE FOR CHRONIC DISEASE
Weston A. Price Foundation Proposes a Return to Four Basic Groups of Nutrient-Dense Foods

WASHINGTON, DC, June 21, 2010: The proposed 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines are a recipe for infertility, learning problems in children and increased chronic disease in all age groups according to Sally Fallon Morell, president of the Weston A. Price Foundation.

"The proposed 2010 Dietary Guidelines perpetuate the mistakes of previous guidelines in demonizing saturated fats and animal foods rich in saturated fatty acids such as egg yolks, butter, whole milk, cheese, fatty meats like bacon and animal fats for cooking. The current obesity epidemic emerged as vegetable oils and refined carbohydrates replaced these healthy, nutrient-dense traditional fats. Animal fats supply many essential nutrients that are difficult to obtain from other sources," explains Fallon Morell.

"The revised Guidelines recommend even more stringent reductions in animal fats and cholesterol than previous versions," says Fallon Morell, "and are tantamount to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. While the ship of state sinks under the weight of a crippling health care burden, the Committee members are giving us more of the same disastrous advice. These are unscientific and grossly deficient dietary recommendations."

The Weston A. Price Foundation is a non-profit nutrition education foundation with no ties to the government or food processing industries. Named for Dr. Weston A. Price, whose pioneering research discovered the vital importance of animal fats in human diets, the Foundation has warned against the dangers of lowfat and plant-based diets.

"Basic biochemistry shows that the human body has a very high requirement for saturated fats in all cell membranes; if we do not eat saturated fats, the body will simply make them from carbohydrates, but excess carbohydrate increases blood levels of triglyceride and small, dense LDL, and compromises blood vessel function," says Fallon Morell. "Moreover, high-carbohydrate diets do not satisfy the appetite as well as diets rich in traditional fats, leading to higher caloric intakes and often to bingeing and splurging on empty foods, resulting in rapid weight gain and chronic disease."

The proposed guidelines will perpetuate existing nutrient deficiencies present in all American population groups, including deficiencies in vitamins A and D found in animal fats, vitamins B12 and B6 found in animal foods, as well as minerals like calcium and phosphorus, which require vitamins A and D for assimilation. Moreover, low intakes of vitamin K2, are associated with increased risk of heart disease and cancer. The main sources of vitamin K2 available to Americans are egg yolks and full-fat cheese. Incredibly, the Guidelines single out cheese as an unhealthy food!

Fallon Morell notes that by restricting healthy animal fats in school lunches and diets for pregnant women and growing children, the Guidelines will accelerate the tragic epidemic of learning and behavior disorders. The nutrients found most abundantly in animal fats and organ meats-including choline, cholesterol and arachidonic acid-are critical for the development of the brain and the function of receptors that modulate thinking and behavior. Studies show that choline helps the brain make critical connections and protects against neurotoxins; animal studies suggest that if choline is abundant during developmental years, the individual is protected for life from developmental decline. The National Academy of Sciences recommends 375 mg per day for children nine through thirteen years of age, 450 mg for pregnant women and 550 mg for lactating women and men aged fourteen and older. These amounts are provided by four or five egg yolks per day-but that would entail consuming 800-1000 mg cholesterol, a crime by USDA standards. In their deliberations, the committee referred to this as the "choline problem." Pregnant women and growing children especially need to eat as many egg yolks as possible-yet the Guidelines demonize this nutrient-dense food.

The Guidelines lump trans fats together with saturated fats-calling them Solid Fats-thereby hiding the difference between unhealthy industrial trans fats and healthy traditional saturated fats. Trans fats contribute to inflammation, depress the immune system, interfere with hormone production, and set up pathological conditions leading to cancer and heart disease, whereas saturated fats fight inflammation, support the immune system, support hormone production and protect against cancer and heart disease.

The vitamins and fatty acids carried uniquely in saturated animal fats are critical to reproduction. The Weston A. Price Foundation warns that the 2010 Guidelines will increase infertility in this country, already at tragically high rates.

