Puberty or Not, Here We Grow!
Does human growth hormone (a.k.a. HGH) make you taller?
And more importantly…
Is human growth hormone safe?
There seems to be a flood of contradicting information regarding these questions.
And in this post, you will learn exactly how human growth hormone makes you grow taller, and discover the truth behind common myths about HGH (especially around safety).
But that’s not all…
I will also reveal several practical ways that you can increase HGH in your body (without ANY injections or treatments).
Why Your Body Cannot Survive Without HGH
Importance of HGH for Increasing Your Height
Why Teenagers and Children Need HGH To Grow Taller
Why Adults Need HGH To Grow Taller
Is HGH Safe?
Part 1: How to Increase Natural HGH
5 Natural HGH Maximizers
Amino Acids that Increase HGH
Part 2: How to Increase Synthetic HGH
Symptoms of HGH Deficiency
Why HGH Injections are Risky
When Should I Avoid HGH Altogether?
Symptoms of Excess HGH (A.K.A. Acromegaly)
Frequently Asked Questions
Bottom Line
There are a ton of scientific and complicated articles about HGH that you can find online.
But here, I want to be as practical as possible, and focus solely on how you can use HGH to increase your height.
Having said that, let’s go over the very basics of this hormone, and what role it plays in your body.
So… what is human growth hormone, and what does it do?
Human growth hormone (a.k.a. HGH) is a hormone that your body produces naturally.
It is secreted from your pituitary glands, which is located in a region inside your brain. HGH is released from this region into your bloodstream, which then reaches different parts of your body.
HGH provides your body with many benefits, such as:
Why is the relevant?
Because it is crucial to know that HGH is not some external drug or chemical that you inject into your body, but rather a hormone that your body needs in order to function properly.
And if your body had no HGH at all… you probably wouldn’t even be alive reading this post right now.
Now that you have a gist of why Human Growth Hormone is so important for your body, let’s move on to how it affects your height.
Whether you’re an adult, a teenager still going through puberty, or a child, having sufficient amount of HGH in your body is crucial for increasing your height.
But here’s the catch:
The way in which HGH will increase your height will depend on whether you are still growing or not.
That is why I created 2 different sections below, to illustrate the role of HGH in both age groups:
If you’re still growing (or you have children that are), this is the section for you.
Because In order to fully maximize your height by the time you’re done growing, it is crucial to maintain high levels of HGH throughout your childhood and teenage years.
Why?
Because your human growth hormones is responsible for growing your bones and cartilages.
As I mentioned earlier, a region in your brain called the pituitary glands releases HGH into your blood.
When HGH reaches your bones and cartilages via your blood vessels, it provides a signal to your bones, and as a result, initiates the growth process.
Therefore, when your growth plates are fully open during childhood and adolescence, you can maximize the growth of your bones and cartilages by elevating your HGH levels.
If you’re almost done growing, or have completely stopped growing altogether, you may be thinking:
There is no way HGH (or anything) is going to help me grow taller. I mean… haven’t all of my bones fused anyway?
Yes and no.
If you’re an adult, the chances are, most of your bones have probably fused indeed.
But no matter how old you are, there is a part of your body that is still capable of increasing in length.
And that is your spine.
So… how is it possible that your spine can grow after all of your bones have fused?
Because your spine isn’t one giant bone, but a series of smaller bones.
And these bones are connected by cartilages known as intervertebral discs.
As you can see from the above diagram, you upper spine (cervical, thoracic, lumber) are composed of 24 bones, that are connected by 23 intervertebral disc (red regions).
So what makes height growth possible after puberty?
Since your discs don’t fuse, you can increase the length of each disc in order to increase your height.
And since there are so many of these discs in your spine, lengthening each disc by even the slightest amount could result in you becoming significantly taller.
To give you concrete numbers:
If you increase each cartilage length by only 1 mm (which is as thin as the tip of a pencil), you would grow 1 mm x 23 which equals 2.3 cm (almost 1 inch).
But don’t just take my word for it.
A study was conducted to reduce back pain in a group seniors.
The result?
30 adults, whose average age was 65 years old, were able to increase their spine length in just 6 weeks, without ANY surgery.
What does this mean?
If 65-year-olds can increase their height, you can too.
So going back to HGH: How can it help you grow taller as an adult?
By increasing the length of your intervertebral discs.
Since HGH is responsible for increasing the length of your cartilages, increasing the amount of HGH will result in more cartilage growth in your spine, making you taller.
So how the hell do you increase HGH in your body?
There are several different ways to do this.
But before we dive deeply into this topic, let’s briefly address the most important issue that pertain to HGH: SAFETY.
You may have heard from many different sources that HGH is dangerous for your body, and can cause various side effects.
The answer?
It depends on how you increase your HGH levels.
Since different methods of increasing HGH are much safer than others, your safety will depend on how you increase HGH in your body.
So which method of increasing HGH is the safest and most reliable?
Keep reading.
There are countless number of ways to increase HGH.
However, there are only 2 types of HGH that you can increase in your blood:
Now, which type of HGH sounds safer to you?
If you guessed natural HGH, you are right.
However, just because natural HGH is safer, it doesn’t mean that it’s the ultimate solution for everyone.
Before we go into further detail of each HGH type, here is an overview of which option is the most appropriate for you:
Most people assume that the only way to increase your HGH is to inject external HGH, but this is simply not true.
If you don’t suffer from any HGH abnormality, increasing natural HGH is your safest and wisest choice.
Why?
Remember: HGH is a hormone that your body produces on its own.
Therefore, the safest way to elevate your HGH levels is to simply increase the amount of HGH that you’re body is already producing.
And if you follow the tips that I’m about to share with you, it is virtually impossible to produce too much HGH for your own safety, since these are all natural habits that healthy people practice regularly.
There are a few important factors that you must nail in order to increase your HGH naturally.
I call them the 5 Natural HGH Maximizers.
Despite the fancy name, the strategies that you are about to learn are very straight forward and easy to implement into your lifestyle.
So without further ado, here are the 5 Natural HGH Maximizers:
You’ve probably noticed that you’re slightly taller in the morning than the night before.
While this is mainly due to your spine decompressing, it is also because HGH is mainly released during deep sleep.
Since the majority of HGH is released from the pituitary during deep sleep, this is the best time for your bones and cartilages to grow longer in length.
This is why it’s very important to get a sufficient amount of sleep every night.
Here are some strategies to get a good night’s sleep:
1. Increase melatonin in your body.
Melatonin is the biochemical that signals your body to shut down at night. Therefore, if you increase the amount of melatonin your body produces, you’ll be able to sleep more deeply.
The best part?
Melatonin doesn’t just improve your sleep quality, but also increases HGH directly!
2. Keep your bedroom pitch black.
If possible, do your best to block out all lights from entering your bedroom. This will allow you to have a much deeper sleep.
3. Keep your bedroom cool.
Although the optimal sleeping temperature varies from person to person, the optimal range is between 65 ~ 72 degrees.
However, you should stick with whatever temperature that you feel the most comfortable in.
HGH is produced mostly when your body is resting and recovering (hence why sleeping is so important).
Here are some ways to recover your body effectively:
1. Perform a deep breathing meditation.
There are many health benefits from meditating.
But most importantly, it will help you recover your mind and body substantially.
So how do you meditate?
There are 1000 different ways to do this, but one of the best meditations for relaxing is to simply breathe deeply and watch your breath for 5 minutes every day.
This can have a dramatic effect on your ability to relax and stay calm.
2. Take a hot bath
Soaking your entire body in warm water will improve your overall circulation, and relieve stiffness and tension in your muscles.
3. Stretch
Stretching is the most effective way to relax your muscles.
Make sure to stretch every part of your body after you engage in any type of physical activity.
There are many exercises that you can do to increase your HGH levels.
But if you want to maximize the HGH that your body produces, you want to engage in short & high-intensity activities.
So how do you perform high intensity activities?
Here is a simple 4-step formula you can follow:
Now, there is one thing to watch out for.
Since your goal is to increase your height, you must avoid any type of spine-compressing activities.
In other words, avoid any exercise that requires you to push weight over your head.
Common examples of overhead exercises are:
As long as the activity doesn’t force you to bare any weight over your head, you can choose to perform whatever exercise you like.
If you want to maximize your HGH levels, you must minimize your body fat percentage.
In one study, individuals that had 3 times the amount of body fat produced less than half of the HGH that their lean counterparts produced.
And needless to say, carrying excess fat in your body only does you more harm than good.
Here are 3 diet tips that will not only keep you lean, but simultaneously increase your HGH levels as well:
1. Reduce sugar intake
Sugar increases your insulin levels, which lowers HGH production in your body.
Therefore, if you limit the amount of sugar that you consume, you will minimize your insulin levels, which maximizes HGH production.
Now don’t put yourself in a prison and cut out sugar altogether… or you’ll end up eating more sugar than before.
However, do your best to restrict it whenever you can, and start consuming complex carbs instead of refined carbs.
2. Fast intermittently
Fasting will further lower your insulin levels, since no sugar can enter your body whenever you’re not eating.
So how does intermittent fasting work exactly?
To put it simply: Allow yourself to eat only for an 8-hour period, and fast for the other 16 hours.
There are many other health benefits that you get from fasting periodically.
But just know that fasting will help you increase your HGH, which will help you grow taller.
3. Don’t eat before bed
As I mentioned before, sugar increases your insulin levels, which decreases HGH production.
And since most foods contain at least a bit of sugar, the best way to keep your insulin levels minimized is to eat nothing at all.
Why does this matter?
Because your body produces the most amount of HGH during sleep.
Thus, if you want to fully maximize your HGH levels, you want to ensure that your insulin levels stay minimized when you go to sleep, so that your body can secrete as much HGH as possible.
This is probably the most important aspect of maximizing your HGH levels.
Why?
Because amino acids are one of the fundamental components of hormone production in your body.
And without them, your body would not be able to secrete vital hormones, including HGH.
In order for your body to produce HGH, it needs 5 essential amino acids:
Now, there are 3 different ways you can consume these 5 amino acids.
Let’s look at each method:
Method #1: Consume foods that contain the 5 essential amino acids.
Here is a chart of all the foods that are high in each one of the 5 amino acids:
| L-Ornithine | L-Arginine | L-Lysine | L-Glutamine | L-Glycine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beef | Beef | Beef | Beef | Beef |
| Chicken | Chicken | Chicken | Chicken | Chicken |
| Pork | Pork | Pork | Eggs | Pork |
| Eggs | Turkey | Eggs | Cabbage | Lamb |
| Salmon | Chickpeas | Lamb | Yogurt | Lobster |
| Mackerel | Lentils | Shrimp | Shrimp | Shrimp |
| Herring | Tuna | Tuna | Asparagus | Crab |
| Brown rice | Spirulina | Cheese | Legumes | Cauliflower |
| Chocolate | Soybeans | Soybeans | Soybeans | Spinach |
| Peanuts | Peanuts | Almonds | Hazelnuts | Kale |
If you’re on a budget, this is probably going to be the best option for you.
However, relying only on these foods is going to be fairly tedious and hard to keep track, since you’ll never know if you’re consuming enough of each amino acid
Furthermore, this process will be even more difficult if you’re a vegetarian, since many of the foods that are rich in these amino acids are in the meat category.
Method #2: Consume amino acid supplements.
An alternative method to relying only on foods would be to consume supplements that contain each one of the 5 amino acids.
In comparison to the previous method, this option is much more convenient and easier to keep track. However, you will need to invest a little bit of money to order them on a regular basis.
If you’re interested in this method, go to your local pharmacy store, and you should be able to find them there.
Method #3: Consume one supplement that contains all 5 amino acids.
This is my favorite method of all.
Why?
As you can probably agree, this option is the simplest and the most reliable way to ensure that you consume all 5 amino acids sufficiently on a regular basis.
The best part?
On top of consuming this supplement, you can also consume the foods that I laid out in order to increase your amino acids even further.
The downside?
Supplements that contain all 5 amino acids are hard to come across.
Fortunately, there is one supplement which contains all 5 of these amino acids.
Check out my full review of Growth Factor Plus, which is a height supplement that boosts your HGH levels for maximum growth.
(Disclaimer: Information is provided without warranty. This is NOT medical advice. By reading & applying any advice on this website, you agree to take 100% responsibility for all consequences. Please read my full disclaimer for more information.)
If you suffer from severe HGH deficiency, synthetic HGH injections are your best bet.
Why?
If your HGH levels are abnormally low, trying to increase your HGH by natural means is simply not going to be sufficient in bringing your HGH levels to a healthy range.
And since there is no limit as to how much HGH you can inject into your body, this method is the most effective at counteracting severely low levels of HGH.
So how do you know if you have too little HGH?
The most accurate way to find out would be to get tested for your growth hormone levels in your blood.
But since HGH tests can be tedious to undergo, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with common symptoms of HGH abnormalities.
These symptoms differ for for adults vs children.
Here is a comparison chart that shows the most common symptoms of HGH deficiency in each age group:
| Adults | Teenagers & Children |
|---|---|
| Anxiety / depression | Significantly shorter than other people of your age |
| Hairloss | Facial features look much younger than other people of your age |
| Decrease in sex drive | Delayed puberty |
| Fatique | Slow hair growth |
| Dry, thin skin | Slow teeth development |
| Difficulty concentrating | Increased fat mass |
(Source: draxe.com)
As I mentioned earlier, it is much better to inject synthetic HGH if you’re severely low in HGH, since it is the most reliable way to ensure that your HGH levels are maintained within the normal range.
But also realize that HGH injection treatments are risky in nature, since they are very provocative.
There are 3 main reasons that make this method risky:
It is possible to experience any of the following side effects from HGH injections:
If you experience any of these symptoms, it could be a sign that your body doesn’t react well to synthetic HGH, or that your HGH levels are too high. Make sure to speak to your doctor if you experience any of these symptoms upon injecting HGH.
Since there is no limit as to how much HGH you can inject into your body, it is possible to inject too much of it if the injection is not carefully monitored and/or calculated.
And if you inject too much HGH into your blood, you can suffer from Acromegaly, a condition you develop from having too much HGH in your body (I talk about this condition in further detail below).
Thus, if you’re going to go with this option, make sure to speak to a doctor, and receive injections from someone who is qualified.
If you’re a victim of any of the following conditions, synthetic HGH is not safe for you:
Furthermore, if you suffer from diabetes, make sure to monitor your blood sugar levels precisely, since HGH can effect insulin usage in the body.
Another reason why you should only consider HGH injection as a serious option is because of the overwhelming price that comes with it.
According to WebMD, a typical price of HGH treatments range from $10 000 ~ $60 000 annually.
On average, it would cost about $52 000 per an inch (2.5 cm) of growth. There is also insurance to pay for, in which the price would vary for each patient.
As you probably realize by this point, HGH injection treatments are very powerful, but are also risky, and can cause serious complications if not done properly.
Having said that, don’t let any of these pitfalls sway you from making the right decision.
If you genuinely believe that you or your child may be suffering from severe HGH deficiency, you speak to your doctor to discuss this option thoroughly.
Earlier, we discussed the common symptoms of HGH deficiency in adults and children.
However, it is just as crucial to also be aware of the symptoms that you get from having too much HGH in your body.
This condition is called Acromegaly.
So how is Acromegaly caused?
When there is a tumour in your Pituitary Gland, an excess amount of HGH is secreted into the blood, which causes many abnormalities in your body.
It can also be caused from injecting too much HGH into your blood.
Here are some of the most common symptoms of Acromegaly:
(Source: Healthline.com)
It’s a given that you don’t attempt to increase your HGH levels if you’re suffering from this condition.
If you suspect that you are suffering from Acromegaly, make sure to get your growth hormone levels tested, and speak to your doctor.
Q: Does HGH decline as you age?
A: Yes. This is another reason why it is crucial to maintain HGH at sufficiently high levels as you age.
(Source: Dr. Jockers)
Q: Is there an age limit for growth hormone therapy?
A: There is no lower or upper age limit for HGH therapy.
However, in order to apply for HGH therapy, the height progression of the patient must be tracked for at least one year. Therefore, the patient must be at least 1 year old, unless they suffer from hypoglycaemia GH deficiency.
Whether you’re an adult, teenager, or a child, maintaining sufficient levels of HGH is essential if you want to maximize your height.
But more importantly: HGH is a fundamental part of what keeps your body healthy and functioning properly.
Thus, If you’re truly serious about growing taller while staying healthy, make sure to implement the tips on this page that are the most relevant to you.
And if you want to learn about more tips on how to grow taller, make sure to check out other pages on my site.
Remember: Growing taller is not an overnight feat, but a gradual process.
In this post, I’m going to answer some common questions people have asked me about growing taller.
I’ve divided the questions into 3 different sections:
1) Follow-up questions to my guide and stretches
2) Questions about HGH and Growth Factor Plus
3) General height related questions
Let’s get right into it.
In this section, I’m going to answer some follow-up questions to my height growth guide and bonus stretches.
If you haven’t gotten the chance to access my guide or stretches, here they are:
Guide: How I Grew 3.0 cm When I Was 23 Years Old 4 Stretches to Become Taller (With Less Effort)With that, let’s get to the questions:
If you apply the techniques I taught you in the guide, you should become noticeably taller within the first few weeks.
But if you want to fully maximize your height, stick to my techniques until you stop seeing any further growth.
Everyone is going to get different results, since our body structures are all different.
Your results are going to depend on:
– How good or bad your posture is when you started,
– How accurately you measure your height, and
– How consistently you stick to all the techniques.
Yes.
Having said that, if you want to stay permanently taller, you need to actually maintain a tall posture and continue sleeping well [1].
But here’s the good news:
Once you get used to having a good posture and sleeping well, you won’t want to go back to your old habits 🙂
Maintaining a good posture and improving your sleep will improve your health in countless number of ways [2, 3, 4].
It’s normal for your height to shrink by night time [1].
So in order to determine how much you’ve actually grown, measure in the morning every single time.
For example: let’s say that you are 165 cm in the morning, but 164 cm at night.
But after applying my techniques, you become 166 cm in the morning, but 165 cm at night.
In that case, you should subtract your morning heights:
166 cm – 165 cm = +1 cm
Bottom line?
Measure at the same time every day, preferably in the morning.
If you find it hard to remove your pillow completely, you can first replace your current pillow with a thinner pillow.
(And if you don’t want to buy another pillow, you can simply fold up a towel until it’s at your preferred thickness.)
Once you get comfortable sleeping on the thinner pillow, try getting rid of your pillow completely then.
And remember: you must become a back sleeper first before you remove your pillow, or you’ll put your spine in an unnatural position [5, 6].
If your body sinks into your mattress too much, I recommend looking into mattresses that are firmer.
And if you don’t want to buy another mattress, look for a firm mattress pad. They’re cheaper and easier to set up than mattresses.
(You can find them on Amazon or your local mattress store.)
You can simply create your own standing desk like I did:
And if you’re too lazy to do that, just maintain a good posture when you sit, and take a break from sitting at least once every 30 minutes.
I explain how to maintain a good sitting posture in my guide.
It depends.
Remember that my stretches will help you become taller by relaxing the muscles that become tight in your body.
Here is a quick guide on which stretch to focus on:
– If you find that your neck muscles get tight easily, do the Nod-And-Shake.
– If you find that your hips or stomach get tight easily, do the Body Twisters.
– If your chest and shoulders get tight, do the Magic Circles.
– If you use one side of your body much more than the other, do the Wall Reach.
If you need a refresher on how to do these stretches, click here.
In this section, I’m going to answer frequently asked questions about HGH and Growth Factor Plus.
Here are the resources for this section:
How to Increase HGH Naturally (to Grow Taller) Growth Factor Plus (In-Depth Review)Here are the questions:
Human Growth Hormone (also called HGH) is a hormone that’s produced in your pituitary gland, which is located in your brain [9].
Since it performs many different functions in your body, it’s essential for keeping you healthy [10].
But most importantly, it’s essential for making you grow taller [11].
During your childhood and teenage years, HGH is what’s responsible for lengthening your bones [11].
And even after you’re done growing, HGH can help you maximize your height by lengthening your spinal discs [12, 13, 14].
Yes.
HGH is produced naturally in your body, and without it, you would not be alive reading this [9].
But remember: stay away from HGH injections and needles (unless your doctor or pediatrician recommends you to take them) [15].
Instead, you want to increase your HGH naturally.
Natural HGH: Hormone that is secreted naturally from your pituitary glands
Synthetic HGH: Artificially made chemical that you put in your body via medicine, drugs, or injections
There are many ways to increase your HGH naturally, such as:
– Doing high-intensity exercises [16]
– Consuming less sugar [17]
– Intermittent fasting [18]
You can also increase HGH naturally by taking Growth Factor Plus, but it is a pricier option.
If you want to go over how to increase your HGH naturally, read my full guide here.
Growth Factor Plus contains 5 amino acids that increase your HGH naturally:
1) L-Ornithine [19]
3) L-Lysine [19]
4) L-Glutamine [22]
5) L-Glycine [23]
And by consuming these amino acids regularly, you can increase your HGH naturally, which can help you lengthen your spinal discs [12, 13, 14].
Growth Factor Plus is an optional step, and you should only take it if you want to maximize your results.
In other words, think of this as bodybuilding.
If you’re a bodybuilder, you’d do everything you can to build muscle, by:
– Going to the gym and working out,
– Eating the right foods, and
– Taking protein supplements.
However, if you take protein supplements WITHOUT going to the gym, you wouldn’t gain any muscle.
Similarly, if you want to maximize your height, you need to start applying my foundational techniques first, or you won’t see results.
But once you’ve done that, you can try Growth Factor Plus to get even better results with my techniques.
No. Growth Factor Plus is for anyone who is 18 years or older.
Growth Factor Plus is made up of natural ingredients that are found in herbs and plants.
And since it’s made in a cGMP-certified lab, these natural ingredients are high in quality.
