Can calcium supplementation help you grow taller?

Can calcium supplementation help children grow taller? Many parents have high hopes for their children's height. If they are not tall enough, they will think of giving their children a lot of calcium supplements, hoping that their children will grow taller. However, is this method effective? Many parents are not sure. They just think that as long as they give their children enough calcium, it will help their children's height. In fact, this is unscientific. If you take too much calcium supplements, not only will you not grow taller, it will also affect your child's physical health.

Whether the body can grow taller cannot be solved by simply supplementing calcium. It is related to many factors. The first is genetic genes, which play a large role. This is also a congenital condition. There are many acquired conditions, including reasonable exercise, correct nutrition, growth environment and social factors, etc. It is very important to let children have good living habits from an early age so that they can grow up healthy and strong.

1Without growth hormone, it is difficult to grow taller even if you take calcium

The height of the human body mainly depends on the increase of bone length. Bone growth requires calcium. At the same time, the amount of calcium also determines the hardness of the bone. Without enough calcium, bones become weak.

However, calcium is definitely not the main driving force for bone growth. Bone growth depends on growth hormone and protein and nutrients obtained from food. Children who lack growth hormone will not grow tall even if they have enough calcium, and those who do not take in enough total energy and protein will not grow even if they only take calcium supplements.

Therefore, growing taller is not only related to calcium supplementation, but also requires a comprehensive assessment of whether growth-related factors such as growth hormone are normal. If your child has growth retardation, do not give him calcium supplements indiscriminately. Instead, consult a pediatric endocrinologist in time to find out the exact cause.

2. Excessive calcium supplementation may have the opposite effect

Generally, we do not recommend calcium supplementation for children over two years old, otherwise it will easily cause the bones to calcify prematurely, and the children will not grow taller. Unless a child is clearly suffering from low calcium, calcium supplements should be given appropriately. In addition to a normal diet, parents can give their children milk every day and eat a balanced diet, so that the calcium needed for children's growth and development can be met through food. Some middle-aged and elderly people between the ages of 50 and 60 can take some calcium supplements, especially women, which can delay the occurrence of osteoporosis in the elderly.

It should be noted that calcium supplementation should be appropriate, and the more the better. Infants and young children should consume about 400 mg of calcium per day, while adolescents are similar to adults and can consume 800 mg of calcium per day. If the amount of calcium intake greatly exceeds the above standards, it may cause constipation and even interfere with the absorption and utilization of other trace elements such as zinc, iron, magnesium, etc. It may also lead to calcium deposition in organs and tissues such as the kidneys and cardiovascular system, posing potential dangers such as kidney stones.

3. Great growth potential before epiphyseal closure

In the outpatient clinic, parents often ask doctors: "My child is 15 years old. Can he still grow taller? How much can he grow?" In fact, a child's growth potential is not based on his actual age, but on his bone age, that is, bone age. Bone age determines the child's height.

To understand the child’s true growth situation, parents can take their children to have their bone age measured to determine their child’s growth potential. The method of determining bone age is not complicated. You only need to go to the radiology department of the hospital to take an X-ray, and then compare the left wrist and elbow joint films with the standard bone age chart to determine the bone age. Generally speaking, if the bone age of a girl is over 15 years old and the bone age of a boy is over 17 years old, the epiphyseal lines have mostly closed. Before the epiphyseal line closes, the extent and potential of height growth is greater and the growth response is more sensitive. If height-increasing treatment is performed at this time, the effect will be better.

Can calcium supplementation help you grow taller? Do you all understand correctly that it is important to cultivate good habits for children in life, such as a reasonable diet, adequate sleep, etc. In addition, letting children develop the habit of eating less salt will also help with their height growth.