Stop messing with the children. These are all raised pits.

　　During the half year of staying at home, have you tried your best for your child’s growth? Bone soup, growth hormone, nutritional supplement, stretching exercise … … Anyone who hears a folk prescription that can be shot up will give it to his own baby to try. However, are these so-called height-increasing tips really helpful for growing taller? Today, let’s take a look at the rumors of the height that are all the rage, and see if you have encountered the following "pits".

　　Rumor, drinking more bone soup can make you taller.

　　Bone is indeed rich in calcium, but it has little to do with calcium supplementation.

　　First of all, calcium in bones is difficult for human body to absorb; Secondly, no matter how long the bones are stewed, the calcium is difficult to dissolve into the soup. We see that the thick white soup is actually mostly fat. Therefore, drinking bone soup for a long time can not only supplement calcium, but also lead to the risk of obesity.

　　Compare the calcium content of bone soup and milk — — Bone soup: 2 mg/100 ml; Milk: 104mg/100ml.

　　The calcium content of milk is far greater than that of bone soup, so it is not as practical as drinking milk to supplement calcium for children and drink bone soup.

　　Rumours: Milk can grow taller when drunk in water.

　　The latest Dietary Guidelines for China Residents (2016) should drink 1,500-1,700 ml of water every day.

　　Protein and fat in milk are about 3%, sugar content is about 5% and calcium content is about 1%. If you drink milk according to this amount, the supply of calcium will be excessive, and the fat and energy will be much higher. Even if you drink half the milk you drink every day — — 800 ml, intake of fat and energy.

　　In addition, drinking milk as water will lead to excessive intake of protein in the body. Too much protein supply, the human body can’t "take it all", but the absorption rate will drop.

　　The daily consumption of milk should not exceed 500ml. Moreover, drinks such as fruit juice, carbonated drinks, functional drinks, AD calcium milk and other milk drinks should not be drunk, let alone used as daily water.

　　Rumours that Tianqi soup can grow taller.

　　In recent years, "Tianqi" has been sought after by many health people, and the fact that Tianqi can help children grow taller has become a concern of parents. At present, there is no scientific evidence to prove that the folk remedies of "Tianqi stewed chicken, Tianqi stewed ribs and Haima stewed Tianqi" can be safely and effectively increased. Moreover, these traditional Chinese medicines and tonics may have the risk of accelerating the closure of the epiphyseal line, which will lead to lifelong high damage and even endocrine diseases such as precocious puberty!

　　At the same time, herbal tea with Chinese herbal medicines is not suitable for children to drink more and often. Some nutrients fortified in packaged foods, such as milk and yogurt fortified with vitamin ad and calcium, and beverages fortified with vitamin C, iron and zinc, such as electrolyte drinks such as red bull, candy, bread, eggs, etc., should also look at the content when choosing, and calculate the need, otherwise it will go too far.

　　In addition, there are adult-formulated health care products such as pollen and royal jelly, which are also very risky for children to eat.

　　There was a five-year-old girl who ate pollen and royal jelly for several months in a row. Instead of growing taller, her breasts began to increase and her bone age reached nine years old. Children with precocious puberty will not be "superior", but will lead to early healing of epiphyses, and eventually lose the space for growing up and become "dwarfs".

　　Blame rumors and eat growth factors to grow taller.

　　Malnutrition does affect height, but the nutrients that are very easy to get in natural foods really don’t need to be supplemented with supplements. When you get some nutrition through natural food, you can also get many other nutrients that can promote growth. In recent years, various growth factors with lysine as the main component have become new nutritional supplements. It is said that eating it can promote healthy growth, calcium absorption, appetite and so on.

　　Lysine is an essential amino acid for human body. Like other amino acids, it can be obtained through daily diet. The statement that manufacturers sell lysine supplements is nothing more than that the lysine content in grains is very low, which can not meet the needs of human body.

　　We Asians’ traditional staple food rice does lack lysine, but there are many other foods rich in lysine to choose from, such as lean beef, pork, chicken, fish, shrimp, nuts, eggs, beans and legumes.

　　Instead of blindly buying expensive nutritional supplements, it is better to think of ways to give children these foods mentioned above.

　　Dispelling rumors and eating nutritional supplements are beneficial to development.

　　It is unnecessary for most parents to give their children supplements, such as vitamin C, calcium, zinc, etc., which are very easy to get from food. If the child’s long-term uneven diet has caused a serious lack of certain nutrients and caused diseases such as anemia and vitamin D deficiency rickets, it must be supplemented according to the doctor’s advice. Other conditions, including mild nutritional deficiency, can be supplemented by dietary adjustment, and should also be supplemented by dietary adjustment.

　　Slight nutritional deficiency can be slowly improved by dietary adjustment. For children themselves, life has not passed for a few years, and it is easy to improve through diet adjustment without the conditions of "long-term" lack.

　　Short-term and slight nutritional deficiency will not cause any problems. On the contrary, it may be because of parents’ efforts to develop good eating habits for their children and form a balanced diet structure, so that children can benefit for life.

　　Dietary supplement is the safest and most effective method.

　　Myth: Stretching and draping can grow taller.

　　For patients with hunchback and scoliosis, spinal traction can also help restore a certain height.

　　See it clearly? Recover!

　　To put it simply, after stretching exercise for a period of time, the interosseous tissue returns to a better thickness, and the measured height value will increase a little. However, such stretching is not the height of the child’s own long bone growth. If it is not stretched properly, it will easily cause muscle damage to the child.

　　I would like to remind everyone here that reasonable exercise is conducive to balancing the growth of bones and the metabolism of calcium and phosphorus in the whole body, and promoting the physical development of children. Pay attention to the exercise that can make the bone bear pressure, which is the best stimulus to promote bone growth.

　　I recommend the following sports:

　　● Including skipping rope and running, which is beneficial to the movement of limbs;

　　● Sit-ups, gymnastics and other sports that contribute to bone growth;

　　● Volleyball, badminton, swimming and other comprehensive sports all contribute to the growth and extension of the whole body bones.

　　However, it is particularly important to emphasize that we must stretch well to avoid the damage of joint ligaments. If children want to really grow up healthily, it is a better choice to exercise continuously for at least 4 to 5 days and ask for 30 to 45 minutes at a time. In addition, let children choose sports according to their age and interests, and carry out physical exercise under the premise of safety, which must be gradual. Text/Pan Hui (Peking Union Medical College Hospital)