Alkaline foods list for baby boy

Different Theories and If They're True

Diet to Conceive a Boy: Different Theories and If They're True

Medically reviewed by Katherine Marengo LDN, R.D., Nutrition — By Scott Frothingham on September 30, 2020

Do you have your heart set on having a boy? Looking for a way to stack the odds in your favor? Heard that changing your diet may help?

There’s no proven evidence for a special diet to conceive a boy — or, for that matter, to conceive a girl. According to the Mayo Clinic, “There’s not much the average couple can do to affect a baby’s sex.”

But there are some proponents who believe otherwise. Here, we take a look at the theories and their evidence — or lack thereof.

“Sex” and “gender” are evolving terms. In this article, biological sex refers to a baby’s X and Y chromosomes, with XX determining female and XY determining male.

Although there’s no clinical proof that changing your diet can help you conceive a boy, there are many supporters of traditional and natural remedies that feel it can. One of the most popular suggestions supported by anecdotal information is to make your body more alkaline.

This unproven remedy suggests that people with a more alkaline (high pH) “environment” are more likely to conceive a boy. This method recommends:

increasing intake of fresh fruits and vegetables
increasing intake of foods that contain potassium, such as bananas, salmon, avocados
increasing foods with high alkalinity, such as citrus fruits, root vegetables, nuts
avoiding dairy products

While there’s no evidence backing this theory, there’s rarely any harm in adding fresh fruits and veggies to your diet!

If you want to conceive a girl, on the other hand, this theory suggests increasing your body’s acidity.

A 2008 study of 740 women concluded there was a higher probability of having a male baby when the mother increased her calorie intake and ate breakfast cereals. Researchers hypothesized that this may be because higher blood glucose levels favor having a boy.

However, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) suggests the conclusions of this study include inaccuracies that make it “ill advised” to suggest that increasing a woman’s caloric intake and eating breakfast cereals could increase chances of having a boy.

Different folks have different opinions about having a boy or girl. For some parents, it’s about balancing out their family with boy children and girl children. According to a 2011 Gallup poll, the most popular reasons for wanting a boy include:

men can relate to males better and have more in common (23 percent)
boys can carry on the family name (20 percent)
boys are easier to raise (17 percent)

With reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilization (IVF), you might have high-tech options such as sperm sorting and preimplantation genetic screening to improve your chances of having a boy. Sex selection done this way is much more common now than it was just a few years ago, when Chrissy Teigen and John Legend did it.

However, this practice has a wide range of ethical, religious, legal, and social implications and is considered controversial. If you’re doing IVF and have this option, keep in mind that it’s not necessarily a purely medical decision.

Planning on getting pregnant? You might have heard that certain diets can impact fertility.

There have been studies about the relationship of diet to fertility, but they lack the details to be of real use to people trying to conceive. For example, there’s positive fertility impact of vitamins and minerals such as folic acid, omega-fatty acid, and vitamin B12, but it’s not always clear how much of these supplements to take.

It’s good for both men and women to eat a healthy diet whether they’re trying to get pregnant or not. Prenatal vitamins (with vitamin B12 and folic acid) are already routinely recommended for people trying to conceive.

This desire to have a baby of a specific sex is often met with suggestions that haven’t been clinically proven, such as changing your diet one way to increase your chance of having a girl or another way to have a boy. However, there’s no scientific evidence that this works.

If you’re focused on having a boy, talk to your doctor about your hopes. They may have a suggestion or two and, importantly, they’ll have advice and recommendations on helping you have a healthy, happy baby, whether it turns out to be a boy or a girl.

Last medically reviewed on September 30, 2020

Parenthood
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Pregnancy Health

How we vetted this article:

Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Eat less for a girl, more for a boy? (2008).
nhs.uk/news/pregnancy-and-child/eat-less-for-a-girl-more-for-a-boy/
Livingston G. (2013). The odds that you will give birth to a boy or girl depend on where in the world you live.
pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/09/24/the-odds-that-you-will-give-birth-to-a-boy-or-girl-depend-on-where-in-the-world-you-live/
Mathews F, et al. (2008). You are what your mother eats: Evidence for maternal preconception diet influencing foetal sex in humans.
researchgate.net/publication/5421539_You_Are_What_Your_Mother_Eats_Evidence_for_Maternal_Preconception_Diet_Influencing_Foetal_Sex_in_Humans
Newport F. (2011). Americans prefer boys to girls, just as they did in 1941.
news.gallup.com/poll/148187/americans-prefer-boys-girls-1941.aspx
Tobah YB. (2019). Can you choose your baby's sex?
mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/getting-pregnant/expert-answers/babys-sex/faq-20058219

Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

Current Version

Sep 30, 2020

Scott Frothingham

Edited By

Jessica Jondle

Medically Reviewed By

Katherine Marengo, LDN, RD

Copy Edited By

Kara Williams

Share this article

Medically reviewed by Katherine Marengo LDN, R. D., Nutrition — By Scott Frothingham on September 30, 2020

Different Theories and If They're True

Diet to Conceive a Boy: Different Theories and If They're True

Medically reviewed by Katherine Marengo LDN, R.D., Nutrition — By Scott Frothingham on September 30, 2020

Do you have your heart set on having a boy? Looking for a way to stack the odds in your favor? Heard that changing your diet may help?

But there are some proponents who believe otherwise. Here, we take a look at the theories and their evidence — or lack thereof.

“Sex” and “gender” are evolving terms. In this article, biological sex refers to a baby’s X and Y chromosomes, with XX determining female and XY determining male.

This unproven remedy suggests that people with a more alkaline (high pH) “environment” are more likely to conceive a boy. This method recommends:

increasing intake of fresh fruits and vegetables
increasing intake of foods that contain potassium, such as bananas, salmon, avocados
increasing foods with high alkalinity, such as citrus fruits, root vegetables, nuts
avoiding dairy products

While there’s no evidence backing this theory, there’s rarely any harm in adding fresh fruits and veggies to your diet!

If you want to conceive a girl, on the other hand, this theory suggests increasing your body’s acidity.

men can relate to males better and have more in common (23 percent)
boys can carry on the family name (20 percent)
boys are easier to raise (17 percent)

Planning on getting pregnant? You might have heard that certain diets can impact fertility.

Last medically reviewed on September 30, 2020

Parenthood
Becoming a Parent
Pregnancy Health

How we vetted this article:

Eat less for a girl, more for a boy? (2008).
nhs.uk/news/pregnancy-and-child/eat-less-for-a-girl-more-for-a-boy/
Livingston G. (2013). The odds that you will give birth to a boy or girl depend on where in the world you live.
pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/09/24/the-odds-that-you-will-give-birth-to-a-boy-or-girl-depend-on-where-in-the-world-you-live/
Mathews F, et al. (2008). You are what your mother eats: Evidence for maternal preconception diet influencing foetal sex in humans.
researchgate.net/publication/5421539_You_Are_What_Your_Mother_Eats_Evidence_for_Maternal_Preconception_Diet_Influencing_Foetal_Sex_in_Humans
Newport F. (2011). Americans prefer boys to girls, just as they did in 1941.
news.gallup.com/poll/148187/americans-prefer-boys-girls-1941.aspx
Tobah YB. (2019). Can you choose your baby's sex?
mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/getting-pregnant/expert-answers/babys-sex/faq-20058219

Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

Current Version

Sep 30, 2020

Scott Frothingham

Edited By

Jessica Jondle

Medically Reviewed By

Katherine Marengo, LDN, RD

Copy Edited By

Kara Williams

Share this article

Medically reviewed by Katherine Marengo LDN, R.D., Nutrition — By Scott Frothingham on September 30, 2020

Alkaline foods: list, table, rules of use

Alkaline diet: truth or publicity stunt
Why alkaline foods are needed
The main thing is the right combination
List of the best and worst alkaline foods
- strongly alkalizing
- alkalizing
- weakly alkalizing
- slightly acidic
- acidic
- highly acidic

Many concepts in nutrition are demonized and taken out of context, so sometimes they don't sound quite right. Since humans are omnivores, we consume both animal and plant foods. Any food of animal origin is acidic. Food of plant origin is alkaline, and the combination of acid and alkali results in neutralization and balance. We tell how this affects our body, and also give a table of alkaline and acidic foods.

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Alkaline diet: truth or publicity stunt

Every body environment has a strictly defined pH - the level of acidity. For example, the most acidic level of acidity is in the stomach, where aggressive gastric juice is formed, which helps a person digest food. Blood, lymph, intercellular substance, skin surface, mucous membranes of various organs have strictly their own programmed pH level and this level is unchanged.

