Should I Eat Breakfast Cereal to Conceive a Son Or Boy?

I often write articles that help couples chose their baby's gender. The other day, I got an email from a woman who asked me: "should I be eating a heavy breakfast or cereal if I want to conceive a boy?" I'll answer this question (and give you an explanation of my answer) in the following article.

The Study That Linked Breakfast Cereal And Conceiving Boys: The source behind the reader's question was a 2008 survey which followed only 740 pregnancies. The study found that women who had higher energy sources (more calories) conceived boys a very SLIGHTLY higher percent of the time. This higher amount of calories often included breakfast.

The study indicated that of the women who ate cereal each and every day, fifty nine percent had boys. This gives you about a nine percent advantage over the approximate 50 / 50 odds that are typical. So, these odds are not that statistically significant, but it certainly can't hurt to consume cereal. However, I'd like to explain to you why cereal may be effective and how you can use this knowledge to raise your odds to higher than ninety percent (which are odds that are statistically significant.)

The reason that cereal may help is that it's often high in sodium, potassium, and calcium. These substances are generally alkalizing which means that they will lower your body's acidity. Why is this important? Because the sperm that produces a boy are weak. They can not withstand a vaginal PH that is high or acidic and will generally die off very quickly in this environment.

But, if you are able to lower your PH and acidity (which you can do through diet and douching), then you make your reproductive tract much more friendly to the boy sperm (who are also much faster than girl sperm.) So, if you can stack your vaginal tract with a nice supply of these fast little guys, then you've obviously upped your odds. Food lists, douche recipes, and PH testing strips can make this process a bit easier.

Other Things (Besides Cereal) That Can Help You Conceive A Boy: Lowering your PH is an important, necessary step. But, it's not the only one. Understand that if you want a son, your only goal is to really ensure that the Y (boy sperm) fertilizes your egg. Becoming more alkaline is one way to do this, but it's not the only way.

You also need to appropriately time your conception. Boy sperm don't live for long, so you want to conceive on the day of ovulation. If you go any earlier than this, you'll have these little guys in a weakened, deteriorated state where they aren't racing as fast as they should. Make sure you have a very reliable ovulation predictor (I like saliva) and use it. You really can't leave this to chance.

Finally, you'll want to use sexual positions that give you deep penetration. This allows the boy producing sperm less vulnerability, since they are spending less time in your vaginal tract and it takes them less time to get where they need to go.

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10 Foods Diabetics Should Avoid

Most diabetics know to avoid sugar. It only makes sense: if your blood sugar is too high you shouldn't complicate the situation by ingesting more of the same.

But sugar in your diet is not the only food that will raise your blood glucose. Carbohydrates and alcohol raise your blood sugar (blood glucose level) about as quickly as eating sugar straight from the bowl. Proteins and fat are converted into energy for the body as well but don't raise the blood sugar nearly as much nor nearly as quickly.

Of course, sugar in the blood is not exactly the same as sugar in your food. The human body uses glucose as its energy source. Table sugar is sucrose, fruit sugar is fructose, and milk sugar is lactose. There are other sugars as well, but basically these sugars are converted to glucose in the human body.

Not everyone has a sweet tooth, but I certainly do. It goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that diabetics should avoid eating anything made with sugar or high-fructose corn syrup including: candy, cake, cookies, ice cream, donuts, marshmallow cream, circus peanuts, soda pop, Kool-aid, sports drinks, sweet tea or fruit drinks, hot chocolate, caramel corn, candy corn, jello, pudding, Popsicles, sherbet, syrup, whipped cream, pie, Cracker Barrel chocolate cake, custard, jelly, Nutella, milkshakes, Captain Crunch, etc. If I missed your favorite, add it to the list.

The following 10 foods should be avoided as well.

1. White bread. The processed flour turns to glucose almost as quickly as sugar itself. In fact, white bread is rated the same as glucose on the glycemic index. The glycemic index is a ranking according to how quickly a particular food raises blood glucose levels. High is bad, low is good. Both glucose and white bread are rated 100. Stone-ground whole wheat bread and pumpernickel bread have a much lower glycemic index.

2. White bagels. They look a lot like white bread, don't they? The yummy bagels are much higher in calories than regular bread, too. Two slices of bread equals about 150 calories whereas a good-sized bagel is twice that. Not that you can't eat bagels, but get a whole-grain variety and remember that eating a big bagel is like eating 4 slices of toast.

3. Saltine crackers. If you were the baker, you'd notice that white bread, white bagels, and crackers all start off with white flour. The same is true of standard pretzels. Whole grain crackers and pretzels are better for diabetics and non-diabetics alike.

4. White potatoes. Strangely, sweet potatoes have a lower glyemic index and raise the blood sugar less than white potatoes do.

5. White rice. Are you noticing a pattern here? Some diabetic patients choose to avoid anything white.

6. Most breakfast cereal. Unless it's made with whole grains, breakfast cereal, too, will be processed like sugar. Even quick oatmeal raises blood sugar. Stone-cut oatmeal is much better for you and is now available in standard grocery stores, right next to the "regular" oatmeal. However, the stone-cut variety takes much longer to cook, easily half an hour or more to soften the grain to the consistency of regular oatmeal.

7. Instant pasta or macaroni mixes. Almost anything "instant" or processed breaks down into sugar more quickly than the natural forms.

8. Popcorn. Yes, another white item - however, amount is the key. A cup of popcorn (unbuttered) won't raise your blood sugar much whereas eating a large theater popcorn is like eating a few candy bars.

9. Sweet fruits. The especially sweet fruits like watermelon and pineapple contain more fruit-sugar than the less sweet fruits, but again, amount is the key. A few bites won't hurt you.

10. Alcohol. Not only does it elevate your blood sugar, but it may impair your judgment regarding your diabetes. Best to avoid this altogether.

Copyright 2010 Cynthia J. Koelker, M.D.

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