So far, there have been no reports of anyone experiencing any side effects from taking Growth Factor Plus.
However, if you want to avoid side effects at all costs, check the ingredients and make sure you’re not allergic to any of them.
Yes.
If you get 3 bottles of Growth Factor Plus, you’ll save $169 since you get 1 bottle for free:
On top of that, you can save another $67.60 by applying my 20% coupon code.
When you check out, click on “Have a Promo Code?”
Afterwards, just enter my promo code HM20, and you’ll save another $67.60, and pay $270.40 (instead of $338).
And if you live in the United States, you can get free shipping as well.
Keep in mind that if you don’t see any results after finishing your bottles, you can simply contact the merchant and ask for a refund within 90 days of your purchase.
If you take Growth Factor Plus while applying my tips, it should help you get better results.
But even if it doesn’t work, you have nothing to risk, since the merchant offers a 90-day money back guarantee.
This age differs for everyone [25].
For me, I stopped growing when I was 18 years old.
But there is a basketball player who grew more than 10 cm when he was 22 years old [29].
And there are others who stop growing when they’re 16 years old.
So, the only way you can find out when you stop growing is to measure your height regularly, and you’ll notice when you stop growing naturally.
Once your bones stop growing completely, you can’t lengthen your arms, legs, or any other limbs. You can only lengthen your spinal discs.
And if you’re worried about not looking proportional, you don’t have to worry.
Maximizing your spine length is ACTUALLY how you make your body look the most natural.
In fact, by having short spinal discs, you’re putting yourself at risk of having back problems as you get older [30, 31].
So at the end of the day:
Maximizing your spine length will make your body look more natural AND save you from massive pain as you get older.
It is widely spread on the internet that 80% of your height is determined by genetics [32].
And while this number is still being verified by many scientists, you just need to know that genetics isn’t the ONLY factor that determines your height [33].
So if your bones are still growing naturally, there are many lifestyle changes you can make to promote further growth [34].
And if your bones are done growing, you can still apply the techniques I’ve taught you in order to fully maximize your height [26, 27, 28].
I’m not sure.
I’ve listened to them in the past, but I haven’t listened to them for long enough to get any results from them.
It depends on the hospital, but height surgeries can range from $97,500 to $280,000 USD depending on which bones you choose to lengthen [35].
And if you want to know my opinion, I recommend that you stay away from height surgeries.
Not only will they cost you a ton of money, but you’ll also go through massive amounts of pain, and it can cause your bones to become permanently weaker.
So, unless you’re desperate to increase your height by 10 cm or more, I suggest that you simply stick to my natural techniques.
Here are the resources for this Q & A post:
Guide: How I Grew 3.0 cm When I Was 23 Years Old 4 Stretches to Become Taller (With Less Effort) How to Increase HGH Naturally (to Grow Taller) Growth Factor Plus (In-Depth Review)If you want to purchase Growth Factor Plus, click here, and don’t forget to apply my 20% discount code when you check out: HM20
That’s it for now!
Cheers,
Jason
If you’ve been following the Posture Hacks that I taught you in the height growth guide, you should already have become noticeably taller.
But at first, you may notice that maintaining a good posture feels kind of awkward, or even worse, hard to do consistently.
Why?
It’s because you have muscles in your body that get tight from sitting and leaning forward all day.
So, how can you free up these muscles?
By doing my 4 Height Maximizing Stretches.
By doing these stretches every day, I’ve freed up the tightest muscles in my body, which has helped me maintain a taller posture with way less effort.
And luckily for you, I’m going to show you exactly how to do each of these 4 stretches.
In order to do these stretches, all you need is the following:
Yoga mat
Flat wall, and
A bit of room.
That’s it.
So without further ado, let’s dive right in.
As you sit and crunch all day, the muscles in your core become very tight, which makes it much harder to maintain a good posture [1, 2].
So, how can you free up your core?
By doing the Body Twisters.
This stretch loosens up your abdominals and side oblique muscles, which are at the front part of your core.
Here is how you do the Body Twisters:
1. Lie down on your mat, and extend your body fully by putting your arms and hands above your head, and your legs straight.
2. Twist your body by bringing your left leg towards your right side, and at the same time, bring both of your arms to the left side of your body, while turning your head towards your left side as well.
When you do this, make sure to stretch your body all the way. You should feel a good stretch on the right side of your abs and obliques.
3. Go back to your original position, and repeat the exact same movement the other way. When you switch directions, you should feel a good stretch on the left side of your abs and obliques.
4. Repeat this movement both ways for 10 repetitions. Make sure to go slowly, so that you can fully stretch out your tight abdominal and oblique muscles.
You neck muscles also tend to get very tight as you sit all day [1].
And the Nod-And-Shake helps you loosen and free up your neck muscles.
Now, this stretch has 2 parts to it:
1. Nod, and
2. Shake
(That was pretty obvious…)
The Nod focuses on loosening the front and back part of your neck, and the Shake focuses on loosening the left and right side of your neck (such as your trapezius).
First, here is how you do the Nod:
1. Sit on your yoga mat, with your legs extended in front of you, and your hands on the ground, with your fingers pointing to your sides.
2. Look up towards the ceiling, and hold this position for a second. At this point, you should feel a good stretch in the muscles below your chin.
3. Bring your chin down as far as you can, and look down to the floor. Hold this position for about a second. This should stretch the back part of your neck.
4. Repeat this up and down movement with your neck for 10 repetitions.
Next, here is how you do the Shake:
1. Turn your head towards your left side as far as you can. When you’ve reached your limit, hold this position for about 1 second.
2. Turn your head towards your right side, and once again, turn as much as possible. When you’ve reached your limit, hold this position for about 1 second.
3. Just like the Nod, you want to repeat this movement for 10 repetitions on each side.
Also, remember to keep your chin relatively low when you do this stretch.
When you sit and slouch, your shoulders tend to become round, which causes your chest muscles to become very short and tight [3].
And the Magic Circles will help you loosen up your tight chest muscles (also called your pectoralis major and minor).
Here is how you do the Magic Circles:
1. Stand on your feet at shoulder-width apart.
2. Extend your arms fully to your sides, with your palms facing up.
3. Slowly move your arms in a circular direction. Repeat this circular motion 10 times.
When you’re making these circles, make sure that you reach as far as you can towards your sides. That way, you’ll feel your chest muscles being fully stretched during every repetition.
4. Change directions, and once again, repeat this circular movement in the opposite direction, 10 times.
Remember to stretch out your arms as far as you can, and you’ll get much more out of this stretch.
I’m sure that you use one hand, one arm, or one leg, much more than the other.
And over time, this can cause one side of your body to become much tighter than the other, which can bring your spine out of its proper alignment [4].
And the Wall Reach will help you balance out the left and right side of your body, by stretching out your serratus anterior, latissimus dorsi, and external obliques.
Here is how you do the Wall Reach:
1. Stand in front of a flat wall, with your feet shoulder-width apart. Make sure that your toes, thighs, stomach, chest, and your chin are all touching the wall.
Don’t mind my rooster hair 😂
2. Raise your right arm, and make a circle until your right hand reaches the top. Reach as far as you can, but make sure that your feet stay flat on the ground.
3. After you hold this position for 2 to 3 seconds, bring your right arm back down.
4. Repeat this movement 2 more times, for a total of 3 repetitions.
And remember to keep your entire body against the wall at all times. This will ensure that you’re stretching the muscles that need to be stretched.
5. Repeat the same movement for your left arm, for a total of 3 repetitions.
Quick note: If you notice that one side of your body is shorter than the other, hold the stretch longer for your shorter side.
For example, if you use your right hand more than your left, you’ll find that your right side is slightly tighter and shorter than your left side.
And if that’s the case, make sure to stretch out your right side longer than your left.
6. Turn to your left side, and place the entire right side of your body against the wall.
7. Bring your right arm in front of you, and make a circle until your right hand reaches the top.
8. After holding this position for 2 to 3 seconds, bring your right arm back down. Repeat this movement 2 more times, for a total of 3 repetitions.
Once again, make sure to reach as high as you possibly can, while keeping both of your feet flat on the floor. This will help you fully stretch out your body.
9. Turn around, and place the entire left side of your body against the wall. Repeat the same exact movement for your left side, for a total of 3 repetitions.
10. Turn your body so that your back is touching the wall. Make sure that the heel of your feet, your butt, the upper part of your back, and your head are all touching the wall.
11. Raise both of your arms at the same time, and create a circle until your hands reach the top. Remember to keep your feet flat on the floor, and stretch out your body as much as you can.
12. After you hold this position for 2 to 3 seconds, bring your arms back down. Repeat this movement 2 more times, for a total of 3 repetitions.
And there you have it!
As I mentioned in the guide:
When you do these stretches, remember to distinguish good pain vs bad pain.
Like with any new workout routine, it’s going to be normal to feel sore when you first do these stretches.
And if you feel sore, that’s GOOD pain.
But, if you ever feel any weird type of pain in your bones or joints, that’s BAD pain, and you should stop immediately.
Although these exercises are designed to help you become taller and healthier, you should never force anything that doesn’t feel right.
Remember: Safety first!
By Jason Yoon
Hey!
If you want to download this guide as a PDF ebook, click here.
And if you want to read it here, just keep scrollin.
Enjoy 🙂
I know you’re eager to find out what I did to grow 3.0 cm when I was 23 years old.
But first, I want to make 2 important reminders:
Everything I’m going to teach you is meant to help you live a healthier lifestyle.
But remember that everyone’s body is different, and what’s best for me might not be the best for you.
So before you do anything, please consult your doctor first.
If you want to want to show off to your friends and family, this step is a must.
So before you apply any technique in this guide, remember to measure and record your height.
Because if you forget to capture your height from day 1, you can’t go back in time.
You may be thinking:
How is it possible to grow taller as an adult? Don’t you stop growing after you’re 18 years old?
Without getting overly scientific, I will briefly explain the science of how I grew taller as an adult.
After you reach a certain age, your bones stop growing completely. This age differs for everyone [1, 2].
But for me, I stopped growing when I was around 18 years old.
So, how did I grow 3.0 cm taller… 5 years after my bones stopped growing?
By increasing the length of my spine.
Let me explain.
Here is a diagram of your spine:
Your spine has 24 bones in total (if you don’t include the bottom tailbone, which is made up of the Sacrum and Coccyx) [3].
The light blue regions between these bones are called spinal discs.
And since there are 24 bones in your spine, there are 23 spinal discs in total.
Now, here’s what’s cool about your spinal discs:
Your spinal discs can change in length, no matter how old you are [4].
And by maximizing the length of my spinal discs, I was able to grow 3.0 cm as a 23-year-old adult.
Now, I’m not the only adult who has increased my spine length successfully.
There are several 65-year-old seniors with lower back pain who have also increased their spine length, through a process called spine decompression [5].
So if 65-year-olds can increase their spine length, you can too.
Now that you understand how I grew taller as an adult, let’s dive into the most exciting part of this guide:
There are only 2 things that I did to grow 3.0 cm taller.
Ready?
Here they are:
1. I fixed my posture, and
2. I optimized my sleep.
That’s it.
If you literally do these 2 things, you’ll become taller as soon as tomorrow.
Now you may be thinking:
WTF Jason! I’ve already done those 2 things, and I haven’t grown at all!
Well, there are 3 possible reasons why you think you haven’t grown:
1. You haven’t optimized your posture OR sleep properly,
2. You’ve actually grown a bit, but you haven’t noticed since you didn’t measure your height, or
3. Both your posture and sleeping habits are already perfect, so you have no height left to grow.
If your posture and sleep are fully optimized, you can put away this guide.
But I doubt that’s the case.
Most of us (including myself) ALWAYS have room to improve when it comes to these two factors.
And in the following 2 sections, I’m going to reveal EVERYTHING that I did to optimize my posture and sleep…
…and ultimately grow 3.0 cm.
I’m sure that you came across this tip 1000 times before picking up this guide.
But why is this such popular advice when it comes to getting taller?
Because not only does fixing your posture make you appear taller…
…it also increases the length of your spinal discs.
If you have a poor posture, it’s the same as having 60 lbs (or 23 kg) of weight on your neck [6, 7]:
So by fixing my posture, I reduced the weight on my neck, which helped me lengthen my spinal discs.
Bottom line?
Fixing your posture makes you appear taller AND increases the length of your spinal discs.
If you don’t have the best posture right now, don’t feel bad.
Because no matter how bad your posture is, I’m sure you still look way better than me back in high school:
I told you.
But thanks to what I’m about to show you, I was able to fix my ugly posture, and grow 3.0 cm!
If you want to maintain a good posture, there are only 2 things you need to focus on [8]:
1. Keeping the left & right sides of your body symmetrical, and
2. Keeping your ears, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and ankles all in one straight line.
That’s it.
Now that you know what correct vs incorrect postures look like, it’s time for me to show you my ultimate posture hacks:
To fix your standing posture, you can do what I call the “Wall Posture Fix.”
Here is how to Do The Wall Posture Fix:
1. Go to a wall.
2. Put your ankles, butt, shoulder blades, and the back of your head against the wall.
3. To align your head properly, tuck in your chin while looking straight. This will pop your chest out, and put your spine in its neutral position.
4. Hold this position for 15 seconds.
Once your entire body is against the wall, I want you to pay attention to how you feel.
If it feels pretty natural, that means your posture is already pretty good.
But if it feels tight, awkward, or uncomfortable, it means that your posture needs to improve.
If you want to fix and maintain your standing posture as fast as possible, do this exercise at least twice a day.
(It doesn’t take long anyway)
If you’re like me, you probably spend most of your time sitting.
So it’s very important that your sitting posture is on point.
Here are 6 simple steps you can take to fix your sitting posture [8]:
1. Find a comfortable chair to sit on. If possible, get a chair that has an adjustable height, and armrests.
2. Place your butt and shoulders on the back of the chair.
3. Look forward, and tilt your head so that your chin points downwards. This will pop your chest out and put your spine in its neutral position.
4. Place your arms on the armrests. Your elbows should be bent at 90° to 120°.
5. Adjust the height of the chair so that your feet are flat on the ground. Your thighs and knees should both be bent at 90° to 120°.
6. If you’re sitting in front of your computer, adjust the height of your monitor so that your eyes are facing the top of your monitor.
(If you’re using a laptop, simply place books or other flat items underneath it.)
Also, make sure that your monitor is 45 to 70 cm (18 to 24 inches) away from your eyes.
Even if you follow the steps that I just laid out for you, it’s best for you to sit less [9].
Why?
Sitting can shrink your spinal discs more than when you stand [10].
And I’m sure you already know that sitting for too long causes many other health problems [11].
So, here are 2 habits I started doing to sit less:
1. Take regular breaks. You can install any free Pomodoro app, which will remind you to take breaks regularly.
2. If you’re too tired to stand, lie down on your stomach.
Another way to sit less is to use a standing desk.
Since you probably spend a good amount of time on your phone or laptop, using these devices on a standing desk will dramatically shorten the amount of time you sit.
If you don’t want to spend $1000s on expensive standing desks, you don’t need to.
You can simply create a homemade standing desk like I did:
😂😂😂
Now, if you’re thinking about using a standing desk, you should STILL take frequent breaks from whatever you’re doing [12].
Also, it’s important that you maintain a correct posture when using a standing desk.
Here are steps you can take to maintain a good posture while using a standing desk [8, 13]:
1. Keep the left & right sides of your body symmetrical.
2. Keep your ears, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and ankles all in one straight line.
3. Keep your forearms parallel to the floor, and your elbows bent at 90° to 120°.
4. Make sure that the top of the monitor is at your eye level, 51 to 71 cm (20 to 28 inches) away from your eyes, and is tilted at 20°.
1. Optimize your standing posture by doing the Wall Posture Fix.
2. Optimize your sitting posture by following the 6-step process.
3. Minimize your sitting time by taking frequent breaks and lying down on your stomach.
4. Use a standing desk, and remember to maintain a good posture and take frequent breaks.
Before I increased my height by 3.0 cm, I had terrible sleep habits.
And once I fixed my sleeping habits, I was able to grow taller almost instantly.
But here’s the catch:
If you want to grow taller, there is a specific way to optimize your sleep.
And in this section, I’m going to show you exactly what I did to optimize my sleep for maximum growth.
This is probably the most important thing that I did to grow 3.0 cm.
Before I grew taller, I used to get 5 hours of sleep on average…
But after I started sleeping for 8 hours, my height increased almost instantly.
Now, I’m not going to give you a specific number when it comes to how much you sleep.
Why?
Because not only does everyone need different amounts of sleep [14], but YOU yourself need different amounts of sleep every night [15].
So in order to find out how much sleep you need, simply turn off your alarm.
If you wake up naturally without anything screaming at you in the morning, you’ll allow your body to sleep as much as it needs to.
Also: turn off anything else in your environment that can wake you up.
This one is also huge.
A study has shown that increasing your pillow height puts more pressure on your spine [16].
That’s why as soon as I got rid of my pillow, I was able to grow taller by the next morning.
But before I did this, there is one important step that I took:
I became a back sleeper first.
If you sleep on your side or your stomach, getting rid of your pillow can actually put your body in an unnatural position [17].
But if you sleep on your back without a pillow, your head and neck will be aligned in its neutral position [17, 18].
Now, if you’ve been sleeping with a thick pillow for your entire life (like I have), it might feel uncomfortable when you first get rid of your pillow.
So if you find it hard to sleep without a pillow at first, no worries.
Here are some simple steps you can take to sleep without your pillow effortlessly.
How to Sleep Without a Pillow (While Feeling Comfortable):
1. Become a back sleeper first, by lying on your back with your arms straight by your sides.
When you start sleeping on your back, you may find it comfortable to place a thin pillow or a rolled-up towel underneath your upper back, lower back, and/or your knees [17, 19].
2. Once you’re used to sleeping on your back, start sleeping on a thinner pillow.
If you don’t want to buy another pillow, simply grab a towel, and fold it up a few times until it reaches your preferred thickness.
3. Once you’re comfortable sleeping with the thinner pillow, get yourself a thinner pillow, or if possible, get rid of your pillow altogether.
If your mattress is on the softer side, you may need to get yourself a firmer mattress or mattress pad.
Studies have shown that medium-firm mattresses keep your spine in its proper alignment, and also reduce lower-back pain [20, 21].
Now, I know that buying a whole new mattress (or even a mattress pad) can be annoying and expensive.
But after getting a firmer mattress and seeing myself grow taller (and feeling much better), I don’t regret it at all.
So if you’re truly serious about maximizing your height, I highly recommend that you don’t skip this step.
Now, remember that firmer doesn’t necessarily mean better.
At the end of the day, you must feel comfortable on whatever mattress you sleep on.
So, pick a mattress that’s pretty firm, but not rock-solid.
That’s it.
If you want to maximize your height, it’s not enough to sleep for longer…
…you must also sleep deeper.
And in order to sleep deeper, you’ll need to hack your environment in the right way.
Here are some ways you can hack your environment to get deeper sleep:
1. Cool down your room temperature to 60 to 70 °F (16 to 21 °C). But once again, set the temperature to whatever makes you feel comfortable [22, 23].
2. Close your room door to minimize the noise that enters your room [23]. If you live in a noisy neighborhood, you’ll also want to close your windows.
3. Make your room pitch black by closing your curtains and getting rid of all night lights [23].
4. Sleep with socks on. Having warmer feet will improve your sleep quality [24].
So far, we talked about ways you can hack your sleep.
But if you want to sleep more deeply, it’s also important to do the right things BEFORE you sleep.
One way to get better sleep is to exercise during the day [25].
So engage in your favorite sport, exercise, or any activity that raises your heartbeat and makes you sweat!
In order to make you feel sleepy at night, your body produces a chemical called melatonin.
And one of the best ways to produce more melatonin naturally is to get more sunlight during the day [26].
Now, it’s important that you get sunlight by actually going outside (and not just through the windows).
But to avoid sunburn, make sure to avoid peak hours, which happens around 10 am to 2 pm [27].
The previous 2 sleep hacks are what you can do during the day to help you sleep better.
But it’s also important that you avoid certain activities at night.
So below is everything you need to avoid doing at night to sleep better.
Activities to Avoid Before Bedtime:
– Drinking too much water [28]
– Eating too much food [29, 30]
– Drinking coffee, tea, or anything with caffeine [29, 30]
– Smoking or drinking alcohol (wine or beer may feel relaxing, but they actually ruin your sleep) [30, 31]
– Stressful activities [30]
– High-intensity exercises (do them earlier in the day) [32]
– Looking at your phone or laptop (light can disrupt your sleep) [32, 33]
1. Sleep as much as possible by turning off your alarm and getting rid of other distractions.
2. Sleep on your back without a pillow.
3. Get yourself a medium-firm mattress or mattress pad.
4. Optimize your sleep environment.
5. Exercise during the day.
6. Get enough sunlight by going outside, but avoid peak hours.
7. Avoid certain activities before bed.
Here is the best part about growing taller as an adult:
You’ll get to shock your friends and family.
When I applied all of the techniques in this guide and became noticeably taller, my parents and many of my friends were surprised.
But it gets better:
When I showed them my height growth measurements, they were EVEN MORE shocked.
So if you want to shock your friends and family, remember to measure and record your height from day 1.
Now, if you’re not sure how to capture your height properly, it’s super easy.
All you need to do is follow 4 simple rules:
1. Use the same ruler. In my opinion, using a tape ruler or a cheap wall ruler will do.
(If you’re geeky like me, you can get a Stadiometer, but I think that’s going overkill.)
2. Setup your ruler in the same location and angle. If you’re going to measure in your room the first time, continue measuring in your room afterwards.
3. Measure your height regularly (ideally once a week at least). This will help you know how fast you’re growing, and when you’ve fully maximized your height.
(Remember: if you miss a measurement, there’s no going back!)
4. Don’t wear any socks or shoes when you measure. Pretty obvious.
Congratulations!