"The 2010 proposed Guidelines represent a national scandal, the triumph of industry clout over good science and common sense," says Fallon Morell. "It must be emphasized that the Guidelines are not based on science but are designed to promote the products of commodity agriculture and-through the back door-encourage the consumption of processed foods. For while the USDA food police pay lip service to reducing our intake of refined sweeteners, trans fats, white flour and salt, this puritanical low-fat prescription ultimately leads to cravings for chips, sweets, sodas, breads, desserts and other empty food-and-beverage-like products just loaded with refined sweeteners, trans fats, white flour and salt."

The Weston A. Price Foundation proposes alternative Healthy 4 Life Dietary Guidelines, which harkens back to the traditional four basic food groups, but with a renewed emphasis on quality through a return to pasture-based feeding and organic, pesticide-free production methods:

Every day, eat high quality, whole foods to provide an abundance of nutrients, chosen from each of the following four groups:

ANIMAL FOODS: meat and organ meats, poultry, and eggs from pastured animals; fish and shellfish; whole raw cheese, milk and other dairy products from pastured animals; and broth made from animal bones.

GRAINS, LEGUMES AND NUTS: whole-grain baked goods, breakfast porridges, whole grain rice; beans and lentils; peanuts, cashews and nuts, properly prepared to improve digestibility.

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: preferably fresh or frozen, preferably locally grown, either raw, cooked or in soups and stews, and also as lacto-fermented condiments.

FATS AND OILS: unrefined saturated and monounsaturated fats including butter, lard, tallow and other animal fats; palm oil and coconut oil; olive oil; cod liver oil for vitamins A and D.

AVOID: foods containing refined sweeteners such as candies, sodas, cookies, cakes, etc.; white flour products such as pasta and white bread; processed foods; modern soy foods; polyunsaturated and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and fried foods.

* * * * * * * * *

The Weston A. Price Foundation is a 501C3 nutrition education foundation with the mission of disseminating accurate, science-based information on diet and health. Named after nutrition pioneer Weston A. Price, DDS, author of Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, the Washington, DC-based Foundation publishes a quarterly journal for its 13,000 members, supports 450 local chapters worldwide and hosts a yearly International conference. The Foundation headquarters phone number is (202) 363-4394, www.westonaprice.org, info@westonaprice.org.

CONTACT: Kimberly Hartke, Publicist
Home office 703-860-2711 cell 703-675-5557
press@westonaprice.org

Grassfedcooking.com: The Work Ahead--YES!

Check out this website I found at grassfedcooking.com

I can't say this any more eloquently than Shannon Hayes does. We are made for work, we need it, thrive on it. Any one who thinks differently might do well to consider the "diseases of affluence" that have overtaken us in modern culture. These have part of their root in our avoiding work, looking for convenience, cutting corners.

Shannon has a Phd and runs a family farm. No contradiction, just common sense.

Posted via web from justine's posterous

Beautiful Cervix Project--Amazing!

Welcome to Beautiful Cervix Project

**This site contains photos of a cervix**

**View at your discretion**

Please use the navigation bar to the right to view an overview of the project and the photos.

This project has touched my heart.  I have greatly appreciated all the positive feedback and personal stories people have shared.  Yay empowerment and healing and connection!  Thank you all.

Please check back in the fall of 2009 as I hope to have photos of more women’s cervices posted.

If you would like, please join our Facebook Fanclub.

Enjoy!

78 Comments »

1. 

   Fantastic! Thank you! I am a Natural Family Planning Teacher within the NHS in the UK and these pictures are brilliant. I was pleased to see in your comments that your womb is retroverted as I could only think that was the case as the secretions would be running the wrong way!

   Comment by Hilary — February 1, 2009 @ 10:53 am

2. 

   hi. i would like to know more about the cervical mucus. does it line the walls of the vagina? if so does it burn when in contact with sperm or lubricant? thankyou, aimee

   Comment by aimee — February 1, 2009 @ 11:21 pm

3. 

   These are amazing pictures. Thank you for doing this and sharing yourself so that others can learn.

   Comment by dakadan — February 2, 2009 @ 3:20 pm

4. 

   Never knew all that was ging on!

   Comment by Jane — February 3, 2009 @ 10:42 pm

5. 

