5 tips to help children grow taller

To help children grow taller, mothers should pay attention to giving their children a moderate amount of protein in their diet. A high protein diet increases calcium excretion in urine.

Speaking at the Healthy Growth Festival held in Hanoi on the morning of August 1, Associate Professor Le Bach Mai, Deputy Director of the Institute of Nutrition, Ministry of Health, expressed concern that in Vietnam, one in four children is stunted - short in height compared to their age. The reason may be due to the high rate of micronutrient deficiency in children in our country.

Nutrition has a very important influence on children's growth. However, children's diets currently only meet 60% of the recommended calcium needs and nearly 11% of the recommended vitamin D needs, while these are important micronutrients to help children grow taller and healthier.

10 calcium-rich foods include: milk, yogurt, soybeans, oranges, okra, cheese, radish leaves, sesame seeds, almonds, cinnamon. Photo: Healthtip.

According to Associate Professor Mai, the body's calcium supply includes food and calcium supplements. Of which, milk contains a lot of calcium and is the optimal source of calcium for children to grow taller. However, it is not a normal portion in meals but only for children, sick people, and the elderly. Meals of malnourished and stunted children are often quite poor in calcium (less milk). In addition, the already meager amount of calcium can easily be lost too much through urine due to unhealthy eating habits, using a lot of carbonated soft drinks, a lot of animal protein without increasing calcium, and eating too salty.

Inadequate vitamin D levels also affect calcium absorption. Research shows that adequate vitamin D increases calcium absorption by up to 65%. Vitamin D plays an important role in the metabolism and absorption of calcium and phosphorus for bone formation. It is found in very few natural foods; 80-90% of the body's vitamin D is synthesized from sunlight.

Therefore, to provide enough vitamin D, it is necessary to pay attention to increasing vitamin D in food, sunbathing, or even supplementing vitamin D for children.

Calcium deficiency slows down physical development in children, limits height growth and is one of the risk factors for stunted growth. Vitamin D deficiency not only makes children easily irritated, causing difficulty sleeping, night sweats or hair loss, but also leads to rickets and sequelae of rickets such as bone deformities that cannot be recovered later, Associate Professor Mai said.

Associate Professor Mai gives 5 nutritional tips to support children's height growth:

- Use calcium-rich foods appropriate for your age (milk and dairy products, small fish, etc.), use calcium-fortified products, and supplement calcium at special stages in the life cycle.

- The amount of protein in the diet should be moderate. If you eat a lot of protein, you must ensure enough calcium because a high protein diet increases calcium excretion in urine.

- Eat lots of vegetables and fruits; calcium-rich foods include green vegetables rich in calcium (kale, spinach, etc.); dried beans, fruits (especially citrus fruits such as grapefruit, oranges, etc.).

- Limit carbonated drinks.

- Combining appropriate physical activities and reasonable outdoor time helps children maximize their height and improve their health.

According to VnExpress