You should be proud of yourself for finishing this guide.
The fact that you’re here tells me 2 things about you:
1. You’re open-minded, and are willing to accept the possibility of growing taller as an adult, and
2. You’re very committed, and are willing to do whatever it takes to maximize your height.
And since you’re open-minded and committed, I know that you’re going to grow taller in no time.
Now before I finish off this guide, I want to give you some important reminders:
While everything I’ve taught you will help you grow taller, I can’t promise you any concrete numbers.
You might grow more than 3.0 cm, less than 3.0 cm, or exactly 3.0 cm.
Your results will depend mostly on the following factors:
– How good or bad your posture is right now,
– How precisely you measure your height, and
– How consistently you stick to all of the habits.
Which brings me to my next point:
I have good news.
Unlike losing weight or gaining muscle, you’ll see results very quickly.
For me, most of my height growth happened in the first few weeks.
But by staying committed, my height continued to increase gradually over time.
So make sure to stay consistent until you fully maximize your height.
You may feel that many of the techniques I taught you in this guide are way too simple.
And you’re right.
Fixing your posture and sleeping well aren’t miraculous achievements.
But will these simple habits help you grow taller? Yes they will.
And let me ask you:
If you want to lose weight or gain muscle, do you need to do anything complicated?
Not really.
All you need to do is go to the gym regularly, eat well, sleep well, drink lots of water, and you’ll get fit.
And when it comes to increasing your height, it’s not complicated either.
So instead of looking for some magical trick, just stick to the basic techniques I’ve taught you in this guide, and you’ll see results in no time.
I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “No pain, no gain.”
But when it comes to growing taller, this approach is a recipe for failure.
Instead, it’s far more important that you distinguish good pain vs bad pain.
What do I mean?
When you first fix your posture, you might feel a bit sore, because you’re starting to use muscles that you haven’t used in a long time.
And just like when you first start working out at the gym, it’s normal to feel a bit sore in the beginning.
However, you should never feel any sharp pain in your joints or bones, because it means that you’re not doing something right.
So to prevent injuries, please see your doctor before implementing anything from this guide.
Your health and safety should always be your #1 priority.
If you’re not happy about your height right now, you’re not alone.
There are many adults around the world who would also like to grow taller.
But sadly, most adults think that it’s not possible to grow even a single cm.
And that’s why you have a chance to become their hero.
By sharing your height growth story on my blog, you’ll inspire millions of adults to become taller just like you.
So if you want to show the world what’s possible, feel free to send me your measurements and success story using my contact form.
(And if you don’t want to show your face, you can simply blur it.)
Once I confirm that your measurements are legit, I will share your story on my blog.
And once your story goes live, you’ll become a hero to millions of adults…
…and inspire them to follow you in achieving something that they’ve never done:
Grow taller as adults.
The techniques I’ve taught you in this guide are some of the BEST ways to optimize your body for maximum growth.
But just because you’ve perfected everything in this guide, it doesn’t mean you’ve reached the end.
Optimizing your posture and sleep is a never-ending game, and you can ALWAYS improve both areas of your life.
Even to this day, I’m constantly looking for better ways to improve my posture and sleep, so that I can become even taller and healthier than I was yesterday.
And whenever I discover any new ground-breaking technique, you’ll be the first one to find out!
So, look forward to more emails from me, because I’ll be sending you more Height Maximizing tips in the near future 🙂
Talk soon,
Jason
Do you want to feature your success story on Height Maximizer?
This is your chance!
Simply send me your success story using the contact form below, and you'll have a good chance of being featured on my blog.
Here are some things you may want to include:
- Before and after videos or pictures (make sure to upload your files to Google Drive or another location, and send me links to these files)
- Your age or your child's age (before and after growing taller)
- How much you grew (or your child grew)
- Exactly what you or your child did to grow taller
- If applicable: what role Height Maximizer played in your success
Do you have a product that can help the world become taller and healthier?
If so, you're ready to join my movement.
If you want me to promote your product as your affiliate, please provide me with the following information in the contact form below:
- Your mission statement, and a brief description of your company
- A brief description of your product, and an explanation of how it can help children and/or adults become taller
- Any qualifications that your product has received (such as getting FDA approved)
- (If applicable): A brief description of your affiliate program, such as your commission rates
- Any other information you'd like to share about your product or your company
If your product meets my standards, I will get back to you.
My #1 priority is to provide my visitors and subscribers with accurate information that can improve their health.
Therefore, I make every effort to make sure that all of the information that I share are:
1) Backed up by scientific evidence from qualified professionals, and/or
2) Based on actual results that I or other people have achieved.
If you've found any information that lacks scientific evidence, is supported by an invalid study, or is inaccurate in any other way, please send me a brief report with the following information:
- A text-copy or screenshot of the inaccurate information (to send me images, make sure to upload your images to Google Drive or another location, and send me links to these images)
- Your suggested correction, or a link to a resource that contains the correct information, and
- A link to your profile that shows your professional background.
If you want to report a copyright issue, please send me a brief report with the following information:
- A description, text-copy, or screenshot of the property (to send me images, make sure to upload your images to Google Drive or another location, and send me links to these images)
- The title or link of the page in which this property exists
- Information about the owner: name, website/social profile, and contact information
Please keep in mind that I can't give you any personal health or medical advice. If you have any health-related questions, please see your doctor.
(Stay tuned: In the near future, I’m going to update this page with over 100 questions that people ask about height growth topics!)
There are a ton of different questions that people have about how to grow taller, such as:
How can I get taller in a day?
Do height growth pills really work?
…or…
Is it possible to grow taller after 25?
If you’re looking for the answers to these types of questions, consider yourself lucky…
…because I’m about to answer YOUR specific question that you have about growing taller.
How do I know?
Because on this page, I answer a bunch of questions about growing taller!
That’s not all…
This page is laid out in a Q and A format, so it won’t be your typical, long and boring scientific articles that you find on NCBI.
So if you have any specific questions that you want to have answered,
1) Simply press:
2) Type in your main keywords to search for the answer to your specific question.
If you can’t find an answer to your specific question, you can try 1 of 3 things:
i. Type less number of words; the shorter your keywords are, the better chance you have of finding them.
ii. Under Table of Contents, try clicking on a sub-section that corresponds to the topic of your specific question, and you may be able to find the answer(s) that you’re looking for.
iii. Comment at the bottom of this page, and I can answer your question directly. If you want me to answer your question privately, you can always email me at [email protected].
1. General
What makes you grow taller?
How do you get taller in a day?
2. Health
Do height growth pills really work?
Do you grow taller if you do sports?
Can you stretch to get taller?
How much sleep do you need to grow taller?
Can being overweight prevent you from growing taller?
3. Age Specific
What is the age you stop growing?
Is it scientifically possible to grow taller after puberty?
How do you get a growth spurt?
4. Growth Stunt
Does lifting weights stunt growth?
What stunts your growth?
Does caffeine stunt your growth?
Does coffee or tea stunt your growth?
Does soda stunt your growth?
Does smoking stunt your growth?
Q: What makes you grow taller?
A: There is a wide range of different things that you can do to grow taller.
Here are 5 things that you can do to increase your height:
1. Maintain a good posture
2. Perform exercises and stretches that lengthen your spine
3. Eat well and sufficiently
4. Drink a lot of water
5. Stay lean
Q: How do you get taller in a day?
A: The best to grow taller in an instant is to straighten your posture.
The main benefit that you gain from straightening your posture is that it allows you to continue growing taller even after the height gain that you witness instantly.
If you want to learn exercises that teach you how to fix your posture, check out my Top 7 Exercises to Grow Taller.
Q: Do height growth pills really work?
A: Yes.
As you know, nutrition plays a very critical role in your ability to grow taller.
In fact, it is virtually impossible to reach your full potential height if you neglect this factor.
Grow taller pills are simply a means of consuming the essential nutrients that you need to increase your height growth.
However, you have to remember that not all supplements are created equal.
Just like there are legitimate body building supplements, where are legitimate height growth supplements as well.
If you want to learn which supplements are the best for height growth, check out my review of the Top 10 Height Growth Pills.
Q: Do you grow taller if you do sports?
A: It depends on the sport.
Some sports help you grow taller, and other sports are either irrelevant to your height, or may actually have a negative impact on your ability to increase height.
Generally, you want to stick to sports and activities that stretch out your spine, and all of your other joints for that matter.
Here are 5 of the best sports for lengthening your spine:
1. Rock Climbing
2. Cycling
3. Volleyball
4. Basketball
5. Swimming
Q: Can you stretch to get taller?
A: Yes, there are certain types of stretches and exercises that you can do to increase height.
To learn more, check out my Top 7 Exercises to Grow Taller.
Q: How much sleep do you need to grow taller?
A: Aim to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night.
There are many different sources claiming that you only need at least 9 hours of sleep per day… some argue that 6 hours is enough.
From a general health standpoint, it is unclear as to what the optimal number of hours is when it comes to sleep.
However, in terms of maximizing your height, sleep only does you good.
There are 2 main reasons for this:
1. Decompression of Your Spine
You’ve probably noticed this already, but after a good night’s sleep, you’re slightly taller in the morning.
This is because the spine is only able to decompress when you’re lying down, since it does not have to carry a certain amount of load from your body weight, as opposed to when you’re sitting or standing while you’re awake.
Therefore, the longer you sleep, the more time your spine has to be able to decompress itself, hence elongate in length.
2. Increased HGH Levels
HGH, which is an abbreviation for Human Growth Hormone, is a natural biochemical that your body produces, and it is one of the most critical factors that are responsible for your height growth.
There are a few different ways of increasing your HGH levels naturally, but one of the easiest ways that you can increase it is to get a sufficient amount of sleep every night.
If you want to find out the best foods for increasing your HGH levels naturally, check out my Top 20 Foods That Make You Grow Taller (Dairy-Free Guide).
Q: Can being overweight prevent you from growing taller?
A: Yes.
One of the most important factors in growing taller is to keep your spine elongated and decompressed.
Thus, any factor that compresses your spine hinders you from maximizing your height.
And since being overweight can cause your spine to become much more compressed, you would be hindering your chances of growing taller, simply by being overweight.
You don’t need to be fit like Arnold or Megan Fox, but make sure to maintain a healthy body weight if your goal is to reach your full potential height.
Q: What is the age you stop growing?
A: It depends; there are 2 parts to this answer:
1. Everyone stops growing at a different age.
This age is determined my many different factors, such as:
2. There is no pre-determined age in which one stops growing.
The structure of your body develops as a result of many complex systems working in conjunction with one another.
Thus, it is virtually impossible to accurately predict when you will stop growing, before the time actually comes.
However, there are a list of scientifically proven steps that you can take in order to significantly delay the age that you stop growing.
Q: Is it scientifically possible to grow taller after puberty?
A: Yes.
In fact, there is actually NO limit in terms of how young you have to be in order to be able to grow taller.
Furthermore, even if you haven’t grown in years, height growth is still possible if you hit the right nerve.
To learn more, check out How to Grow Taller After Puberty.
Q: How do you get a growth spurt?
A: Growth spurt is not something that you can manually get; it’s something that comes to you naturally as you age.
If you’re just starting to enter your teenage years, you will probably get a growth spurt sooner than later.
However, this will also depend on the person; there are people that get their growth spurts right before their 20s.
Different individuals also grow varying amounts during this stage. Some people are capable of growing upwards of one foot, and others only grow a few inches or centimetres.
Nevertheless, there are concrete steps that you can take to condition your body for maximal height growth during your puberty days, when you are most likely to get your growth spurt.
To learn more, check out How to Grow Taller During Puberty.
Q: Does lifting weights stunt growth?
A: Some weight-lifting exercises cause growth stunts, and others do not.
Any exercise that causes your spine to compress will stunt your growth.
Here are a few common spine-compressing exercises:
Conversely, here are some popular exercises that do not compress your spine:
If you want to learn exercises that actually increase the length of your spine, check out my Top 7 Exercises to Grow Taller.
Q: What stunts your growth?
A: There are many factors that can hinder your growth.
Here are 5 of the most common causes of growth stunts:
1. Postural misalignment
2. Regularly engaging in spine compressing activities
3. Malnutrition
4. Lack of sleep
5. Bone diseases (e.g. osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, disc degeneration, etc.)
Q: Does caffeine stunt your growth?
A: No.
However, there may exist an indirect correlation between people that consume caffeine on a regular basis and shortness in height.
There is a correlation between people that consume caffeine on a regular basis and people who don’t get enough sleep, since people who are sleep deprived tend to rely on caffeine more often than people who sleep sufficiently.
And since a lack of sleep results in less height growth, you could argue that in general, people who rely heavily on caffeine are more likely to be short than people who don’t.
But to state clearly, caffeine does NOT directly cause one’s growth to stunt.
Q: Does coffee or tea stunt your growth?
A: No.
Q: Does soda stunt your growth?
A: No.
Q: Does smoking stunt your growth?
A: No.
As I said in the beginning, I’m going to update this page by answer over a 100 questions that people commonly ask about height.
But until then, I need your help.
Which question do you want me to answer on this page?
And are there any questions on this page you want me to elaborate on?
Either way, let me know by leaving a comment below right now.
This is a continuation of my guide on helping your children maximize their height.
In part 1, we covered the fundamentals of growing taller.
And in part 2, we’re going to look at additional strategies to boost your child’s growth even further.
Also, if you have children who are:
1. Much shorter than their friends,
2. Almost (or completely) done growing, OR EVEN
3. Growing too fast and want to slow down their growth,
You’ll find part 2 useful.
So without further ado, let’s dive right in.
In this chapter, I’m NOT going to give you lame tips like “do the cobra stretch”.
Instead, you’re about to discover the one and only type of exercise that will actually speed up your child’s growth.
On top of that, you’re going to learn exercises that can help your child maintain the taller posture she gained in Chapter 6.
And to finish off the chapter: you’ll learn what your child needs to AVOID in order to maximize growth.
(Hint: It’s NOT squatting or lifting heavy weights)
In part 1, we talked about how HGH is essential for making your child’s bones grow longer.
And luckily for your child, she can do exercises to increase her HGH for faster growth.
So what types of exercise can maximize your child’s HGH levels?
High-intensity exercises [1, 2].
Doing high-intensity exercises can also burn fat, which is important for increasing your child’s HGH levels even further [3].
And in this section, I’ll show you the most effective and fun exercises your child can do to maximize her HGH levels.
Before I explain what a high-intensity workouts look like, I need to make a few important points:
High-Intensity Workouts Are For Teenagers (13 Years or Older)
Studies have shown that high-intensity workouts only elevate HGH levels in teenagers going through puberty, but not younger children. [4]
But if your child is 12 years old or younger, no worries.
As long as your child stays active regularly, she’ll keep her HGH levels high for maximum growth.
(If your child is 12 years old or younger, click here to skip to the next section)
Make Sure Your Child is In a Healthy Condition
High-intensity workouts are exactly like what they sound:
They’re INTENSE AF!
So if you’re child is injured or isn’t in a healthy condition, it may not be safe for her to do them.
(Later in this chapter, I’ll show you the exact steps your child can take to minimize her risk of getting injured)
A Qualified Supervisor is MANDATORY
Your child should always be supervised when doing any form of exercises (high-intensity or not).
But since high-intensity workouts can be even more risky if not done correctly, it’s important to have a qualified supervisor watch over what she’s doing.
So make sure to hire a qualified supervisor who is an expert at their sport, and condition your child so that she is fully ready to take on whatever exercise she’s going to perform.
With the safety steps out of the way, here is exactly how to perform a high-intensity workout [5, 6, 7]:
➊ Train on an empty stomach
➋ Exert 80% to 100% effort into each set
➌ Each set should last between 15 to 20 seconds
➍ Get 90 seconds of rest in-between sets, and
➎ Total session should last between 5 to 30 min
Now, here is the cool part about high-intensity workouts:
It can be done through literally ANY exercise, sport, or activity.
So get your child to brainstorm her favorite list of activities.
And afterwards, get her to take part in those activities in the form of a high-intensity workout (by following the model above).
But if she can’t think of any activity, no worries.
Here are some of the best activities that your child can do, using the high-intensity workout model [6, 8]:
100 m sprints
Stationary bikes (pedal as hard as possible)
Rapid squat jumps
Burpees
Pushups
Jumping ropes
If your child isn’t motivated to follow this high-intensity workout model, or you don’t feel that it’s right for your child, no worries.
Remember at the end of the day, as long as your child is active regularly, her natural HGH levels will stay high, which will help her bones grow even more.
Exercising regularly will also help keep her weight down, while simultaneously strengthening her bones [3, 9].
With that, let’s move onto the next section:
In Chapter 6, you learned how fixing your child’s posture can:
Make her taller (instantly), and
Help her develop a strong and stable body structure.
And while Chapter 6 was all about fixing her posture, this section is all about maintaining her posture much more easily.
Today, our sedentary lifestyle causes our posture to go out of alignment.
Specifically, we have the tendency to develop what I call the “3 Deadly Posture Killers”:
The nerd neck
Rounded shoulders, and
Anterior pelvic tilt
And in this section, I’m going to briefly explain what each of these posture looks like, how they develop, and what exercises your child can do to counteract them.
You probably guessed what this one looks like from the name.
The nerd neck develops from looking at your screen for too long without taking breaks.
(That’s why so many people look like giraffes today)
Just like the Nerd Neck, the Rounded Shoulders develop from sitting for too long.
As you see in the image, the Nerd Neck and Rounded Shoulders usually come together as a combo.
Simply put: Anterior Pelvic Tilt is when your butt sticks out noticeably.
Just like the other two posture kills, this posture develops from too much sitting and lack of activity.
The good thing about the 3 Posture Killers is that they’re all interconnected.
This means that if you correct just one of the Posture Killers, it will reduce (or entirely fix) the other 2 Posture Killers as well.
And luckily for you, I’ve gathered 9 of the best exercises your child can do to combat these Posture Killers.
I call these the 9 Posture Healers.
The Doorway Stretch will stretch out your child’s chest muscles, which get very tight from sitting for a long time.
This exercise is great, because all you literally need is a doorway.
Steps:
1. Find a doorway that both of your elbows can reach at once. If you can’t find a doorway, just find a wall corner, and do the following steps separately for your left and right side.
2. Stand in the doorway with one foot in front of the other.
3. Place both hands and elbows on the door frame, with your elbows at a 90° angle.
4. Bend your forward knee until you feel a nice stretch in your chest and shoulders.
5. Hold it for 30 to 60 seconds.
6. Repeat 3 to 5 times.
Video Demonstration:
Wall angels will correct your child’s posture from her neck, all the way down to her hips.
In other words, this exercises can combat ALL 3 Posture Killers at once!
Steps:
1. Get your child to stand in front of a wall, facing away from the wall, with her feet shoulder width apart.
2. Her glutes (butt), lower back, shoulders, and the back of her head should ALL be touching the wall, while the back of her feet is slightly away from the wall. Her lower back should be as close to the wall as possible.
3. Get her to bring her arms up at her sides, with her upper arm parallel to the floor, and her forearms bent at 90°. Her elbow should be touching the wall as well.
4. When she feels comfortable, she can slowly raise her arms as high as possible, and bring them back down.
5. Repeat this movement as many times as she comfortable. (Her glutes, shoulders, elbows, and head should all be against the wall during this movement).
Video Demonstration:
Standing Rows will bring her shoulders back, which will mainly help her counteract the rounded shoulders.
Steps:
1. Get a long elastic band, and wrap it around a doorknob, pole, or any other part of the house.
2. Get your child to grab each side of the elastic band. Her posture should be straight, with her chin tucked in.
3. Get your child to gently pull on each side of the elastic band with both hands, until her hands reach the sides of her tummy. When she pulls the band towards her body, she should feel a nice contraction in her back muscles.
4. Repeat this movement 15 times.
5. Repeat this exercise 3 times.
Video Demonstration:
This Posture Healer is great for combatting Rounded Shoulders.
By doing this exercise, your child can rotate her shoulder outwards, which will help to bring her shoulders back even further.
Steps:
1. Get a long elastic band, and tie it around a doorknob, pole, or any other part of the house.
2. Place a pillow or a thin towel between your child’s arm and her body (right beneath her armpit).
3. With the hand of the same arm, get your child to grab the elastic band. At this point, her hand that’s grabbing the band should be pointing to the opposite side of her arm. Her posture should be straight, with her chin tucked in.
4. Your child can slowly pull the elastic band towards the side of her arm that’s pulling the band.
5. Get her to pull the band as much as her shoulder allows, and gently bring the elastic band back to its original position.
6. Repeat the movements in steps 4 and 5 about 15 times.
Video Demonstration:
To perform this Posture Healer, you’re going to need a foam roller.
If you don’t have one, no worries.
Your child can just double down on the Doorway Stretch, since it basically does the same thing as this exercise:
Stretch out the chest muscles.
Steps:
1. Get your child to lay on the foam roller, with her upper back against it.
2. Get her to cross her arms, and lift her butt of the ground.
3. She can slowly roll the foam roller up and down her spine. She should feel a nice stretch in her front muscles at this point. Make sure that the foam roller does NOT go down to her lower back.
4. Do this for about 30 seconds, and repeat this set 3 or 4 times.
Video Demonstration:
This Posture Healer is effective for combatting Anterior Pelvic Tilt.
Since one of the main causes of this posture is tight hip flexors, it’s important to stretch it out.
And this exercise helps you do just that.
Steps:
1. Get your child to stand in a lunge position, with her left knee on the ground, and her right feet in front of her.
2. Get her to raise her left arm towards the ceiling, while she places her right hand on her lower back.
3. Get her to lean her torso slightly towards the right, and rotate her torso counterclockwise to face her left side.
4. Hold this position for 15 seconds.
5. Repeat steps 1 to 4 for her opposite side.
6. Repeat this stretch 2 more times for both sides.
Video Demonstration:
This Posture Healer will also combat the Anterior Pelvic Tilt.
