While there's no scientific proof diet determines a baby's sex, old wives' tales suggest eating foods high in potassium and sodium, like bananas, salty snacks (pretzels, chips), and vegetables (potatoes, spinach), while limiting dairy, might favor a boy, along with increasing overall calorie intake. The sex is actually determined by the sperm carrying either an X or Y chromosome, but these dietary theories focus on potentially influencing vaginal acidity or sperm health, though evidence is weak.
Top tips for conceiving a boy
For women, consuming an alkaline-based diet can create a favorable environment for male sperm to thrive, increasing the chances of having a boy. Foods such as figs, apricots, and tomato juice can aid in achieving this alkaline boost.
Gender is determined by sperm. Sperm that will create a female child are stronger and able to survive longer. Having sex closer to your ovulation increases the likelihood of a boy because there are more ``male sperm'' than if you ovulated days after insemination.
Common “boy-related” cravings include: Grill‐style meats (burgers, steak) Salty snacks (chips, pickles) Spicy foods (hot sauce, jalapeños)
Foods to eat to get pregnant with a boy
Although scientific support is limited, folklore suggests that eating more potassium-rich and alkaline-forming foods—such as bananas, spinach, and fish—while reducing dairy intake may increase the chances of conceiving a boy.
Speed: since sperm containing the Y chromosome are faster than those containing the X chromosome, if the egg is in the fallopian tube at the time of intercourse, there is a greater probability of a Y sperm reaching and fertilising it, which means there is a greater probability of the baby being a boy.
To conceive a boy, couples should have intercourse 4–6 days before ovulation. To conceive a girl, couples should have intercourse closer to ovulation day (2–3 days).
Fruits
Could choosing your baby's sex be as simple as changing the way you eat? A 2008 survey on 740 pregnant women, published in Proceedings of Royal Society B titled “You are what your mother eats” found that women who ate lots of breakfast cereal, salt, and potassium were more likely to give birth to baby boys.
The proportion of male babies was significantly higher (65.5 +/- 3.9 per cent, mean +/- S.D.) in the offspring of women who resumed intercourse two days after ovulation. This proportion tended to be lower on or near the day of ovulation than on the previous one or two days.
When the researchers looked more closely at the women's diets, they found that certain nutrients were key to the effect, she said. "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.
But in this study, women who had higher blood pressure and other signs of physical stress had four boys for every nine girls (ratio 4:9); while moms who were psychologically stressed had two boys for every 3 girls (ratio 2:3). All of the women had healthy pregnancies.
We now know that there's nothing you can do in the bedroom to influence whether you have a baby boy or a baby girl. Though there's a slightly greater chance you'll have a baby boy (due to the ratio of male to female births), sex positions, timing sex, and your vaginal pH have no bearing.
Men carrying a gene that leads to their sperm having more Y chromosomes have more sons. During times of war and large casualties of male soldiers, those families are more likely to have more surviving sons. And when those men have children, they, like their fathers, might be more likely to have baby boys.
As with the other legends, there's no evidence sex is determined by relationship dynamics, sexual positions, or coins. The chances of giving birth to a boy or a girl are always about 50-50, unless you select the sex during in vitro fertilization.
Shettles proposed that deep penetration during intercourse could be a factor in increasing the chances of conceiving a boy. Deep penetration allows the male partner to ejaculate closer to the cervix and uterus, helping the Y chromosome sperm reach the egg faster.
“In reality, there are no foods, lifestyle habits or methods before, during or after sex that will influence the sex of the baby conceived,” Styer explained. Rather, the sex of the baby is determined at the time when the woman's egg is fertilized by sperm.
For healthy semen samples collected between 5:00am and 7:30am were found to exhibit a statistically higher sperm concentration, total sperm count and a higher percentage of normally shaped sperm, compared to samples produced later in the day. Sperm motility was not influenced by the time of sample production.
Nature is designed to favour the conception of boys from September to November and girls from March to May because of an evolutionary mechanism aimed at keeping the overall sex ratio as near to 50:50 as possible, the scientists said.
When we look at the statistics the chances of having a boy or a girl are almost the same and there's no medical evidence to suggest we can influence this.
Factors That May Affect Y Chromosome Sperm
Timing of Intercourse: Intercourse closer to ovulation might favor the faster-moving Y sperm. Diet & Nutrition: Consuming potassium-rich foods, zinc, and an alkaline diet may support overall sperm health and potentially the environment for Y sperm.
They found that women with all daughters tended to have specific variants of the NSUN6 gene on chromosome 10, whereas women with only sons tended to have specific variants of the TSHZ1 gene on chromosome 18.