In ordinary life, these levels can shift by hundredths - this is not critical. If a person's environment is significantly shifted, then this person is a resuscitation patient. Therefore, in conventional laboratories, pH is not measured, it is only needed for resuscitation. In a healthy person, the pH balance is uniquely programmed by nature, but due to various phenomena, such as excess carbohydrate food, excessive refined food, large amounts of salt, food additives, lack of sleep, alcohol, smoking, poor environment, increased stress levels and constant deadlines, as well as all chronic diseases, including obesity, give us high acidity. There is even such a thing as an "acid person" - a tired person with gray skin, edema. Due to the wrong lifestyle, the level of acidity rises and the aging process starts in the body. In this case, it will be useful to alkalize the body - the use of any plant products that have a slightly alkaline environment, that is, pH- (minus). When the body is alkalized, any plants will be friends to us.

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Also do not rank various vegetables and fruits according to their alkalinity. There are a lot of tablets that are invented by nutritionists. They are not doctors, so you should not be guided by such signs, but you should perceive them only as a beautiful advertising substrate.

Let us recall, for example, Dr. Herbert Shelton, the founder of the separate food system, which still has many adherents. So, Dr. Shelton is an adventurer who worked without a license and starved many of his patients to death. Many lawsuits were filed against him, he was in prison several times, even ran for the presidency of America. He created an illiterate medical system of separate meals, because this system was created by an adventurer, not a doctor. Roughly the same thing is happening now. Dividing by pH is all trickery, but there is some truth to it.

It is definitely harmful if a person eats only animal food in his diet, combining it with highly refined, for example, fast food. In everyday life, healthy people do not eat like this. Ideal healthy food is a combination of the right animal and plant foods. For example, a side dish of seasonal vegetables, fresh or stewed, is ideal for meat or fish.

Why do we need alkaline foods

There are a lot of queries on the Internet about "which foods are alkaline". This is a category that neutralizes acids and regulates the acid-base balance. Almost all vegetables and fruits, with the exception of potatoes, beans, cherries, blueberries, cranberries and prunes, belong to the category. When alkalizing the body, you should add broccoli, asparagus, vegetable juices, onions, raw spinach to your diet, since they are the richest in alkaline-forming properties.

Do not forget that for normal life the body must receive all the necessary nutrients, that is, consume not only alkaline products that reduce acidity - acidifying must also be present in the diet. However, the use of some of them should be limited, for example, highly acidic ones include: potatoes, sugar, chocolate, meat, white rice, flour products, coffee, as well as beer and soft drinks. Excessive consumption of highly acidic foods shifts the pH to the acid side and negatively affects the general condition of the body.

The main thing is the right combination

Any vegetable food has alkaline properties, while animal food is slightly acidic. When we skillfully combine them, we get a balanced diet. When our nourishment deviates into some more preferred food, we become sick. For example, if a person constantly eats fatty foods, he may develop obesity, gout, swelling and other diseases. At the same time, if a person becomes an orthodox zealous vegetarian and eats only plant foods, he will have even more diseases, for example, a decrease in hormonal levels, anemia, protein deficiency, weak immune system resistance, and others. Therefore, balance is important in nutrition.

Alkaline foods for the human body: a list of the best and worst

Classification of foods based on their effect on the body's pH balance.

Strongly alkalizing

Fruit	lemon, watermelon, lime, grapefruit, mango, papaya
Vegetables, legumes	asparagus, onion, vegetable juices, parsley, garlic, raw spinach, broccoli
Drinks	herbal teas, lemon water

Alkaline

Fruit	dates, figs, melons, grapes, papaya, kiwi, berries, apples, pears, raisins
Vegetables, legumes	pumpkin, green beans, beetroot, sweet potato, celery, lettuce, zucchini
Nuts, seeds	almonds
Oils	linseed oil
Eggs, dairy products	breast milk
Drinks	green tea

Slightly alkalizing

Sweets, sweeteners	fresh honey, raw sugar
Fruit	oranges, bananas, cherries, pineapple, peaches, avocados
Vegetables, legumes	carrots, tomatoes, fresh corn, mushrooms, cabbage, peas, potatoes with skins, olives, soybeans, tofu
Nuts, seeds	chestnuts
Oils	rapeseed oil
Cereals	amaranth, millet, wild rice, quinoa
Eggs, dairy products	soy cheese, soy milk, goat milk, goat cheese, whey
Drinks	ginger tea

Slightly acidic

Sweets, sweeteners	processed honey, molasses
Fruit	plums, canned fruit juices
Vegetables, legumes	cooked spinach, beans
Nuts, seeds	pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds
Oils	corn oil
Cereals	sprouted wheat bread, spelt, brown rice
Meat, fish, seafood	venison, fish from cold seas
Eggs, dairy products	eggs, butter, yoghurt, buttermilk, cottage cheese
Drinks	tea

