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Real Food for Fertility: Prepare your body for pregnancy with preconception nutrition and fertility awareness
Improve Your Nutrition for Optimal Fertility
If you’re ready to embark on the incredible journey of motherhood, there's no time like the present to prepare your body for the most vital role it will ever play—the creation of new life. In Real Food for Fertility, we explore the power of nutrition to optimize your fertility and ensure a healthy start for your future child.
Pregnancy demands an incredible amount from your body. Imagine your body as a bank account and pregnancy as a time of massive withdrawals from your nutrient reserves. To thrive during pregnancy and beyond, you must invest in your nutrient stores today.
In Real Food for Fertility, we show how preconception nutrition and lifestyle choices not only support your health and vitality but also lay the essential groundwork for your baby’s development. From promoting optimal egg and sperm quality to regulating your menstrual cycle and reducing the risk of pregnancy complications, the benefits of this investment are priceless.
Improving nutrient intake before you get pregnant has an even greater impact on pregnancy outcomes than just changing what you eat during pregnancy.
But this book isn’t just about nutrition. We delve into topics like the menstrual cycle, fertility awareness, birth control, stress management, toxins, artificial reproductive technology, and the most common reproductive health challenges affecting your fertility.
Let Real Food for Fertility be your roadmap and trusted companion as you take the first step toward building your family. In a world where more couples are facing fertility challenges, your nutrition and lifestyle choices can make all the difference.
If you’re ready to embark on the incredible journey of motherhood, there's no time like the present to prepare your body for the most vital role it will ever play—the creation of new life. In Real Food for Fertility, we explore the power of nutrition to optimize your fertility and ensure a healthy start for your future child.
Pregnancy demands an incredible amount from your body. Imagine your body as a bank account and pregnancy as a time of massive withdrawals from your nutrient reserves. To thrive during pregnancy and beyond, you must invest in your nutrient stores today.
In Real Food for Fertility, we show how preconception nutrition and lifestyle choices not only support your health and vitality but also lay the essential groundwork for your baby’s development. From promoting optimal egg and sperm quality to regulating your menstrual cycle and reducing the risk of pregnancy complications, the benefits of this investment are priceless.
Improving nutrient intake before you get pregnant has an even greater impact on pregnancy outcomes than just changing what you eat during pregnancy.
But this book isn’t just about nutrition. We delve into topics like the menstrual cycle, fertility awareness, birth control, stress management, toxins, artificial reproductive technology, and the most common reproductive health challenges affecting your fertility.
Let Real Food for Fertility be your roadmap and trusted companion as you take the first step toward building your family. In a world where more couples are facing fertility challenges, your nutrition and lifestyle choices can make all the difference.
527 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 10, 2024
1036 people are currently reading
2012 people want to read
About the author
Lily Nichols
7 books100 followersLily Nichols is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Educator, researcher, and author with a passion for evidence-based prenatal nutrition and exercise. Drawing from the current scientific literature and the wisdom of traditional cultures, her work is known for being research-focused, thorough, and sensible. Her bestselling book, Real Food for Gestational Diabetes (and online course of the same name), presents a revolutionary nutrient-dense, lower carb diet for managing gestational diabetes. Her unique approach has not only helped tens of thousands of women manage their gestational diabetes (most without the need for blood sugar-lowering medication), but has also influenced nutrition policies internationally.
Lily’s second book, Real Food for Pregnancy, is an evidence-based look at the gap between conventional prenatal nutrition guidelines and what’s optimal for mother and baby. With over 930 citations, this is the most comprehensive text on prenatal nutrition to date.
Lily is also creator of the popular blog, www.PilatesNutritionist.com, which explores a variety of topics related to real food, mindful eating, and pregnancy nutrition.
Lily’s second book, Real Food for Pregnancy, is an evidence-based look at the gap between conventional prenatal nutrition guidelines and what’s optimal for mother and baby. With over 930 citations, this is the most comprehensive text on prenatal nutrition to date.