   The cervical mucous is the natural secretion of the cervical glands designed to moisten and protect the cervix – they type and amount of fluid is regulated by the hormones that shift during a menstrual cycle. I’m not sure exactly what you’re asking – it does not cause the sensation of burning unless there is an infection. It can drip into and out of the vagina (you may notice changes in the discharge on your panties). Cervical mucous is different than the fluids of arousal – your vagina makes a fluid that is cloudy or clear and feels wet. It usually goes away about 30 minutes after sexual excitement ends.
   Unfertile cervical mucous after menstruation is hostile to sperm (incompatible pH) and may kill them; also, post-ovulation, higher levels of progesterone thickens the mucus again forming a plug at the cervix acting as an impenetrable barrier to sperm. Fertile mucus maintains the life of sperm, nourishes it and allows it to pass freely through the cervix. In fertile mucus, sperm may live for up to three days, in rare circumstances for five days or even longer.
   If a woman experiences burning while using a certain type of lube, I’d recommend switching brands or using a more natural product. Chemicals in lubricants can cause burning.

   Comment by beautifulcervix — February 5, 2009 @ 7:31 pm

6. 

   Bold, innovative project. Beautiful – thank you.

   Comment by Kimm Sun — February 12, 2009 @ 8:57 am

7. 

   What an amazing site! Thanks sooo much for putting this together and sharing it with us. It truly helped me to understand what’s going on in my body…we’re TTC now and I was so confused and lost, and it all makes a bit more sense now

   Good luck with the rest of your project!!

   Comment by Pamela — February 17, 2009 @ 12:08 pm

8. 

   This site is fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing all your photos and information. I have had concerns about my vaginal discharge and started to worry it was abnormal. After visiting a Gynaecology clinic today I had so many questions I thought I would look online for information. I now know (thanks to your photos) that what I am experiencing is completely natural and normal. I had no idea what my cervix would look like and now feel empowered and knowledgable!!

   Thank you again
   Sarah

   Comment by Sarah Greenwood — February 18, 2009 @ 7:42 am

9. 

   good

   Comment by ajay — February 24, 2009 @ 12:08 pm

10. 

    I think you are a great woman, to do this. I have had three children and never paid any attention to my body. My husband and I are trying to listen to my body and see when my ovulation day is. We so badly want a boy and doctors have told us to have sex on this day and we just might get what we want. Thanks for helping me!

    Comment by April — February 25, 2009 @ 6:21 pm

11. 

    i don’t know what to say. I just wanted to know what a cervix looked like. I’m not a doctor but i think that day nineteen would be your best day to conceive.

    Comment by michael — February 28, 2009 @ 2:15 am

12. 

    Thanks for this project and your courage. I read that you have a retroverted uterus. Do you have more information on this issue? What does someone with one need to know? Thanks.

    Comment by Ann — March 1, 2009 @ 3:00 pm

13. 

    Thank you for the very personal gift. Just a brief story to let you know how important this information is. I had an IUD inserted after my first child, I said to my mother (she had given birth to 10 children) “Mom the doctor told me that I should check my cervix to be sure that the IUD string is hanging outside to confirm that the device is properly placed, where is my cervix?” Mom’s answer was,” I have no idea and you young girls pay too much attention to all that nonsense, just leave to the doctors and Mother Nature”.
    Nature”. Needless to say, my two daughteres were much better informed about their beautiful bodies. Keep up the good work especially the open dialog.

    Comment by Dorry — March 3, 2009 @ 8:53 am

14. 

    As a male and a teacher of OBGYN to osteopathy students in the UK for the past 25 yearsI thank you for what is a unique set of photographs. Do I have your permission to use these images as a teaching aid in my classes please? I promise to give your web site the recognition it deserves by way of a reference source. It is amazing just how much we take for granted when we teach, and then something like this comes along and changes our view. For my PhD thesis I researched the way that collagen changes at various stages of the cycle. The birth hormone Relaxin is present every woman every month for 6 hours before she menstruates so that the cervix opens as collagen is denatured. Males do not have Relaxin in their blood, but they do have it in their seminal fluid so the blob of semen deposited at the cervix on ejaculation will ripenthe cervix by changing the collagen plug and hence the sperm can swim through. We see the change in the plug on your photos!
    Thsnks again.