Acidifiers

Sweets, sweeteners	white sugar, brown sugar
Fruit	cherry
Vegetables, legumes	potatoes (no skin), variegated beans, white beans, crescent beans, rhubarb
Nuts, seeds	pecan, cashew
Cereals	white rice, corn, buckwheat, oats, rye
Meat, fish, seafood	turkey, chicken, lamb
Eggs, dairy products	raw milk
Drinks	coffee

Strongly acidic

Sweets, sweeteners:	nutrasvit, aspartame
Fruit:	blueberries, cranberries, prunes
Vegetables, legumes	cocoa, chocolate
Nuts, seeds	peanuts, walnuts
Cereals	wheat, white flour, biscuits, pasta
Meat, fish, seafood	beef, pork, shellfish
Eggs, dairy products	cheese, homogenized milk, ice cream
Drinks	beer, soft drinks

Author

Elena Tikhomirova

Therapist, nutritionist "SM-Clinic"

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list of alkaline foods.

Acidic and alkaline foods.

Contents

Alkaline foods: table
Benefits of alkaline foods
Sugar oxidizes the body
Professor Neumyvakin on alkaline foods
1. Drink plenty of water
2. Avoid overeating
3. Chew food thoroughly
4. Maintain the acid-base balance in the body
Examples of alkaline products

Bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, pathogens simply cannot survive in the alkaline environment of the body. On the contrary, they feel good in an acidic environment, this is an excellent environment not only for their comfortable life, but also for active reproduction.

To shift the acid-base balance of the body in the direction of alkali, it is recommended to follow three recommendations. First of all, avoid negative emotions . Emotions such as fear, aggression, hatred, resentment, jealousy, despondency, and so on have an acidifying effect on the body. Controlling your emotions is the first step to a healthy body, mind, and mind. The second factor is breathing, slow and deep breathing contributes to the gradual alkalization of the body. Well, the last recommendation - you need change your diet .

The acid-base balance of the foods we consume determines the Ph of our body. Alkaline foods in the diet lead to an increase in Ph levels and, as a result, to better health. Conversely, foods that lower the Ph level promote the reproduction of bacteria, viruses, parasites and the development of many diseases.

Healthy alkaline foods are the key to health. And in order to control the acid-base balance of the body, you should figure out which foods are alkaline and which are acidic. The high Ph of alkaline foods allows you to "block" the use of acidic foods, if they are in the minority in the diet. So, let's try to figure out which foods are alkaline?

As mentioned above, the acid-base balance of foods affects the Ph of our body. Thus, to eliminate health problems, it is enough to find out which foods create an alkaline environment, and then follow such an “alkaline diet”. The list of alkaline foods mainly consists of fruits and vegetables, and this is not surprising - such foods are the most natural and healthy for us.

So, consider the table of alkaline products according to the degree of alkalization:

Sour	Neutral	Alkaline
Meat	spring water	Greens
Fish	river water	Berries
Eggs	Tap water	Fruit
refined sugar	Vegetable oils	Vegetables
Alcoholic drinks	Honey	Dried fruits
Dairy		Asparagus
Alcohol		cayenne pepper
Sparkling water
nuts
Legumes
Cereals

Alkaline foods allow you to increase the level of Ph, thereby creating an unfavorable environment for bacteria, viruses, parasites, and so on. Acid environment is almost the cause of any disease. A low Ph level is unfavorable for the body, so the body begins to artificially alkalize itself, which leads to an overuse of such important trace elements as calcium, magnesium, zinc, and so on. This leads to the fact that these trace elements are washed out of the tissues of the body.

Back in the last century, the German biochemist Otto Warburg noticed a connection between the formation of tumors and the acid-base balance of the body. So cancer cells actively multiply in an acidic environment and, on the contrary, in an alkaline environment, they die in just a few hours.

It is important to understand that nutrition alone cannot solve the problem, but the exclusion of blood-acidifying foods from the diet will already allow you to take a step towards a healthy life. Animal products have the most acidifying effect. Meat, fish, eggs - to a greater extent, to a lesser extent - dairy products. Also, flour products lower the Ph level.

It is not for nothing that we have been told from childhood about the dangers of sweets. You can often hear that eating a lot of sweets leads to tooth decay. And there is such a popular misconception that sweets have only a direct harmful effect on the teeth, which is easy to neutralize by brushing your teeth. Alas, the sweet has an effect primarily through the acidification of the blood. Refined sugar greatly lowers the pH of the blood, which in turn leads, as mentioned above, to the leaching of calcium, including from the teeth. Therefore, the consumption of sweets leads to the destruction of teeth, bones, nails, and so on.

