Another reason why men like curves - Nigella Lawson's voluptuous curves

Lawson graduated from Oxford before finding fame in the kitchen

Nigella Lawson's voluptuous curves have given her a legion of male admirers, but a new academic study suggests that her appeal, and that of other curvy women, is based on more than the purely physical.

It is already known that curvaceous women live longer and that men find them more attractive but the new research suggests that they are also cleverer.

The study, to be published this week, shows that men who admire women with hourglass figures do so because they are more intelligent and therefore produce more intelligent children than waif-like women or those of "apple-shaped" proportions.

The case of Lawson appears to bear out the findings. Possessing perhaps Britain's most famous hourglass figure, the cookery presenter is also an Oxford graduate.

Rachel Weisz, the naturally curvy Oscar-winning actress, completed an English degree at Cambridge before she headed for Hollywood.

The scientists, from the University of California at Santa Barbara and the University of Pittsburgh, concluded that women with lower waist-to-hip ratios (WHR) produced children with better intellectual abilities.

They found that a woman's hips and thighs contained omega-3 fatty acids, which help nurture both mother and baby's brains during pregnancy. Fat around the waist, however, contains higher levels of omega-6 fatty acids, which does not help brain growth.

"Shapely hips and thighs hold essential nutrients that nurse brains and could produce smart kids, too," said one researcher, Steven Gaulin, of the University of California at Santa Barbara.

His colleague, William Lassek, from the University of Pittsburgh, said: "Men respond because it's reproductively important."

Scientific studies have consistently demonstrated that men through the ages have found women with hourglass figures more attractive.

A study published this year found that as far back as the ancient Egyptians men have sought out curvaceous women.

However, the reason for the attraction has never been conclusively proven. Many scientists believed that a shapely figure suggested to a man that a woman would be good at bearing children and have a longer life expectancy.

The researchers tested 16,000 women and girls and found that women with a greater difference between their waist and hip measurements scored significantly higher in the tests, as did their children.

The research suggests that children born to teenagers do worse in cognitive tests because their mothers did not have enough of the omega-3 acids stored in their hips.

Home Methods and Techniques to Conceive a Baby Boy

When I was young and idealistic, I wanted to get married and give birth to six sons. I don't recall my reasoning behind the number or the preferred sex. Six sons would have been three short of a baseball team. And if the popularity of
"The Brady Bunch" had anything to do with my dream, then I couldn't figure out why I wouldn't want to be a Mom to a cute little Marcia, Jan, or Cindy. There are many personal reasons why couples want to have one sex of a baby over the other. And whatever the reasons, if you have a preference, then you need to know some homemade ways to conceive a baby boy.

Medical science has come up with a sure-fire method of allowing us to determine the sex of our babies. It's called "Test Tube Conception." It's rather an impersonal way to conceive a child. Because, as the name implies, conception takes place in a test tube. But, if you have the desire and the finances to pay for this type of laboratory intervention, then you can be assured of the sex of your baby.

The majority of the population must rely on homemade ways to conceive a baby boy instead. While some of these methods may not be "scientific", and they seem to be purely "folklore", others do have some medical merit to them.

For example, it's been said that, in order to conceive a baby boy, you should have sex during the nighttime hours instead of in the daytime. This is an interesting concept, since, presumably, couples do prefer to "dance in the dark." And, according to statistics, there are more male babies born than females. For every 100 baby girls born, there are approximately 105 baby boys.

Other homemade ways to conceive a baby boy include having sex on odd-numbered days of the month, making love while standing up, (but having the woman lie down immediately afterwards), having the woman eat more meat and salty foods, and drinking large quantities of tea and coffee.

Also, if the man is the one who initiates the sex, and he climaxes first during intercourse, then a baby boy is supposed to be conceived.

While most of these homemade ways may sound like pure fiction, a woman's eating habits prior to conception may actually help determine the sex of her baby. This idea is based on the scientific theory that there are four minerals in a woman's body.
These minerals are sodium, calcium, potassium, and magnesium. The amount of each mineral in a woman's body is thought to affect the fertilization of the egg during intercourse.

Therefore, if you want to conceive a baby boy, you should avoid drinking milk and eating dairy products in order to keep your calcium and magnesium levels lower. Instead, according to this theory, you should enjoy plenty of foods that contain sodium and potassium, such as salty snacks and bananas.

Another homemade way to conceive a baby boy is for the woman to change the chemical environment of her vagina before having sex. This idea is based on the theory that female sperm thrives in acidic environments, while male sperm do better in non-acidic climates. To make the vagina less acidic, right before a woman has sexual intercourse, she should douche with a mixture of water and baking soda. Mix together a pint of water and about a half ounce of the soda thoroughly.

Naturally, a woman has a fifty/fifty chance of giving birth to a baby boy. But, these homemade ways to conceive a baby boy may actually improve your chances, and swing the pendulum into the favor of having a male child.