    Comment by Dr Steve Sandler PhD DO — March 5, 2009 @ 3:20 am

15. 

    Hi there! Between these photos and the book by the former beauty pageant winner (can only think of her first names Nancy Amanda), I’ve got so many great resources for my step daughter. Her mother is full of a lot of misinformation, and I want my dear step daughter to understand her body better than her own mother does (and better than I did at her age!). Thank you so much for proving that there is nothing disgusting or wrong about women’s bodies!

    Comment by Melissa — March 8, 2009 @ 9:17 am

16. 

    beautiful and informative.. i’m a nursing student and also trying to conceive… very helpful. thank you

    Comment by Lauren — March 9, 2009 @ 11:04 am

17. 

    I have learned so much from this website, I live in the UK and have never heard of any of this before! I am a teacher in a secondary school and believe that this information should be taught to teenagers so that they could get to know their own cycles and perhaps this may help reduce the amount of unwanted teenage pregnancies. I feel very disappointed that I was never taught this stuff at school about my own body and had to go to a website to find out!
    Thanks for doing this, hopefully I’ll be able to figure out my ovulation days and be ready next cycle!

    Comment by Jo — March 14, 2009 @ 2:10 am

18. 

    this site is very good

    Comment by divya — March 16, 2009 @ 9:13 pm

19. 

    this site is very good and seems very useful too
    i have never seen such a site before.

    Comment by divya — March 16, 2009 @ 9:14 pm

20. 

    Thank you so much for making this site! It is so informative; it’s so interesting to see a real-life example of what’s going on in our bodies.

    Comment by Sara — March 18, 2009 @ 9:20 pm

21. 

    These are wonderful photos and this is a terrific project.

    I am a women’s health nurse practitioner and when I do exams, will often describe to my patients that her healthy cervix is beautiful. Maybe you have been one of my patients. I like to think I make a difference by telling them about the wonder of a healthy body part that she can’t easily see.

    I wonder if you would mind if I forward your website to other women’s health NPs for teaching purposes?

    Thank you for posting your photos.
    Marcy

    Comment by Marcy — March 27, 2009 @ 9:07 am

22. 

    Amazing stuff – you should be very proud of your work (and your cervix!) I found it especially fascinating to see the cervix during menstruation. Thank you.
    Dee

    Comment by Dee — April 2, 2009 @ 11:37 am

23. 

    Very neat photos! Much better than my anatomy textbook. You are a great teacher!

    -A pharmacy student

    Comment by BT — April 5, 2009 @ 8:36 pm

24. 

    Thank you very much for this helpful site. I found this site by accident and glad I did. These photos are better than anatomy books and videos are very helpful as well. I am a grad. student and with cervical problems as well. Learned a lot . . . keep up the good work.

    Comment by M — April 7, 2009 @ 6:25 am

25. 

    This is to congratulate your bold initiative which will be of tremendous use to the research community. Wish you all the best and hope you will succeed in your
    future such endeavours.

    Comment by Chandra Mohan — April 7, 2009 @ 7:09 am

26. 

    wow i am a 36 years old and started my ovulation cycles when i was 14 and have normal periods since. i have my yearly pelvic and pap test and have had one elected abortion at the age of 18 and have never though to learn to view my cervix until recentley when i found your site this is awsome i went to my gyn 1 week ago and asked her to show my how to view my cervix and during my pelvic exam with my feet in the sturrips of the exam table to me its not embarrising when your dr is a woman it feels liberating she handed me a mirror and let me take a peek inside of my vagina and there it was my pinkish colered moist ripe cervix that really looked like the tip of a nose it was incredible to see this hidden part of my body for the first time now that i have seen inside i will be doing monthley self exams. thanks cristy

    Comment by cristy — April 11, 2009 @ 7:25 pm

27. 