Lily is also creator of the popular blog, www.PilatesNutritionist.com, which explores a variety of topics related to real food, mindful eating, and pregnancy nutrition.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
March 6, 2024
I wish I could give this book 10 stars. A must read for all women.
February 9, 2025
This review is an amendment to the astute 2-star review by "Becki" on December 5, 2024. I would have entered this as a comment on Becki's post; however, Becki does not allow comments on her posts, and it's important to enter a separate 1-star review for the book on its own accord. (Like Becki, I also needed to sign up for Ms. Nichols' email solicitation list before being granted access to the full list of references.) This is not a comprehensive analysis of each reference presented in RFF; rather, it provides two specific examples of the book's persistent prejudice, which Becki aptly describes.
I wasn't ten pages into "Real Food for Fertility" (RFF) before I noticed alarming discrepancies between what the cited literature says, and the way that Ms. Nichols and her co-author summarize this information. I will share one example here from page 7.
On page 7, the authors of RFF write: "The displacement of nutrient-dense foods by sugar and refined carbohydrates does not bode well for fertility. In one study of over 3,800 women planning a pregnancy in North America, those who drank 7 or more sugary beverages per week (compared to none) took 20% longer to conceive -- just from one sweetened beverage per day."
Fortunately, "Intake of Sugar-sweetened Beverages and Fecundability in a North American Preconception Cohort" by Hatch et al. is freely available in full*.
Dr. Hatch and her colleagues reached rather different findings than Ms. Nichols and her co-author. Dr. Hatch et al. write:
"In this preconception cohort study of North American pregnancy planners, both female and male consumption of any sugar-sweetened beverages were associated with reduced fecundability. The associations were driven mainly by intake of sugar-sweetened sodas. Energy drink consumption also was associated with reduced fecundability, but numbers were small. We found little consistent evidence for associations between consumption of diet soda, sport drinks, or fruit juice and fecundability."
It is also interesting to note that Dr. Hatch and her colleagues found that in their results section, "men who consumed the most fruit juices and sports drinks appeared to have slightly higher fecundability, but estimates were imprecise."
To summarize Dr. Hatch's actual findings: simple sugars from soda impairs fertility while those from sports drinks and fruit juice do not AND men who drank more fruit juice and sports drinks had higher fecundability.
This throws a wrench in RFF's thesis. Therefore, it is simply ignored and reported instead as "those who drank 7 or more sugary beverages per week (compared to none) took 20% longer to conceive -- just from one sweetened beverage per day."
One more example from the opening ten pages. Ms. Nichol's and her co-author, on page 3, also reference an article by Fontana and Della Torre**. In this article, after reporting literally dozens of consistently inconsistent results between diet and fertility, Fontana and Della refer to a diet that improves fertility as "the Holy Grail" that authors and researchers continue to search for. (For those that don't appreciate the significance of this reference, the Holy Grail is a Christian relic that humanity has been searching for for thousands of years.)
Needless to say, Ms. Nichol's and her co-author appear to be modern avatars of Dr. Leonard Hodgson's exacerbated warning, written in 1928, that "From time to time the professional [academic] who knows something of the complexity and difficulty of the problems which lie in the way of arriving at any [real solution] are struck by the vast success achieved by some popular writers who, gaily ignoring these difficulties and the careful, scientific and often productive study which has been devoted to them, put forth their impression as 'the truth at last.'"
Yes, readers will attribute merit to this book because there are many references. There are other illusions at work, which are designed to present the competence of the authors and distract the reader. For example, another important illusion in this work is the selective application of rigor. Because Ms. Nichol's and her co-author are appropriately skeptical of other approaches to diet and ferility (i.e. intermittent fasting) that do not falsify or interfere with their thesis, readers will assume that the authors are also skeptical of the papers that support their thesis (i.e. eat healthy and less processed foods; get pregnant). But, as Becki and I agree, nothing could be further from the truth.