But instead of stretching the hip flexor, this exercise will strengthen your child’s glutes.
And since the Anterior Pelvic Tilt happens when your glutes are weak, the Glute Bridge will compat this posture by strengthening your glutes.
Steps:
1. Get your child to lie down on a mat, with her back against the floor. Her lower back should be flat on the ground (not arched).
2. Next, she should bend her knees so that her feet is closer to her glutes.
3. When her back is flat on the ground, she can now lift off her butt by flexing her glute muscles. After her butt comes off the mat, she can then lift off her lower back (make sure that her back doesn’t come off before her butt does).
4. She can slowly bring her lower back down to the floor, and afterwards, place her glues back on the floor. Once again, her lower back needs to come to the floor first.
5. Repeat movements in steps 3 and 4 about 15 times.
6. Repeat this set 2 more times.
Video Demonstration:
You’re probably familiar with this one.
And that’s because it’s a very good for your posture and overall health!
This Posture Healer strengthens your core muscles, which is important for combatting ALL 3 Posture Killers.
Steps:
1. Get a mat
2. Get your child to put her elbows and hands on the mat, with her hands right below her face
3. Next, she should place her feet down on the mat, so that her entire torso and legs form a straight line
4. Get her to hold the plank position as long as she can
Video Demonstration:
This Posture Healer is also effective for combatting all 3 Posture Killers.
It does so by strengthening the core muscles of her back.
Steps:
1. Get your child to lie down on a mat, with her stomach facing down, and her arms extended above her head.
2. Next, she should take off her hands and feet at the same time, making the superman pose. She should feel a strong contraction in her glutes and lower back.
3. Get her to hold this position for about 2 seconds before bring her hands and feet back down.
4. Repeat the movements in steps 2 and 3 about 12 to 15 times.
5. Repeat this exercises 2 more times.
Now this is probably the hardest Posture Healer to perform.
If your child has a hard time doing it, she can start with easier versions of the Superman exercise.
The video down below will show you how she can do so.
Video Demonstration:
For more exercises to correct your child’s posture, here are some bonus resources you can check out:
6 Exercises to Counteract Slouching (by Brett from Art of Manliness):
Perfect Posture in 5 Steps (by Jeff Cavaliere from ATHLEAN-X):
13 Best Postural Exercises for Forward Head Posture (by Dr. Alan Mandell):
For your child, these 9 Posture Healers will be very effective for restoring her normal posture.
However, make sure that your child doesn’t overdo any exercise.
While each exercise will help to combat the Posture Killers, doing them too much will also bring her spine out of proper alignment.
Also, it’s important to remember that your child needs to perform exercises that feel right for her, since she has a unique body structure and lifestyle to everyone else.
(For example, if she doesn’t suffer from the Anterior Pelvic Tilt, it may not be necessary for her to do the Glute Bridge)
So if you want to assess her posture with 100% accuracy, make sure to bring your child to a chiropractor who can prescribe the right exercises for her unique posture.
And remember:
NEVER force your child to exercise through pain.
Which brings me to the last section of this chapter:
Before you even ask, I’ll give you the answer right away:
Weight lifting will NOT stunt your child’s growth.
If so, what can actually stunt or slow down growth?
There are only 3 enemies that can disrupt your child’s growth:
1. Lack of HGH in her body
2. Severe conditions or diseases
3. Injuries to her growth plates
In Part 1 of this guide, we discussed several ways to maintain high HGH levels.
And later in this guide, we’ll dive deep into severe conditions and diseases your child needs to watch out for.
So let’s tackle the 3rd item on the list:
Source: washington.edu
To simplify: Your growth plate is the part of your bone that lengthens itself [10].
It contain cells that use different nutrients to lengthen and thicken your bones.
That’s why it’s important that your child protects herself from growth plate injuries at all costs.
Now, the good news is that 80% of growth plate injuries don’t negatively affect bone growth, and can be cured without any surgery [11].
However, since the other 20% of growth plate injuries CAN disrupt bone growth, it’s worth learning how to prevent them [11].
Here is a 3-step guide on how to protect your child from growth plate injuries:
➊
Know The Main Causes of Growth Plate Injuries
Growth plate injuries can happen from any sport, exercise, or activity.
So rather than focusing on which activities are the riskiest, it’s much more important to know HOW these injuries actually happen.
Here are the common causes of growth plate injuries [12, 13, 14, 15, 16]:
Not warming up properly before the activity
Improper exercise form / technique
Lifting too much weight
Imbalances of growth and strength (from not training muscle groups evenly)
Too many repetitive movements without rest (in baseball, gymnastics, long-distance running)
Falling (from bicycles, skateboards, playground)
Collisions (in football, hockey, soccer)
Poor training equipment
Training under too much fatigue
Training for too long
Lack of recovery time (in between sets, training sessions, and games)
Now, before we get into how we can prevent growth plate injuries, there is one more thing to keep in mind:
Growth plate injuries occur more often during growth spurt.
When your child’s bones grow faster, they’re less dense, since their density can’t catch up to their rate of growth [11, 14].
So it’s important to take steps to prevent growth plate injuries ESPECIALLY when they’re going through a growth spurt.
➋
Take Steps to Prevent Growth Plate Injuries
Below are steps you can take to prevent growth plate injuries [12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18].
(Many of these steps are basically the opposite of what causes the injuries)
Most Important: Get proper supervision from a qualified adult trainer
Wear equipment and gears that fit properly (footwear, protective gears, etc)
Warm up joints and muscles before the activity (by stretching and moving the body in the required range of motion)
Get your child to focus on whatever she is doing
Prioritize skill development (over competition)
Train muscle groups evenly
Get enough rest in-between sets, training sessions, games, and competitions
Avoid burnouts
Don’t EVER force your child to get active when she doesn’t feel like it
Don’t EVER preach “no pain, no gain” (if your child feels pain, she should stop the activity altogether)
Now, it’s possible that your child may already be suffering from a growth plate injury.
Which brings us to the next part:
➌
Check If Your Child Is Injured
It is much easier to spot severe injuries (such as bone displacement or deformity) when they happen.
But minor injuries may be harder to detect.
Here are the most common symptoms of growth plate injuries [19]:
Tenderness near the area
Swelling and warm around the joint
Limited range of motion
Pain when lifting or applying pressure
As I mentioned before, up to 80% growth plate injuries don’t affect bone growth, and can be cured without any surgery [11].
But since the other 20% of injuries DO affect growth, it’s very crucial to diagnose and treat them as soon as they happen.
For more information on how you can do so reliably, I recommend you check out the following resources:
Healthline: Salter-Harris Fracture
Pubmed: Fracture, Salter-Harris
If your child is 12 years old or younger, being active will elevate her HGH levels for maximum growth
But if your child is 13 years or older, she can boost her HGH further by performing High-Intensity Workouts, which consist of:
➊ Training on an empty stomach
➋ Exerting 80% to 100% effort into each set
➌ Performing sets that last 15 to 20 second
➍ Getting 90 seconds of rest between sets
➎ Exercising for 5 to 30 minutes per workout
Your child can do exercises and stretches to maintain a taller posture that she achieved in Chapter 6
The 9 Posture Healers will help to balance the poor posture that’s easy to develop from sitting and slouching all day
Growth plate injuries can disrupt your child’s growth, so make sure she prevents them by:
Learning the proper techniques for her sport or activity
Resting when her body is under fatigue
Having an adult supervise her whenever doing anything active
Taking all other necessary precaution steps
Minor growth plate injuries can be treated without surgery, but severe injuries will require surgery to be fully recovered
If you read part 1 of this guide, you already know habits that your child needs to avoid, such as:
Not consuming enough height growth nutrients, or
Not getting enough deep sleep
So rather than rehashing the obvious, I’m going to focus on height killing habits that are easier to overlook.
But instead of just telling you what your child needs to avoid…
…I’m going to bust 5 common myths about what stunts your growth.
And afterwards, I’m going to reveal the REAL truth behind these myths, and what your child ACTUALLY needs to watch out for.
This is flat-out false.
BUT you’re still going to want your child to stay away from all forms of caffeine, including:
Soda
Tea, or
Coffee
Remember in Chapter 5, I said that your child needs to get enough sleep to maximize her HGH levels, which is important for growing taller.
And as you already know, caffeine does the OPPOSITE:
Caffeine disrupts your child’s sleep.
So then, can your child drink soda first thing in the morning?
I don’t recommend it.
Studies have shown that caffeine can affect your child’s sleep, EVEN IF she consumes it first thing in the morning [20].
So to summarize: more caffeine → less sleep → less HGH → less bone growth
But once again, there’s no way that caffeine will fully stunt your child’s growth.
Truth: Drinks with caffeine can disrupt your child’s sleep. Less sleep leads to less HGH production, which can decrease bone growth (but not stunt it completely).
You probably already know that this is another myth.
(Next time you see a tall person, ask if they ever snacked on junk food as a kid, and they’ll say yes)
But here’s the catch:
Junk foods contain LOTS of sugar.
And as I explained in Chapter 4, sugar increases insulin in your child’s body, which can decrease her HGH levels [21].
So in summary: more sugar → less HGH → less bone growth
Truth: Consuming too much sugar increases insulin, which decreases HGH, which can decrease bone growth (but not stunt it).
We all know how harmful alcohol is to our health. (I don’t even need to cite this one)
But can it stunt your child’s growth?
You probably already know the answer:
Nope.
But like sodas and junk food, alcohol is ALSO something your child will want to limit.
Studies have shown that alcohol decreases the amount of HGH your body produces during sleep [22].
So: more alcohol → less HGH → less bone growth
But just like caffeine and sugar, alcohol can’t fully stunt your child’s growth.
Truth: Alcohol can decrease HGH production during sleep, which can lead to less bone growth (but not stunt it).
Yup, you guessed it again.
Marijuana won’t stunt your child’s growth.
BUT… just like caffeine, sugar, and alcohol, she should stay away from it if she’s still growing.
Because THC (which is one of the main compounds in marijuana) can decrease your child’s HGH levels [23, 24].
So bottom line: more marijuana → less HGH → less bone growth
Truth: Marijuana decreases HGH production, which can decrease bone growth (but not stunt it).
There is one commonality between the 4 myths that we covered so far:
Caffeine, sugar, alcohol, and weed can ALL negatively impact your child’s growth (but won’t completely stunt it).
So what makes weight-lifting different from these 4 things?
Weight-lifting has NO negative impact on your child’s growth [12, 25, 26, 27].
In fact, weight-lifting can actually make your child’s bones stronger, by increasing their density [28].
So then, what’s the REAL risk behind weight lifting?
If your child gets injured from lifting weights, she can injure her growth plates, which can disrupt her growth.
But here’s the reality:
Your child can injure her growth plates from doing ANY sport, exercise, or recreational activity known to man.
So if you want your child to avoid injuring her growth plates, she must train under 3 circumstances:
1. She knows proper lifting techniques
2. She lifts weights that she feels comfortable with, and
3. She is supervised by a qualified professional
(To review how to protect your child from growth plate injuries, click here)
Truth: Weight-lifting does NOT stunt growth, but a severe growth plate injury can disrupt or stunt your child’s growth.
It may be tempting to restrict her from all of these habits completely.
But remember: your child is human like you and me.
So in reality, it’s unlikely that she is going to follow these tips 100%.
However, as a wise man has once said: You are your habits.
So as long as she doesn’t drink coffee every day, or snack on junk food every night, she’ll be fine.
Just show her this guide, and she’ll learn to do what’s best for her over time.
(Stay tuned, because the last Chapter is ALL about how to motivate your child to take the right actions)
There are many habits that can decrease HGH, which can slow down bone growth (but NOT fully stunt it), such as:
Drinking caffeinated beverages (such as soda, tea, or coffee)
Eating too much sugar
Drinking alcohol excessively
Using marijuana
But doing these habits once in a while won’t affect your child’s growth, so let her be human
On the flipside, weight-lifting won’t even slow down your child’s growth (let alone stunt it)
However, if your child lifts weights (or does ANY activity) dangerously, she can injure her growth plates, which can disrupt (or actually stunt her growth)
So make sure to take care of your child’s safety by taking the right precaution steps, and having a qualified adult supervise her when doing anything physical (review Chapter 7 for more info)
Last chapter was all about avoiding simple habits that can interfere with your child’s growth.
But this chapter is a bit different:
We’re going to cover conditions that can hinder your child’s growth.
While some of these conditions can’t be prevented or completely cured, your child can still improve his height by receiving the proper treatment at the right time.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at what conditions you want to watch out for.
In this chapter, I’m going to cover a TON of different conditions that can negatively impact your child’s height.
But remember: You don’t have to memorize ANY of these conditions!
Instead, here are practical steps you can take to protect your child from these conditions:
Measure your child’s height at least once every 3 months to make sure that he’s growing at a normal pace (refer to Chapter 2 for more details)
Check your child’s health at the doctors regularly (at least once every 6 months to a year)
If you notice any weird physical, mental, or emotional patterns from your child, go to a doctor immediately
To check that his hormones (especially HGH levels) are within their normal ranges, you can consult a pediatrician as well
If your child follows the key tips from previous chapters, he can avoid many of the conditions we’re about to discuss
With that, let’s dive right into these conditions.
In this chapter, we’re going to focus on conditions that can do one (or a combination) of these 6 things:
➊ Lower HGH levels
➋ Hinder bones from absorbing proper nutrients
➌ Damage growth plates
➍ Weaken bones (which can cause height loss as an adult)
➎ Cause bone misalignment
➏ Genetic conditions that hinder growth
I probably don’t need to repeat how important HGH is for your child’s growth.
Here are 3 conditions that can decrease HGH in your child’s body:
1. GHD (Growth Hormone Deficiency)
2. Hypothyroidism, and
3. Cushing’s Syndrome
I call these the HGH Robbers.
Source: hormone.org via build-muscle-101.com
As you can probably guess, Growth Hormone Deficiency simply means your child has low levels of HGH in his body.
But before we talk about how this condition is caused, let’s rewind a bit.
HGH is produced in your pituitary gland inside your brain.
And your pituitary gland is controlled by another region called the hypothalamus [29].
Source: anatomy-medicine.com
So if your child damages his pituitary gland or hypothalamus, your child will produce less HGH in his body, which will disrupt his growth.
(In other words, damaging his pituitary gland OR hypothalamus can cause GHD)
Here are the key points for GHD [30, 31, 32]:
To learn about how your child can combat GHD, check out this article written by Dr. Daniel J. Toft:
Growth Hormone Deficiency Basics (by Daniel J. Toft MD, PhD)
In your throat, there is a region called the thyroid gland.
And as you can guess, it produces thyroid hormones (duh…)
But what’s so important about these hormones?
Because not only do thyroids regulate HGH levels in your child’s body, but they also affect his bone growth directly [33, 34].
So if your child isn’t producing enough thyroids, he will not reach his full potential height.
(This condition is known as Hypothyroidism)
Here are the key points for Hypothyroidism [35]:
To learn more about Hypothyroidism, check out the full guide (on Healthline):
Everything You Need to Know About Hypothyroidism
Cushing Syndrome is a disease that occurs from having too much cortisol in your body.
Now, maintaining healthy levels of cortisol in your child’s body is actually important for his growth [36].
BUT, producing too much cortisol can actually hinder his growth [37, 38].
In most cases, your child can prevent Cushing syndrome by keeping his cortisol levels in healthy ranges.
Here are the key points for Cushing Syndrome [37]:
To learn more about Cushing Syndrome, check out the full guide (on Healthline.com):
Cushing Syndrome: Causes and Symptoms
In Chapter 4, we talked about the 5 nutrients your child needs to consume to reach his full potential height.
But here’s where it can get tricky:
Even if your child eats EVERYTHING he needs to eat to fuel his bones for maximum growth, his bones may still not grow to their fullest length.
Why?
Because he may suffer from diseases that stop his bones from absorbing those nutrients properly.
So in this section, I’m going to show you a few “nutrient-robbers” you need to watch out for your child.
(These nutrient-robbers can also disrupt HGH levels in your child’s body, which can further hinder his growth)
Here is an overview of these nutrient-robbers:
1. Inflammatory Bowel Disease
2. Celiac Disease
3. Congenital Heart Disease
4. Anemia, and
5. Chronic Kidney Disease
Let’s take a peak at each.
Your intestines are important, since they absorb nutrients that your body needs.
So if your child’s intestines become inflamed, his bones will receive less nutrients, which will lead to less bone growth [39].
People refer to this disorder as an Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
And if your child develops this disease, he can also suffer from HGH Resistance [40], which means his body won’t be able to make use of HGH properly, even if there is enough HGH floating around.
Here are the key points for Inflammatory Bowel Disease [41, 42]:
To learn more about Inflammatory Bowel Disease, check out the full guide (at Mayo Clinic):
If your child reacts badly to gluten, he likely suffers from Celiac Disease.
If your child has Celiac Disease, and he consumes gluten, he can damage his intestines, which can hinder his bones from receiving all the nutrients it needs for proper growth [43].
But if he starts eating a gluten-free diet, he can go back to growing normally [44].
(That’s why it’s important to catch this disease early, before he becomes an adult)
Here are the key points for Celiac Disease [45, 46]:
To learn how your child can eat a gluten-free diet, check out a full guide on gluten-free diets (written by Ryan Raman from Healthline):
The Gluten-Free Diet: A Beginner’s Guide With Meal Plan
To learn more about Celiac Disease, check out the full guide (on Mayo Clinic):
Congenital Heart Disease describes a heart abnormality that can be seen at your child’s birth [47].
Not only can this condition prevent your child from absorbing nutrients properly, but they will need more nutrients to stay healthy, since their body uses up more energy [48].
As a result, this condition can interfere with your child’s growth, since his bones will not receive enough nutrients that are required for optimal growth.
But fortunately, Growth Hormone treatment can restore proper growth for children with this Congenital Heart Disease [49].
Here are the key points for Congenital Heart Disease [50]:
To learn more about Congenital Heart Disease, check out the full guide (on Healthline):
Anemia happens when your child doesn’t have enough red blood cells in his blood.
Since red blood cells deliver Oxygen to every cell in your body, less red blood cells means less Oxygen for every cell.
And if your child’s bones don’t receive proper amounts of oxygen, it can hinder his bones from developing properly, which is why Anemia can disrupt his growth [51].
Anemia is mainly caused by iron deficiencies, but there are some genetic conditions that can cause this as well [52].
If your child treat Anemia early enough, he can restore normal growth patterns [51].
Here are the key points for Anemia [52, 53, 54]:
To learn more about Anemia, check out these 2 guides:
Healthline: What Causes Anemia?
Kidneys play an important role in regulating nutrients that are important for bone growth (like Calcium) [55].
That’s why kidney failures can prevent these essential nutrients from reaching your child’s bones, which can cause his bones to grow less, and also become weaker [56].
Chronic Kidney Disease also reduces your child’s HGH levels drastically, which can further disrupt your child’s growth [57].
The good news?
As long as it’s detected early on, your child can restore his normal growth patterns, and reach his full potential height as an adult [58].
Here are the key points for Chronic Kidney Disease [59, 60]:
To learn more about Chronic Kidney Diseases, check out the full guide (at Mayo Clinic):
In Chapter 7, we went over ways to prevent your child from injuring his growth plates.
But when it comes to conditions, there is only one condition that can directly damage your child’s growth plates:
Arthritis refers to inflamed joints.
And JIA is the most common type of arthritis among children who are 16 or younger [61].
JIA can cause joint pain, swelling, fever, and many other problems for your child.
But most importantly: It can cause growth problems [62, 63].
When a joint is affected by JIA, it can either:
Slow down the growth of affected bones, or
Speed up the growth, causing limbs to become uneven.
Here are the key points for JIA [61, 64, 65, 66, 67]:
To learn more about JIA, check out this full guide found on Arthritis Foundation:
What is Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis?
If you want your child to be strong and healthy as an adult, his bones must be dense and well nourished.
And although his bone strength doesn’t directly make him taller, having strong bones can prevent him from losing height as he ages.
Here is the most common bone condition that can weaken your child’s bones (you might’ve heard of this already):
Osteoporosis describes bones that are less dense than what’s considered to be healthy.
So if your child suffers from osteoporosis, his bones would be much more fragile, which makes him weaker and much more likely to get injured.
The good news is that this condition won’t actually make him grow less, but osteoporosis can shorten your child’s height later as an adult [68, 69].
But whether or not this condition affects your child’s height in the future, it can cause health problems for your child, so it’s important to know how your child can prevent it at all costs.
Here are the key points for Osteoporosis [70, 71]:
For more information about Osteoporosis, check out the following resources:
National Institutes of Health: Osteoporosis Overview
National Osteoporosis Foundation: What is Osteoporosis and What Causes It?
Here are 2 bone disorders that are very similar to Osteoporosis [72]:
1. Osteopenia – “Milder” version of Osteoporosis
2. Osteomalacia – Mainly caused by a lack of Vitamin D
Now, Osteoporosis is the most common bone disease your child needs to watch out for.
(About 54 million Americans suffer from Osteoporosis!) [73]
But there are many other bone diseases that are much more rare, but you still may want keep your head up on them.
To learn more about these conditions, check out the the full list (on National Institutes of Health):
In Chapter 6, we talked about how keeping a proper posture can make your child become taller, and help his bones grow in the proper direction.
You probably also remember the analogy I gave of the two jenga towers:
Proper Alignment = Good Posture
Poor Alignment = Bad Posture
So if you want your child to not only become taller, but stand up strong, his bones need to be aligned properly.
Now, there are a few conditions that can cause his bones to grow in weird directions.
I call these the bone twisters.
If you can recall, a healthy spine naturally has curves:
Source: sequencewiz.org | Author: Olga Kabel
But if these curves become too extreme, your child can develop a spine curvature disorder.
There are 3 ways that your child’s spine can become abnormally curved.
