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Real Food for Pregnancy: The Science and Wisdom of Optimal Prenatal Nutrition by [Lily Nichols, Melissa Powell ]

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Lily Nichols

Real Food for Pregnancy: The Science and Wisdom of Optimal Prenatal Nutrition Kindle Edition

by Lily Nichols (Author), Melissa Powell (Foreword) Format: Kindle Edition

2,922 ratings

in Perinatology & Neonatology

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Prenatal nutrition can be confusing. A lot of the advice you’ve been given about what to eat (or what not to eat) is well-meaning, but frankly, outdated or not evidenced-based. In Real Food for Pregnancy, you’ll get clear answers on what to eat and why, with research to back up every recommendation. Author and specialist in prenatal nutrition, Lily Nichols, RDN, CDE, has taken a long and hard look at the science and discovered a wide gap between current prenatal nutrition recommendations and what foods are required for optimal health in pregnancy and for your baby’s development. There has never been a more comprehensive and well-referenced resource on prenatal nutrition. With Real Food for Pregnancy as your guide, you can be confident that your food and lifestyle choices support a smooth, healthy pregnancy.

Print length

348 pages
Language

English
Publication date

February 23, 2018
Grade level

12 and up
File size

4621 KB
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Genevieve Howland
2,969
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Jennifer Lang MD
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Emily Oster
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Lily Nichols
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Myra J. Wick
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Heidi Murkoff
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in Pregnancy & Childbirth
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Popular Highlights in this book

What are popular highlights?

Consuming seafood—in particular, seaweed, scallops, cod, shrimp, sardines, and salmon—is a great way to meet iodine needs.
Highlighted by 1,008 Kindle readers
Fatty fish such as salmon, herring, and sardines (plus fish eggs or “roe”) provide the most concentrated sources of dietary DHA and are also low in mercury.
Highlighted by 934 Kindle readers
Replace your typical serving of grains with a serving of vegetables and/or a larger portion of meat or fish and you’re practically guaranteed to consume more B-vitamins, iron, magnesium, zinc, and calcium.
Highlighted by 536 Kindle readers

Editorial Reviews

Review

I'm so thrilled to read Real Food for Pregnancy. I absolutely love Lily's work. Her evidence-based approach to nutrition is not only relevant during pregnancy, but for the rest of your life! I think every birth professional (midwife, doula, etc.) should have a copy in their lending library for clients. --Rebecca Dekker, PhD, RN, Founder of Evidence Based Birth®

"No one has dissected the research on prenatal nutrition--and done so in the context of ancestral diets--to the depth that Lily Nichols has in Real Food for Pregnancy. If you want an evidence-based rebuttal to the outdated prenatal nutrition guidelines, look no further."
--Robb Wolf, 2x NYT Bestselling Author, Wired to Eat & The Paleo Solution

Real Food For Pregnancy should find its way into every medical school and prenatal clinic. Her first book, Real Food for Gestational Diabetes, is a staple in my teaching here at West Virginia University and has shifted how many in our department view nutrition. Lily's second book is encyclopedic; it's amazingly well-referenced and more in-depth than many textbooks. If mothers embrace Lily's advice, the next generation will hopefully suffer less obesity and diabetes."
--Mark Cucuzzella MD FAAFP
Professor West Virginia University School of Medicine --This text refers to the paperback edition.

About the Author

Lily Nichols is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Educator, researcher, and author with a passion for evidence-based prenatal nutrition. 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 approach for managing gestational diabetes. Her work 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 clinical expertise and extensive background in prenatal nutrition have made her a highly sought after consultant and speaker in the field. Lily’s second book, Real Food for Pregnancy, outlines the problems with current prenatal nutrition guidelines and provides the evidence—930 citations and counting—that supports a real food diet to optimize maternal and fetal health. Lily is also creator of the popular blog, https://LilyNicholsRDN.com, which explores a variety of topics related to real food, mindful eating, and pregnancy nutrition. You can also find her on Instagram as @LilyNicholsRDN.