With that in mind, I disagree with Becki about the merits of the scientific information that is presented by Ms. Nichols and her co-author. As Becki writes her review on December 5th, 2o24, "The scary thing though, is that the truly-evidenced based ideas are interwoven with the pseudoscience and woo, so it's hard to tease apart what is really true/accurate, and what is not." This scientific syncretism is not presented with any real attempt to arrive at truth, nor is it in the best interest of the reader to have rigor "interwoven with the pseudoscience and woo." No, the telos of this whole work is for the careerism of Ms. Nichols and her co-author.
Yes, my wife and I will eat as healthily as we can afford as we attempt to start a family. It brings other benefits to our health, and, as Ms. Fontana and Dr. Della Torre carefully detail**, it may or may not impact our fertility. But, after comparing RFF's zeal with the reality expressed in the academic literature, we are not captive to the prison of false hope and fear that Ms. Nichols and her co-author would have us inhabit for their gain.
Becki shared another helpful insight in her December 5th, 2024 review, and I will end with an extrapolation from that. Becki writes, "It's also very anxiety-inducing, as the author makes it seem like having anything less than perfect nutrition will result in fertility issues." I am very sorry to say that because of the popularity of this book, it is inevitable that some women will read this book, adopt the authors' selfish and misguided zeal, become pregnant, and then miscarry. Then, while undergoing a completely relatable tidal wave of internal chaos and emotions that come from such a tremendous loss, they will blame themselves for the loss because of the bowl of ice cream they treated themselves to the day before.
* https://journals.lww.com/epidem/abstr...
**https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles...
I wasn't ten pages into "Real Food for Fertility" (RFF) before I noticed alarming discrepancies between what the cited literature says, and the way that Ms. Nichols and her co-author summarize this information. I will share one example here from page 7.
On page 7, the authors of RFF write: "The displacement of nutrient-dense foods by sugar and refined carbohydrates does not bode well for fertility. In one study of over 3,800 women planning a pregnancy in North America, those who drank 7 or more sugary beverages per week (compared to none) took 20% longer to conceive -- just from one sweetened beverage per day."
Fortunately, "Intake of Sugar-sweetened Beverages and Fecundability in a North American Preconception Cohort" by Hatch et al. is freely available in full*.
Dr. Hatch and her colleagues reached rather different findings than Ms. Nichols and her co-author. Dr. Hatch et al. write:
"In this preconception cohort study of North American pregnancy planners, both female and male consumption of any sugar-sweetened beverages were associated with reduced fecundability. The associations were driven mainly by intake of sugar-sweetened sodas. Energy drink consumption also was associated with reduced fecundability, but numbers were small. We found little consistent evidence for associations between consumption of diet soda, sport drinks, or fruit juice and fecundability."
It is also interesting to note that Dr. Hatch and her colleagues found that in their results section, "men who consumed the most fruit juices and sports drinks appeared to have slightly higher fecundability, but estimates were imprecise."
To summarize Dr. Hatch's actual findings: simple sugars from soda impairs fertility while those from sports drinks and fruit juice do not AND men who drank more fruit juice and sports drinks had higher fecundability.
This throws a wrench in RFF's thesis. Therefore, it is simply ignored and reported instead as "those who drank 7 or more sugary beverages per week (compared to none) took 20% longer to conceive -- just from one sweetened beverage per day."
One more example from the opening ten pages. Ms. Nichol's and her co-author, on page 3, also reference an article by Fontana and Della Torre**. In this article, after reporting literally dozens of consistently inconsistent results between diet and fertility, Fontana and Della refer to a diet that improves fertility as "the Holy Grail" that authors and researchers continue to search for. (For those that don't appreciate the significance of this reference, the Holy Grail is a Christian relic that humanity has been searching for for thousands of years.)
Needless to say, Ms. Nichol's and her co-author appear to be modern avatars of Dr. Leonard Hodgson's exacerbated warning, written in 1928, that "From time to time the professional [academic] who knows something of the complexity and difficulty of the problems which lie in the way of arriving at any [real solution] are struck by the vast success achieved by some popular writers who, gaily ignoring these difficulties and the careful, scientific and often productive study which has been devoted to them, put forth their impression as 'the truth at last.'"
