Mothers who eat a diet rich in fruit, vegetables and rice may be able to increase their chances of having daughters.
Of the women who took part in a scientific study, 80 per cent gave birth to girls after eating food rich in calcium and magnesium, supplemented by daily tablets, for nine weeks before conception.
They avoided potatoes, which have a high level of potassium, a mineral believed to increase the chances of conceiving boys.
The researchers believe the diet of the women was the strongest factor in the high number of girls born, although other factors, such as the timing of conception, may also have played a role.
The results, if confirmed by further studies, suggest women may be able to directly influence the sex of their baby by changing what they eat, so altering the mineral balance in their bloodstream.
“People now know that if they do everything we have suggested, their chances of having a girl will improve dramatically,” said Annet Noorlander, a biologist at Gender Consult, the Dutch consultancy that led the research with Delft and Maastricht Universities in Holland. “This method is experimental, but we have proved it works.”
The five-year research project, the results of which were published in the journal Reproductive BioMedicine Online, began with 172 couples who already had 358 sons and only two daughters between them.
[pullquote]The researchers believe the diet of the women was the strongest factor in the high number of girls born, although other factors, such as the timing of conception, may also have played a role.[/pullquote]
However, only 32 couples completed the full program.
To ensure the highest chance of conceiving a girl, the women had to begin the diet nine weeks before planned conception. They had to undergo regular blood monitoring and learn how to work out as accurately as possible their moment of peak fertility each month — the time they were due to ovulate.
Couples were also told to have sex three or four days before ovulation to favour sperm carrying female chromosomes, which take longer to reach the egg than those carrying male chromosomes. The result was that 26 out of the 32 mothers gave birth to girls and only six had boys. Statisticians at Delft analysed the results to ensure they could not have happened by chance.
Dr Noorlander and her team believe the diet, rather than the timing of sexual intercourse, was the most significant factor in producing high numbers of girls.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/girls-are-made-of-fruit-and-rice-boys-are-made-of-potaroes/story-e6frg6nf-1225980639498
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