(From left to right, these abnormal curvatures are called: Kyphosis, Lordosis, and Scoliosis)
Source: body-disease.com
Now, it’s common for many children to develop minor forms of these abnormal curves.
If that happens to your child, you don’t have to worry about it affecting his height [74].
But if the curve becomes too extreme, that’s when it can actually make your child shorter [74].
Here are the key points for Spine Curvature Disorders [75, 76, 77]:
For more information on spine curvature disorders, check out the following guides:
WebMD: Types of Spine Curvature Disorders
Medical News Today: Everything You Need to Know About Scoliosis
For a comprehensive list of exercises to manage your child’s scoliosis, check out this guide:
Hudson Valley Scoliosis: Scoliosis Exercises
The next 2 conditions have to do with your child’s legs.
Here’s a preview of what they look like:
Source: orthobridgeorthopedics.com
Let’s take a look at each condition:
Bowlegs (A.K.A. genu varum) is a condition where your child’s knees are pointing outwards.
This condition is common at a very early age, since your infant is in a cramped position in the womb
And the good news is that it typically goes away by the age of 2.
But if it doesn’t, you should see a doctor.
Here are the key points for Bowlegs [78]:
To learn more about Bowlegs, check out the full guide (on Healthline.com):
Knock Knees (A.K.A. genu valgum) is the opposite of Bowlegs:
It describes legs with knees pointing inward.
But just like Bowlegs, your child will likely grow out of Knock Knees if he has them.
(20% of 3-year-olds have knock knees, but that number decreases to 1% for 7-year-olds) [79]
Here are the key points for Knock Knees [79]:
To learn more about Knock Knees, check out the full guide (on Medical News Today):
Until now, we looked at conditions that be caused by both genetic or environmental factors.
But in this section, we’re going to look at conditions that can only be caused by genetics.
Many of these conditions can actually cause the conditions that we looked at so far.
So without further ado, let’s go through the last section of this chapter.
If your child has Down Syndrome, he will grow less than the average child [80].
But thankfully, there are growth charts that are made exclusively for children with Down Syndrome.
If your child has down syndrome AND is 0 to 36 months old, here are the growth charts you want to use:
Boys Growth Chart (Ages 0 to 36 Months)
Girls Growth Chart (Ages 0 to 36 Months)
And if your child has down syndrome AND is 2 to 20 years old, you’ll want to use these:
Boys Growth Chart (Ages 2 to 20 Years)
Girls Growth Chart (Ages 2 to 20 Years)
If you want to see other Growth Charts (for weight and head circumference), check out the full list of charts here:
CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention): Growth Charts for Children with Down Syndrome
If you want to learn more about Down Syndrome, check out the full guide here:
Source: aafp.org | Authors: Vikas Bhambhani, MD; Maximilian Muenke, MD
Noonan Syndrome is a genetic condition that results in 3 common characteristics [81]:
1. Short height
2. Unusual facial features, or
3. Congenital heart disease (at birth)
It’s also common to see low levels of HGH, and delayed growth in children with Noonan Syndrome [82].
If your child has Noonan Syndrome, HGH therapy can help to improve his height, but the doctor must continually monitor his heart function after the therapy [83].
To learn more about Noonan Syndrome, check out the the full guide here:
Source: drsmitakoppikar.com | Author: Dr. Smita Koppikar (@drsmitakoppikar)
Turner Syndrome can only happen to girls, and it affects 1 out of every 2,000 baby girls [84].
Almost all girls with Turner Syndrome show 2 symptoms:
1. Shorter height, and
2. Lack of monthly periods, resulting in infertility
Since their short height starts getting noticeable when they’re 5 years old, it’s easy to detect this condition early on [85].
And just like Noonan Syndrome, girls with Turner Syndrome can safely go through HGH therapy to reach a normal adult height [86].
Along with HGH, other hormone therapies can help them develop sexually, and reach puberty faster [87].
To learn more about Turner Syndrome, check out the full guide here:
There are a few other genetic conditions that can interfere with growth.
Here are 3 of them + resources for more info:
Medical News Today: Prader-Willi Syndrome (affects 1 of 10,000~30,000 births)
NORD: Aarskog Syndrome (affects 1 of 25,000 births)
Healthline: Achondroplasia (affects in 1 of 25,000 births)
To make sure that your child is free from these conditions, make sure to:
Measure your child’s height at least once every 3 months to make sure he’s growing at a normal pace (refer to Chapter 2 for more details)
Visit your doctor or pediatrician regularly (especially when you notice any weird symptoms)
By following the key tips from previous chapters, your child can minimize his chances of developing many of these conditions
However, since some conditions are caused genetically or incidentally, they can’t be avoided (but can only be coped with)
For many of these conditions, HGH treatments can help your child reach a normal height as an adult (but he must receive treatment before he becomes too old
This chapter is basically the opposite of the last chapter.
We’re going to look at the condition that can make your child become gigantic, and ways to reduce her height if she suffers from it.
Since we’re going to focus on just one condition, this chapter is going to be much shorter than the last chapter (ironic isn’t it?)
If you’re not worried about your child becoming a giant, click here to skip to the next chapter.
As you can tell by the name, Gigantism is a condition that makes your child grow abnormally tall.
Gigantism occurs when your child’s pituitary produces too much HGH, causing her bones to grow longer and thicker than the average child.
This excess HGH can cause many other health problems as well (which we’ll discuss in this section).
Fortunately, there are a few ways to slow down your child’s growth if she has this condition, but you must catch this condition early in her life.
In this section, we’ll go over how you can spot this condition, and several ways to treat it.
Source: researchgate.net | Authors: Daphne T Adelman; Lisa Nachtigall; Bert Bakker; Karen Jp Liebert; Michele Lamerson
When pituitary gland develops a tumor, it produces too much HGH, which causes Gigantism.
This is the root cause of Gigantism for most children.
In rarer cases, Gigantism is caused by genetic disorders [88].
The most obvious sign of Gigantism is if your child is much taller (or growing much faster) than other peers of her age group.
To know if she’s growing at a normal pace, you can use the Growth Chart to track her growth (refer to Chapter 2 for more details).
Other than being unusually tall, here are common signs of Gigantism [89]:
Very large hands and feet
Thick toes and fingers
Large heads
Facial features that are unusually large or unproportional (flat nose, and thick lips and tongue)
Below is a 22-year-old patient who was diagnosed with Gigantism, standing on the left side of his identical twin!
Source: University of Texas via nejm.org | Authors: Robert F Gagel, MD; Ian E McCutcheon, MD
Besides the physical deformities, here are some other common symptoms to look out for:
Insomnia and other sleep problems
Excessive sweating
Weakness
Headaches
Delayed puberty
Irregular menstrual periods (for girls)
Deafness
If you detect any unusual physical symptoms that may indicate that your child has Gigantism, take her to the doctor or pediatrician.
He may recommend one or more of the following tests (same for Acromegaly patients) [90, 91]:
Blood test (to measure HGH levels)
Oral glucose tolerance test
MRI scan of the pituitary gland (to check for any tumors in her pituitary)
The main goal of treatment is to stop or slow down your child’s production of HGH.
Depending on the cause and severity of the condition, your doctor will recommend different treatment methods.
It’s very important that your doctor regularly monitors your child’s pituitary gland after the treatment.
Here are the most common treatment methods for Gigantism (same for Acromegaly patients) [91, 92]:
Surgery to remove the pituitary tumor (80% of Gigantism caused by tumors are removed by this method)
Taking medications to:
Reduce HGH production in body (somatostatin analogues)
Reduce general hormone levels (dopamine agonists), or
Block HGH from being absorbed by tissues in the body (GH antagonist)
Radiation therapies (this is usually the last option, since radiation can be risky):
Conventional radiation therapy
Photo beam therapy
Stereotactic radiosurgery
To learn more about Gigantism, check out the full guide here:
And since Gigantism and Acromegaly both have similar screening and treatment methods, you may want to look into Acromegaly as well.
To learn more about these methods, check out this article:
Mayo Clinic: Acromegaly (Diagnosis and Treatment)
If you have a tall daughter who’s concerned about growing too tall, you may have come across Estrogen as a possible solution.
And while some studies have shown that Estrogen slows down growth [93], this treatment has many downsides as well.
Here are 3 reasons why you should think twice about Estrogen treatments:
It can reduce fertility (harder time becoming pregnant) [94]
Increase risk of breast cancer [95], and
Long-term side effects of Estrogen treatments are still not known [96]
So if you’re considering estrogen treatment for your tall child, make sure to consult a doctor or pediatrician, and discuss these potential downsides.
To learn more about estrogen treatments, check out this article:
WebMD: ‘Fixing’ Girls Who Are Growing Too Tall
The most common cause of extremely tall children is Gigantism
Gigantism is usually caused by a tumor in the pituitary (and sometimes caused by other genetic disorders)
If Gigantism is detected early enough, your child can receive treatments to slow down her growth
You can use the Growth Charts (from Chapter 2) to see if your child is growing abnormally fast
Other signs of Gigantism are very large and unproportional body parts
A doctor or pediatrician can check your child’s HGH levels to see if she has Gigantism
Surgery can usually remove the pituitary tumor that causes Gigantism
Medication or radiation therapies are secondary treatment options
If you have an abnormally tall daughter, think twice about using Estrogen, since it has potential health risks
If your child is almost (or completely) done growing, I have a good news:
He can still grow 1 or 2 inches taller.
And no, I DON’T mean simply appearing taller…
…but actually growing taller.
In fact, I was able to grow 3.0 cm when I was 23 years old, simply by following the tips I’m going to show you in this chapter.
And in this chapter, I’ll show you how I was able to grow taller as an adult, and show you how your child can get the same result.
In this chapter, I’m going to teach you a 3-step method to increasing your child’s height (even if all of his bones have fused):
➊ Becoming taller
➋ Staying taller, and
➌ Growing taller
So what the heck’s the difference between these 3 steps?
By the end of this chapter, you’ll know exactly that the differences are.
But for now, I’ll briefly go over what each step is about:
1. Becoming taller = This step helps your child appear taller, but not actually grow physically taller
2. Staying taller = This step helps your child maintain the taller look he achieved from the previous step
3. Growing taller = This step helps your child actually grow physically taller
In this chapter, we’re going to focus mainly on step 3: growing taller
But for step #3 to work, your child needs to first master steps 1 and 2.
So without further ado, let’s quickly dive into step 1.
Becoming taller means that your child is appearing to be taller, but isn’t actually growing taller physically.
(That’s what chapter 6 was all about)
To refresh your mind, here’s a picture to show you what I’m saying:
As you can see, the “twin” on the left appears taller, EVEN if both of their bones and spine have the exact same lengths.
This is why fixing a poor posture can actually make you taller instantly.
So how can your child fix his posture to appear taller?
Fortunately, if your child has implemented strategies from chapter 6, he is already at his tallest posture.
But if he hasn’t followed through with that chapter, no worries.
Here is a recap of all the things your child can do to fix his posture:
Install a medium-firm mattress that’s your child feels comfortable sleeping on
Encourage your child to sleep without a pillow
Correct your child’s sitting posture (click here for the step-by-step process)
Encourage your child to sit less by taking frequent breaks, using standing desks, or lying down on his stomach when watching something
Optimize your child’s standing posture (click here for the step-by-step process)
Buy your child a posture corrector, and
Help your child feel more happy and confident
After your child has fixed his posture, he needs to be able to maintain that posture effortlessly.
As a wise man has once said: “It’s one thing to achieve success, but another thing to maintain success.”
So what does your child need to do to maintain his new posture with minimal effort?
By stretching and strengthening his postural muscles.
In Chapter 7 (part 2), we went over the best exercises that not only fix his posture, but also stretch and strengthen his muscles that support a good posture.
And here is a recap of those 9 exercises:
(Click on each exercise to see the video demonstration)
Here are 3 bonus resources that your child can use to further improve and maintain his posture:
Brett (from Art of Manliness): 6 Exercises to Counteract Slouching
Jeff Cavaliere (from ATHLEAN-X): Perfect Posture in 5 Steps
Dr. Alan Mandell: 13 Best Postural Exercises for Forward Head Posture
This is the step you’ve been itching to read about.
So let me start off this step by answer the question that’s in your mind right now:
How in the WORLD can my child grow taller if his bones are done growing???
By lengthening a part of his body that CAN still grow longer in length:
His spine
I’ll explain.
As you can see, your spine has 24 bones (marked in white), which are separated by 23 different cartilage discs (marked in red).
But here’s the coolest part:
Even if your child’s bones stop growing in length, these cartilage discs CAN still grow longer [97].
In fact, a group of patients (whose average age was 65 years) were able to lengthen their cartilage discs to reduce their back pain [98].
So if 65-year-old patients can lengthen their spine, your child can too.
The question then becomes:
Quite a bit actually.
I’ll give you some concrete numbers to back this up:
If all your child does is increase each of his cartilage discs by 0.05 inches each, he’d grow 0.05 inches x 23 which equals 1.15 inches in total.
And that’s exactly how I was able to grow taller as an adult.
So how can your child maximize the length of the cartilage disks in his spine?
There are 3 things your child can do to maximize his spine length.
I call these the “Spine Maximizers”:
If you want your child to MAXIMIZE his spine length, you want to MINIMIZE the weight on your child’s spine.
Now, if your child is still growing naturally, weight-lifting will NOT stunt his growth, since his bones can continue to grow no matter how much weight they have to bear.
But the cartilage discs in your child’s spine are different:
If they bear too much weight, they won’t be able to expand to their fullest lengths.
So too minimize the pressure on your child’s spine, he’ll want to avoid lifting heavy weights over his shoulders.
Here is what he’ll want to stop doing (for the next few months):
Overhead shoulder presses
Handstand pushups
Squats
Lifting heavy backpacks
Carrying anything that’s too heavy off the floor
On the flipside, he can still do some weight-lifting exercises that won’t compress his spine, such as:
Flat bench presses
Normal pushups
Cable exercises
Now here’s the good news:
Once your child has maximized his spine length, he can go back to doing heavy-lifting over his shoulders.
Because even if he puts pressure on his spine once again, he will still maintain his taller height [99, 100].
But until he reaches a plateau, he should minimize these spine-compressing activities.
If your child has already followed the previous steps in this chapter, he has already completed this step.
Congratulations!
Now keep in mind that maintaining a proper posture isn’t only important for appearing taller, but growing taller as well.
This may seem contradictory to what you learned in Chapters 6 and 7, since I told you that good posture doesn’t increase bone length.
But maintaining a proper posture CAN increase the length of your cartilage discs.
I’ll explain.
Remember: Your child’s cartilage discs can lengthen no matter how old he is [97, 98].
And for them to expand, he must minimize pressure on these discs by maintaining a proper posture.
But how will fixing his posture reduce this pressure exactly?
To give you concrete numbers: if your child fixes his posture, he can make his head lighter by 60 lbs (around 23 kg).
Source: symmetry.physio
So make sure your child maintains a proper posture, and he’ll be good.
Throughout this entire guide, I harped on how your child needs enough HGH in his body to lengthen his bones.
But what I didn’t tell you is that HGH can also lengthen his cartilage discs as well [101, 102].
So to refresh your mind, I’ll give you 4 HGH-boosting strategies your child can take action on.
(These strategies are basically a collaboration of the previous chapters)
➊ Get your child to consume foods with HGH-boosting Amino Acids
5 Amino Acids that boost HGH are: L-Ornithine, L-Arginine, L-Lysine, L-Glutamine, and L-Glycine
Click here to review the list of foods that contain these Amino Acids
➋ Your child needs to get enough quality sleep, by:
Sleeping before 10pm
Sleeping sufficiently, and waking up without an alarm
Sleeping in an environment without distractions (no lights or sounds)
Exercising during the day, and
Click here to review how to fully optimize your child’s sleep
➌ Your child can do high-intensity exercises
Make sure your child takes proper precaution steps before doing any kind of exercise
Click here to review what high-intensity exercises look like
➍ Your child should avoid habits that can lower HGH, such as:
Consuming caffeine
Eating too much sugar
Drinking alcohol, or
Using marijuana
If your child implements the strategies I taught you in this chapter, it’s possible for him to grow taller by an inch or 2.
But remember: your child might get different results.
For example, if your child’s bones are still able to grow slightly, he may grow EVEN MORE than 2 inches.
On the flip side, if your child is done growing, AND he is already doing many of the strategies we covered in this chapter, he won’t see too much difference in his height.
But whether or not he ends up growing 2 inches, or just a centimeter, do remember that this chapter (and the rest of this guide) goes beyond helping your child become taller:
Following this guide will improve your child’s health.
Your child can take 3 steps to increase his height by 1 to 2 inches (after his bones have stopped growing):
➊ Become taller: by fixing his posture
➋ Stay taller: by stretching and strengthening his postural muscles
➌ Grow taller: by lengthening the cartilage discs in his spine
Here are 3 strategies that can help him increase his spine length:
Not lifting heavy weights above his shoulders
Maintaining a straight posture to reduce weight on his spine, and
Raising his HGH naturally by:
↳ Consuming foods with Amino Acids that boost HGH
↳ Getting deep sleep every night
↳ Doing high-intensity exercises, and
↳ Avoiding habits that lower HGH (caffeine, sugar, alcohol, marijuana)
You now know just about EVERYTHING to help your child reach his maximum potential height.
But the question is:
How in the world can you get this guide to work for your child?
By motivating him to take action.
And in this chapter, I’m going to show you how to do just that.
But since I’m not a parent myself, I used the the knowledge of parenting experts to gather the BEST tips for motivating your child.
(Without them, this chapter would not be possible)
So without further ado, here are 10 ways you can motivate your child to grow taller:
Before we dive deeply into these motivational tips, I want to emphasize one thing:
Your child is much more than his height.
In fact, your #1 priority for your child should be optimizing his happiness, health, and emotional well-being over EVERYTHING else.
(Yes, even more than becoming taller)
But here is where it gets interesting:
If you give your child lots of love and positivity, not only will he be much happier and more confident, but he’ll be much more receptive to whatever you ask him to do.
So in other words: You can love your child, AND get him to take actions that will help him increase his height.
But remember at the end of the day, your love is the greatest give you can give your child.
To learn more about how to love your child unconditionally, check out this post written by Dr. Laura Markham from Aha! Parenting:
5 Secrets to Love Your Child Unconditionally
If you want your child to follow all of the tips in this guide, he needs to be SUPER MOTIVATED to grow taller.
Why?
Because for this guide to work, he needs to follow these advices NOT for a few days, weeks, or even months…
He needs to follow these strategies for several years of his childhood and adolescence.
So how do you give your child maximum motivation?
Show him pictures of tall people who are charismatic.
If your children associate tall height with positivity, they’ll be motivated to become tall themselves.
So if you have a son, and he’s really into sports, you can post pictures of tall athletes like LeBron James or Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Or if he’s into the celebrity world, you can show him full-body pictures of The Rock or Hugh Jackman.
And if you have a daughter, show her pictures of tall and beautiful models, such as Taylor Swift or Katie Holmes.
To learn how to amp up your child to accomplish big things, check out this post on All Pro Dad:
10 Ways to Motivate Your Child
Notice that in the previous section, I did NOT include “show your child pictures of short people” as a motivational tip?
That’s because excitement works much more effectively than fear.
So if your child gets motivated to become tall by looking at a picture of LeBron James every day, he will become super motivated to become taller, and his actions will reflect that.
On the flipside, if he looks at a picture of Filius Flitwick from Harry Potter every day, he will ironically do things that will attract that image.
(Much love Warwick 🙂)
Bottom line?
If you want your child to take certain actions, motivate him to go after what is desirable, rather than running away from something that he DOESN’T want.
To learn how to get your child to make positive decisions, check out this post written by Nancy Jergins from iMoM:
5 Ways to Teach Your Kids to Make Good Decisions
This tip builds on the last one.
If you reward your child for doing things that you want him to do, he’ll do more of it.
But if you punish your child for doing things that you DON’T want him to do, he’ll do more of that as well.
How so?
Because whenever you react (positively OR negatively) to anything your child does, you are reinforcing that behaviour from your child.
So if your child goes to bad at 2 am, the best thing to do is to let it go.
On the flipside, if you see your child eating height maximizing foods, make sure to reward that behavior with positivity.
As counter-intuitive this seems, it’s the best way to ensure that your child does more of what you want him to do.
To learn the power of positive reinforcements, check out this post written by Amy Morin:
Positive Reinforcement to Improve a Child’s Behavior
The question then becomes:
What is the best way to reward your child’s behavior?
Before I answer that question, let’s look at the 2 main ways that you can reward your child:
Intrinsic Reward = A positive emotion that your child feels naturally from doing a certain activity
Extrinsic Reward = An external reward that you give to your child after he does something you want
So which route should you take?
I recommend the intrinsic reward route.
Research has shown that intrinsic rewards are much more effective than extrinsic rewards, for 2 reasons:
1. Intrinsic rewards encourages your child to take a certain action for a longer time, since the activity makes him feel good
2. Extrinsic rewards don’t last as long, because once you remove them from the equation, your child will no longer take the action you want him to take
So whenever your child does anything to help himself become taller as an adult, you want him to feel good naturally from doing that activity.
I’ll give you 2 practical examples of how you can use this approach:
To give an example, let’s say that you want him to stretch (to maintain a straighter posture).
Here would be the 2 ways that you can reward your child:
Reward him intrinsically by: Asking him how good he feels from stretching his tight muscles, and reducing his back pain
Reward him extrinsically by: Tell him that he’s a good boy for keeping a straight posture, and give him a cookie
If your child feels good from stretching, he’ll naturally want to keep doing it without you nagging about it every hour.
But if your child only stretches because he wants that cookie from you, he’ll stop stretching once you run out of cookies to give him.
Another example: Let’s say you want your child to consume Protein-rich foods.