Yes, readers will attribute merit to this book because there are many references. There are other illusions at work, which are designed to present the competence of the authors and distract the reader. For example, another important illusion in this work is the selective application of rigor. Because Ms. Nichol's and her co-author are appropriately skeptical of other approaches to diet and ferility (i.e. intermittent fasting) that do not falsify or interfere with their thesis, readers will assume that the authors are also skeptical of the papers that support their thesis (i.e. eat healthy and less processed foods; get pregnant). But, as Becki and I agree, nothing could be further from the truth.
With that in mind, I disagree with Becki about the merits of the scientific information that is presented by Ms. Nichols and her co-author. As Becki writes her review on December 5th, 2o24, "The scary thing though, is that the truly-evidenced based ideas are interwoven with the pseudoscience and woo, so it's hard to tease apart what is really true/accurate, and what is not." This scientific syncretism is not presented with any real attempt to arrive at truth, nor is it in the best interest of the reader to have rigor "interwoven with the pseudoscience and woo." No, the telos of this whole work is for the careerism of Ms. Nichols and her co-author.
Yes, my wife and I will eat as healthily as we can afford as we attempt to start a family. It brings other benefits to our health, and, as Ms. Fontana and Dr. Della Torre carefully detail**, it may or may not impact our fertility. But, after comparing RFF's zeal with the reality expressed in the academic literature, we are not captive to the prison of false hope and fear that Ms. Nichols and her co-author would have us inhabit for their gain.
Becki shared another helpful insight in her December 5th, 2024 review, and I will end with an extrapolation from that. Becki writes, "It's also very anxiety-inducing, as the author makes it seem like having anything less than perfect nutrition will result in fertility issues." I am very sorry to say that because of the popularity of this book, it is inevitable that some women will read this book, adopt the authors' selfish and misguided zeal, become pregnant, and then miscarry. Then, while undergoing a completely relatable tidal wave of internal chaos and emotions that come from such a tremendous loss, they will blame themselves for the loss because of the bowl of ice cream they treated themselves to the day before.
* https://journals.lww.com/epidem/abstr...
**https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles...
September 14, 2024
This book was SO meat focused. She argued that you can’t get certain vitamins from plant based foods which is just a misconception. If you eat a lot of animal products, you may love her advice. If you want more natural sources for your nutrition, do research elsewhere.
May 17, 2024
I have read every book Nichols has written (some of them twice). Everything she writes is gold. Her blog posts on study research and review are also impeccably done. Highly recommend!
November 16, 2025
I put off buying this book for a year because of the price ($35). But now that I’ve read it once, I think it’s worth at least twice that. This applies to any phase of life, but is a must-read for men and women wanting to conceive. I enjoyed how they debunked nutritional myths and discussed lifestyle changes and supplements. So glad I finally own a copy to come back to over and over!
March 1, 2024
This is a brand new release from my favorite author, Lily Nichols, and I immediately bought it. I loved Real Food for Pregnancy and used that book as a resource throughout my entire pregnancy. I have been looking for a book like this for YEARS, because of our infertility diagnosis, and this book delivered on so many levels. If you have been trying to get pregnant, this is a great book to read. If you had a baby and are trying to restore your nutrient levels before getting pregnant again, this is a great read.
I really enjoyed certain chapters like what foods to eat and how to increase sperm count/motility etc. There was a entire chapter on PCOS which would be helpful for a lot of people. Some of the chapters were a bit science-y for me, but all in all a solid read!
I really enjoyed certain chapters like what foods to eat and how to increase sperm count/motility etc. There was a entire chapter on PCOS which would be helpful for a lot of people. Some of the chapters were a bit science-y for me, but all in all a solid read!
February 24, 2025
There’s a lot of great info in here that is supported by real science that I enjoyed. However, the nutrition part of this book specifically made a few claims that were honestly kind of shocking and not well supported- looking at you: raw milk.
I spent the rest of the book questioning the validity of everything. Thankfully I feel like I’m smart enough to be able to pick the bad out and discard it, but wish their editors would have made them remove that tid bit of opinion to not sully the rest of the book. If you want to take the risk on raw milk when you’re not trying to conceive, whatever. But giving raw milk to children or women who are/could possibly be pregnant? A WILD take, truly.