Alas, not even all plant foods are alkaline. So highly concentrated protein also acidifies the blood, so nuts, seeds, legumes lower the Ph level, but to a much lesser extent than the above products do. Therefore, the use of nuts, seeds and legumes is acceptable, but they should not be abused. The same applies to cereals, they have a slight acidifying effect on the body.

When it comes to alkaline foods, fruits, berries and vegetables, and greens remain the most popular alkaline foods. The use of these products in their raw form will gradually shift the acid-base balance of the body towards alkali.

Of course, eating only raw vegetables, fruits and berries is not a diet for everyone. Therefore, their content in the diet is recommended to be at least 70%, and the rest of the food can be represented by traditional thermally processed dishes, but preferably without strong acidifiers: meat, fish and eggs. And it is also desirable to minimize the use of starchy foods and sweets, ideally completely eliminated.

Ivan Neumyvakin is the head of the department of medical support for space flights at the Institute of Biomedical Problems. Studying the health problems of astronauts, he came to the conclusion that diseases do not exist, there are only the consequences of an unhealthy and self-destructive lifestyle.

First of all, Neumyvakin advises to drink plenty of water - 1. 5-2 liters per day to flush out toxins from the body. He recommends drinking water on an empty stomach 15 minutes before meals, but at the same time refraining from drinking water during or immediately after meals. “Water” in this case refers to pure water. Tea, coffee, etc. are not included here.

The second main recommendation is to avoid overeating and eat only when there is an appetite. It is important to distinguish between psychological and physical hunger. Chewing something delicious is more of a thirst for emotions and pleasant sensations, rather than hunger. According to Neumyvakin, a person overeats an average of four to five times!

Neumyvakin also recommends chewing food thoroughly to a completely liquid state. Firstly, it allows you to moisten food with saliva, which already starts the process of its assimilation, and, secondly, well-chewed food, in principle, is better digested.

But Neumyvakin considered the most important rule to maintain the acid-base balance in the body , and for this, in his opinion, the diet should contain 75% alkaline food and 25% acidic. To alkaline foods, he attributed fruits, young green peas and beans, as well as berries and vegetables.

The most acidic, according to Neumyvakin, are absolutely all fats of animal origin - meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, sausages, and so on. Also, acid products, according to Neumyvakin, should include flour products, both bakery and pasta. He also recommends avoiding refined sugar.

Consider three products for their effects on the body.

Lemon

Lemon - alkaline or acidic? Surely most will say that this is an acidic product. But, oddly enough, this is not the case. The fact is that the acidity or alkalinity of a product is not determined at all by its taste, but by how this product affects the body during biochemical reactions during digestion - whether it alkalizes or acidifies it. And lemon is an alkaline food. It is worth saying that the use of lemon in its pure form in large quantities can adversely affect tooth enamel: lemon juice acts extremely aggressively on it, thinning and contributing to the appearance of cracks. Therefore, the best option would be to use lemon water - lemon juice diluted in water to taste. This will have a good alkalizing effect.

Ginger

Another example is ginger. It also has an alkalizing effect on the body. You can use it by adding it to different dishes, or add chopped ginger to tea. But it is worth noting that it has a very specific taste, which not everyone will like.

Buckwheat

Here a question may arise based on the foregoing, because we attributed cereals to slightly acidic products. Yes that's right. But also, as in the case of lemon, a slight cognitive dissonance awaits us again - buckwheat is not a cereal. Relatively speaking, buckwheat can be attributed ... to vegetables. At least, this is a herbaceous plant, which is a close "relative", for example, sorrel. And buckwheat seeds are what we used to call buckwheat.

However, it is worth noting that the brown buckwheat we are used to is steamed buckwheat seeds, and heat treatment leads to the fact that the product subsequently has an acidifying effect on the body. Weak, but there. Therefore, only green buckwheat can be attributed to alkalizing products, this is less common on sale, but it is more useful in terms of an alkaline diet. In addition, in a product that has not been subjected to heat treatment, more useful substances are retained.

So, we examined the main types of products and their division according to the principle of alkalization / acidification of the body. It is clear that it is not so easy to drastically change your diet. All that can be recommended is to gradually increase the percentage of raw plant foods in the diet: fruits, vegetables, berries, and also drink juices from these products, they are perfectly absorbed, saturate the body with vitamins and alkalize it perfectly. But the use of animal products, if possible, is best minimized, and it is better to completely exclude from the diet. But the most important thing is a positive attitude, non-susceptibility to negative emotions, a smile on the face, joy in the heart and a benevolent attitude towards the world.