Increasing the Height of Your Child (II)
By Dr.Park Chan-Joo
In my last column, I briefly talked from the perspective of both Oriental and Western medicine about the reasons why certain children may not grow enough. I also discussed how oriental medicine could promote their growth.
However, aside from professional help, there are also basic things that children could do themselves in their daily lives to potentially increase their height. These things are proper nutrition, exercise and changes in bad habits.
Needless to say, nutrition is the most important thing to growing up strong and healthy. Not only children but also adults should eat foods of diverse nutritional value, including carbohydrates, fat, protein, vitamins, minerals and fiber.
The word ``protein’’ comes from the Greek word ``prota,’’ meaning ``of primary importance.’’ As the origin of the word suggests, proteins are especially important for children when they’re growing up. Protein is an essential part of all living organisms, participating in every process within cells and is related to immune responses, biochemical reactions as enzymes and so forth. Some foods, such as meats, fishes, eggs, beans and tofu, are abundant in protein.
In addition, calcium is essential for the normal growth and maintenance of strong bones and teeth. Calcium deficiency can disturb bone and tooth formation, while a surplus can promote the growth of kidney stones. Milk, cheese, anchovies, nuts, seeds and seaweed such as kelp are well-known sources of calcium, and are foods that children should ingest. Rich in vitamins and minerals, brightly colored vegetables and fruits are also necessary for children.
On the other hand, there are also some foods that children should avoid eating too much of, including sweets, soda, fast food, salty food, caffeine, snacks and other junk food.
As for exercise, regular exercise can be helpful in strengthening bones and muscles. Certain types of exercise, such as stretching, jogging, swimming, riding a bicycle, rope-jumping, basket ball, tennis, badminton and running, are known to promote children’s growth. On the contrary, some exercises requiring a lot of power and muscle-work, such as weight lifting and running a marathon, are not really recommended since they can disturb a child’s growth.
To maximize an increase in height, it is important to maximize the effect of the growth hormone called somatotropin. This hormone stimulates division and multiplication of chondrocytes of cartilage, which are the primary cells in the growing ends of children’s long bones like their arms, and legs. It also stimulates production of another hormone called somatomedin. It is said that the largest and most predictable growth hormone peaks occur about an hour after the onset of sleep. So in order to grow as tall as they can, children should regularly go to bed early and have a good night’s sleep.
In addition, stress can negatively affect children’s growth by disturbing their sleep and making them overeat. In fact, obesity can be the worst obstacle for children’s growth and health, so it should be treated early in order to prevent problems later on in life.
Dr.Park Chan-Joo is the chief doctor at Tara Acupuncture & Oriental medicine (www.tara-clinic.com) in Seoul.