I spent the rest of the book questioning the validity of everything. Thankfully I feel like I’m smart enough to be able to pick the bad out and discard it, but wish their editors would have made them remove that tid bit of opinion to not sully the rest of the book. If you want to take the risk on raw milk when you’re not trying to conceive, whatever. But giving raw milk to children or women who are/could possibly be pregnant? A WILD take, truly.
June 7, 2024
I think every woman deserves to read this book - no matter if you’re trying to conceive or not. It’s filled with so much helpful info on best practices (diet, lifestyle, etc) to be your healthiest self and have balanced hormones. I’m already starting to implement some of the changes and it’s so empowering to treat your body with this type of respect. Some parts of this book are definitely dense & science-y but I just kinda skimmed. Also, the toxins section is kinda overwhelming so just take it with a grain of salt and know that you’re doing your best even with the small, gradual swaps!
April 18, 2025
Information-packed and easy to read. Covers pretty much every topic under the sun and I will definitely be referencing this in the future and using the recipes in the back. It was similar to her other book, Real Food for Pregnancy, except it covered way more information about common fertility issues, toxins, etc.
October 21, 2024
Obviously this book is about fertility, but I’d recommend it to any woman. It has so much more to give as far as female health is concerned. I really felt like I learned a lot. Many suggestions throughout, but it felt more empowering than overwhelming. Our bodies are amazing, and abysmal US food standards make us forget how much real, whole food can actually do for us.
September 18, 2024
Kay, I'll be honest,I didn't read THE WHOLE THING but I have referenced it many times and love the author and her Instagram is 🔥. A wonderful nourishing book that reflects many WAP principles.
August 6, 2024
Phenomenal!! Devoured this book in 4 days despite the dense research filled information. Must read for all women looking to conceive in the near future (I’d start prioritizing nutrition a year before intended pregnancy.) You will wish you read it sooner but didn’t expect anything less from Lily Nichols. Wonderful evidence based source of info for those looking to optimize conception and prepare the body for pregnancy. Loved the chapter on the cycle, which did an amazing job breaking down the phases of the menstrual cycle and the process of conception in an easy to digest way. Really was impressed with the chapter on male aspects of the situation - often left out but so very important. Overall such important info and would be incredibly helpful for women struggling to get pregnant. If you’re having trouble with infertility etc. I would recommend reading this along with Awakening Fertility. The cycle tracking aspects of this book are a good starting point, but would recommend supplementing with Taking Charge of your Fertility for anyone interested in a step to step guide and troubleshooting appendix. I personally use Toni’s paper charting pdf (free on TCOYF website.)
July 5, 2025
Phew a marathon, but I learned a ton! You have to read it with the right mindset though (helps having a hubby who works in stats within the Ag industry) or else you'll walk away with literally impossible standards for your diet and daily lifestyle — and probably severe, needless anxiety over it all, WHICH DEFEATS THE PURPOSE 😅
But overall, I learned a ton about nutrition and how it affects the reproductive system. I read it with zero plans to conceive, but it was still super helpful just for overall reproductive health goals.
Again - take with a grain of salt. Mostly helpful info for setting goals and understanding how your nutrition plays a role in fertility. But if you take all of it as law, you (and your budget) might be a hot mess before long.
Don't live in fear - but learn to fuel your body as well as you reasonably can!
Recommend, with discernment.
But overall, I learned a ton about nutrition and how it affects the reproductive system. I read it with zero plans to conceive, but it was still super helpful just for overall reproductive health goals.
Again - take with a grain of salt. Mostly helpful info for setting goals and understanding how your nutrition plays a role in fertility. But if you take all of it as law, you (and your budget) might be a hot mess before long.
Don't live in fear - but learn to fuel your body as well as you reasonably can!
Recommend, with discernment.
