A healthy balanced nutritive diet is imperative for growing tall. Children should eat nutritious foods during their growth years to prevent stunted growth. Adults can also add a few inches to their height long after their growth period is over by eating right.
Main foods that make you grow taller
Proteins rich foods and vitamin and mineral rich foods make you grow taller. Proteins comprise of amino acids which contain enzymes, hormones and antibodies that stimulate growth and effective working of the human body. Whole Eggs, fish, milk and legumes are protein rich diet. Some foods reduce the activity of the human growth hormones that make you taller. So these foods must be excluded from your diet. These foods include carbohydrates and fats. Carbohydrate rich foods like cereals, bread and rice hinder growth. Europeans consume more of proteins in their diet than carbohydrates and hence they are taller than Asians who eat carbohydrate rich foods.
Meats contain a lot of lipids and saturated fats that impede growth. So don’t eat too much meat. If you are eating non vegetarian food stick to lean red meats, fish liver or sea food like Pink salmon with long bones, blue crabs, rainbow trouts and clams that are low in fat content. Avoid pastries, sweets, sodas and crispies which are high in fat content. Alcohol, drugs and smoking can also retard growth.
Calcium is a prerequisite for growth of healthy bones. Hence foods rich in calcium like milk and other dairy products like yogurt and cheese should necessarily form part of your diet. Leafy vegetables are another source of calcium.
Citrus fruits like oranges and lemon are rich in Vitamin C that promote absorption of calcium and hence result in bone growth.
Other foods that make you grow taller are whole grains, vegetables, fruits, dried beans like nigari, cowpeas and soybeans. Drinking plenty of water helps you to gain height by promoting muscle growth. Whey protein and boiled chicken can also help. Including foods that enable height gain in your diet is hence very important for attaining full growth mentally and physically.