Can drinking weakly alkaline mineral water help you give birth to a son? Don’t believe it anymore…

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"Drinking weak alkaline mineral water can help you give birth to a son"

According to media reports, a certain brand of weakly alkaline natural mineral water was rumored online to be "birth water" that had the magical effect of helping women give birth to sons.

Rumor Analysis

This is a rumor.

As early as the 1970s, scientists had done relevant research, soaking X chromosome sperm and Y chromosome sperm in acidic and alkaline solutions respectively, and found that there was no significant difference in the activity of the two in acidic and alkaline environments. There is no such thing as "acidic constitution" or "alkaline constitution" in medicine.

Recently, according to media reports, a certain brand of mineral water was rumored to be "baby-giving water". It is said that women who drink this mineral water can give birth to sons. Such rumors not only spread widely on social platforms, but also sold out of stock. On September 2, the topic #Mineral water is rumored to give birth to sons and is sold out# became the number one hot search on Weibo. Many people in the comment area said that they did not believe it at first, but seeing so many people saying it is effective, they could not help but try it. Can a mineral water really determine gender? Of course not. In response, the brand's customer service also said that this product is just an ordinary mineral water and the related rumors have no scientific basis. The manufacturer also responded that such remarks are not company marketing, but personal behavior.

So, why is a brand of water associated with "giving birth to a son"? Behind this unscientific fact is actually a long-standing rumor.

Having a son or a daughter has nothing to do with acidity or alkalinity

The rumor that "drinking weak alkaline mineral water can give birth to a son" is actually a variation of the classic old rumor "eating more alkaline food is easy to give birth to a son". There are rumors that an alkaline physique can increase the probability of giving birth to a boy. The principle is that a weak alkaline environment is more suitable for the survival of Y chromosomes. The brand of mineral water that has been trending this time is not the first product to be praised as a "magic weapon for bringing a boy". Just search the shopping platform and you will find that there are many false propaganda products such as "adjusting physique to give birth to a boy" and "lively boys prefer alkaline mothers", such as high-alkaline pregnancy preparation tablets.

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According to research, the original source of such rumors was an American named Randum B. Shettles, who published two books full of pseudo-scientific content in the 1970s, which introduced some "techniques" for preparing for pregnancy that can influence the gender of the fetus. If you want to have a boy, you can use baking soda to wash your vulva, and if you want to have a girl, you need to use vinegar, etc. None of them is reliable, but it provides fertile ground for fraud. In fact, the boy or girl is destined at the moment of fertilization, and there is no scientific evidence to support the statement that "X sperm is acid-resistant and Y sperm is alkali-resistant". Under normal circumstances, a primary spermatocyte undergoes two meiotic divisions to generate 4 sperm, two sperm containing X chromosomes and two sperm containing Y chromosomes, and the ratio of these two sperm is 1:1. In other words, for each pregnancy, the probability of having a boy and a girl is the same. As early as the 1970s, scientists had done relevant research, soaking X chromosome sperm and Y chromosome sperm in acidic and alkaline solutions respectively, and found that there was no significant difference in the activity of the two in the acidic and alkaline environments. Other researchers have conducted animal experiments on this, treating rabbit sperm with solutions of different pH values, and then performing artificial insemination. Facts have proved that the gender of the rabbits born after the female rabbits are pregnant is no different from the results of natural conception. It can be seen that "acid gives birth to girls and alkaline gives birth to boys" is a completely fabricated rumor.