February 14, 2024
I was so excited to be an early reviewer for this book! I discovered Lily Nichols’ work while researching prenatal nutrition during my pregnancy. I loved her no nonsense, research backed advice that makes more sense than the current mainstream prenatal advice. Even with my high expectations, this book did not disappoint! I would highly recommend as a reference to anyone who wants to prepare for pregnancy.
March 27, 2025
This book was so interesting! Learned so much about not only nutrition but how our bodies work before and during conception. Feel like every woman should read this!
April 8, 2025
What a fantastic educational book. Must read for all women, especially anyone wanting to conceive in future!
June 26, 2025
(No friends I’m not having a baby) but amazing book on nutrition and balancing your hormones!!
July 5, 2024
I wish every pregnancy center, doctor’s office, OBGYN clinic, and fertility clinic would give out a copy of this book to every single woman who shows up pregnant or struggling with infertility. But then, I guess the medical complex wouldn’t be making millions from infertility treatments since they require us to be sick and dependent on them. :-/
No matter where you are at in your journey towards motherhood, this is one of those must-read, must-buy, must-have books!! For those who like studies and research, Nichols includes plenty of that in this book. However, the wisdom in this book dates back to traditional times before real whole foods were adulterated and processed. Returning to well-sourced foods in their original form is true medicine and nourishment to a woman’s fertility. Nichols wonderfully covers this topic in-depth, as well as providing support for women with certain medical conditions. There are some delicious recipes in the back of the book as well. A fascinating and great read!
No matter where you are at in your journey towards motherhood, this is one of those must-read, must-buy, must-have books!! For those who like studies and research, Nichols includes plenty of that in this book. However, the wisdom in this book dates back to traditional times before real whole foods were adulterated and processed. Returning to well-sourced foods in their original form is true medicine and nourishment to a woman’s fertility. Nichols wonderfully covers this topic in-depth, as well as providing support for women with certain medical conditions. There are some delicious recipes in the back of the book as well. A fascinating and great read!
August 23, 2024
I loved it. Very science heavy, which is to be expected. Covers everything from hormones to the harms of hormonal contraceptives to the newest nutritional studies and their impact on the female body. This is excellent for any woman, regardless of their desire to conceive!
April 20, 2025
Good info overall, I genuinely took a lot away, but very meat focused and anti-vegetarian/vegan 😅 I’ve been a vegetarian all my life, I’m not just about to start eating liver, and I didn’t appreciate being made to feel bad. Also promoting drinking raw milk? Absolutely wild and extremely dangerous.
May 4, 2025
I read this while not ready to become pregnant (though it is certainly on my mind for the future), but rather, because I wanted to learn more about how to curb insulin resistance, and how to test for potential fertility challenges. The title of this book might scare individuals like myself off, as it seems like a book primarily about optimizing diet for peak fertility. In reality, only a small portion of the book is about such optimization. The rest is about how our hormones are involved in conception, how eggs are prepared by the body, the intricacies of the menstrual cycle, how the placenta forms after conception, the intricacies of fertility treatments/how they really work, and specific tests that can be done ahead of trying to conceive if you have concerns around fertility. This is information that anyone planning on having a child at some point could really benefit from at any time in their life -- and ESPECIALLY if you have a pre-existing metabolic condition (like insulin resistance) that could make the fertility journey challenging. I have a few years of nursing school under my belt, and I feel like I learned more in these pages than I did in my biochemistry classes. All of this info made me feel so much more aware of how my body works and I loved learning about it. I also gained valuable insight from the PCOS chapter. Though I am not diagnosed with PCOS, I do have some insulin resistance, which is treated the same way as insulin-resistant-PCOS. I would recommend the PCOS chapter as a stand alone to anyone struggling with PCOS or insulin resistance. I’ve done so much research into the subject on my own, and have tried many things to support my body, but the way the info was presented in this chapter brought it all together in a way for me that really made sense. For me, this book was the missing piece in all of my research.
Real Food for Fertility reads like a textbook which, while I can see how this would be overwhelming for some, I actually loved. 😂 There is so much information and not all of it will be relevant to everybody, but the book is organized clearly so that you can skip sections, or opt to simply read the summaries at the end of each chapter if you don’t need to go in depth on a certain subject.
