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Want a baby girl? Eat these foods
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This study basically recommends couples eat foods like ice cream if they want a baby girl. Sounds chill. - photo by Herb Scribner
Your grandma probably has hundreds of old wives' tales on how you can make sure you give birth to a girl.

But science might have a better tip: eat ice cream.

The study, which looked at the births of 32 couples, found that eating ice cream or foods low in potassium and sodium but high in calcium and magnesium, like ice cream led women to have more girls, The Telegraph reported.

To find this, researchers had 32 couples follow a gender selection plan, for which couples were asked to have sex at certain times and undergo dietary changes. They found that 81 percent of couples who ate foods that had low potassium and sodium, but had a lot of calcium and magnesium, were more likely to have baby girls.

The study found foods like yogurt, hard cheeses or spinach (high in calcium) are beneficial for parents if they want to have a baby girl, as are cashew nuts, beans and whole wheat cereals (lots of magnesium), Daily Mail reported.

This isnt the first study to find that couples who eat certain foods are more likely to have a baby of a certain sex over another. A five-year study of European women ages 23 to 42 found that women who lessened the amount of salt in their diets and ate dairy products instead were more likely to give birth to girls, Daily Mail reported.

The results show that both diet and timing methods increase the probability of a girl the impact of the diet being the most pronounced, a spokesman told Daily Mail. It shows a substantial success rate when both methods are applied correctly.

The diet is a little different for women who want to have boys. As The Telegraph reported in 2010, eating breakfast and foods with a lot of fat during the early stages of pregnancy can help you have a boy. This follows the old adage of bacon for boys, since fatty and high-calorie foods favor male births. It changed the odds of having a boy from 10 in 20 births to 11.

Researchers analyzed the genes in pregnant mice to see how diets high in carbohydrates and low in calories affected the sex of their babies. They found that these foods can change pregnancy among mice, and would then affect women, too, The Telegraph reported.

They just werent sure why.

"The reason why a maternal high fat, low carbohydrate diet favours survival of sons and a maternal low fat, high carbohydrate diet results in more daughters continues to elude us, the researchers told The Telegraph. The effect was such that the more women ate the more likely she was to have a boy.

This study came two years after a similar study found foods with higher energy that means more calcium, potassium, and vitamins C, E and B12 were more likely to yield baby boys.

Still, these findings fit into the larger trend of mothers sharing different tips and suggestions about how to best give birth to a specific gender. The research doesn't stop people everyone from your Grandma to the stranger in your gynecologist's waiting room from suggesting a variety of approaches to influence the sex of your unborn child, according to WebMD.

As more research is being done, doctors continually suggest to families that theres always a 50-50 chance of having either gender, and that your diet doesnt really matter in trying to have one gender baby over another.

"I tell them it's 50-50, Dr. Richard P. Frieder told WebMD. The reality is there is nothing you can do that really matters."
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New Medicare cards are in the mail and scammers are on the prowl
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has begun mailing new Medicare Health Insurance ID cards. The program no longer uses Social Security numbers to identify people. - photo by Lois M Collins
The federal government is beginning to send out new ID cards to the 58 million Americans who benefit from Medicare. But since many of the people who will receive them don't know they're coming or why, scammers are already gearing up to take advantage.

An AARP survey shows as many as three-fourths of Americans 65 and older have no idea the cards are coming, so some individuals may be duped with claims that they're supposed to pay a fee or provide personal information that will be used, instead, to defraud them.

The new cards are the first reissue in years, and the most striking part of the redesign is that the cards no longer carry the beneficiary's Social Security number. Congress mandated the removal of that number as an identifier for Medicare beneficiaries by next April. Instead, the card has a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier number, an 11-digit combination of numbers and letters.

The new Medicare cards are now being mailed out in batches, starting with the Eastern seaboard and moving west. Most Medicare beneficiaries will receive their cards over the next six months, as long as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has their correct mailing address. Once the cards are in hand, people can share the new identification number with their health care providers. During a transition period, either card is valid.

The old cards, which used Social Security numbers as the personal identification number, should be destroyed.

AARP recently launched an education campaign to warn consumers about scams related to the new Medicare cards.

The membership organization's "Fraud Watch" consultant, Frank Abagnale reformed con man, scammer and the subject of the movie and book "Catch Me If You Can" tells senior citizens the only time they need to carry the actual Medicare card is to health care appointments. Otherwise, it should be left in a safe place. If they want to carry one in their wallet or purse, he says, make a copy and black out the first seven numbers.

Since the cards were announced, scammers have already:

  • Called seniors and asked for their bank account information so that money on their old card could be returned. There is no money on the old card and CMS never asks for personal information over the phone.
  • Offered to send the new card after Medicare beneficiaries pay a $25 fee to cover expenses related to the card. The card is free.
  • Said the card will be mailed out as soon as the older person verifies his or her Social Security number, mailing address and other personal information. CMS already knows the beneficiary's Social Security number and it's no longer being used in conjunction with health care.
AARP and the Federal Trade Commission will hold a free online seminar about the cards and the fraud attempts they have spawned on Thursday, April 19, at 7 p.m. EDT. Register at: www.aarp.org/FraudWebinar. CMS also offers a "frequently asked questions" guide to the new cards.

The AARP Fraud Watch Network says consumers can sign up for its Watchdog Alert emails that deliver breaking scam information, or call a free helpline at 877-908-3360 to speak with volunteers trained in fraud counseling. Abagnale also hosts a weekly podcast for AARP, called The Perfect Scam.
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