Nutrition and Sex Determination

 

Definition

Sex determination is the efforts made for attainment of the desired sex in the newborn through different scientific methods.

Necessity

necessities of sex determination are important due to some reasons including incidence birth of infants with the sex-specific diseases (such as hemophilia, favism, Duchenne dystrophy, Lesch–Nyhan syndrome, Ectodermal dysplasia) and the sequential maternal physical and psychological disorders, changing in sex ratio in some countries and the economic and social problems caused by these changes.

Literature Review

Based on some previous studies, the success rate of using the nutritional recommendations is 80%. The influence of several factors, as contributing factors, like race, season, smoking, stress, psychological status of parents at the time of intercourse and exposure of parents to environmental pollutants and even the effect of caffeine on sexual hormones has been expressed in determination of sex ratio. Diet has been considered for sex determination because of availability, cheapness and lack of especial equipment.

Mechanism

No exact mechanism has explained sex determination by diet. Some studies have reported the effect of maternal nutritional factors such as body mass index, muscular index, waist-to-hip ratio, energy intake and micronutrients in the mother's diet on sex ratio.

Dietary recommendations

It is worth noting that the role of diet in sex determination is not definite.

Dietary factors that increase the chance of a male infant birth

• Consuming high energy before pregnancy
• Consuming more omega-3 containing oils like fish oil and purslane

• Consuming potassium and sodium containing foods, such as: citrus fruits, Armenian plum, pineapple, banana, peach, pear, apple, greengage, plum, cucumber, date palm, cherry, raspberry, strawberry, Persian melon, common fig, natural fruit juice and vegetable juice, beans, artichoke, tomato, onion, red beet, olive, mushroom, cabbage, corn, green pea, potato, wheat bran, chives, canned fish, ham, chestnut, low-alcohol beer, butter, coffee, tea and chicory extract.

Dietary factors that increase the chance of a female infant birth

• Consumption of low energy foods that have less nutrients
• Consumption of omega-6 containing oils, like sunflower, soybean and other liquid oils
• Consumption of calcium and magnesium and vitamin D which is necessary for proper absorption of calcium, such as: cheese, yogurt, milk, egg, almond, peanut without salt, walnut, green bean, garden asparagus, green lettuce, macaroni, meat(100 grams per day) and  steam cooked fish
• Decrease consumption of salt, drink coffee and tea light in low amounts.

Attention: these nutritional recommendations need to be applied 2 months before pregnancy

 

Adjusting the time of conception and diet to sex determination

In this method it is recommended that you measure the basal body temperature after awakening in the morning from 4 to 6 cycles before pregnancy. Duration the ovulation the body has the biggest drop in temperature. This method has a success rate of 57%.

For having a male child, intercourse must be on the day of ovulation or one day after it.

For having a female child, intercourse must not to be from 2 days before ovulation to several days after it.

The role of minerals in sex determination

In this method, balance of potassium and sodium compared to magnesium and calcium is effective in changing the uterine status and the formation of male or female embryo. This diet should start 9 months before pregnancy and continues until the affirmation of pregnancy.