My primary critique is that I do think this book suffers from confirmation bias in many ways (even with exhaustive studies being referenced), and as such, some of the nutritional stances really lack nuance. The nutritional advice is solid, but only for a specific type of person with certain health parameters. For example, while I agree with the authors that good sources of saturated fat should not be eliminated from the diet in many cases, there are studies that show an extremely low saturated fat diet can naturally lower cholesterol without additional medication. This book states that even if you have high cholesterol, that saturated fat probably isn’t to blame, and you can keep eating it as long as it is high quality. While it may be true that saturated fat alone is not to blame for high cholesterol, such a stance also conveniently avoids the evidence that supports a low saturated fat diet as a treatment for high cholesterol. In other words, while some people may be able to solve their high cholesterol by changing the quality of saturated fats in their diet, others benefit from removing saturated fat entirely. There is no mention of the evidence that supports a low saturated fat diet for high cholesterol. This is what I mean by citing studies with a confirmation bias and avoiding nuance on nutritional topics.
Overall, there is still great information in this book. Just take everything with a grain of salt, and balance the info in this book against other sources as well, as you would anything.
Real Food for Fertility reads like a textbook which, while I can see how this would be overwhelming for some, I actually loved. 😂 There is so much information and not all of it will be relevant to everybody, but the book is organized clearly so that you can skip sections, or opt to simply read the summaries at the end of each chapter if you don’t need to go in depth on a certain subject.
My primary critique is that I do think this book suffers from confirmation bias in many ways (even with exhaustive studies being referenced), and as such, some of the nutritional stances really lack nuance. The nutritional advice is solid, but only for a specific type of person with certain health parameters. For example, while I agree with the authors that good sources of saturated fat should not be eliminated from the diet in many cases, there are studies that show an extremely low saturated fat diet can naturally lower cholesterol without additional medication. This book states that even if you have high cholesterol, that saturated fat probably isn’t to blame, and you can keep eating it as long as it is high quality. While it may be true that saturated fat alone is not to blame for high cholesterol, such a stance also conveniently avoids the evidence that supports a low saturated fat diet as a treatment for high cholesterol. In other words, while some people may be able to solve their high cholesterol by changing the quality of saturated fats in their diet, others benefit from removing saturated fat entirely. There is no mention of the evidence that supports a low saturated fat diet for high cholesterol. This is what I mean by citing studies with a confirmation bias and avoiding nuance on nutritional topics.
Overall, there is still great information in this book. Just take everything with a grain of salt, and balance the info in this book against other sources as well, as you would anything.
November 2, 2024
This is an exceptional book on nutrition. Don’t let the word “fertility” in the title scare you off, if you’re not trying to conceive. Fertility is simply a sign of health and if you’re interested in bettering your health, your sexual health and menstrual cycle (or sperm parameters for men) are very good indicators of your overall health. This book should not just be read by those wanting to get pregnant (I didn’t read it for that purpose!).
It is entirely supported by EXTENSIVE research. Everything they mention is backed by a study (if not multiple studies). All of the nutritional information is completely explained on a molecular level, so you’re not just taking their word for it when they’re making these recommendations.
I really can’t recommend this book enough. The only deterrent (which is also a major plus from a different POV) is that it is so thorough many people would not want to sit and read it cover to cover unless they are totally nerding-out on nutrition. But I don’t think this is a book you need to read cover to cover, it can also serve as a great reference book. Read a chapter here and there, and keep it on your shelf when questions arise because they cover SO MUCH and will give great info to any question in its realm.
It is entirely supported by EXTENSIVE research. Everything they mention is backed by a study (if not multiple studies). All of the nutritional information is completely explained on a molecular level, so you’re not just taking their word for it when they’re making these recommendations.