    What a wonderful site! Very educational. I am 68, and back in the Women’s Movement–late60’s/early70’s– MS Magazine had a cover of Wonder Woman holding a plastic speculum–(caption: With my speculum, I am strong!)and articles encouraging women to examine their own bodies, inside and out. Local feminist groups all over the country held seminars and offered instruction, demonstration, and plastic speculums for home use. Seminars often opened with a silent film showing a lovely montage– closeups of dozens of women’s vulvas, one after the other. The film always finished to a standing ovation, as women for the first time viewed a celebration of the beauty and variety of the external female body.
    Also shown was a short film of the cervical cycle of one woman, and much was made of the fact that due to years of belief by the medical community that the textbook cervical os should point directly forward, MD’s for decades had fitted women with a pessary to wear internally ALL the time to “correct” the cervical os, to point it straight out–touted as the cure for many menstrual and fertility problems, such as tilted uterus, etc. Feminists learned better, that the os shifted position in a normal cycle, but 30 years later your project is still breaking new ground–a medical indictment, wouldn’t you say? Keep up good work. They may learn from us yet.

    Comment by Nancy Lee — April 13, 2009 @ 8:44 am

28. 

    hi, a fellow forum member on cafemom.com in the pregnant/trying to concieve posted this link for us… i think its awesome

    Comment by Kitty Thompson — April 14, 2009 @ 5:14 pm

29. 

    Your website was fascinating. It was very interesting and super informative.
    Thanks.

    Comment by ST — April 16, 2009 @ 7:48 pm

30. 

    Hi,thank you this is very informative,can you please post some pictures of changes of the cervix during pregnancy and birth,if possable showing the mucus plug and what a cervix looks like that is dilating.Thanks again!

    Comment by Razo — April 27, 2009 @ 11:31 pm

31. 

    What about pictures of women with precervical cancer? That’s something so very awful to go through and no doctor seems to really want to explain whats going on.

    Comment by Emily — April 29, 2009 @ 8:00 pm

32. 

    I just have a comment and a question,

    I was brought up in a catholic home where we were always educated “not to touch” I thank you for opening my eyes. I have oredred myself a speculum online and will definitely be taking a look for my self.

    Question: Has anyone ever conceived and then noticed the change of color to a bluish purple and also maybe even taken a photo for comparison to an umpregnant cervix?

    I know this may not be recommended but I am just curious.

    Again thanks so much for your help.

    Comment by Interested — April 29, 2009 @ 10:40 pm

33. 

    This site has been really helpful. I have always found it dificult to consider my body as beautiful and have found cervical screening tests quite traumatic and scary.
    I would like to take this opportunity to declare: There is nothing bad about my cervix, it is beautiful!!
    Thanks x

    Comment by M — May 9, 2009 @ 12:51 pm

34. 

    thanks so much! that wuz kinda cross but educational. im a 6th gradder and am trying to learn as much as possible now before im 76 and still clueless about it. i just started my period too so its helpful in that way too! thanks again!!!

    Comment by shauna — May 10, 2009 @ 3:15 pm

35. 

    To “interested” (comment 32) who asked if anyone noticed that the cervix turns blue when a woman is pregnant. Yes, many self-helpers have noticed this. Not all women will have a bluish cervix, and we think it is due to increased blood flow to the uterus. It is a sign of pregnancy, and very useful to women when trying to decipher whether or not she is pregnant.

    Comment by Jude Hanzo — May 13, 2009 @ 12:46 pm

36. 

    Wow! fantastic site I am a student midwife and these photos are really interesting and very educational. Photos of a dialated cervix during labour would be really neat if anyone was willing and able to supply something of that sort. Keep up the great work

    Comment by Sam — May 18, 2009 @ 1:36 am

37. 

    For information on a Menstrual Study conducted by lay women (they took pictures of their cervices) go to Women’s Health Specialists web site at: http://www.cawhs.org. Go to self help then Menstrual Study on the menu. Also, there is a women’s health blog where women are sharing cervix stories on the website as well.

    Comment by Jude Hanzo — May 29, 2009 @ 12:56 pm

38. 

    This is a great website. I am a pre-med student, and have know for a long time that gynecology was my calling. These are the pics that our anatomy books need.

    Comment by Cheryl — May 30, 2009 @ 9:03 pm

39. 

    Hi

    Thanks for the pics! Does the cervix change posistion and feel throughout the day?? as it it could be lower and softer in the evening but hard and high in the morning? What does this change mean?

