Health

Want A Baby Boy? Not Exercising, Eating Breakfast Might Help

Fox News interviewed a doctor who said women who want to have a baby boy should eat breakfast and skip the cardio.

Want A Baby Boy? Not Exercising, Eating Breakfast Might Help
musicfanatic29 / CC BY 2.0

OK, so this story isn't quite to the level of people designing their own babies.

"Genetics. What can it mean? The ability to perfect the physical and mental characteristics of every unborn child."

But apparently, you might be able to influence your baby's gender.

Fox News played a "Fact or Fiction" game with a specialist in women's health, Dr. Nancy Simpkins:

"If you want a boy, eat breakfast," Fox News anchor Elisabeth Hasselbeck said.

"That is fact because the Y-chromosome tends to like a higher glucose environment," Dr. Nancy Simpkins said.

A 2008 study backs up the doctor. Women who ate cereal in the morning were more likely to have a baby boy thanks to the glucose.

But wait. There's more! 

"For a boy, ditch the cardio," Hasselbeck said.

"This is true. ... If you're doing a lot of cardio and you're dropping weight, it may not be so conducive to having a boy," Simpkins responded.

We actually couldn't find anything to back up that claim. The doctor also mentioned if the father drinks caffeine, the sperm carrying the Y chromosome swims faster and results in more boys.

Although that coffee theory sounds more like an old wives' tale. And if we're gonna follow those, women wanting a baby girl should eat chocolate, and for a baby boy, they should eat red meat.

Wives tales involving gender are just the tip of the iceberg. How about this one: Eat yams to have twins. Or, drink cough syrup to speed up conception. If you're looking to improve your odds of conceiving, snack on some raw eggs, hot sauce and grapefruit juice. What?

This video includes images from Berit Watkin / CC BY 2.0Siona Karen / CC BY 2.0 and Ronald Sarayudej / CC BY 2.0.