--This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B079H8LL9L
Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 23, 2018
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4621 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 348 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0986295043
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #27,842 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1 in Health & Nutrition for Parents
- #1 in Perinatology & Neonatology (Kindle Store)
- #1 in Nutrition of Vitamins & Supplements

Customer Reviews:
2,922 ratings

About the author

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Lily Nichols

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Lily Nichols is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Educator, researcher, and author with a passion for evidence-based prenatal nutrition. 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 approach for managing gestational diabetes. Her work 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 clinical expertise and extensive background in prenatal nutrition have made her a highly sought after consultant and speaker in the field.

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, LilyNicholsRDN.com, which explores a variety of topics related to real food, mindful eating, and pregnancy nutrition.

Customer reviews

5 star		85%
4 star		8%
3 star		4%
2 star		1%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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L

BEST, DEFINITIVE BOOK FOR NUTRITION IN PREGNANCY (and in general!)

Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2018

Verified Purchase

I didn't discover this book until the last leg of my 3rd pregnancy- but it was still worth every penny! I've read other preg food books (especially with the 1st kid when everyone gifts them to you), and I found them all to be largely the same and unimpressive. THIS book, however, is a game changer. Here's how:

1. Science - The author has done more nutrition research than many doctors I know. She doesn't just make recommendations, she explains WHY she is making them based on how all the macro and micronutrients function inside your body. She cites studies AND explains those studies (eg. clinical vs epidemiological, sample size, other considerations, etc.)

2. Detail - Everything is here. Meal suggestions, recipes, vitamin/supplement explanations, conversation about controversial foods like sushi, lunchmeat, coffee, wine, etc., historical and international anecdotes, common complaints, exercise, mental health, nursing, and recovery. Etc. Etc.

3. Empathy - Yes, I nerded out about all the science^, but just as important is the author's incredible understanding of how stressful, difficult, and confusing pregnancy and postpartum can be. She's been there, and she tells you about her experience, too. She knows that no one is perfect and that we can't always do things optimally all the time. She always presents the information with a practical approach and multiple options. She provides the base for you to use and tailor however you need.

Additionally, you can look up the author online- she has a million helpful (totally free) articles with even more information. Plus you can sign up for her newsletter (still more good, free info), and I can personally attest that if you write to her with questions, she writes back and answers them!

I wish I had this book from the beginning, and I will (and have been) recommend(ing) this book to every pregnant, nursing, and TTC woman I know! Honestly, I recommend this book even to people who aren't pregnant, just as a great guide for general nutrition. There is a ridiculous shortage of up-to-date, evidence-based nutrition information IN GENERAL, let alone relating to pregnancy. Having these resources is truly invaluable!

262 people found this helpful

Helpful

Stephanie

A few concerns from a fellow dietitian...

Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2021

Verified Purchase

I'm both a dietitian and a therapist, and this book stressed me out! I'm currently pregnant and wanted to brush up on my understanding of prenatal nutrition. I don't necessarily think any of the authors information is wrong, and in fact I think if it was possible for all of us to eat this way then it would probably be a very healthy and nourishing way to eat.

However, the issue I had was with the authors languaging, her closed mindedness, her fear-mongering, and her lack of empathy for individuals who do not have the socioeconomic advantage of being able to eat so "perfectly." The author takes issue with the government fortifying our foods and recommending supplements instead of real food, and it just seems tremendously naive. If I'm being frank, I think she needs to check her privilege. A vast majority of Americans don't have access to local, organic, sustainably grown food for every meal and snack. Many don't have the financial resources or time to source, purchase, and prepare all meals and snacks from scratch and often don't even have easy access to conventionally grown whole foods, let alone local and organic foods. Many women have to rely on fortified foods and supplements to support their pregnancy.