    Comment by Nicky — May 31, 2009 @ 1:12 pm

40. 

    Hi,

    I love this site, thank you so much.

    I had the good fortune of having seen my cervix. Although when I did see it when i was on all fours rather than lying on my back and the view was spectacular.

    I felt like my cervix was a beautiful chandeliere in a palace.

    I hope you get find some photos of women in that position as well.

    Thank you for your beautiful work.

    Comment by Liana — June 1, 2009 @ 9:08 pm

41. 

    Very nice work is done by you for whole world.Thanks.

    Comment by MANISHA — June 4, 2009 @ 3:41 am

42. 

    Hello, I’ve read the comments and questions on this site and would like to guide your viewers to an excellent web site designed by the World Organisation Ovulation Method Billings, WOOMB. http://www.woomb.org
    Many years of scientific evidence-based research has been conducted by this organisation into natural fertility regulation, along with many international field trials.
    Professor Eric Odeblad, Sweden,pioneered research on the cervix and cervical mucus. For Uk teachers, contact Fertility Care Scotland and we can direct you to a local, trained instructor in the Billings Method. It’s knowledge every woman should have.

    Thank you,

    Toni Cameron
    Fertility Care Scotland is a Charity registered in Scotland, No. SC022875

    Comment by Toni Cameron — June 14, 2009 @ 2:03 am

43. 

    I would like to know what does a pregnant cervix look like? It would be great to see some pix:)

    Comment by stacy — June 21, 2009 @ 6:27 pm

44. 

    Thank you so much for this truly educational resource. All the best with the rest of your projects. Please keep educating us all.
    Marion

    Comment by Marion — June 26, 2009 @ 4:35 pm

45. 

    Hello,

    This is extremely good site. Now I know how the cervix looks like. Do you have any pics of tilted cervix?

    Comment by lisa — July 7, 2009 @ 10:14 pm

46. 

    Wow! I think this site is AWESOME! Too many girls and women have no clue what is going on with their bodies. I myself did not see my cervix until I was in my early 20s and a kind midwife showed it to me during an exam. No doctor ever had.

    My husband and I are TTC, so it was very interesting to see the picture pre and post coitus.

    Fascinating and educational. Thank you for this site.

    Comment by Jennifer — July 9, 2009 @ 7:52 pm

47. 

    This is a great site. I’m 21 years old, and I had never seen “down there” before. This is a great educational site for those of us who want to understand what our bodies look like, not just technically or through sex ed drawings. Thank you for this.

    Comment by Angela — July 19, 2009 @ 4:18 pm

48. 

    women should now what is normal in their bodies, and what is not versus handing your body over to the OB/GYN industry that does nothing to encourage trust love and respect for their bodies but hopefully doing your own exams will
    you can order a self administered pap
    from http://www.fournierhealth.com/index.html

    Comment by Cassandra — July 21, 2009 @ 3:04 pm

49. 

    Thank you so much for sharing. I have been googling for images of the cervix for months now. I suspect that I may have a prolapsed cervix/uterus. After looking at these images it makes me suspect even more as my cervix seems to “stick out” about 1 1/2″, not be more “dome like”. Hmmm. I hope you can show some images of maybe a Stage 1 Prolapsed Cervix/Uterus.

    Great work!

    Comment by Denise — August 1, 2009 @ 6:33 am

50. 

    HI, Thanks for your page, great for midwives and students.
    Have you got a facebook page yet? for a link to this page?

    Comment by Kat — August 1, 2009 @ 7:11 am

51. 

    Hi, I am writing in response to Denise about uterine prolapse. I’m not sure what you exactly mean that your cervix sticks out about 1 1/2″ and is not dome shaped. Can you explain that a little more? I have noticed that when some women insert a speculum, the speculum can put more pressure on the top and bottom of the end of the vaginal canal, making the cervix push out more. You can go to our website (http://www.cawhs.org), click on self help, and menstrual study. at the bottom of the page are pictures of cervices. If you click on the 46 year old woman’s pictures, you can see that the cervix is sort of pushed out by the speculum and seems longer than it does on her other pictures. As far as uterine prolapse is concerned, at some point you probably would see the uterus coming out of the os. I hope that this is helpful; however, I would think that you would have some symptoms if a prolapse was taking place (e.g., pain). I hope the pictures help. Jude

    Comment by Jude Hanzo — August 14, 2009 @ 11:59 am

52. 

