Want A Baby Girl? Eat More Ice Cream (According To Science)

Since time began old wives' tales claiming to help you conceive a baby of a certain gender have been around. And while some of them seem more plausible than others (that are flat out crazy), is there actually any truth to any of these? Well, maybe, it seems. In a study in the Netherlands involving 32 couples, apparently 81 per cent who stuck to a so-called "gender selection" plan were successful. According to the study, the gender selection plan involved timing sex based on whether the couples wanted a boy or girl. For example, having sex a few days before ovulation meant that when the egg was eventually released, the male sperm were already spent, while the female sperm were still available. This is because boy sperm swim faster but also die faster, while girl sperm are slower, but more resilient. (Go figure!) Many also believe that diet can play a part in determining a baby's gender, and there has always been some vague myths in existence about how certain dietary choices could increase or decrease your chances of having a certain gender baby. Which was the focus of the second part of the Dutch study. Apparently, to conceive a girl, the mother-to-be should eat foods “low in potassium and sodium but high in calcium and magnesium, to make the uterus more ‘female-friendly’.”