Nutrition Basics Archives - Lily Nichols RDN

Should you be worried about nitrates in processed meat?

Should you be worried about nitrates in processed meat? That’s a question I get asked often. Last fall, I shared an informal Instagram story where I was eating a meat stick, and boy, was I not expecting that to be controversial. My messages blew up … continue reading

Real Food for Pregnancy Success Stories: How Prenatal Nutrition Changed These Women’s Pregnancies

I’ve devoted my professional career as a prenatal dietitian to researching what truly supports a healthy pregnancy diet and optimal pregnancy nutrition. Over the years, I’ve analyzed thousands of peer-reviewed studies on how diet influences maternal health, fetal development, and pregnancy outcomes, including the growing … continue reading

Early Gestational Diabetes Screening: The Research on Monitoring Blood Sugar Earlier in Pregnancy

Gestational diabetes (GD) is traditionally diagnosed between 24–28 weeks of pregnancy, but emerging research suggests that blood sugar imbalances may be happening early on during pregnancy. I’ve written at length about gestational diabetes screening (see chapter 9 of my book, Real Food for Pregnancy), but … continue reading

Twin Pregnancy Nutrition: Why the guidelines are limited and vague

If you’re expecting twins and searching for solid, research-backed nutrition advice, you’ve probably run into a frustrating reality: the information is vague, outdated, and often just… missing. Why is it so hard to find reliable guidance on twin pregnancy nutrition? Twin pregnancies come with higher … continue reading

Real Food for Fertility Success Stories

This week marks the 1 year anniversary of Real Food for Fertility going to print. Lisa (my co-author) and I worked our tails off to write the most comprehensive — yet approachable — book on fertility, combining our individual areas of expertise: nutrition and fertility … continue reading

Omega-3 Fats: Why you can’t rely on plants for all of your omegas

Omega-3 fats are widely praised in both conventional and holistic nutrition for their many roles in supporting brain, vision, cardiovascular health and more. Not to mention how they contribute to optimal fertility (in men and women), overall health during pregnancy, as well as fetal brain … continue reading

Iodine: Why this mineral is essential for fertility, pregnancy, and lactation

There are many nutrients that our bodies demand higher quantities of during pregnancy and postpartum — and iodine is one of them! Iodine is a key mineral that supports not only thyroid health, but ovarian health, breast health, fetal brain development, and more! You may … continue reading

Behind the Scenes of Real Food for Fertility: Insight into the process of writing and researching the book

Since the release of my latest book, Real Food for Fertility — co-authored with Lisa Hendrickson-Jack — I’ve gotten quite a few questions about how this project came about and what the researching and writing process looked like. Before I get into that, I have … continue reading

Can you eat too much fish during pregnancy?

In my interview on the Genius Life Podcast with Max Lugavere, I answered quite a few questions about eating fish during pregnancy. A snippet of this discussion was featured in an Instagram reel that has garnered a lot of attention (6.5 million views and counting), … continue reading

Vitamin B12 & Pregnancy: A nutrient crucial for your baby’s health

A nutrient that doesn’t always get the spotlight in prenatal nutrition is vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is popular in the mainstream as a nutrient that gives energy; this is why you’ll find high amounts of it in many energy drinks. And, that’s not wrong — … continue reading

Read the first chapter of real food for pregnancy for FREE.