Would it be nice if everyone could eat the way this author is proposing? Of course. Are there programs aimed at making healthy food more accessible to everyone? Luckily. However, to be recommending that all women need to be putting as much time, effort, and resources into eating as perfectly as the author proposes in order to have a healthy baby is simply untrue and unhelpful. Many folks need to rely on easily accessible food, fortified foods, and supplements to ensure they are meeting nutritional needs during pregnancy. If a single mom raising other children and working multiple jobs need to utilize convenience foods to meet her needs, then there is no shame in that. I also think its potentially harmful to imply that it's not ok to eat flexibly, honor your cravings, and indulge during pregnancy. A lot of intuitive eating research is showing that the stress associated with any kind of rigid diet is much more harmful than eating what you desire while still making sure you're eating plenty of nutrient dense foods.

At the end of the day, I'm just continually frustrated by dogmatic approaches to nutrition. I know the author means well and she clearly holds a deep passion for women and prenatal care. But there's simply no one-size-fits-all approach. There's no perfect human diet. The fear that this book could potentially create for some pregnant women just isn't worth it. Especially if they're already at the end of their rope. The stress of eating this way could potentially outweigh any benefits of what could otherwise be very helpful nutritional information. If the author had delivered her research in a more open minded and accepting way, then I would have found her book much more helpful.

If you're going to read this book I encourage you to read with an open mind, take the nuggets of wisdom that work, and let go of anything that causes you stress or makes you feel scared or shamed. Get the nutrients you need from wherever you can get them. And trust that doing your best will be enough for both you and your baby.

471 people found this helpful

Helpful

Ayla Barmmer, MS, RD, LDN

To say that this book is evidence-based would be the understatement of the century!

Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2018

Verified Purchase

I was honored to be an early reviewer of this book and even though prenatal nutrition is my specialty as a nutritionist focused on women's health, I learned a TON while reading it. It's somehow both a practical guide that anyone could use and also, basically, a textbook, filled with more than 900 citaions. To say that it's evidence-based would be the understatement of the century. This book will get you REALLY questioning where we are today in terms of diet and lifestyle recommendations pre-conception and during pregnancy...and both excited and empowered to take control of you and your baby's health. All of my pregnant clients will be getting a copy of this book! And if you are a health practitioner, you need to read this book because the prenatal nutrition guidelines that are circulating are basically a regurgitation of non-evidenced based "no to do or eat" lists, and completely void of some critical information that all women have the right to know.

145 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

LambyLamb

Swimming against the tide...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 20, 2019

Verified Purchase

As a pregnant person I was looking for a book that would help me to optimise my nutrition, I am very disappointed with this book, which fails to deliver good information.
A lot of reviews wrongly claim that it is a well researched work. Sadly, simply using lots of references does not equal good scholarship. The sources also need to be relevant to the claims that the author is making, and to robustly back them up. Many of the sources don't back up the claims of the author, and they make far more moderate claims than the author does. The findings of numerous studies are used to "prove" much stronger claims than the ones the studies are themselves making. For example there's a whole section on vitamin B12 deficiency that claims that this deficiency leads to miscarriage, neural-deficiency and preterm birth risk. What is doesn't tell us is what constitutes deficiency (as opposed to sub-optimal nutritional levels) nor how much these risks are increased. These are crucial data for a full understanding of the issues. Moreover, this is presented as fact, whereas both sources cited in support of this claim highlight a need for further research rather than the absolute certainty that the wording used by the author implies.
There's also substantial scaremongering about vegetarianism and veganism (of which I'm neither, but for which I think there are significant and important nutritional and environmental justifications). There are contraindications for heavy consumption of red meat and animal fats, so even if it is the case that consuming these optimises prenatal nutrition, the discussion is not balanced.
There are also some hokey, and cringey folk-observations about what people did in the "olden-days" which was so much better than plant heavy diets. The author claims that the intuition of modern hunter gatherers and pre 1865 breast feeders in favour of meat clearly demonstrates the benefits of her proposed nutritional wisdom. But if the author's claim is that her nutritional insights would improve both pre-natal health, and the health of children into their future, why reference a period in which infant mortality was so much higher than the present day.
This is perhaps a bit of a ranty review. I'm not given to those usually. But this book made me cross: first because I feel like I wasted money on it; second because it presents opinions as facts; third because it dresses itself up as academic scholarship which it indisputably is not; and fourth, if I'm 100% honest because I don't think that it's at all responsible to promote an increase in animal products in anybody's diet. I absolutely wouldn't recommend it. But if anyone does know of a decent, well-researched, scientifically robust book that would help, I'm interested to hear about it.

