He attained world-wide notoriety and the censure of the medical profession generally for his theories concerning sex control of the embryo through the diet of the mother.
Besides several textbooks, he was author of Einfluss auf das Geschlechtsverhältniss des Menchen und der Thiere (1898; Eng.
In it he expounds on his theories relating to the pre-conception influence of the mother's diet, especially sugars and carbohydrates, on the sex of her offspring.
[2] He later expanded his ideas to include post-conception influences on the health and future life of her child.
[1] In 1878 Schenk was the first to attempt in vitro fertilization of a mammalian egg cell using rabbit ova.