If you’re reading this right now, you’ve probably pondered questions such as:

Does lifting weights stunt growth?

Do height growth pills really work?

…or…

Is it scientifically possible to grow taller after puberty?

There are 100s of different sites and articles that make a wide range of claims about these issues.

And in this page, I will bust 11 most common myths about growing taller…

…and reveal some hard-hitting truths that you’ve been itching to find out about.

Grow Taller Myths & Truths

Myth #1: Height growth pills don’t make you taller, and they’re scams.

Truth: Height growth pills can make you taller.

However, most vendors that sell them will claim that ALL you have to do is take their pills in order to grow taller.

And yes, by taking these supplements alone, it is actually possible for you to become taller, but the results that these vendors promise are usually exaggerated.

In reality, results will also vary for different individuals, because there are many other factors that contribute to your ability to grow taller.

In other words…

Think of height growth pills as bodybuilding supplements.

Protein supplements can help you put on additional muscle mass, but only if you already have a proper diet and workout routine in place.

You can’t sit on the couch and eat chips all day, and expect to become muscular simply by taking bodybuilding supplements alone…

Likewise, height supplements can and will increase your height, but it’s also important to master other key factors that are necessary for maximizing your height.

The good news?

Most of these factors are within your control, and as long as you learn exactly how to optimize them, you can use height supplements to your advantage.

If you want to learn how to optimize these height growth factors, check out my bulletproof guide: How to Grow Taller Fast and Naturally.

And if you’re ready to boost your height gains even further, check out my review of the  top 10 height growth pills.

Myth #2: It is impossible for you to grow taller after puberty, or after a certain age.

Truth: It is possible for you to grow taller at any age.

The most popular argument for not being able to grow after puberty is that your growth plates become fully fused, and as a result, you bones cannot grow any further in length.

And although your growth plates do fuse after a certain age, this mechanism isn’t true for your spine.

Why?

Your spine can grow in length even after puberty.

Therefore, the key to growing taller after puberty is to increase your spine length to make up for the fused growth plates in your other bones.

If you’ve finished going through puberty, this is good news.

For a more in-depth explanation of how this is possible, read this article on Find Health Tips.

And if you’re ready to learn the practical steps to grow taller after puberty, check out my in-depth guide on how to grow taller after puberty.

Myth #3: Lifting weights will stunt your growth.

Truth: Lifting weights will NOT stunt your growth.

However, there are 3 types of exercises that you want to be aware of:

1) Exercises that decrease and slow down height growth

These are exercises that compress your spine.

Examples of these exercises are squats and overhead shoulder presses.

Spine compression can be one of the main causes of your inability to grow to your full potential height, but nevertheless, won’t fully stunt your growth.

The only way these exercises will completely stunt your growth is if you injure your spine from doing them with incorrect form.

2) Exercises that don’t affect your height growth

These are exercises that do not compress your spine.

Examples of these exercises are flat bench press or triceps pushdowns.

3) Exercises that promote height growth

These are exercises that increase and speed up the height growth process.

Examples of these exercises are pullups and swimming.

If you want to learn about exercises that increase and accelerate your height growth, check out my Top 7 Grow Taller Exercises.

Myth #4: You have to drink milk to grow taller.

Truth: There are plenty of dairy-free foods that make you grow taller.

The main reason why milk and other dairy products are over-emphasized when it comes to height growth is their richness in Calcium and Vitamin D.

These two nutrients are definitely central for being able to grow taller, but they can be found in all kinds of different foods that do NOT contain any dairy.

If you want to learn what they are, check out my Top 20 Foods That Make You Grow Taller (Dairy-Free Guide).

Myth #5: Grow taller exercises improve your posture, but don’t actually make you taller.

Truth: Exercises that improve your posture will make you to grow taller as well.

If you know anything about growing taller, you know that having a proper posture is essential.

Initially, when you start doing exercises and stretches to grow taller, you will find that the slight growth in your height is solely due to the straightening of your posture, and the actual length of your spine and bones hasn’t grown.

But once your fix the structure of your body into its proper alignment, it will start to grow in length, as long as you maintain your newly improved posture.

To learn about exercises that fix your posture to make you taller, check out my Top 7 Exercises to Grow Taller.

Myth #6: Your height is solely determined by your genetics.

Truth: Your genetics isn’t the only factor that determines how tall you become.

Although your genetics do play a significant role in increasing your height, there are many other factors that greatly influence your ability to grow taller.

Lucky for you, the most important of these factors are within your control, and are NOT
pre-determined at birth. Some of these factors consist of your:

✔ Day-to-day lifestyle
✔ Diet
✔ Posture
✔ Exercise routine
✔ Health
✔ Sleeping habits
✔ Hormonal balance

If you want to learn about these factors more in depth, check out my page, How to Grow Taller Fast and Naturally.

