Want To Conceive a Boy?

Go Bananas!

Maybe you've heard the old wives tale that what you eat will affect if you conceive a boy or a girl? Well, some researchers in UK finally seem to have found a real connection between mom's diet ant the gender of her baby to be.

So if you're pregnant and curious, think back about what you ate while trying to conceive.

The research group, led by Fiona Mathews at University of Exeter followed a group of 740 first time pregnant British women (unaware of the gender of their fetus) and compared their eating habits, life style etc. The moms were then divided into three groups depending on how much calories they ate around the time of conception.

Here is what they found:

• In the group of moms which ate the most calories 56% got a boy, while in the low-calorie group only 45% conceived a boy.
  
  
• It also appeared as if some particular ingredients in mom's diet can affect the gender outcome. Salty foods and bananas tend to generate boys. Funny, thinking back on my own pregnancies, I probably had more bananas the second time, basically because I had a 10 month old baby girl who loved bananas... We did conceive a boy that time!
  
  
• On the other hand, the old saying that eating a lot of dairy products will generate a girl was not supported by the research. Rather the opposite!
  
  
• And the most clear-cut ingredient connection was found between the amount of breakfast cereal the mom had and the gender of her baby. More than one bowl of cereal and you'll get a boy (59% chance), one bowl or less and you'll get a girl (68% chance).
  
  
• In addition, the women who had sons were also more likely to have eaten a wider variety of nutrients, such as potassium, calcium and vitamins C, E and B12.

Fiona's team cannot yet explain what's going on here, but the theory is that biologically, the risk with producing a boy is higher, since boy fetuses are more vulnerable.

Hence, just as seen among animals, it might be that we are genetically coded to produce more boys in good times and more girls in times of less food being available. In fact, it is already know from IVF (in vito fertilization) that higher levels of sugar tend to encourage the growth of male embryos.

Wouldn't this mean - in these times of more and more obesity- that we produce more boys than earlier?

Well, actually the contrary! But this is because even if the calorie intake is falling at least among young women in developed countries (generating more girls). Instead, we exercise less, which is why we tend to gain weight. Also, people tend to skip breakfast more often, also generating more girls.

Now I always learned in school that dad's sperm only is what determines the gender of the baby. Later on I learned that the timing of the intercourse and the position while making love can make a difference. But mom's diet??!

What effects will this have at the breakfast table of parents-to-be in the future...?

"Honey, no more cereal now, we've talked about this and I really want a girl this time! And NO more salty cheese on your sandwich!"

So if you want to conceive a boy: Eat salt, bananas and lots of breakfast cereal.

If you want a girl: Well, don't eat... ;-D Or at least cut down on the salt and cereal.

And if you want more tips on how to choose gender of your child, click here.

Curious on if this worked for other moms? Share your story below and also read about mothers' experiences here.

Reference: Fiona Mathews, Paul J. Johnson, Andrew Neil April 2008 You are what your mother eats: evidence for maternal preconception diet influencing foetal sex in humans. Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences

So Moms, What Did You Have For Breakfast
When Trying to Conceive?

Let's make our own survey!

Think back of your own diet when conceiving... Low-or high calorie? Cereals? Bananas? Salty or sweet?

And what is the gender of your baby?

Will you do anything differently the next time?

Any other tips on natural gender selection?

Join in, this is fun!

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

Going Veggie Gives A Girl 


My husband and I had tried to conceive for about a year before starting fertility treatments. As a result of the new, high power health kick ...

Yes, I Had Cereal!  Actually, this is kind of funny. I did eat a lot of cereal and I did get a boy... But I think I probably had quite a lot of breakfast cereal with my daughter ...

Still Looking For A Boy! 


After eight years of marriage and three lovely girls I'm still looking for the boy. Everybody would tell me in my first pregnancy that i was ...

I Had A Question  ...rather than a story to submit. This theory, has it been tested on people whose lifestyle limit certain foods, such as Vegans? I would surmise, from ...

I Love My Boy!!!! 


I never thought that my diet at the time of conception lead to the birth of my wonderful baby boy, but this does make sense. I battle with low ...

Its a Boy  I ate cereal every day and ended up having gestational diabetes and was a strict diet. I didn't eat bananas though as I don't like them much and they ...

I'm Skinny and I Hate Bananas!  ...and guess what - I had a... boy! So no, no perfect match here! But I do like salty foods, maybe that's why we conceived a boy ;-)

Want to know a ...