yogurtWhat if you could determine the gender of your child just by eating the right foods? Would you go for it and eat differently to make sure you get a boy -- or a girl?

In a Dutch study pregnant women went on a special "baby girl" diet high in magnesium and calcium. The women filled up on foods like greens, dark green veggies, goat cheese, nuts, yogurt, and rice pudding. They also avoided eating high-potassium, boy-making foods like bananas and high-sodium foods like olives.

So did it work? Girl, you'd better check this out ...

It sure looks like it worked. Of 32 women who followed through in the study, 26 had girls.

Anet Noorlander, a researcher who ran the study at Delft and Maastricht Universities, says, "People now know that if they do everything we have suggested, their chances of having a girl will improve dramatically. This method is experimental, but we have proved it works."

A few other details to keep in mind are that all of the women had previously given birth to boys. Plus, diet was just half of the study; the couples also had to have sex well before ovulation.

Sounds simple enough, right? Well, the study began with 150 couples. Of that group, only 32 managed to live by the sex-timing and diet rules. Noorlander concluded, "It is important that both diet and timing are followed correctly, which requires of the mother both willpower and meticulousness." Many women have a hard enough time following a "don't eat your way to a 60-pound weight gain" diet, never mind a diet based on foods they may not be craving!

Willpower and meticulousness -- not exactly every pregnant woman's forte, if memory of my own pregnancy serves.

Would you be willing to follow a specific diet to get the gender you want?

Image via love<3janine/Flickr.