    I’m a 21 yr old female & this site is so awesome.

    Comment by Allison — August 20, 2009 @ 10:01 am

53. 

    i think this website is very helpful…thank you for sharing this..i just want to make a suggestion if thats okay..i would love to see some pictures of a pregnant womens cervix (im now 26 weeks pregnant) and its got me thinking alot on what it looks like.

    -Again, thank you for sharing.

    Comment by Lena — August 21, 2009 @ 6:26 pm

54. 

    What a wonderfully educational and empowering tool. I have just gone off the BC pill and am waiting to ovulate or have a period. I have been madly trying to work out what the various discharges and position of cervix means and your amazing site has answered so many questions for me. I actually didn’t realise how little I knew until I saw it on this site.

    Thank you so much for your dedication and insight.

    Comment by jj — September 3, 2009 @ 9:43 pm

55. 

    I had been on birth control for 6 years. When I got off it two months ago, I could tell I was clearly ovulating-the cervical mucus was doing everything like it said online etc. I always some sort of CM ALL the time. This month I got my period and everything was going as normal. Then, a few days I was supposed to ovulated, the CM went dry. It has never been dry. What could this mean?

    Thanks for any help!

    Comment by Heidi — September 4, 2009 @ 7:39 am

56. 

    Awsome, I always check my cervix helps me understand things much more. I am a mother of three hoping to be a mother of four someday God willing…..

    Comment by Rebecca — September 7, 2009 @ 2:54 pm

57. 

    I teach human sexuality to college students-these pics are fantastic.
    I wonder if we can get some pics with cervical cap and diaphragm installed. This would bring the birth control/contraception presentations alive.

    Thanks

    Comment by Stanley Stevenson — September 9, 2009 @ 12:54 pm

58. 

    What a cool site! Ive wondered what those strange textures Ive only been feeling and not seeing for over 20 years looked like, and that big smooth round thing, oh yeah my cervix! Now it all makes sense what Im really touching! So kool, its like a blind person seeing themself in the mirror for the first time!
    Thank you for your site!

    Comment by Andrea — September 22, 2009 @ 4:26 pm

59. 

    I found this through iud_divas on Livejournal and WOW! I had no idea what a cervix looked like, really, so it was very educational. Definitely gave me a new perspective into what’s going on with my body during the month. Thank you for making this webstie.

    Comment by Holly — September 22, 2009 @ 9:11 pm

60. 

    This is EXACTLY what I’ve been searching the internet for. Well, I’ve been looking to find pictures of a dilated cervix prior to childbirth (so I can see if I’m dilating or not.) This helps me to see that what I’m looking at is indeed my cervix! Very interesting and what a cool project!

    Comment by Jen — October 11, 2009 @ 7:59 pm

61. 

    Very interesting!!! I never knew that those fluidy things coming out of me were normal!

    I thought I was a freak because my vag fluids were white!

    Comment by Sam — October 29, 2009 @ 6:01 am

62. 

    I just wanted to say thank you for this website! I think it is so important for women to know all about their bodies! its amazing how much our bodies go through each month! Photos like these should be part of health education in high school. If women knew all of this early in life there would be far less questions and anxiety!

    Thanks again!

    Comment by Trina — November 5, 2009 @ 7:38 pm

63. 

    I can’t believe I’m in my mid30s and never have looked at mine own, nor seen anyone else’s cervix. (And yet I have shown mine to many doctors.) Thank you for showing it so real, and in so many stages. I feel more “normal” now.

    Comment by Sandy — November 9, 2009 @ 10:49 pm

64. [...] Beautiful Cervix Project -Welcome to Beautiful Cervix Project » (tags: bodies) [...]

    Pingback by Wretched and Beautiful : links for 2009-12-07 — December 7, 2009 @ 6:04 pm

65. 

    Thank you so much for creating this. No one ever told me what a cervix looked or felt like and the first time I discovered it I freaked out…until my boyfriend told me it was normal. Thanks for helping women get more in touch with their bodies.