"Acid-base body type" is one of the biggest scams of the 21st century

From the root, the "acid-base body theory" is completely a scam, and it has been a popular science rumor-busting center for many years. In addition to "eating alkaline foods and drinking soda water to drink Yin can give birth to a son", there are also widely circulated rumors such as "alkaline is healthy and acid is carcinogenic". This so-called theory was first fabricated by American Robert O. Yang, who was arrested as early as January 2014 and convicted of theft and unlicensed medical practice in 2016. In 2018, he publicly admitted in court that the so-called "acid-base body theory" was a scam he fabricated from beginning to end. The reason why Robert O. Yang was imprisoned was that an American cancer patient believed in the "acid-base body therapy" and added alkaline baking soda to the intravenous medicine, gave up regular treatment, and caused the disease to develop seriously, so he took Robert O. Yang to court. Formal speaking, there is no such thing as "acidic body" or "alkaline body" in medicine. Because the acid-base buffer system, a stable system that maintains acid-base balance in the human body, will automatically adjust the pH value in the human body and maintain it within a stable range. In addition, the human body is a complex organism, and different body fluids have different pH values. Let’s not talk about the complexity of the acidity and alkalinity of food itself. Let’s just say that after they enter the human body, because gastric acid is a strong acid containing 0.2% to 0.4% hydrochloric acid, anything that enters the stomach will become acidic, and after entering the intestines from the stomach, they will be affected by the intestinal fluid and become alkaline. How to judge whether it is acid or alkaline?

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Generally speaking, unstable body pH will only occur when there are problems with human health, such as serious disorders in the digestive, excretory, and respiratory systems. For example, if a person's blood pH is lower than 7.35, it means acidosis and requires medical treatment; patients with gastroesophageal reflux also need to use strong antacids for a short period of time to neutralize stomach acid. In general, there is no need to rely on exogenous substances to adjust the acidity and alkalinity.

There are also these rumors about acid-base body type

The acid-base body type rumor has been around for many years. Under its "tyranny", many derivatives have emerged, causing many people to be afraid of "acid" and worship "base" as a god. Some of these rumors are even hidden in our lives. Although they have no scientific basis at all, they are difficult to distinguish at the moment. Let's distinguish them one by one:

1. Rumor 1: Drinking alkaline water or eating steamed bread can suppress excessive stomach acid

Alkali can indeed neutralize stomach acid, but it is not alkaline water, let alone fermented pasta. As mentioned earlier, doctors will prescribe strong antacids to gastroesophageal reflux patients to neutralize stomach acid, but the dosage of the drug is many times that of alkaline water. If you want to drink the effective amount, you probably have to drink several tons. As for steamed bread, although it has baking powder or baking soda added, it is essentially a food. Carbohydrates entering the stomach will only increase gastric acid secretion. Moreover, healthy people do not need to neutralize stomach acid, because the stomach environment itself is an acidic environment. This is a healthy state. Why do we need to neutralize stomach acid?

2. Rumor 2: Drinking alkaline water can lower uric acid

Theoretically, this statement is not wrong. After all, soda water can alkalize urine, increase the solubility of uric acid, and promote uric acid excretion. However, the sodium bicarbonate content of general alkaline water is almost negligible, which makes it difficult to change the pH of urine, let alone lower uric acid. What really helps to improve hyperuricemia and gout is not alkali, but water. Drinking more water regularly can promote the excretion of uric acid. Doctors recommend that patients drink 2 to 3L of water every day if their heart and kidney functions are normal. Boiled water, purified water, and mineral water are all fine.

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3. Rumor 3: Alkaline calcium can treat osteoporosis

Some people believe that people with acidic constitutions are prone to osteoporosis. This is because acid corrodes bones and leads to calcium loss, so alkali should be supplemented at the same time as calcium. This statement has no scientific basis. Osteoporosis is a systemic, metabolic bone disease caused by a variety of reasons. It cannot be treated simply by calcium supplementation. It requires a combination of lifestyle adjustments, bone health supplements, drug interventions and rehabilitation treatments. Surgery is required when necessary, not to mention the inexplicable addition of alkali. In short, first of all, acid-base constitution is a huge rumor. Secondly, it is even more unreliable to rely on eating, drinking and external use to adjust the body's pH to achieve some magical effects. As for whether to have a boy or not, what needs to be adjusted may not be the body's pH, but the idea of ​​favoring boys over girls in the mind.

Looking in the mirror of rumors

Verify whether the claimed viewpoint is supported by scientific research. You can consult medical journals or scientific research reports. Increasing your health knowledge and understanding basic scientific principles and research methods will help you better judge the authenticity of information. Some health rumors may be intended to promote products or services, especially those that claim to have "miracle effects."

In addition, it is also important to note that some classic rumors will have "variants" and we must be able to see the essence through the phenomenon.

Author: Likely Popular Science Creator

Review丨Zhang Yu, researcher/PhD, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, national health science expert