83 people found this helpful

masstab

A must read for anyone preparing for pregnancy. Extra helpful for type 1 diabetic moms ;)

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 10, 2020

Verified Purchase

A must read for anyone preparing for pregnancy.

This book happened to be really useful for me personally, since as a type 1 diabetic thriving on a low-carb diet, i was being encouraged/bullied by everyone to eat lots of carbs as soon as i became pregnant because apparently “babies need carbs”, while also being told that babies can’t grow properly if blood sugars aren’t perfect. For me, eating lots of carbs and having good blood sugar control are mutually exclusive, so finding a middle ground between these two conflicting things seemed impossible. Lily Nichols is one of the very very few dieticians I found online who doesn’t discourage pregnant women from eating low carb.

This wonderful book gave me the confidence to go ahead and do what I knew I needed to do to maintain near perfect blood sugar control throughout my entire pregnancy. And much more of course! Confidently picking the right foods that encourage baby’s development, mama’s health in pregnancy but also avoiding depletion post-partum... all HUGE.

Do yourself a favour and read this book!

7 people found this helpful

alexis

Brilliant

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 20, 2018

Verified Purchase

I was hoping for no-nonsense, well researched advice on supplements - and what I got was so much more. I LOVE this book and I can see it will be my "bible". I was so relieved to read Lily's approach, which is so robust and evidence based, and is predicated on using real foods and only supplements where necessary, which aligns entirely with the approach I would like to follow. Added bonuses where the sections on exercise and posture / core / diastasis recti which are so helpful. I've even been convinced to eat meat whilst doing IVF and hopefully pregnancy, having previously been convinced I would remain vegetarian. Next I'm moving on to replacing my cookware with cast iron & considering not wearing nail polish!
The combination of science backed advice, and a holistic approach from someone who advocates the power of good food, exercise & mindfulness, is really refreshing and reassuring.

17 people found this helpful

Laura M

A bible for every pregnant woman

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 26, 2020

Verified Purchase

I bought this book when trying to conceive and have kept it by my bedside ever since (my LO is now nearly 5 months old.) This book really helped me to prepare and support my body to carry my baby and to breastfeed. Not only does it cover what foods to eat to have a healthy pregnancy but it also covers what to eat to mitigate/ help with pregnancy symptoms, what to eat to support breastfeeding and what foods don't build a healthy baby - all in a scientific, non judgemental, easy to read way. This book also covers other areas of pregnancy; exercise, mental health and post partum preparation means that it really is the only companion you need to support you during your transition to motherhood. I particularly found the breastfeeding chapter useful, as I felt very prepared as to the reality of breastfeeding (anyone else felt like they were fused to the sofa in the early days?!), information which I didn't hear from anywhere else. It has also helped me to shift some of my baby weight (as well as a few stubborn pounds before I conceived too!) and the information has changed my eating habits for life. I'm just hoping Lily will publish a book on baby weaning in the next few months!

5 people found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Cuts through the crap

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 10, 2020

Verified Purchase

I got this whilst trying for a baby and followed the amazing advice from preconception, through pregnancy to breastfeeding. Lily cuts through to the important information without skipping the evidence which makes it easy to make fully informed decisions about nutrition at these important times without relying on outdated and often vague guidelines. Plus the recipes are delicious! Thanks Lily, I loved this book and still dip in every so often now. Next stop, weaning!

4 people found this helpful

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