    Comment by Jeralyn — December 24, 2009 @ 11:31 pm

66. 

    I an 25, no children and have a paraguard IUD. No STDs. I just had a Leep procedure and I am Searching the web to see what it looks like after the procedure. That state that odd smelling discharge and a coffee ground resemblence is okay! I want to know why and what is really going on! Hmmmm…..Thank you, So much I am no doctor or med student, but this website has helped me understand what goes on and what My Cervix is doing! Thank you so much!

    Respectfully, Cassandra

    Comment by CASSANDRA MULLINS — December 28, 2009 @ 6:01 pm

67. 

    Wow, this site really opened my eyes, it’s amazing what can go on up there, and the daily changes. You’ve definitely educated me, however I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go down on my girlfriend again.. Even in a healthy woman all the mucus and fluids kinda made me queezy. lol.
    I bet my gf would really enjoy this site, keep up the good work!

    Comment by Mark — January 23, 2010 @ 6:33 pm

68. 

    I just want to thank you for you website so so much.
    I have 2 children both natural vag deliveries, and I know that it changes the cervix I just didn’t know how and your site helped me learn.
    I also now have and iud so the iud cycle pictures where very interesting to thank you

    Comment by Liz — January 30, 2010 @ 4:28 pm

69. 

    I hope your website will grow stronger everyday .

    Comment by Hyuki — February 20, 2010 @ 6:33 am

70. 

    Im confused about the cervix. So how does your cervix supposed to feel during menstrual cycle? Mine feels really soft and high during my period. Any help?

    Comment by mandy — March 16, 2010 @ 2:41 am

71. [...] The Beautiful Cervix Project!* This incredible website not only contains an extensive gallery of photos of the changes that the [...]

    Pingback by Cervix-y! « Hysteria! — March 28, 2010 @ 1:12 pm

72. 

    Great website you’ve got here… Very interesting. Will be sharing it with my female friends!

    T

    Comment by Tehra — March 30, 2010 @ 2:16 am

73. [...] http://www.beautifulcervix.com/welcome/ thought i would share this site with you guys it is amazing hope you [...]

    Pingback by Hi:) - Trying To Conceive Forum — April 8, 2010 @ 9:30 am

74. 

    I am 24yrs old, never been pregnant and have not had an STD, and am sexually active.
    I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and I don’t ovulate, or have a regular period. Do you have any photo’s of what the cervix would look like in my situation over a month?

    Comment by Sarah — April 11, 2010 @ 7:29 pm

75. 

    I had a termination in 2007 and have become so disconnected from my body since then, it is only recently that I have stopped running packs of the pill together and not avoid my menses. I’d love to regain the connection with my physical, feminine self, and this may just be the way to do it!
    thank you x

    Comment by vicky — April 24, 2010 @ 5:22 pm

76. 

    A amazing site I recently viewed my own cervix and was taken back by what I saw, my cervix however does not appear to be the bright pink its darker in colour deep red or purple you could say, but I suppose everyones different aye

    Comment by Sarah — May 4, 2010 @ 11:42 am

77. 

    WOW what an impressive site… To say the very least. The important part of a womans body that we never really get to see. Thanks for sharing part of yourself so many many woman can learn about themselves a little or a lot more. I have often wondered why sometimes I can feel my cervix quite low and others not at all, now I know.

    Thanks from a woman,mother and a doula.

    Comment by Corby — May 10, 2010 @ 4:20 am

78. 

    I would like to know how cervix look or feel prior and after ovulation occurs. I try to check my cervix but it is so hard(too high and deep). There is any advice that you can give me so i can start checking my cervix??
    Thank you and the site was so helpful.

    Comment by VANINA — May 12, 2010 @ 7:20 am

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© beautifulcervix 2010

via beautifulcervix.com

This site is amazing--beautiful, honest, brave. The site owner has a disclaimer that I will reiterate: graphic cervix photos abound, so only look if you want to know what your cervix looks like (or your wife's, or you just think it's cool, or you are curious if yours looks like hers, or whatever . . .) And yes, there are some pregnant cervices, so check it out!

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