Do Calories Count for Gender Selection?

Diet is an important part of natural gender selection -- in fact, it's consistently supported by research.  What's the most important part of your diet for natural gender selection?  The foods you eat count, but the overall number of calories you get every day also counts. 

What the Studies Show

Calories and overall nutrient levels can make a big difference in the gender of your baby.  Research studies like the Oxford study show that moms who have more sons eat more calories -- significantly more calories.  Women who had daughters ate significantly less calories than those moms having boys.  For sons, women were eating 2,400+ calories a day.  Women with daughters were eating closer to 1,500 - 1,800 calories per day.

Studies also show there's a strong correlation with overall nutrient intake.  Women who are getting more calories are getting higher levels of nutrients.  These are the moms most likely to have boys.  The moms getting lower calories and lower nutrients have girls.

The Trivers-Willard Hypothesis

There is a hypothesis that lends support to the conclusions drawn from the research above. The Trivers-Willard hypothesis suggests that in times of plenty, mothers are more likely to have sons.  In times of famine and stress, mothers are more likely to have daughters.

A lot of the work connecting this hypothesis to gender selection has been done via independent research from Atomic Sagebrush.  She's pulled together all these studies and hypotheses to create a workable plan for getting a daughter or son.   Her "high everything" and "low everything" diets are based on the Trivers-Willard hypothesis.

The reason why Trivers-Willard suggested the gender ration changed happened is boys require more calories from the moment of conception. They require more energy to get from brand new baby in its mother's womb to a grown man successfully having children. The theory is that during times of plenty, it's much more likely that the calories and the food is going to be there to help this little baby boy go from a tiny baby in his mother's womb to a grown man who is able to father his own children.

In times of famine, a girl (who requires far fewer calories throughout her life) is much more likely to grow and be able to have a baby. The Trivers-Willard Hypothesis states that these things happen for the perpetuation of our species.

Whether you believe in the whole evolutionary theory or not that's built into that is up to you to decide. The fact that boys take more calories and girls take less calories is true, however.

How to Get Your Desired Gender

What can you do if you want a boy? Eat all your vegetables! Getting more protein and more fat increases your calories throughout the day and gives you significantly more nutrition. More nutrients going in via a more nutrient-dense diet mean you're increasing your chances of getting a boy by increasing your nutrition. Again, eat your vegetables. Eat the protein. Shoot for 2,400-2,500 calories a day. Salt to taste. Make sure that you're getting good amounts of fat. Drink whole milk, preferably unprocessed whole milk. These guidelines make you more likely to get a boy.

You want to limit things in your diet if you want a girl. Eat the more carbohydrate-heavy and nutrient-skimpy diet because carbohydrates provide our bodies with sugar and not much else. Grain products can provide B vitamins, magnesium and a few other nutrients, but really, when it comes to nutrient density, animal products are what give us the best bang for our buck. Grains are hard to digest and relatively nutrient-poor.  Women hoping for a girl typically look to grain products and get a minimum amount of protein a day from plant-based sources like beans.

Atomic Sagebrush recommends that a women trying to conceive a girl get around 1,700 calories a day because that is a level where she can safely conceive a baby and it doesn't impact fertility, but has still been shown to favor a girl conception.


Photo by juhansonin

Conceive a Girl by Lowering Your pH

Getting pregnant with a little girl is a wonderful thing -- daughters are so much fun!  Many women hope to conceive a girl, and want to know proven techniques to increase their chances.  Body pH, the measure of how acid or alkaline (base) your body is, holds a key to boosting your odds of getting a pink bundle.  Here's why it helps and how you can change it.

Why Go Low for a Girl?

Lower body pH means that your body is more acidic inside.  Acid or low pH greatly increases your chances of getting pregnant with a girl.

Sperm carry either XX or XY chromosomes.  Girl sperm, the sperm carrying the XX chromosome set, can swim and thrive in a more acidic environment than boy sperm do well in. 

By creating a body environment that's more acidic, you increase your chances that it will be the resilient female sperm that reach the egg.

Ways to Lower Your pH

Diet is a good strategy to use when you're trying to conceive a girl, and it's the best place to start lowering your pH.  A low-calorie diet that's high in grain products creates a more acidic environment in the body.  Plant-based proteins like beans and legumes also contribute to lower pH.

Cranberry is a proven supplement for lowering pH quickly.  You can use a standardized cranberry extract or drink unsweetened cranberry juice.  Some women find that cranberry causes them to have heavy periods.  If this is the case for you, consider lowering your dosage or just have a glass or two of juice every day.

Baby Aspirin is another supplement that women are using to help lower pH and conceive daughters.  It doesn't have any additional nutritional value (like cranberry does) and it does make your body more acidic.  It's also safe when you're trying to conceive and during early pregnancy (consult a doctor about late pregnancy).  It may also help prevent miscarriage.

Vitamin C may make your body more acidic and it's something to consider when you're trying for a girl.  Supplementing with any extra nutrients, however, may actually increase your chances of getting a boy.

Antihistamines / Sudafed:  Antihistamines are helpful because they dry up cervical mucus, which is very alkaline.  You want less cervical fluid if you're trying to conceive a girl.  They work quickly (some women find Sudafed more irritating to the stomach) and only need to be used a few days during your cycle.

Products like Replens and Rephresh can also be used around the days you're trying to conceive to help lower your pH levels quickly.   They may also help dry fertile fluids and can be discontinued after ovulation.



Photo by muffet