Here are 2 ways you can reinforce that behavior:
Reward him intrinsically by: Asking him how good your grilled salmon tastes (and if he doesn’t like it, you can repeat this step with another Protein-rich dish)
Reward him extrinsically by: Giving him 30 minutes of PlayStation time after he eats your grilled salmon
As you can see once again, it’s obvious that the first option requires less effort, and is much more sustainable.
Bottom line?
Get your child to feel intrinsically good about the practices that help him grow taller, and he’ll continue to take the right actions without you having to nag him hour after hour.
To learn how your child can become more intrinsically motivated, check out this post written by Brittany Dixon:
Raising Intrinsically Motivated Kids
If you want your child to follow this guide for years to come, being lenient is key.
For example, optimizing your child’s nutrition is easy, since there are a VARIETY of different foods that can support his growth.
So if you want to optimize your child’s Calcium intake, you can simply show him ALL the foods that are rich in Calcium, and ask him which of the Calcium-rich foods he likes best.
You can use this same approach when you want to help him straighten his posture.
Instead of forcing him to do certain exercises every day, you want to familiarize him with all of the exercises I taught you in this guide, and ask him which one he enjoys doing.
This will make it much easier for him to do exercises that will keep his posture straight, since he will genuinely like doing those exercises.
Now, you won’t be able to take this approach to every aspect of his life.
For example, if you want him to go to sleep on time, there aren’t that many choices to offer him besides encouraging him to go to sleep early.
(But fortunately, this problem can be solved by implementing the next tip)
To learn the power of giving your child many choices, check out this post written by JoAnn from No Guilt Mom:
2 Simple Ways to Get Kids to Listen the First Time You Ask
Optimizing your child’s environment will make the last few tips much easier to follow through with.
To give you an example of what I mean, let’s look at 2 children: John and Carly
Inside John’s room, he has a fridge full of vegetables, which contain lots of Vitamin C (one of the 5 Height Maximizing Nutrients)
On the flipside, Carly has a shelf full of sugary oreos that can lower her HGH levels, which would slow down her growth.
So who is more likely to consume foods that will help them grow taller?
Well, John obviously!
But was John necessarily “parented” better than Carly?
Not really.
The only difference was their environment.
So for your child, you want to optimize his environment so that he is naturally inclined to do things that will support his growth (and overall health).
Here are some ways you can optimize his environment for maximum growth:
For nutrition: Only keep healthy foods in the house, and get rid of all junk food (for a completely list of the best height growth foods, click here)
For sleep: Turn off all lights and wifi inside the house by 10pm
For keeping a straight posture: Get your child a pomodoro timer (to take frequent breaks from sitting), posture corrector, and/or standing desk
For exercising: Create enough space in your child’s room, and get him a yoga mat and an elastic band
For motivation: Post pictures of tall role models he looks up to (like Michael Jordan)
To learn how your child’s environment can shape his behavior, check out this post by Dr. Amy Sussna Klein:
The Power of Purposeful Preschool Environments
There is one part of your child’s environment that we didn’t cover.
And that is you!
In fact, out of everything that’s within your child’s environment, you’re the most influential factor.
So to fully optimize your child’s environment for maximum growth, you need to be a good role model.
In other words, if you want your child to apply the strategies I taught you in this guide, you must become a Height Maximizer yourself.
That means that you’re going to have to do the following on a consistent basis:
Eat healthy, and avoid eating junk foods
Go to sleep early
Maintain a proper posture throughout the day, and take many breaks from sitting
Exercise and stretch regularly
Limit your drinking or cannabis usage
If you’re not confident about following through with these practices, just remember my last tip, and optimize your environment (excuse my circular logic).
That way, it’ll be much easier to stick to these practices on a much more consistent basis.
To learn about how to be a better role model for your child, check out this post on The Center of Parenting Education:
Being a Good Role Model – The Promise and The Peril
If your child doesn’t follow through with EVERYTHING I teach you in this guide, you should be relieved.
Why?
Because it proves that he’s a human (and not a robot).
As human beings, we never follow through with anything perfectly, since we’re bound to make mistakes all the time.
So if your child snacks on a sugar-filled smoothie, or stays up very late watching a movie that came out recently, you must recognize that he’s human, and let it go as soon as you can.
While this forgiving mindset seems like you’re allowing your child to go in the wrong direction, it’s the best way to dismiss unwanted behaviors.
Remember tip #4: Whenever you react positively or negatively to anything, you are reinforcing that behaviour from your child.
So as long as your child doesn’t doesn’t go over the border, let his mistakes go, and continually improve his actions by:
Loving your child
Motivating your child
Praising his positive behaviors
Optimizing his environment, and
Being a good role model
To learn the power of ignoring unwanted behaviors, check out this post written by Amy Morin:
Reduce Attention-Seeking Behaviors by Ignoring
For you to make all of these strategies work in your favor, you must understand your child on a very deep level.
Because when you understand your child deeply, you’ll have a much easier time encouraging him to take a certain set of actions, because you’ll know what truly motivates him (and what doesn’t).
So how can you get to know your child more deeply?
By doing 2 things:
➊
Learn About Your Child by Having Frequent 1-on-1 Conversations
If you want to strengthen your relationship with your child, talking him to him regularly is key.
Because the more often you talk to your child, the more comfortable he’ll feel talking to you.
This may be hard for you if you’re usually out working, or generally have a busy lifestyle.
But do whatever you can to dedicate at least a portion of your day to interact with your child.
This means having breakfast together, going for walks, and joining him when he’s doing his favorite activities.
Now onto the juicer tip:
➋
Learn About Your Child by Encouraging Him to Be Fully Expressive
If you talk regularly, he’ll already be pretty open with you, since he feels comfortable with you.
But how can you get your child to be even more open about himself?
Here are some conversational rules to keep in mind, if you want your child to fully open about his thoughts and feelings:
Always put yourself in his shoes, and talk to him in a way that he wants to be spoken to
Show curiosity and appreciation for whatever he has to say about any topic
Stay non-judgmental, and listen to everything that he has to say with open arms, no matter how positive or negative
Here are some simple questions you can ask your child:
How are you feeling today?
What was your favorite part of your day?
What were some things that you didn’t enjoy as much?
If you can live today all over again, what would you do differently?
You can also ask him bigger, more open-ended questions, such as:
What is the one thing in your life that you’re grateful for more than anything else?
What is the one thing you wish you can change about your life?
What is one thing that you look forward to doing in the future?
What is one thing you regret about in the past?
Also, don’t be afraid to ask him questions about how he feels about you, such as:
If I was an ideal parent, what would I continue doing?
What would I do more of? or
What would I stop doing altogether?
And finally, here are some questions you can ask your child about his height:
How do you feel about your current height?
How does your height compare to your peers? Do you feel comfortable about that?
How tall do you truly want to become as an adult?
How would you feel to be the tallest person in the room?
How would you feel like to be the shortest person in the room?
Is becoming tall (or not becoming short) something that you consider to be important?
To encourage your child to be more open with you, check out this post written by Dr. Laura Markham from Aha! Parenting:
10 Foolproof Strategies for Getting Kids to Talk
Love your child unconditionally for who he is
Set a clear vision for him (by showing him pictures of tall people he can look up to)
Focus on motivating your child to grow taller (rather than making him fear being short)
Reward him for behaving in constructive ways (rather than punishing him for doing the wrong things)
Encourage your child to be intrinsically motivated (rather than extrinsically motivated)
Widen the choices for your child when it comes to picking nutrition and exercises for optimal growth
Optimize his environment so that he’ll naturally do things to make himself taller
Be a good role model for your child, and he’ll follow what you do
Remember that your child is human, and he’s bound to make mistakes all the time
Get to know your child deeply by communicating with him openly and frequently
If you reading this right now, I want to say congratulations.
The fact that you read this entire guide shows me that you truly care about helping your child not only get taller, but become more healthy and confident.
At this point, you may be feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of the information that you’ve soaked up from this guide.
So to make your life easier, I’m going to give you a super-summary of EVERYTHING you need to take away from this guide.
Visit your doctor or pediatrician at least once or twice every year to make sure that your child is healthy, and doesn’t have any problems that can interfere with her growth
In Chapter 1: We looked at the importance of non-genetic factors (such as nutrition and diseases) for your child’s height
So whether or not he has short genetics, he can improve his adult height by 3 inches or more if he does the right things
In Chapter 2: We discussed how to use growth charts, and the importance of measuring your child’s height once every month to 3 months
In Chapter 3: We emphasized that HGH (Human Growth Hormone) is the #1 factor that will contribute to your child’s height
Therefore, the main goal of this guide is to show you how your child can maximize her HGH levels naturally and safely
Your child can maximize his natural HGH production by:
Consuming nutrients that promote bone growth, which are Amino Acids, Proteins, Vitamin C, Calcium, and Vitamin D (covered in Chapter 4)
Getting enough deep sleep every night (covered in Chapter 5), and
Doing High-Intensity Exercises, or just by being active if he’s 12 years or younger (covered in Chapter 7)
Factors that can lower HGH are:
Growth plate injuries, which are usually caused by poor exercise techniques (covered in Chapter 7)
Habits that decrease HGH, such as caffeine, sugar, alcohol, and marijuana (covered in Chapter 8)
Conditions and diseases (covered in Chapter 9)
In Chapter 6: We discussed that keeping a good posture can make make your child taller instantly, and help her develop a strong and stable body structure
In Chapter 10: We went over how to deal with Gigantism, a condition that can make your child abnormally tall
In Chapter 11: We looked at how your child can further increase his height by increasing his spine length (even after his bones are done growing)
In the Bonus Chapter: We looked at how love and positivity can motivate your child to take the right actions
Remember: Your child is more than her height.
Now, if you’re serious about helping your child reach her full potential height, I suggest that you re-read each chapter thoroughly.
And if you want your child to stick to these strategies for years to come, you’ll want to take a very gradual approach.
In other words:
Instead of pressuring your child to take action on everything at once, make sure that he integrates strategies from just one chapter at a time.
Once he gets used to whatever lifestyle changes he makes from one chapter, he can move onto the next chapter, and so on.
And slowly but surely, he’ll grow up to become not just taller, but much healthier, stronger, and more confident.
You are now ready to help your child become a taller adult.
So I want to ask you:
Which of these chapters are you going to implement first?
Are you going to go to your doctor to get her health checked?
Are you thinking about encouraging your child to exercise more?
Or maybe, you started jotting down what foods to buy at the groceries.
Whatever’s on your mind, let me know by leaving me a comment below right now.
I’m NOT going to give you general tips you’ve already heard a thousand times, like “eat well, do stretches, and sleep a lot”.
You’re about to learn the EXACT step-by-step blueprint for helping your children reach their full potential height by adulthood.
Now, it doesn’t matter whether your child is a 3-year-old toddler, or a 16-year-old teenage boy.
Because this guide contains strategies that work for ANYONE who is growing, no matter how young or old.
Bottom line: if you want your children to be happier about their height, you’ll love this guide.
Before we go further, I want to give you a heads up:
This guide is SUPER long (or should I say… super tall 🙃)
And it’s for one simple reason:
This guide has literally EVERYTHING you need to know in order to maximize your child’s height.
That’s why I divided this guide into 2 parts:
☝️ Part 1 Overview ☝️
In Part 1, we’re going to talk about the basic fundamentals you need to know to ensure that your child grows properly.
In fact, just by reading Part 1, you’ll know 80% of everything he needs to do to reach his full potential height as an adult.
And by the end of this part, you’ll get a better idea of how much taller your child can grow by using this guide.
✌️ Part 2 Overview ✌️
In Part 2, we’re going to discuss additional strategies that will help your child boost her height even further.
Also, if your child is almost (or fully) done growing, or has a condition that may affect her height, you’ll find this chapter useful.
And as a bonus: you’re going to learn exactly how to motivate your child to take action on this guide.
Now, if you’re truly serious about helping your child maximize his height, you’re going to want to read from the beginning to end.
But if you want to skip to a certain chapter, you can always click the Table of Contents icon on the top right corner.
Either way, I highly suggest that you bookmark this page on your browser, so you can read the entire guide at your own pace.
Make sure to take good notes, and take deliberate action.
And most importantly, consult your doctor before your child makes any radical changes to her lifestyle.
With that, let’s dive right into part 1 of this guide.
Before we jump into the tactics, let’s address the real issue:
genetics, genetics, GENETICS!
You’ve probably heard over 1293 times that your height is limited by your genetics.
But in reality: Non-genetic factors can make or break your child’s height.
To prove my point, we’ll look at a few real-world examples that show how much influence environmental factors have on your child’s height.
And by the end of the chapter, you’ll know how much difference this guide can make for your child.
There is an overwhelming debate about how much your genetics affect your height.
On one hand, many experts claim that about 80% of your height is determined by your genetics [1].
Other experts claim that genes account for only 10% of the differences in adult heights [2].
But the real question is:
How much can YOUR child actually grow?
Although I can’t give you an exact answer, I’ll say this:
Your child can become much taller than you or your spouse.
To convince you that this is possible, let’s look at 3 real-life case studies that prove how important non-genetic factors can be for your child’s height.
We both know who Michael Jordan is for his legendary accomplishments on the court.
But you might not know about something incredible he accomplished outside basketball.
(And no, it’s NOT baseball…)
It’s outgrowing his parents by several inches.
Specifically, Michael Jordan became 6’6″ tall as an adult, while his father was only 5’9″, and his mother was around 5’5″ tall.
In other words, Michael grew to become 9 inches (23 cm) taller than his dad!
Source: nydailynews.com via howtheyplay.com | Author: Charles Nuamah
Now, he’s not the only basketball player who was able to accomplish this feat.
Let’s look at Jeremy Lin (6’3″), who also grew 9 inches (23 cm) taller than both of his parents (5’6″):
Source: crossmap.com via howtheyplay.com | Author: Charles Nuamah
And here’s Gordon Hayward (6’8″), who became 10 inches (25.4 cm) taller than his parents (5’10”):
Source: deseretnews.com via howtheyplay.com | Author: Charles Nuamah
Now, here’s what you might be thinking:
Well, maybe their tall genes came from their grandparents, and skipped their parents and other siblings!
You may be right about that too.
That’s why I’m about to show you case studies that are even more convincing.
You probably know that North Koreans don’t get to pig out at Boston Pizza every day.
But how much does malnutrition affect their height?
Quite a lot.
As you can see below, North Koreans are up to 8 cm (3.1 inches) shorter than South Koreans on average.
Note: I’ve modified this image to illustrate their height proportions more accurately.
Source: OEC via BBC.com | Authors: Mark Bryson, Gerry Fletcher and Prina Shah
But do the 2 Koreans have different genes? Not really.
In fact, North and South Korea were together as one nation for 1000s of years, and separated less than 100 years ago (after World War II).
So as Professor Daniel Schwekendiek puts it:
It’s NOT genetics, but food shortages that likely caused North Koreans to become shorter than South Koreans over the years [3].
(Before we go further, keep in mind that all graphs in this section are based on male data, since most historical data on heights are gathered from soldiers, criminals, and servants) [4]
With that out of the way, let’s get right into our next example:
Up until World War II, the Japanese ate mostly rice.
But after the war, the Japanese added more animal proteins and fats in to their diet.
The result?
They grew over 3 inches over the past few decades [5, 6].
Here’s a graph showing the average height of 17-year-old Japanese males:
Source: nbakki.hatenablog.com
So, does this mean that feeding your child more proteins and fats can make him grow 3 inches taller?
Potentially. But more can be possible.
And I have more case studies to back up this possibility:
Let’s look at height statistics of 4 countries in particular:
Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, and France
As you can see on the graph below, the average male of all 4 countries grew at least 12.6 cm (5 inches) in the past few decades:
Source: University of Tuebingen via ourworldindata.org | Author: Max Roser (@MaxCRoser)
Now, did these countries magically alter their genes during these years?
I doubt it.
But there is one thing that these countries DID change: their income
Of the 4 European countries, let’s zoom in on Netherlands.
Specifically, let’s look at the height vs income graph of Dutch males in the past few decades:
Source: randalolson.com | Author: Dr. Randal S. Olson (@randal_olson)
As you can see, their median male height increased by around 19 cm (7.5 inches) as their income improved over the years.
But what did raising income have to do with growing taller?
According to Dr. Randal Olson, improving their income likely gave them access to an abundance of healthier foods, which would’ve helped them improve their nutrition [7].
And when you look at how:
Malnutrition caused North Koreans to become 3.1 inches shorter than their southern siblings, and
Eating more protein and fats helped the Japanese become more than 3 inches taller on average,
It makes sense why Dr. Olson and other experts emphasize the importance of nutrition and health when it comes to growing taller [2, 7, 8].
As you witnessed, the average height of several countries increased noticeably over the years, while their genes stayed the same.
So what’s the bottom line?
While genetics have their place, your child can increase his adult height substantially by optimizing non-genetic factors (such as nutrition).
Now, keep in mind that these countries didn’t deliberately try to grow taller.
But by simply improving their nutrition, health, and overall quality of life, their height increased substantially.
So imagine how much taller your child can become if he optimizes not only his nutrition, but EVERY part of his lifestyle to reach his maximum height…
And luckily for you, I’m going to show you how to do just that.
Although genetics play a huge role in your child’s height, non-genetic factors can make or break your child’s height as an adult
The main non-genetic factors to watch out for are your child’s nutrition, health, and lifestyle (more on this later)
We looked at several case studies that clearly show how much these non-genetic factors can affect your child’s height:
NBA players who outgrew their parents by up to 10 inches (25.4 cm)
North Koreans are 3.1 inches (8 cm) shorter than South Koreans due to malnutrition (but they have the same genes)
The Japanese population grew 3 inches taller since World War II, after adding more proteins and fats into their diet
Several European countries grew at least 12.6 cm (5 inches) in the past few decades
The average Dutch height increased by around 20 cm (7.9 inches) as their income grew and had access to healthier foods
Remember that these countries didn’t aim to grow taller, but they still grew simply by improving their nutrition and health
So If your child can take action on this guide, he can double-down on these non-genetic factors, which will help him reach his full potential height
Now you know what’s possible for your child, it’s time to move onto our first step:
Tracking your child’s growth.
If you want to ensure that your child is growing at the right pace, you must nail this process.
And in this chapter, I’m going to show you a simple 2-step process to track your child’s growth with maximum accuracy.
Let’s dive into each step one at a time.
Measuring your child’s height isn’t rocket science, but it’s important that you measure her accurately every time.
Because if you don’t, you can’t go back in time to measure her again (obviously).
So here are 5 important rules to follow when measuring your child’s height:
➊
Measure around the same time of day
Since our heights fluctuate from morning to night, it’s important to measure your child around the same time of the day.
I recommend measuring in the morning, since your child’s height will differ each evening (depending on what activities she engages in throughout the day).
Now, you DON’T need to measure at the exact same time each day.
Just measure her height as soon as she gets up.
Simple as that.
➋
Make sure your child gets enough sleep the day before
Sleep is important for growing taller, since that’s when majority of height growth happens.
For now, just know that by sleeping sufficiently every night, her spine length will stay consistent every time you measure her.
➌
Measure using the same tool
This may seem like common sense, but you’d be surprised by how many people overlook this rule.
If you measure your child’s height with different rulers, you WON’T get consistent measurements, since every ruler is slightly different.
So pick a measuring ruler that you will use for the next few years.
I recommend using a simple tape ruler.
The rulers you stick to walls isn’t too reliable, since you may move homes in the years to come.
And if you’re absolutely nuts about precision, you can get yourself a stadiometer (but I don’t think it’s worth the price).
➍
Keep your measurements consistent
After you pick your ruler, it’s time to measure your child’s height.
Here are 7 steps to measure her height as accurately as possible:
1. Grab a light and hard book
2. Get your child to stand against the wall, with the back of her heels and head touching the wall
3. Place the book on top of her head, and keep the book parallel to the floor as much as possible
4. Get her to lower her chin, and adjust her head position until she is at her tallest height
5. Mark her height with a pencil
6. Grab your ruler (that you picked from the previous step), stick it to the bottom of the wall, and extend it up to the mark.
7. Right down her height, date, and time in a notebook (or Excel spreadsheet)
Remember: You can only measure her correctly the first time, so make sure you nail it!
➎
Measure in consistent time intervals
In other words: if you’re going to measure her every month, measure her every month.
If you’re going to measure every 3 months, measure every 3 months.
This will spread out her measurements evenly, which will help you spot unusual changes in her growth much more clearly.
So how often should you measure?
I recommend measuring once every month OR once every 3 months.
Every day or every week is too often, because your child will have barely grown.
And if you wait longer than 3 months between measurements, you won’t have enough data to know if your child is growing at the right pace.
But whatever frequency you choose, make sure to keep it consistent.
Unfortunately, there is no way to know EXACTLY how tall your child should be at every age.
But this shouldn’t stop you from knowing if your child is growing at the right pace.
Thankfully, there are many tools and resources that can tell you if your child is growing properly.
And by far, the best tool for tracking your child’s growth is the growth chart.
If your child is 0 to 2 years old, here are the growth charts you want to use:
Boys Growth Chart (Ages 0 to 2 Years)
Girls Growth Chart (Ages 0 to 2 Years)
And if your child is 2 years or older, you’ll want to use these:
Boys Growth Chart (Ages 2 Years or Older)
Girls Growth Chart (Ages 2 Years or Older)
Once you’ve:
Measured your child’s height, and
Picked the right chart for your child’s gender and age,
You’re ready to track your child’s growth.
For this example, we’re going to use the Growth Chart to track Tom, who is 6 years old, and is 3′ 7″ tall.
Here is Dr. Iannelli’s step-by-step process to using the chart accurately:
➊
At the bottom of the chart, find your child’s age, and draw a vertical line to the top of the graph.
Source: cdc.gov
➋
Find your child’s height on the left, and draw a horizontal line until you reach the vertical line.
(Tom’s height in inches is: 3 feet x 12 + 7 inches = 43 inches)
➌
Find the curve that’s closest to this intersection, and follow the curve until you get to 2 numbers.
