Study shows bananas make baby boys

[nikkianddean]

Anyone want a baby boy? Read on...I'm still not sure how they can make conclusive statements

 

 

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Women can influence the gender of their child with what they eat before they conceive, according to new research that lends scientific support to age-old superstitions about pregnancy.

 

 

The study of 740 women showed that higher calorie intake led to a higher probability of a male birth.

 

The discovery shows higher calorie intake prior to conception can significantly increase the chances of having a son while women on restricted diets are more likely to produce daughters.

 

Scientists at Britain's Oxford and Exeter Universities, who studied eating habits of 740 women during their first-time pregnancies, say that their findings seem to back certain traditional links between diet and gender while disproving others.

 

"We were able to confirm the old wives' tale that eating bananas and so having a high potassium intake was associated with having a boy, as was a high sodium intake," research leader Fiona Mathews, a specialist in mammalian biology at Exeter University, told the Guardian newspaper.

 

"But the old take about drinking a lot of milk to have a girl doesn't seem to hold up. In fact, more calcium meant they were again more likely to have a boy."

 

Mathews said the study pointed to a simple technique to influencing the chances of a male birth: Eating a bowl of cereal for breakfast.

 

"If you want a boy, eat a healthy diet with a high calorie intake, including breakfast," she told New Scientist magazine.

 

Health Library

MayoClinic.com: Health Library

"Of women eating cereals daily, 59 percent had boys, compared with only 43 percent who bore boys in the group eating less than a bowlful per week."

 

The researchers said that a higher calorie intake prior to conception can increase the chances of having a son from ten to 11 boys in every 20 births, according to the study published in the Proceeding of the Royal Society B.

 

They said it could explain why male births in richer countries are experiencing a slight reduction.

[ErinB]

Interesting. I've heard all of the tales about positioning, day of ovulation, etc. as a predictor but never diet.

 

So I need to eat chicken and lettuce only if I want a girl!

[cheese_diva]

Nooooo! lol I eat bananas all the time. I was hoping for a girl but guess I'll take a monkey boy.

[becks]

Okay, but wait, I understand that the sex of a child is dependent upon whether the chromasome the MAN's sperm is carrying is an X or Y chromasome. Women only have Xs, so therefore how does this work?

 

Does eating a higher calorie diet somehow make a woman's ovum more likely to accept a Y chromasome carrying sperm?

 

Do we have any geneticists in the house?? Anyone??

[Nrvsbride]

Becks your right but what I think the study is saying is that certain foods women eat can create a hostile environment for certain chromosomes. So perhaps eating lots of bananas is a hostile environment for sperm containing female chromosome. KWIM?

 

~I'm sure Morgan can chime in with her super brain here. Where is my brilliant Duke girl?

[JennyK]

I saw this on the news! It's pretty crazy.. I LOVEEEE cereal. That means I'll have all boys? lol

[LCBride2007]

People love to speculate on anything! There are so many things that "they" say determine the sex - it's actually quite ammusing!

[Nrvsbride]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnnR People love to speculate on anything! There are so many things that "they" say determine the sex - it's actually quite ammusing!

The only thing that determines the sex is what I say. LOL. And I say Nugget is a boy. So there!

[LCBride2007]

well most everyone will be happy to hear that!

[nikkianddean]

Quote:

Re: Study shows bananas make baby boys -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- well most everyone will be happy to hear that!

Ann, you didn't happen to keep a food diary at the time leading up to conception did you

I would love to keep a running tally of the 08 BDW babies. Everyone I know in 2008 has had girls. The count is about 15 to 1 right now...I'm pulling for Nugget to even out the odds!!!