UPDATE JULY 2, 2019 4:58 PM EST:
- Updated headline of "Pregnant Women Who Eat Bananas Have A Higher Chance Of Having A Boy, Study Says" to "Pregnant Women Who Have A Higher Caloric Diet Are More Likely To Have Boys, Study Finds".
- The study mentioned only measured energy intake on expectant mothers, not specifically potassium levels. They found that 56 percent of women in the high calorie group gave birth to boys.
- Women in the study who birthed sons ate an average of 180 calories more per day than those who had daughters — "the equivalent of eating a banana", the researcher says.
ORIGINAL STORY 6/30/2017:
A quick scroll through the Delish recipe archives reveals we're pretty obsessed with bananas over here. They're the key ingredient in some of our favorite treats: pudding, bread, good-for-you ice cream — we could go on forever, so we'll cut ourselves off. But thanks to an old wive's tale, a certain group of people won't ever touch those foods.
A rumor's been circulating for years that eating bananas before conception will increase your chances of having a boy. And some soon-to-be-pregnant women will do anything to have a girl, including cutting out the fruit altogether. Like many other anecdotes of the sort, most people chalk it up to crazy ladies propagating stories that the generation before them told … and the generation before that, and so on. But a study found that there may actually be a little truth to the ditty.
Researchers surveyed 740 women during their first pregnancy and found that those with a diet high in potassium (one of the main vitamins in bananas) were more likely to have a boy. The same was said for women who had higher calorie and sodium intakes. One myth that was debunked: Drinking plenty of milk will increase your chances of having a girl. High levels of calcium were linked to the birth of a boy.
You could listen to the fodder and change your diet — or just hope for a happy, healthy baby.
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