Rating: 
Summary: Dangerous to use as your only reference
Review: Fern Reiss apparently has no medical or scientific credentials, and it shows. Ms. Reiss does not specify which 'studies' she is picking and choosing from, and she seems to lack the acedamic background to evalute their validity. I'm not saying she doesn't know nutrition, but I think she's in way, way over her head when it comes to interpreting controversial findings and anecdotal evidence. In other words, I don't think she's qualified to separate the good from the bad when it comes to scientific findings.Another disturbing aspect of this book is her use of very, very vague adjectives to describe food quantities, i.e. "Eat plently, but not too much." Gee...that helps. There are NO specific recommendations in the book as to the amount of the recommended nutrients a person should consume! She doesn't quantify ANYTHING! She does provide recipes (half the book is recipes, so if you think you are getting 272 pages of dense nutritional advice, think again), but no integrated recommended daily menus. It would be impossible to put together a nutritionally balanced diet using only this book, except through sheer luck. Perhaps the single most disturbing thing is Ms. Reiss' failure to adequately stress the importance of folic acid in the weeks leading up to conception. She does mention it, but fails to recommend supplements or suggest a SPECIFIC, QUANTIFIED regime of whole foods that would ensure an adequate supply of folic acid. If you plan to buy many books, and read them all, by all means read this book to get some additional theories about fertility and nutrition to choose from. Even though I think the book stinks compared to others, to me, it was worth the dead presidents just to learn that ginger might cause miscarriages. But TAKE ANYTHING IN THIS BOOK WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. And if you do decide to follow it wholeheartedly, please run your daily menus through some nutrition analysing software to make sure you are getting appropriate quatities of nutrients.
Rating: 
Summary: Best Infertility Book on the Market -- It Works!
Review: This is the only infertility book on the market that is both based on medical studies (500--as well as herbal, macrobiotic, chinese medicine, etc) and actually contains tips that work! I have several friends who have already used it successfully! Thank you!!!
Rating: 
Summary: a well-researched, informative resource
Review: This book is an informative and well-researched resource for couples who wish to explore alternatives to the traditional medical responses to infertility. Reiss provides a great introduction to the concept of using a whole foods diet to effect change and offers straight talk on a subject that most of us are unfamiliar with. Along with this title, I would also recommend Julia Indichova's "Inconceivable: Winning the Fertility Game", which is based on personal experience and offers so much insight.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent, well explained, sensible approach
Review: This book offers a clear, easy to digest (no pun intended!) approach to handling infertility -- one that's definitely worth trying before investing the time, money, and emotion in more invasive medical interventions. The author presents information from a variety of scientific and cultural sources, with candor on the extent to which there is evidence for each of her suggestions. The overall approach is an appealing, comfortable one to start with when couples are first experiencing problems conceiving. Well worth it!
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Summary: This book summarizes the research on infertility and diet
Review: In "The Infertility Diet: Get Pregnant and Prevent Miscarriage", Fern Reiss does a very good job of summarizing and presenting the biomedical literature on infertility and its links to diet, overweight, and vitamin and herbal supplements in an easily accessible and well-organized manner. Recent research has shown us that dietary moderation and the consumption of healthy whole foods have positive impacts on health. Ms. Reiss successfully pulls together these different strands of research and her resulting suggestions for dietary change have the potential to improve reproductive health. This book proves the age-old proverb that we are what we eat. Indeed, her delicious recipes are a perfect way to start a healthy new family. Michael Ganz, PhD; Department of Maternal and Child Health; Harvard School of Public Health
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing really new or interesting ...
Review: If you're totally clueless about nutrition, this book is for you. Since health, diet, and fitness are hobbies of mine, I'd like to think that I know a bit about each subject. There wasn't really anything new or exciting for me to latch on to and say, "ah, maybe this will help with infertility problem". This is why I found The Infertility Diet book quite bland and a complete waste of money. Monica, San Diego
Rating:
Summary: Yams are sweet potatoes
Review: Hi - I am interested in purchasing this book, so I have been reading all the comments. I just wanted to let everyone know that yams ARE sweet potatoes. The difference is that "yams" are sweet potatoes that are grown in south Louisiana. Hope this helps out some of you.
Rating:
Summary: Still not sure if I agree...
Review: I have the same feelings of many who gave mixed reviews on this book. After the frustration of being unable to maintain a pregnancy, I am desperate and will try just about anything, but now I am feeling MORE stressed because I am feeling too overwhelmed by this diet. Many of the suggestions are easy to incorporate, but I just realized I have been eating sweet potatoes, not yams and they are not available by me. I wonder by the recipes she suggests if she is using true african yams. From what I have read, they are huge! I think I am going to return the book and get something that suggests a menu that is healthy AND practical.
Rating:
Summary: Good nutrition is important for improving fertility
Review: This is a very detailed book on types of foods women should eat and also avoid to achieve pregnancy. Many statements are backed up by research. I do not remember the author talking about the importance of keeping balance between proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
Dasha Trebichavska, licensed acupuncturist treating fertility issues in San Francisco
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