I really can’t recommend this book enough. The only deterrent (which is also a major plus from a different POV) is that it is so thorough many people would not want to sit and read it cover to cover unless they are totally nerding-out on nutrition. But I don’t think this is a book you need to read cover to cover, it can also serve as a great reference book. Read a chapter here and there, and keep it on your shelf when questions arise because they cover SO MUCH and will give great info to any question in its realm.
November 3, 2024
I love this book so much!!! Its useful for so much more than just fertility & conception, it's like a textbook for the latest research on women's health, abounding in references & clinical studies. And the authors share everything with such a compassionate, calm tone. Any woman who is curious about her cycle/hormones and the *seemingly unrelated* health issues she has NEEDS to read this book! They cover EVERYTHING, such as: the basics of hormonal birth control (why it's damaging for health and safe alternative methods); understanding what a healthy cycle looks like & how to chart the symptoms; holistic methods for resolving symptoms with nutrition, exercise, lifestyle, and supplementation; even how to talk to your conventional doctor and order labs. My fav part is in the back of the book -- they include a ton of *actually* simple, realistic recipes and a sample meal plan. This thing is like my holistic health manual that I keep coming back to skim for motivation & guidance!!
October 7, 2025
Some really helpful information and some that's lacking in credibility (looking at you raw milk recommendation).
Pros:
Great explanation on micro and macro nutrients
Helpful guide for practical steps to implement a more nutrient dense diet
Rationale for all of the suggested micronutrients, which I find more inspiring since I know why I should eat it
Cons:
Pseudo-science - recommending raw milk, etc
Some of the citations felt warped to meet the author's conclusion, rather than truly examining the findings
Very judgy tone towards vegetarians and vegans
Overall, I learned a lot of helpful information, but you definitely need to weed through the good and the bad.
Pros:
Great explanation on micro and macro nutrients
Helpful guide for practical steps to implement a more nutrient dense diet
Rationale for all of the suggested micronutrients, which I find more inspiring since I know why I should eat it
Cons:
Pseudo-science - recommending raw milk, etc
Some of the citations felt warped to meet the author's conclusion, rather than truly examining the findings
Very judgy tone towards vegetarians and vegans
Overall, I learned a lot of helpful information, but you definitely need to weed through the good and the bad.
December 31, 2025
You’ll hate this book if you’re vegan/vegetarian, but I think the author does a good job of explaining why these diets aren’t favorable for conceiving from an objective point of view.
The only thing I still can’t get past is the raw milk recommendation- I’ll pass!
Overall the book is very well written and I can say I’ve never really thought about incorporating organ meats in my diet until now. She makes a convincing argument that’s backed with plenty of research on this one!
A must-read for anyone who is planning their pregnancy 3+ months in advance as that is the standard recommended amount of time for a lot of her suggestions.
The only thing I still can’t get past is the raw milk recommendation- I’ll pass!
Overall the book is very well written and I can say I’ve never really thought about incorporating organ meats in my diet until now. She makes a convincing argument that’s backed with plenty of research on this one!
A must-read for anyone who is planning their pregnancy 3+ months in advance as that is the standard recommended amount of time for a lot of her suggestions.
February 6, 2025
Maybe considered a dnf but I read all the relevant pieces of info for myself (about 65%) before deciding to return to the library. Overall, the info is really interesting and has made me think about how I am fueling my body while TTC. I would not recommend this book to people with a history of disordered eating. I partially quit reading it after deciding to stress of the good vs. bad foods were making me feel like I was 17 and struggling with my eating disorder again.
April 11, 2025
Overall, I enjoyed Real Food for Pregnancy more and found it more relevant/practical, but this one had some fascinating data on fertility issues like PCOS and hyperprolactemia, as well as the drawbacks to hormonal birth control. The writing is a bit technical for someone not well-versed in medical/scientific jargon, but I ate it up nonetheless.
April 26, 2025
This book is for every woman to read if they are wanting to bring babies into the world (even if that’s in a few years!). Thankful for the knowledge this book gives to enter into motherhood in the most nourished way possible.
December 22, 2024
The best nutrition book for women I have ever read. A must read for all women.
April 24, 2025
Such a great book! Would love for every woman to be able to read this. 👌🏼
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