For Tom, you’ll find that he gets to the numbers: 10 and 66
Source: verywellfamily.com | Author: Dr. Vincent Iannelli (@AboutPediatrics)
So, what are these 2 numbers exactly?
1. The first number is Tom’s Growth Percentile (which equals 10), and
2. The second number is Tom’s Predicted Adult Height (which equals 66 Inches or 5′ 6″).
So you’re probably wondering: what is a growth percentile, and why is it important?
Your child’s growth percentile = the percentage of children who are shorter than your child (who are the same age)
Since Tom’s Growth Percentile is 10, it means that Tom is taller than 10% of children who are also 6 years old.
Now, the point of this procedure ISN’T to see how tall your child is compared to other children.
Rather, your child’s growth percentile will help you know if she’s growing properly or not.
Here are 2 steps you can use your child’s growth percentile to ensure she’s growing at the right pace:
1. Go through all of your child’s existing measurements, and label them with a growth percentile (using the Growth Chart).
2. If her growth percentile stays relatively consistent, it’s an indication that she’s growing at a healthy pace.
For example, if your child’s growth percentile is 70% when she’s 7 years old, 75% when she’s 8, and 80% when she’s 9, it shows that your child is growing normally.
If your child’s original growth percentile is 75%, it’s normal for her height to fluctuate from that line
It’s important to remember that these growth charts are simply estimations.
Therefore, it’s normal for your child’s growth percentile to fluctuate (to a certain point).
Specifically, your child’s growth percentile will tend to fluctuate the most during 2 different growth spurts:
1. During 1st year of infancy [9], and
2. During puberty (10 ~ 14 for girls, and 12 ~ 16 for boys) [10]
During her growth spurts, your child’s growth percentile will tend to fluctuate more than usual, since everyone goes through growth spurts at different times.
Having said that, if you notice that your child’s growth percentile falls off drastically at any point, make sure to seek help from a pediatrician.
Your child’s height will fluctuate even more during these growth spurt periods
The goal for your child is to increase her growth percentile by the time she becomes an adult.
Now, you shouldn’t expect your child to go from 5% to 95% by adulthood, since genetics does play a role here.
But as we discussed in Chapter 1, non-genetic factors can also plays a HUGE role in how tall your child becomes.
Therefore, by doing the right things, it’s possible for your child to increase her growth percentile by the time she becomes an adult.
And in the following chapters, I’ll show you how to optimize your child’s lifestyle for maximum growth.
To ensure that your child is growing normally:
➊ Measure her height accurately and consistently by following my 5 measurement rules, and
➋ Use the growth chart to track her height with 3 simple steps
Following the growth chart will help you find out your child’s growth percentile and predicted adult height
Growth Percentile indicates the % of children (same age) that are shorter than your child
It’s normal for your child’s growth percentile to fluctuate (especially during her infant and pubertal growth spurts)
But if her height ever deviates from the line drastically, make sure to go to a doctor or pediatrician
This guide will help your child increase her growth percentile by the time she becomes an adult!
Human growth hormone (a.k.a. HGH) is a natural hormone that your body produces, and it serves many vital functions, such as:
Generating your cells and tissues [11]
Producing fluids in your body [12]
Keeping your immune system strong and healthy
But most importantly…
HGH lengthens your child’s bones throughout her childhood and teenage years [12].
So the more HGH your child produces in her body, the more she’ll grow.
And in this chapter, I’m going to show you exactly how your child can optimize her HGH levels for maximum growth.
There are 5 questions to answer when it comes to increasing your child’s HGH
➊ How does HGH make you taller?
➋ Is HGH safe?
➌ How do you know if your child has too little HGH?
➍ How do you know if your child has too much HGH?
➎ How can your child optimize her HGH levels for maximum height growth?
Now before I go further, I want to make one thing clear:
HGH, growth hormone, and human growth hormone all mean the same thing!
So with that out of the way, let’s tackle each question, one by one.
➊
How Does HGH Make You Taller?
HGH is produced in a small region inside your brain called the pituitary gland.
And when HGH enters your blood and reaches your bones, it signals your bones to grow in length [13, 14].
For a more detailed explanation of HGH, check out this article on PubMed: Growth Hormone and Bone
So the more HGH your child produces from her pituitary, the longer her bones will grow [13, 15].
And in the next few chapters, I’m going to show you how your child can boost her HGH levels to maximize her growth.
But first, let’s address a common concern that people have about HGH:
➋
Is Human Growth Hormone Safe?
Many people think that HGH is a dangerous substance.
But this can’t be further from the truth.
Why?
Because HGH is a hormone your body secretes naturally from birth.
So why do people think HGH is so dangerous?
Because they confuse natural HGH with synthetic HGH.
Here is the main difference between the two types:
Natural HGH: Hormone that is secreted naturally from your pituitary glands
Synthetic HGH: Artificially made chemical that you put in your body via medicine, drugs, or injections
As you can guess, natural HGH is safe since your body produces it naturally, but synthetic HGH can be risky if not used correctly [11].
And in the next few chapters, I’ll show you how your child can boost her natural HGH for maximum growth.
But if your child severely lacks HGH in her body, synthetic HGH may be necessary to help your child grow normally [16].
Which brings us to the next point:
➌
How Do You Know If Your Child Has Too Little HGH?
Source: hormone.org via build-muscle-101.com
One of the most obvious signs of HGH deficiency is growing abnormally slow.
(And Chapter 2 was all about know if your child is growing properly or not)
Along with that, here are some of some signs of HGH deficiencies [12]:
Being shorter than children their age
Growing less than 2 inches per year
Face appears younger than children their age
Delayed puberty (sometimes may not even go through puberty)
Increased fat (around face and stomach)
Now, if it’s hard to spot any of these symptoms, she probably isn’t suffering from an HGH deficiency.
And if that’s the case, all you have to focus on is increasing her HGH levels naturally (which we’ll get into starting next chapter).
But if any of these symptoms are noticeable, consult a pediatrician, and he will likely recommend your child to:
Receive a Growth Hormone Stimulation Test
Resort to an HGH treatment.
In Chapter 9, I’m going to tackle Growth Hormone Deficiencies much more in-depth.
➍
How Do You Know If Your Child Has Too Much HGH?
On the flipside, there is a chance that your child might have too much HGH in her body.
(This condition is called Acromegaly)
Here’s a 22-year-old patient who has abnormally high HGH levels, standing on the left side of her identical twin!
Source: University of Texas via nejm.org | Authors: Robert F Gagel, MD; Ian E McCutcheon, MD
Besides being extremely tall, here are other symptoms of acromegaly [17]:
Enlarged bones in the face, hands, and feet
Excessive growth spurts
Weight gain
A hoarse, deep voice
Thickened skin
If your child has this condition, you should aim to REDUCE her HGH levels at all costs.
So if you notice any of the symptoms I listed above, make sure to speak to a pediatrician for acromegaly treatment options.
In Chapter 10, I’ll cover Acromegaly in much more detail.
➎
How Can You Optimize Your Child’s HGH Levels for Maximum Growth?
Assuming that your child’s HGH is in the normal range, it’s time to get to the meat of the sandwich:
How can your child increase her natural HGH levels for maximum height growth?
There are a few important factors that you need to optimize to increase HGH naturally.
By optimizing 2 major aspects of her life:
Nutrition and sleep.
And that is what the next two chapters are going to be all about.
(Trust me, it’s going to be more than “drink milk” or “get lots of sleep” 🙂)
Bottom line: HGH is responsible for lengthening your child’s bones
If you want your child to increase her HGH safely, she needs to increase her Natural HGH (not Synthetic HGH)
Natural HGH is the hormone that your body produces naturally
Synthetic HGH is artificially made, and is something that you injest externally
HOWEVER, if she lacks HGH severely, the doctor or pediatrician may recommend using Synthetic HGH
You can tell if your child lacks HGH if she is growing very slowly or shows other signs (in Chapter 9, we’ll cover HGH deficiency more deeply)
On the flipside, if your child has too much HGH, she’ll grow abnormally fast, and show other symptoms (in Chapter 10, we’ll look at this condition in more depth)
In the next two chapters, we’ll discuss ways your child can increase her HGH naturally for maximum growth
If you had to pick just ONE CHAPTER to read in this guide, it would be this one.
In fact, a study has shown that nutrition is the MOST important non-genetic factor that contributes to your child’s growth [8].
And if improving nutrition helped the entire Japanese population grow taller by 3 inches [6], it will help your child grow taller as well.
So the question is:
How can you optimize your child’s diet for maximum growth?
By feeding him foods that are scientifically-proven to maximize his growth.
And in this section, I will show you:
Which nutrients are the most important for bone growth
Which foods contain the MOST of these height maximizing nutrients, and
How much of each nutrient your child needs to consume every day
Let’s dive right in.
There’s a flood of information online about which nutrients are the most important for lengthening your bones.
But luckily for you, I’ve done the hard work by putting together information from 100s of scientific articles, and compiling the MOST important nutrients your child needs to maximize his height.
And from my findings, there are 5 main nutrients your child needs to consume if he wants to maximize his bone length.
Here’s an overview of the 5 nutrients and their roles:
➊ Amino Acids – Increases HGH, which signals your bones to grow longer
➋ Protein – Contains Amino Acids, and builds Collagen (1 of 2 main building blocks of your bones)
➌ Vitamin C – Also builds Collagen
➍ Calcium – The other building block of your bones (alongside Collagen)
➎ Vitamin D3 – Helps your bones absorb Calcium
In this section, I’ll briefly explain why each nutrient is important for growth, and lists of foods that contain the MOST of each nutrient.
And at the end of the chapter: I’ll give you a COMPLETE chart with all of these foods.
Keep reading.
This is the most important nutrient your child needs to grow taller.
Why?
Because Amino Acids increase your HGH levels.
To recap: HGH is what signals your bones to grow in length [18].
That’s why it is critical that your child maintains high levels of HGH.
Now, there are 5 Amino Acids that increase your HGH [19, 20, 21]:
L-Ornithine, L-Arginine, L-Lysine, L-Glutamine, and L-Glycine
Don’t worry, you DON’T need to memorize these Amino Acids.
Because I’ve already found foods that are high in one or a combination of these Amino Acids.
Here are the best sources of the 5 Amino Acids (for maximum HGH):
Grassfed Meats (Beef or Chicken)
Eggs
Flava Beans
Golgi Berries
Pineapple
Watermelon
Coconut Oil
Nuts
Raw Chocolate
Yogurt
To learn more about the best sources of Amino Acids, check out this article on Medicalopedia:
10 Foods That Increase Human Growth Hormone
Before I explain why Protein is important, let’s quickly look at what your bones are made up of.
Your bones need 2 materials to grow longer: Collagen and Calcium [22]
And since collagen is a Protein itself, your child needs to consume enough Proteins to build healthy bones.
But here is the best part:
Foods that are rich in Proteins usually contain Amino Acids that increase your HGH!
So by consuming Protein-rich foods, your child can simultaneously increase his HGH, while feeding his bones with the nutrients that they need.
(In other words, you can kill 2 birds with 1 stone)
So without further ado, here are the best sources of Protein (for your child’s bones):
Tuna
Chicken Breast
Fish
Steak
Tofu
Pumpkin Seeds
Cottage Cheese
Yogurt
Almonds
Quinoa
To learn more about the best sources of Proteins, check out this article written by Monica Lam-Feist from AlgaeCal:
Everything You Need to Know About Protein and Bone Health
Besides Protein, your bones also need Vitamin C to manufacture collagen in your bones.
Simply put: Protein is the building block of the collagen, while Vitamin C is the material that holds the collagen together.
And without enough Vitamin C, the collagens in your child’s bones will become weaker, which will disrupt proper bone growth.
So without further ado, here are the best sources of Vitamin C:
Strawberries
Pineapple
Kiwi
Mango
Papaya
Red Pepper
Kale
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Brussel Sprouts
To learn more about the best sources of Vitamin C, check out this slideshow made by Christine Mattheis:
12 Foods With More Vitamin C Than Oranges
This is probably not a surprise to you.
In fact, I remember being nagged by my mom EVERY DAY to drink milk.
But it turns out she was onto something:
Calcium (along with collagen) is the foundational building block of your bones.
And fortunately for your child, there are MANY sources of Calcium.
Here they are:
Seeds
Cheese
Yogurt
Salmon
Beans
Almonds
Leafy Greens
Cereal
Tofu
Milk (Soy, Almond, or Cow’s)
To learn more foods that are high in Calcium, check out this article on Healthline:
Top 15 Calcium-Rich Foods (Many Are Non-Dairy)
Vitamin D3 is another important nutrient for your bones, since it allows your to absorb Calcium.
In other words, your bones CANNOT use Calcium without enough Vitamin D3 in your body.
But just like Amino Acids and Protein, many foods that contain lots of Calcium are also rich in Vitamin D3.
So here are the best sources of Vitamin D3:
Milk (Soy or Cow’s)
Cereal
Orange Juice
Mushrooms
Eggs
Salmon
Tuna
Oysters
Shrimps
Sunlight (yes, this isn’t really food, but it’s the BEST source of Vitamin D3 on earth)
To learn more about foods that are rich in Vitamin D3 (and Calcium), check out this article on Healthline:
Top Foods for Calcium and Vitamin D3
Here is a complete chart of foods that are rich in each of the 5 nutrients.
(You’ll notice that many of these foods overlap)
| Amino Acids | Protein | Vitamin C | Calcium | Vitamin D3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grassfed Meats | Tuna | Strawberries | Seeds | Milk |
| Eggs | Chicken Breast | Pineapple | Cheese | Cereal |
| Flava Beans | Fish | Kiwi | Yogurt | Orange Juice |
| Golgi Berries | Steak | Mango | Salmon | Mushrooms |
| Pineapple | Tofu | Papaya | Beans | Eggs |
| Watermelon | Pumpkin Seeds | Red Pepper | Almonds | Salmon |
| Coconut Oil | Cottage Cheese | Kale | Leafy Greens | Tuna |
| Nuts | Yogurt | Broccoli | Cereal | Oysters |
| Raw Chocolate | Almonds | Cauliflower | Tofu | Shrimps |
| Yogurt | Quinoa | Brussel Sprouts | Milk | ☀️ Sunlight ☀️ |
Grassfed Meats |
Eggs |
Flava Beans |
Golgi Berries |
Pineapple |
Watermelon |
Coconut Oil |
Nuts |
Raw Chocolate |
Yogurt |
Tuna |
Chicken Breast |
Fish |
Steak |
Tofu |
Pumpkin Seeds |
Cottage Cheese |
Yogurt |
Almonds |
Quinoa |
Strawberries |
Pineapple |
Kiwi |
Mango |
Papaya |
Red Pepper |
Kale |
Broccoli |
Cauliflower |
Brussel Sprouts |
Seeds |
Cheese |
Yogurt |
Salmon |
Beans |
Almonds |
Leafy Greens |
Cereal |
Tofu |
Milk |
Milk |
Cereal |
Orange Juice |
Mushrooms |
Eggs |
Salmon |
Tuna |
Oysters |
Shrimps |
☀️ Sunlight ☀️ |
Now, your child DOESN’T need to eat EVERYTHING on this list.
Just ask your child which foods he likes best, and make sure he eats them regularly.
Remember: Consistency is key.
At this point, you’re probably wondering:
How much of each nutrient does my child need to consume every day?
Since everyone’s body is different, I can’t give you an exact amount to aim for.
And the good news is that you DON’T even need to nail your nutrition intake to the tee.
But if you want to go the extra mile, I’ve gathered some useful resources for you.
Since many Protein-rich foods contain Amino Acids that increase HGH, feeding your child with enough Protein every day will optimize his HGH levels [23].
Here is a calculator you can use to track how much Protein (and fats, carbs, and calories) your child needs every day.
Here is how much Calcium and Vitamin C your child needs to consume each day [24, 25]:
| Age | Vitamin C | Calcium |
|---|---|---|
| 0~6 Months | 40 mg | 200 mg |
| 7~12 Months | 50 mg | 260 mg |
| 1~3 Years | 15 mg | 700 mg |
| 4~8 Years | 25 mg | 1,000 mg |
| 9~13 Years | 45 mg | 1,300 mg |
| 14~18 Years | 65 mg for girls 75 mg for boys | 1,300 mg |
| >19 Years | 75 mg for girls 90 mg for boys | 1,000 mg |
| Age | Vitamin C |
|---|---|
| 0~6 Months | 40 mg |
| 7~12 Months | 50 mg |
| 1~3 Years | 15 mg |
| 4~8 Years | 25 mg |
| 9~13 Years | 45 mg |
| 14~18 Years | 65 mg for girls 75 mg for boys |
| >19 Years | 75 mg for girls 90 mg for boys |
| Age | Calcium |
|---|---|
| 0~6 Months | 200 mg |
| 7~12 Months | 260 mg |
| 1~3 Years | 700 mg |
| 4~8 Years | 1,000 mg |
| 9~13 Years | 1,300 mg |
| 14~18 Years | 1,300 mg |
| >19 Years | 1,000 mg |
Remember: there’s no need to follow this chart right on the dot.
As long as your child eats foods that are rich in these nutrients, he’ll be good.
Your child needs to get at least 400 IU of Vitamin D3 per day [26].
However, children with certain conditions may need more (more on this in later).
Eating lots of Vitamin D3 foods, and enjoying 10 to 30 minute sunbathes are the best ways to get enough Vitamin D3 each day [26, 27].
Just make sure to avoid direct sunlight in the summer (between 10am to 4pm) [28].
Eating too much sugar can skyrocket his insulin beyond what’s healthy, which can decrease his HGH levels [29].
In other words, if your child consumes too much sugar, he won’t grow as much.
Now, there’s one problem:
Children LOVE sugar.
In fact, when I was a kid, I LOVED snacking on candies and chocolate all day.
(I’m sure you did too)
So how in the world can you convince your child to eat less sugar?
Check out this guide written by Karen Cicero from Parents.com:
How to Tame Your Kid’s Sweet Tooth in 30 Days
And later in this guide, we’ll go over several ways to encourage your child to take all the right actions.
Nutrition is the most important non-genetic factor when it comes to your child’s growth [8]
There are 5 main nutrients that can maximize your child’s height:
➊ Amino Acids – Increase HGH, which signals your bones to grow in length
➋ Proteins – Builds Collagen, a building block of your bones
➌ Vitamin C – Builds Collagen, a building block of your bones
➍ Calcium – The other building block of your bones
➎ Vitamin D3 – Helps your bones absorb Calcium
You DON’T need to keep precise track of how much of each nutrient your child consumes
As long as he eats a balanced diet with foods from each column, he’ll condition his body for maximum growth
Encourage your child to eat less sugar
Up to 75% of HGH is produced during sleep deep sleep [30].
So if your child wants to boost her HGH levels for maximum growth, not only does she need to sleep a lot…
…but she needs to get enough deep sleep every night [31].
So how can your child sleep deeper than a Koala?
By incorporating 6 Height Maximizing Sleep Tips.
And that’s what this chapter is going to cover.
Let’s get started.
How much sleep your child gets every night will directly impact how long her bones grow.
But there is another thing about sleep that you must keep in mind:
It’s just as important to go to sleep at the right time.
So when is the best time to go to sleep?
Aim to get your child in bed before 10pm.
Now, why is this so important?
Because your growth hormone levels peak between 10pm and 2am [32, 33].
Source: healthline.com | Author: Rudy Mawer, MS, CISSN
Now, let’s face the REAL challenge.
If your child is in her teenage years (or close to it), it’s going to be a battle to get her to sleep before 10am.
So how can you convince your child to sleep that early?
Simple: Show her this graph!
If your child knows that sleeping during these hours will make or break her height, she’ll be much more motivated to sleep earlier.
And throughout this chapter, I’ll show you scientifically-proven strategies that will help her sleep earlier and more deeply.
Keep reading.
The best way to get lots of deep sleep is to get enough sleep to begin with.
So how many hours of sleep does your child need every night?
It depends.
Many experts say that you need at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep.
But in reality, we all need different amounts of sleep, depending on:
Our age
Our lifestyle
Amount of sleep we’ve gotten in the days before, and
Amount of physical activity throughout the day
Thus, sticking to conventional tips like “sleep 8 hours a day” is a recipe for poor sleep.
So how do you know how much sleep your child needs for maximum height growth?
By letting her wake up naturally (without an alarm clock).
When she wakes up without any alarm, it shows that her body is fully rested and doesn’t need any more sleep.
So if you want to ensure that your child gets enough sleep every night, make sure she wakes up when she wants to.
(And if you don’t want her to be late for school, make sure to follow Tip #1 as well)
Sleeping in a comfortable position is not only important for getting deep sleep…
…it will also help your child maintain a taller posture (more on this later).
So what is the best sleeping position for proper growth?
There are 2 rules for sleeping in the optimal position:
➊ Lying on your back, with your arms straight by your sides [34]
➋ Sleeping without a pillow [35]
Source: cozzy.org | Author: Maria
This will ensure that your child’s spine will be in its neutral position, and her head, neck, and spine will all be properly aligned, which is critical for growing properly.
So how can you get your child to sleep on her back, WITHOUT a pillow?
Here is a step-by-step method your child can follow to optimize her sleeping position:
1. If your child is a side or stomach-sleeper, encourage your child to start sleeping on her back.
2. Once she feels comfortable sleeping on her back, get her a thinner pillow.
3. Allow her to sleep on this new pillow until she’s fully comfortable.
4. After getting used to her thinner pillow, reduce her pillow size further.
5. Repeat steps #3 and #4 as many times as necessary, until your child can sleep without a pillow.
Now, there is one important point I need to mention.
For your child to sleep without a pillow, she must become a back-sleeper first.
Because if your child is a side-sleeper, a pillow will keep her spine in a neutral position [36].
Bottom line?
By following the above 5 steps in order, your child can optimize her sleeping position safely, and maximize her growth.
