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Nutrition For Growing Taller Part I - Minerals

The quality, quantity, and type of food we eat affect our height, growth, and health. I cannot emphasize enough how important your food intake is in determining how much growth you can possibly obtain. The types of food you eat will either improve or decrease your growth potential.

First let's understand that there are 6 important nutrients needed for growth and good health and they all play a vital role in a well balanced diet.

1. Minerals
2. Vitamins
3. Proteins
4. Carbohydrates
5. Fats
6. Water

We start Part I of this 7 part series with Minerals.

Minerals

An adequate and sufficient supply of minerals must be consumed in order for all the physiological functions of the body, in particular growth and development, to take place at the most optimum level.

Minerals are important because they make up a large part of your bones and thus can directly affect the growth of your bones.

Calcium

Calcium is one of the most important minerals for growth and development. Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body and is found mostly in your bones, where it gives them strength. The body does not produce calcium, which means that you must get it from your daily diet. That's why a diet rich in calcium is so important, particularly when bones are growing and developing. Even after full bone development, you still need an adequate calcium intake throughout your life to keep your bones strong and healthy.

In order for your body to function properly, the level of calcium in the blood must stay relatively constant. For this to happen, you need to consume enough calcium throughout the day. Otherwise, your blood will "steal" calcium from your bones to maintain the level it requires. If your diet is low in calcium, your blood "withdraws" the calcium it needs from your bones. When your diet is rich in calcium, you make "deposits" in your calcium "bank". Over time, if your withdrawals exceed your deposits, your bones can begin to weaken and become more susceptible to breaking.

Provided you consume enough calcium, your bones will continue to grow denser until around the age of 30. After that, calcium remains a priority, because you need to maintain your bone mass to minimize gradual loss associated with aging. As you get older, you tend to shrink (especially women). This tendency can be prevented through sufficient calcium intake.

Recommended Calcium Intake:

Food Sources of Calcium:

*calcium content varies, check label
**added calcium sometimes settles at the bottom of the container; shake well before drinking

Phosphorous

Phosphorous is the second most abundant mineral in your body after calcium. 85% of it is found combined with the calcium in your bones and teeth in a compound known as calcium phosphate, the source of bone strength. Phosphorous is also necessary for growth because it is part of DNA and RNA, which carry the instructions for new cell formation. Because it works in conjunction with calcium, it is best to get amounts that balance with your calcium requirements. Recommended intakes of phosphorous are the same as for calcium so that a one-to-one ratio is maintained.

Phosphorous is easy to get because it is present in most foods. It is especially abundant in milk, meat, fish, grains and green vegetables. The real problem is an excess of phosphorous. Too much phosphorous interferes with your body's ability to use calcium and iron.

Most soft drinks are loaded with phosphorous, so it could be a real problem if you drink a lot of soda. When you drink a lot of soda, you get an excess of phosphorous which can block calcium formation in the bones. Milk and plain water should be your most common drinks.

Since meat is so rich in phosphorous, eating too much meat can also block calcium formation. If you are a vegetarian, you will do fine on a diet low in dairy products since you may get calcium from plants without the interference of phosphorous from meat or poultry.