Can how much you eat influence your baby's gender?

A new study came out this week that's been getting buzz all over the internet, papers, magazines, and tv. The study from the UK found that women who ate breakfast and a higher quality diet with more vitamins and minerals were more likely to conceive boys than those who skipped the most-important-meal-of-the-day. They also ate more calories overall prior to conceiving - 2413 for boy mamas vs 2283 for girl mamas. (The boy moms were more likely to be exercising to use up the excess calories because there were no differences in weight or body size between the groups.) Of the 740 British women in the study, about 56% of the women in the highest third for calorie intake had boys versus about 45% of the women in the lowest third for calorie intake. Some researchers say that this makes sense as boys are more likely to be conceived in times of plenty because it takes more calories and nutrients to support the male embryo.
When I read these articles, I seriously thought it might be April 1st and it was all a big joke -- I mean it's the male sperm that determines the gender so why would the mom's diet make a difference? (After looking it up on the National Institutes of Health, it turns out the study is real and was just published.) But, maybe the mom's diet plays a role in which sperm gets to nab the coveted egg. Thinking about my own experience, I have 2 boys and know that I always eat breakfast and exercise regularly, so could it be true? Does this theory hold up for your experience?
Before you jump on the bandwagon and start eating more or less in the hopes of choosing the gender you want (if you're trying to conceive), there are definitely a few flaws I can see in the theory: 1) In developed countries, like the UK and US, there's always plenty -- in fact most of us eat too much -- so it would make sense that there should be more boys than girls, but that's not the case 2) the researchers site that women on diets are the reason for the trend that girl births outnumber boys in the last 40 years, yet calorie intake has increased for everyone (2283 calories for the moms of girl babies is more than anyone was eating 30 or 40 years ago -- doesn't seem like they were dieting. Calorie intake has been steadily increasing over time - women eat about 350 more calories per day on average than they did in 1970).
The bottomline is that more research is needed to confirm whether a mom's pre-conception diet can influence her baby's gender. The one thing we know for sure is adequate nutrition before and during pregnancy does increase the odds of having a well baby, regardless of the gender. So, eat breakfast and a balanced diet since a happy, healthy bundle of joy is the most important outcome of all.

The fat you need

If you're pregnant, nursing or had a baby in the last several years, hopefully your doctor recommended that you eat foods with DHA, and take a DHA supplement or a prenatal vitamin with DHA in it. DHA is one of those healthy omega-3 fats that has been shown to help with developing eye and brain function in babies - in the womb and out. It's passed along from the mom to baby in utero and in breastmilk. Many infant formulas are also fortified with the nutrient.
After sampling many products on the market, we've found a couple of decent-tasting ones that make it easier to choke down all the extra DHA you need during these critical times. Bellybar Chews are chocolate and citrus flavored supplements - similar in texture and taste to Viactiv - that have 50 mg of DHA in each (they also have calcium and vitamin D, which women tend to fall short on as well). While you need 200-300 mg of DHA each day, popping a couple here and there while including other foods with DHA (Eggland's Best fortified eggs have 100 mg each) may be more enjoyable than swallowing a DHA horse pill. Another good choice that gives you all of your DHA in one shot is Coromega liquid supplements. They taste good straight or you can mix one into your OJ.