Another strategy to maintain an optimal posture (for deeper sleep) is to sleep on a medium-firm surface.
Studies have shown that medium-firm mattresses keep your spine in proper alignment, and also reduce lower-back pain [37, 38].
And this makes sense.
If your child’s mattress is too soft, her body will sink too deeply into the mattress, bringing her spine out of alignment.
On the other hand, super-hard mattresses can be uncomfortable for your child.
So how can you find out which mattress-firmness is best for your child?
Here is a step-by-step process of finding a mattress with the right firmness:
1. Bring your child to a mattress store of your choice.
2. Get her to lie down on mattresses with different firmness levels, so she can get an idea of what makes her feel comfortable.
3. Ask her to pick the mattress that feels firm, but also makes her feel comfortable.
4. Install the mattress in her bed frame, and get her to sleep on it for a few days.
5. If she feels comfortable, she should stick with it. If not, repeat steps 1 to 4.
Remember: aim for comfort first, firmness second.
Remember: No pillows allowed 🙂
So far, we talked about when and how long your child needs to sleep.
But there is one more aspect of sleep that you cannot ignore:
Sleeping in an optimal environment.
If you want your child to get enough deep sleep, she must sleep in a room that promotes full relaxation, and get rid of all distractions at night.
Here are steps you can take to optimize her bedroom [39, 40, 41, 42]:
1. Find the optimal room temperature for your child. Aim for 60 to 70 °F (16 to 21 °C), but remember: comfort over everything!
2. Keep her room door closed to minimize noise that enters her room
3. Keep her room pitch black (no night lights)
4. Get your child to sleep with her socks on (warm feet improves sleep quality)
5. Encourage your child to keep her phone on airplane mode before sleeping (this will prevent wifi signals from intruding her room)
6. Remove all electrical plugs in her room (easiest way to do this is to plug all her wires into a single extension cord, and unplugging the extension chord at night)
Depending on how rebellious your child is, the last 2 tips may be a challenge to pull off.
But make sure to follow through with the first 3 tips as much as possible.
Besides optimizing her sleep environment, it’s also important that she does the right things BEFORE sleeping.
Specifically, she’ll want to do the right things during the day, and within 3 to 4 hours before bed.
And in this section, I’ll show you steps she can take during the day, and before bed.
Avoid caffeine (your child shouldn’t consume caffeine if she’s younger than 18)
Get enough sunlight (sunlight helps you produce melatonin at night, which makes you sleepy)
Part take in physical activities (this will make her tired, making it much easier to go to sleep before 10pm)
Avoid eating any heavy meals near bedtime
Avoid any hardcore exercises (she should do them earlier during the day)
Avoid drinking too much water late at night
Minimize light exposure before bed
Eliminate stressful activities before bed
Sleep before 10pm
Let your child wake up naturally without an alarm clock
Encourage your child to sleep straight on her back, without a pillow
Find a comfortable, medium-firm mattress for your child
Optimize your child’s sleep environment (most important factors: temperature, no noise, no light)
Prepare your child to sleep deeply before bed:
During the day: Sunlight, exercise, no caffeine
Before bed: No heavy meals, no hardcore exercises, minimum light, minimum water, minimum stress
I have some shocking news:
There’s no evidence that maintaining a good posture helps your bones grow longer.
So why is this chapter even here??
Because fixing your child’s posture can:
1. Make him taller (instantly), and
2. Help him develop a strong and stable body structure
So in this chapter, I’ll briefly explain how correcting your child’s posture can do each of these two things.
And afterwards, you’ll learn the exact steps your child can take to optimize his posture (for maximum height AND body strength).
Here is a picture that shows how much your child’s posture can affect his height:
As you can see, the twin on the left appears much taller, EVEN if the length of all their limbs are exactly the same.
And by fixing his posture, your child can gain an inch instantly (depending on how bad his current posture is).
The best part?
Fixing your child’s posture won’t only help him appear taller, but will actually increase his spine length over time [45].
In part 2, I’ll explain how this is even possible.
But for now, know that your child can gain a freebie inch by fixing his posture alone.
Take a look at these 2 jenga towers:
As you can see, their height is more or less the same.
But if my child was a jenga tower, I’d want him to look like the left tower.
Why?
Because the left tower is stronger and more stable.
Even though each tower contains the same number of blocks (and are similar in height), the left tower is much more stable, because its blocks are properly aligned.
And these two towers are analogous to your child’s posture.
If your child maintains a poor posture, his bones will become misaligned (like the right tower), which can cause him to develop problems in his bones and joints.
Poor Alignment = Bad Posture
But if he can maintain a proper posture, his bones will grow in the proper direction, which will condition his body to become strong and stable as the left tower.
Proper Alignment = Good Posture
Bottom line?
Not only can fixing posture make your child taller instantly, but it will be the difference between having a strong and a weak body.
And in this chapter, I’ll show you how your child can optimize his posture to become taller AND stronger.
Before we get into the postural techniques, let’s quickly look at what a healthy spine looks like:
Source: sequencewiz.org | Author: Olga Kabel
As you can see, the spine is slightly curved (but not too much).
So when your child is standing, sitting, or even lying down, this is how you want his spine to look.
So without further ado, let’s get into our first postural technique:
This is the most important postural technique to implement.
Because let’s face it: no matter how active your child is, he’s going to spend a good chunk of the day sitting.
So it’s important that your child sits in a proper position.
Here is a step-by-step process of optimizing your child’s sitting posture [46]:
1. Find a comfortable chair for your child (ideally it should have an adjustable height with arm rests)
2. Get him to rest his buttocks and shoulders on the back of the chair
3. To keep his head in proper alignment, his chin should point downwards (this will pop his chest out and put his spine in its neutral position)
4. To relax his shoulders further, get him to rest his elbows on the arm rests (the angle at his elbows should be at 90° to 120°)
5. Adjust the chair height so that both of his feet are flat on the ground (the angle at his knees should be 90° to 120°)
6. If your child is sitting in front of a computer, make sure the top of the monitor is 18 to 24″ away from his eyes.
Note: The chair and desk height should be adjusted to your child’s sitting height
So after explaining how to sit properly, you’re telling me to avoid sitting?!
Yes I am.
No matter how much your child fixes his sitting posture, it doesn’t mean that he can sit all day without any problems.
Not only does sitting for too long bring your posture out of proper alignment, but sitting has been proven to cause serious health problems [47].
So how can you help your child sit less during the day?
I personally rely on 2 strategies to get up more frequently:
➊
Combat Sitting by Using a Pomodoro Timer
Your child probably won’t remember on to get up regularly on his own.
But by installing a timer that goes off regularly, your child can easily remember to get up and walk around.
I use a free app called Awareness, but there are a TON of other Pomodoro timers you can pick from.
➋
Combat Sitting by Lying on the Tummy
If a timer doesn’t get your child up often enough, there is an easier solution:
Get your child to lie down on his stomach.
This will take a lot of load off of his spine, and also stretch out his back, which can help to neutralize his spinal alignment [48].
With that, here is another way to get your child to sit less:
➌
Combat Sitting by Using a Standing Desk
This is one of the best ways to sit less throughout the day.
Not only can standing desks help your child keep a better posture, but it can bring about many health benefits as well [49].
But remember, if you want your child to start using a standing desk, gradual change is key.
When first using a standing desk, he should start by using it for 30 to 60 minutes per day, and work his way up as he gets more comfortable [50].
Speaking of standing, here is my next postural technique:
When it comes to your child’s standing posture, there’s one more thing to consider (besides spine curvature):
He has to align his head, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles
In other words, this is how you want your child’s posture to look:
Source: artofmanliness.com | Authors: Brett and Kate McKay
Now, this posture isn’t hard to mimic.
But the REAL challenge is maintaining it.
So how can your child remember to maintain this posture regularly?
Here’s a simple 3-step process to optimize your child’s standing posture
1. Get your child to stand against the wall
2. The back of his feet, buttocks, shoulder blades, and head should all be touching the wall.
3. To align his head properly, get your child to tuck in his chin while looking straight (this will pop his chest out and put his spine in its neutral position)
If your child slouches often, this should help straighten out his posture.
And in the next chapter, I’ll show you the BEST exercises your child can do to easily maintain his new posture.
This is my favorite postural technique by far.
A posture corrector makes all the techniques we just went through, 10x easier.
By wearing a posture corrector throughout the day, your child won’t need to constantly remind himself to keep a straight posture, because the strap will remind him to do so.
Once you wear this thing, it forces you to maintain a good posture, because slouching puts pressure on your shoulders, which reminds you to stand or sit tall every time you do slouch.
Now, I’ve tried many different ones, but the posture corrector made by Selbite feels the most comfortable for me.
But you can search posture corrector on Amazon, and find very cheap ones for under $20.
Maintaining a good posture goes beyond becoming taller or stronger.
In fact, having your chest out can boost your confidence, and make you feel better (instantly) [51].
But here is anothing thing about confidence you’ve probably never heard about:
Feeling confident can improve your posture as well!
In one of Tony Robbins’s seminars, Tony helped a man go from depressed to confident in a matter of seconds.
The result?
The man’s chest popped out, which instantly fixed his posture.
You can check the video out here:
And if your child feels more happy and confident on a regular basis, his chest will pop out too, which will make it much easier for him to maintain his optimal posture.
Stay tuned, because in the Bonus Chapter, we’ll talk about some strategies to make your child more happy and confident.
Maintaining a proper posture will:
Increase your child’s height (instantly), and
Keep your child’s bones properly aligned, which is important for developing a strong and stable body structure
Here are 5 ways to maintain a proper posture:
➊ Get your child to maintain a proper sitting posture
➋ Minimize his sitting time by using a timer, line down on his stomach, or working on a standing desk
➌ To maintain a proper standing posture, get your child to align his body against the wall
➍ Get him a posture corrector
➎ Make him feel happier and more confident will help him pop out his chest, which will optimize his posture
In Chapter 7, I’ll show you exercises to further optimize his posture
In Chapter 9, I’ll show you how he can deal with any postural abnormalities (if he suffers from them)
Congratulations!
You’re officially one-half of the way through this guide.
But before you move onto the second half, I’d like to know what’s on your mind right now.
Specifically, which tip are you most eager to start implementing?
Are you excited to start measuring your child’s height?
Are you thinking about ordering a posture corrector on Amazon?
Or maybe, you already printed out the food chart from chapter 4.
Either way, let me know by leaving me a comment below!
And afterwards, check out part 2 of my guide.
Written by Justin S. (Guest)
If you’re reading this, you’re probably looking to increase height after 18, 21, 25, or whatever your age may be.
But is going through a leg lengthening surgery your best option?
While I can’t give you a definitive answer, I will say this:
It’s not a good idea.
And in this post, I’m going to show you all the ups and downs that come with a brutal height increase surgery.
And afterwards, I’m going to give you a tips that you can apply to grow taller naturally, EVEN if your bones are done growing.
(These tips will save you tons of money, months of your precious time, and most importantly, your health)
Keep reading.
What to Expect
Risks
Cost in Different Countries
Procedure
Results, Side Effects, Recovery Time
Painless Ways to Grow Taller (Without Surgery)
You’d be hard-pressed to find even just a handful of people that didn’t wish they were just a little taller.
Yes, even NBA basketball players wish that they could have squeezed a couple of extra inches out of their genetics.
If only so, they would have a little more of a competitive advantage over their fellow players.
Regular folks like you and I usually dream about adding a couple of extra inches, too.
The average man in the United States is about 5’9” tall and plenty of them wish that they could have grow taller by three more inches to hit that “magic” six-foot tall mark.
Well, believe it or not, there are a number of solutions out there that promise to help people gain those extra inches.
(Yes, even after their natural human growth plates and genetics have already decided they’ve reached their maximum height)
But unfortunately, some of these “solutions” are nothing more than modern-day snake oil peddled by less than ethical marketers, anything but ethical medical doctors, and researchers looking to use desperate people as guinea pigs whenever they have a chance to do so.
Leg lengthening procedures in particular are some of the most dangerous and the most insidious “solutions” offered around the world for those that want to add a couple of inches to their height.
At the same time, these kinds of procedures have been marketed and sold as the only effective way to increase your height permanently.
But nothing could be further from the truth.
In this quick guide, I’m going to show you EXACTLY what leg lengthening procedures bring to the table, why they are so risky and why they should be avoided at all costs.
I’m also going to show you how to grow taller naturally (and permanently) so that you don’t ever have to worry about becoming another one of those leg lengthening horror stories.
Ready to dive right in?
Let’s get right to it!
The cosmetic surgery world has been pushed further and further into the future by:
• Amazing new medical breakthroughs,
• Game changing new technology, and
• A better understanding of how to shape and craft the human body through science.
But that doesn’t mean that all of this forward momentum has been positive.
For every amazing new breakthrough in skin grafting, and facial reconstruction, and in helping people lead happier and healthier lives through cosmetic surgery, there’s other breakthroughs in more “fringe” applications for cosmetic surgery.
Ironically, these breakthroughs put the health and well-being of patients at risk (sometimes seriously).
That fringe is exactly where leg lengthening lies.
A procedure that has been aggressively marketed towards men, leg lengthening promises to at anywhere between 2 or 3 inches of height instantly, and then cement those height increases permanently.
I’m going to be honest here, that’s a pretty attractive promise.
Like we mentioned earlier, millions of men (plenty of women) would love nothing more than to grow a little bit taller than what Mother Nature and their genetics decided for them.
And if science could come up with a solution like leg lengthening that really works, it’s definitely worth checking out…
Right?
Wrong!
The reality of the situation is that a leg lengthening medical procedure is anything but like your traditional cosmetic surgery process.
This is why so many surgeons in United States flat out to REFUSE to even contemplate offering this procedure at all.
This isn’t something that you can take advantage of as an outpatient kind of procedure, and it isn’t something that can be done after a quick visit to your local cosmetic surgery clinic.
Instead it’s a lot more like being strapped into a medieval torture system, having your legs and bones snapped in half, expanded, and operated on (sometimes for hours on end) with all of the grueling and month-long postoperative recovery that this kind of surgery brings to the table.
In fact, leg lengthening is flat out banned in some countries because of how dangerous it is.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some nations out there willing to trade anything for some cold hard cash.
China, for example, is one of the most popular hotspots for “leg lengthening tourism”.
That shouldn’t surprise all that many considering the fact that a lot of personal and job advertisements in China reference minimum height expectations.
Korea is another hot spot for these kinds of procedures, reportedly conducting anywhere upwards of 600 or more limb lengthening surgeries every single year.
Russia is willing to take all, turns as well, and compared to other countries around the world this might be the cheapest place to get your legs cracked in half.
As I mentioned, only a handful of doctors in the United States are even willing to offer this surgery, and very few of them are going to flat-out offer this in anything but hushed tones.
Leg lengthening surgery in United States will set you back about $85,000 and obviously your insurance isn’t going to be there to foot the bill.
The cost of leg lengthening surgery is all over the map, but just for a quick reference here are some of the average prices of this surgery that hotspots around the world.
(All prices shown in US Dollar values)
• Thailand – $27,000
• France – $70,000
• Syria – $15,000
• Russia – $16,000
• Germany – $60,000
• Italy – $30,000
Again, all of these prices are out-of-pocket prices individual patients will have to pony up on their own.
There isn’t an insurance plan on the planet that includes leg lengthening surgeries as part of its coverage!
The thing that has surprised so many in the medical community about leg lengthening surgery is that it was originally conceived of as a solution to help people born with birth defects and deformities, as well as children that had developed with one leg longer than the other – or for those that have become injured in accidents.
Today, however, the surgery is much more commonly taken advantage of as an elective surgery – a cosmetic surgery – with people being misled left and right about how dangerous it really is.
The surgery was pioneered in Russia by a medical professor in 1951. Dr. Gavrill Illizarov was looking for ways to help World War II veterans with leg injuries recover their mobility and their height, looking to take advantage of new surgical procedures that would restore these men and women back to normal.
The process has been refined throughout the years but it definitely isn’t for the faint of heart.
Every individual process is unique (obviously), but the general gist of things is as follows:
A doctor will first intentionally break both the tibia and the fibula in both legs surgically, snapping them in half neatly, and then inserting a telescoping metal (usually titanium) rod directly into the cartilage of both open bones.
Over time (usually about 90 days or so) the titanium rod works to expand the bones at a rate of about a millimeter per day – forcing new bone growth to be regenerated on a daily basis to fill in these gaps and adding the extra height along the way.
New nerves, new arteries, and new skin is built by the body on top of the new bone throughout this healing process which is why it takes so long.
Every week or so, individual patients may have to visit the doctor that performed the procedure to be adjusted and to be “stretched” manually in an effort to guarantee that the process proceeds exactly as intended.
As if that wasn’t horrific enough, individual patients are going to have to move through a from endlessly intense physical therapy process.
Many patients have to relearn how to walk after being immobilized for this amount of time and many of them never really adjust to their “new bones” at all.
If you have ever broken a bone you know exactly how painful that is right out of the gate, but you also understand how long that pain sticks around and how the soreness, the dull achiness, and the general discomfort never really goes away.
Well, amplify that by about 100 times when you’re talking about breaking not just one bone but for different bones in your body – rendering your legs completely unusable for a significant amount of time – all in an effort to gain a couple of inches in height.
Painkillers are almost always prescribed but doctors cannot provide any anti-inflammatory medications whatsoever.
These kinds of medications may inhibit bone regeneration which means that the body is open to all kinds of attacks and inflammation will run rampant throughout the recovery process.
Nasty, nasty stuff.
It certainly doesn’t help that any leg lengthening procedure – horrific in its own right to actually perform the procedure itself – is fraught with a tremendous amount of risks that patients are going to be subjected to no matter what.
According to information released in 2006 by the International Orthopedics Journal leg lengthening surgeries can involve health risks that include, but certainly aren’t limited to:
• Skyhigh blood pressure levels that stress the cardiovascular system
• Stretching of blood vessels and nerves that surround the broken bones
• Considerable nerve damage, particularly during the “regrowth” process
• Uneven lengthening in one leg or another that results in a crippled or limp
• Serious hip problems that become exacerbated with age
• Potential paralysis and an inability to walk after the lengthening procedure has finalized
… And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Sure, modern doctors are going to do everything they can to manage and mitigate these problems.
But once they cracked those bones in half it’s up to your body to fill in the blanks and there’s always going to be a lot of unpredictability there.
Many that undergo this process argue that the potential complications – which include lifelong and life-threatening complications – are worth the risk to add a couple of inches to their height, inches that could change the way they look and the way they feel about themselves.
At this point, you’re probably wondering:
Can You Grow Taller without Having to Deal with Leg Lengthening Risks?
You bet you can!
Right out of the gate, it’s important that we tell you that you absolutely can grow taller after your growth plates have fused together and your body has reached its genetic height potential.
But isn’t going to be as fast a process as snapping both of your legs in half, inserting titanium rods, stretching your body over a period of 90 days, and then relearning how to walk.
It’s going to take a little bit longer than that (maybe anywhere between six months and a year) but you aren’t going to have to worry about ANY of those health risks and side effects that leg lengthening brings to the table.
Everyone (and we mean everyone) has the potential to gain at least an inch or two in extra height just by doing stretches to grow taller on a daily basis, and implementing activities like yoga into their daily workout routine.
Plenty of people that take yoga classes religiously report that they find themselves to be taller after about a year of study practice compared to when they first started, and many of them report that they continue to “grow” on a regular basis as long as they remain committed to these exercises.
What’s really happening during this process is that their body is naturally lingering up, releasing muscles that are tense and tightened (particularly around the spinal column) and the soft pieces of cartilage between their individual vertebrae are allowed to expand – pumping up their height along the way.
Yoga and stretching also have the added benefit of giving people naturally better posture which gives the illusion of being taller, too.
Not only will you gain legitimate extra inches in height through this kind of exercise but you also look even taller than that – as well as more confidence, more self-assured, and more attractive with pitch perfect posture.
Another way to increase your height naturally is to consume foods that make you taller.
And of course, you also want to consider taking advantage of height growth supplements.
Plenty of supplements are able to actively trigger a release of natural Human Growth Hormone from your pituitary gland to help you squeeze a little bit more height out of your body as well.
Use these kinds of supplements in conjunction with regular exercise, yoga, and stretching and you will be able to add at least an inch or two to your height naturally.
You’ll be able to do so a lot faster than you would have thought possible before.
At the end of the day, you do not have to settle for the hand that your genetics don’t you when it comes to your height.
On the other hand, you also do not have to subject yourself to the pain, the risk, and the potential lifelong crippling impact of leg lengthening surgeries gone wrong.
There are plenty of horror stories out there from people that have put themselves through real hell trying to gain a couple of extra inches in height through surgery when they could have gained the same height advantage with exercise, yoga, stretching, and a couple of safe and effective supplements.
Make the right decision. Steer clear of the bone crackers and you’ll be just fine!
https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases–conditions/limb-length-discrepancy
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002965.htm
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/09/i-have-to-be-taller-the-unregulated-world-of-indias-limb-lengthening-industry
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2105995/The-agonising-expensive-leg-lengthening-proceedure-surgery-patient-SIX-INCHES-taller.html
https://www.odditycentral.com/news/getting-your-legs-broken-for-a-few-extra-inches-a-growing-trend-in-the-world-of-cosmetic-surgery.html
http://www.leglengtheningsurgery.com/articles/costs-around-world.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fPPLhKbKBg
https://soranews24.com/2013/09/03/limb-lengthening-surgery-becoming-increasingly-popular-in-korea-despite-inherent-dangers/
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/courting-controversy-cosm_n_74664
https://repository.library.northeastern.edu/downloads/neu:379130?datastream_id=content
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2105995/The-agonising-expensive-leg-lengthening-proceedure-surgery-patient-SIX-INCHES-taller.html
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Limb-Lengthening-Surgery-Creates-Controversy-269145341.html
