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

I bought this book originally when I was postpartum with my second baby and transitioning out of a vegan diet. I’m now 30 weeks along with my third and I’ve read this book cover to cover and reference it constantly, so much so that the covers are starting to fall off! There is so much valuable information in Lily’s book, it’s truly been life changing, not just for pregnancy but my overall health in general. My first 2 pregnancies I gained 60lbs, was anemic, and always swollen. Following the information in Lily’s book my blood work is the best it’s ever been in pregnancy. I’m not anemic at all, zero swelling, perfect blood pressure, and I’ve gained only 15lb this pregnancy so far. I certainly indulge in my diet but 80% of the time I eat the way Lily suggests. Every single recipe in this book is also delicious and satisfies all my cravings. I wish she’d release a cookbook lol. Don’t hesitate and wait to buy this book!

I read this book during my first pregnancy, and just started reading it again for my second. It's the most thorough guide to everything a woman needs to know to eat/not eat during pregnancy. Lily does such a great job explaining things for the novice (me) and helps debunk common (or conventional) thinking about diets. I feel better physically when I apply what I've learned from her guide. Also, the recipes are great.

As a first time mom, I bought 4 pregnancy books and out of all of them, this one had my mind engaged and taught a lot. The rest were cute, but this could be retitled pregnancy bible in my opinion. Just sad I found out about it in my third trimester. Appreciated the recipe / meal ideas section & have gained a new love for raspberries.

This book tells you exactly what matters when it comes to eating (and living) during pregnancy. It’s science-backed but super easy to read, and Lily does a great job explaining why so much of the mainstream advice is outdated or just plain wrong. It covers supplements, exercise, stress, labs, postpartum—you name it. But even if you don’t follow every single recommendation, there’s so much here you can apply right away. I wish every woman had this book.

I liked reading this and I've already made several of the recipes in the back! They are yummy and easy. Inspired me to keep eating more veggies and gave a lot of helpful data.

As someone with a technical academic background (biochemistry/biotechnology), I appreciate the breadth and depth of Lily's research and knowledge on the matters she writes about in this current book.I think she is a revolutionary at the beginning of another shift in the medical industry, where new developments are eventually embraced, albeit decades after they're pioneered. And sadly for the rest of us, still only half-heartedly by the medical profession we all rely upon.What she's up against: Consider the general effects of environmental toxins on daily health and those of stress on the body. Discovered and pioneered in the 1960-70's or earlier. First embraced in the 1980-90's by the rare, renegade physicians and by environmentalists, and still, in 2019, there are a world of physicians (mostly the elders) who still insist that these things are only mildly involved in your health outcomes. And so it is also with diet and exercise in the world of physicians. Slow change.Maddening.It's shocking, astonishing and demoralizing to face your own doctor who still tells you they can't explain why such and such in your health, when you know stress, anxiety and diet have contributed. It happened just 4days ago with ours at our annual physical.Alas, we wait upon those like Lily, to whom God has given voice to speak on our behalf, and to educate us in the meantime.To wonder into, and marvel at the phenomena of genetic outcomes - decades later - stemming from lifestyle and dietary choices is a bittersweet but liberating discovery. (As she urges us on: your diet and lifestyle now effect your child later in their life).Finally, a healthcare professional with a voice to stare deep into the mysteries and complexities of the human wonder, and she does so with reverence rather than ego.Thank you Lily for swimming upstream, especially in the still-mostly-male-and-rigid-climate of the medical and pharmaceutical industries.My wife and I are so grateful for your work. And [we] are blessed immensely to learn these things (that many of us already hunched at) a few months out still from trying to get pregnant.Encore! Bring it on! We're behind you.Oh, one more thing. I'm not in agreement with [every]thing in Lily's book. I need to personally look more deeply into the healfulness of eating pork, bacon and cured meats, as even when they're raised healthfully (pastured, etc.), their meat is not the cleanest meat. Cured meats usually are steeped in unhealthy chemicals as part of the curing process. Other than that, "jury's still out" for the moment on pork products...An example I'm completely (but respectfully) in disagreement with is the consumption of shellfish such as oysters and other "filter feeders" like shrimp. I believe they should never ever be consumed from any source. Not wild, nor farmed.As a biochemist, here's why:1. Most shellfish dwell at or near the bottom of the water bodies they live in, just like lobster, crab, grouper, flounder, etc. Gravity draws particulates down: dead matter, feces, human waste and trash. So, it's long been established that the lower strata of any water body has the highest concentration of environmental pollutants, even in the absence of a city to contaminate it. In a nutshell, the meat and other tissues of the species that dwell closer to the bottom have the highest density of toxins. Further, almost all of these species dwell in coastal areas, and thus have much greater exposure to urban pollutants such as automobile pollution and industrial runoff, sewage treatment facilities, etc. This is what we're consuming when we eat shellfish.2. Further, many of these species including ones that [aren't] always found at the bottom, but covering vertical surfaces as well - such as sea urchins, clams, mussels and barnacles - but also shrimp, squid, crill, etc. are what we call "filter feeders". They feed by consuming water and most everything that's in it, good or bad. So, over the course of their lives, in effect, their bodies become an unchanged filter. Consuming them can be a bit like going to change your fish tank filter saturated in algae and bacterium, but rather than toss it out, you decide you're going to filet it, fry it up and set it out on the dinner table for the family.Unfortunately as our oceans become more and more polluted, especially in coastal areas, we flee from coastal fishes and shellfish and seek the deep ocean creatures like tuna and swordfish only to find they're not clean as they once were. But coastal species and shellfish are horrendous.All told, consuming shellfish has been my only outright disagreement so far as I read. Otherwise, this is an excellent piece of work. And I give honor to Lily, again, for swimming upstream. NPI.She herself throughout her book notes that more research is still needed in many areas.Thanks for moving us forward Lily.

Loved this book! Would recommend to anyone even if you’re not pregnant. It teaches you about nutrition and how to eat a healthy, sustainable diet.

This book is by far the most helpful book I’ve found regarding preparing for pregnancy and making the most of that time. I have so much specific information highlighted to reference next time I am pregnant. This book made me feel empowered to take control of my pregnancy rather than hope that all of these bad things that “just happen” don’t happen to me. This book isn’t just nutrition. It talks about exercise, managing symptoms, supplements, toxic exposure, labs and tests, and post partum. Thank you for making this resource available to us!!