Myth #7: Drinking coffee, or consuming caffeine in general will stunt your growth.

Truth: Drinking coffee or consuming caffeine will NOT stunt your growth.

…However, overconsumption of caffeine can indirectly cause you to grow less tall.

Getting enough sleep every night is essential for maximizing your height, since that is the only time of the day when your spine can fully decompress, and elongate in length.

So if you’re drinking coffee or Red Bull every night, it will compromise the quality and quantity of your sleep, and as a result, cause you to grow less.

But to state clearly: Caffeine in of itself will NOT hinder your ability to grow taller.

Myth #8: Smoking cigarettes will stunt your growth.

Truth: Smoking cigarettes will not stunt your OWN growth.

Own growth? What are you talking about?

There are 2 parts to this answer:

1) Smoking cigarettes will not stunt your growth.

Smoking lowers your blood Oxygen levels, and as a result, cause your cells and tissues to function at sub-optimal levels of performance.

This would mean that the cells and tissues that are responsible for building and repairing your bones would suffer slightly as well.

However, the slight decrease in your Oxygen levels won’t be sufficient in slowing down the rate at which your bone cells replicate…

…to the extent where your bones will grow INCHES less than what they would have grown to if you never smoked at all.

2) If you’re a pregnant mother who smokes, there is a high chance that your baby’s growth will be negatively affected.

This is because smoking can cause many different complications for your baby.

And there is a good chance that one of those complications will be your baby’s inability to grow to his or her full potential height.

Thus, I highly recommend that you hold off your nicotine cravings until your baby leaves your body.

Myth #9: Weed will stunt your growth.

Truth: Weed will NOT stunt your growth.

Just like smoking cigarettes, smoking weed may slightly decrease the Oxygen flow to your bone cells, but not to the point of causing you to grow less tall than your capable of.

And perhaps, if you use munchies to eat more of the foods that contain the key nutrients that promote height growth, maybe it’s not a bad route to go on after all…

(P.S. I am NOT condoning marijuana use in any way, shape, or form.)

Myth #10: There are certain height increasing insoles that you can wear to grow taller.

Truth: Height insoles will NOT increase your height.

I’m not talking about the insoles that temporarily make you taller at parties and clubs.

The types of insoles that I’m referring to are the ones that many specialists claim to literally make your body grow taller. This technique for growing taller is known as “reflexology”.

A reflexology specialist will locate individual pressure spots on your feet, and design a special type of insole, so that pressure will be applied to certain spots on your feet.

And by wearing these insoles, they will somehow magically allow you to grow taller…

However, there is currently no medical proof that this type of method increases your height.

So if anyone tries to sell you special types of insoles as a means of growing taller, I wouldn’t bother giving in.

Myth #11: Height surgery is the only legitimate way to grow taller after puberty.

Truth: Height surgery is the LEAST legitimate way to grow taller after puberty (or any age).

In fact, I highly recommend you stay away from this methodology for 2 main reasons:

1) Height surgery is VERY expensive.

Height increase surgery costs around $10 000 ~ $80 000 USD, depending on the location, hospital, and surgeon.

Note that this price pertains solely to the main surgery itself, and doesn’t include the cost of accommodation, meals, and other services during the rehabilitation period after the surgery.

(Post-surgery accommodation costs around $5000 USD)

2) Height surgery is VERY dangerous.

To simplify the surgical procedure: Your bones have to be cut apart invasively, and a lengthening device has to be implanted into your bones for the leg lengthening process to occur.

This is what a typical leg lengthening process will involve…

As you can see for yourself, you must go through a very risky operation for you to increase your height through surgery.

Some of these risks consist of (but are not limited to): neurologic injury, vascular injury, joint luxation, muscle contractures, and axial deviation.

Due to the high level of risk involved, height increase surgeries are only recommended for individuals with very severe complications, such as bone deformity, bone diseases, and severe postural issues.

If you’re interested in learning more about how the height surgery process works, check out this forum on Quora, where several individuals have explained it in much greater detail.

But I will repeat myself for the last time: I do NOT recommend height surgery.

The good news is that there are much safer and more reliable ways to grow taller, EVEN if you have passed puberty.

If you want to learn natural ways of growing taller, that do NOT involve cutting up your bones into pieces, check out my page, How to Grow Taller Fast and Naturally.

What Are Your Thoughts?

Now, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Which of the 11 myths do you hear most often?

Or maybe there’s a height myth that I didn’t address on this page.

Or maybe… you don’t agree with one of the claims I made above.

Whatever’s on your mind, I welcome all feedback.

So let me know by leaving a comment below right now.