Mothers who want a baby girl should avoid salt and potassium rich diets, says a recent study.

These would mean giving up olives, bananas, bacon, salami, smoked salmon, prawns, savoury rice, blue cheese, potatoes, processed meats, bread and pastries.

Instead, would-be mothers should choose foods rich in calcium and magnesium, reports the Daily Mail.

They include calcium, yoghurt, hard cheese, canned salmon, rhubarb, spinach, tofu, almonds, oatmeal, broccoli and oranges besides cashew nuts, whole wheat cereals, figs and beans.

The scientists from the Maastricht University in Holland claim that the father's diet has no effect on what sex the baby will be.

If prospective mothers want a daughter, the scientists also recommend having regular sex - but not on days immediately prior or after ovulation.

Their conclusions follow a five-year study involving 172 Western European women aged between 23-42 years. The women had all previously given birth to boys - in one case, four of them - and wanted girls.

Although many women dropped out of the survey because they could not follow strict dietary requirements or rules on when to have sex, 21 women stuck it out to the end.

Of the 21, 16 gave birth to daughters - an astonishing success rate of almost 80 percent.