Choosing the Best Supplement for Child Growth and Height Gain

Do kids need growth supplements and if yes, which one of them is the best supplement for child growth? How to make kids grow taller? How to boost child’s height? If you are a parent pondering upon these questions going through your mind, read on below. You will find this information of great use in ensuring the maximum growth of your child. 

Significance of Height Growth Supplements for Kids   

A good height enhances not only one’s personality but is also likely to affect one’s future, sometimes even career and income. 

While genetics control about 60% of your child’s growth, the remaining 30% to 40% depends on the child’s nutrition along with physical activity. In a recent study done in Thailand, healthy children that took growth supplements achieved far better growth in height than those who didn’t. In this study, the researchers gave a combination of zinc and a multivitamin to 140 healthy kids five days a week for six months. The age range of these children was 4 to 14 years. 

The multivitamin had the recommended daily allowances of vitamins A, D, B1, B2, B6, B12, and nicotinamide. The group that got the supplement combo had an average vertical growth of 4.9 cm. The placebo group got no supplement combo and had an average vertical growth of 3.6 cm (1.3 cm less, after six months). As per the researchers, they could see the difference after just two months of trial. There were no adverse reactions.

After reading all this, you must have understood now that you cannot leave everything to a regular diet, exercise, and genes. Even when your kids are healthy, these are not all that they need. Add the essential vitamins to help kids grow tall to their diet during their growing phase.

However, make sure you’re choosing the one that is reputed as the best supplement for child growth. 

How to Choose the Best Supplement for Child Growth? 

As a parent, you want your children to get the best of everything, don’t you? It is your responsibility, after all. Apart from other things, let your kids benefit from the best growth supplements that you can provide. Give them multivitamins after they turn four, especially when they are picky or don’t take a balanced diet.

But the problem here is how to choose the best multivitamins; the ones that can help your kids grow taller. There is such an overwhelming amount of choices available that one can go crazy. Often parents find it hard to decide. Here are some tips to help you make that crucial decision for your kids.

1. Nutrition 

The influence of nutrition on the child’s height is paramount. Nutrition has the ability to improve your child’s growth potential significantly. There are two types of nutrients that help kids grow taller. These are:

Macronutrients: If your prime query is how to make kids grow taller, then the intake of macronutrients should be your priority. These include – proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Proteins are the building blocks of our body and fats and carbohydrates are the energy givers that aid all bodily activities, including the growth in height.

Micronutrients: These consist of minerals and vitamins. They help in neurological development, hormonal balance, immunity, and growth. Calcium, B Vitamins, Vitamin D, and Zinc are some of the examples. Vitamins and minerals play an essential role to help kids grow taller.

2. Vitamins

When looking for vitamins to help kids grow here are some to look for in your supplement:

A. Vitamin A: It is also called retinol and is the major contributor to the growth in height. It is rightly called the growth vitamin for kids. Vitamin A is essential for proper growth and development of bones so that bones grow strong and sturdy. Source: carrots, milk, fruits and green leafy vegetables.

B. Vitamin D: This vitamin is found in abundance via the sun. This can be considered as the best supplement for child growth. Our body needs vitamin D for calcium absorption which helps bones to grow stronger and healthy. It has been found that short-height kids tend to grow tall when they are given meals containing vitamin D. Source: sunlight, eggs, cauliflower, citrus fruits, tomatoes.

C. Vitamin C: More commonly known as ascorbic acid, this vitamin helps to restore collagen, build bone strength and rejuvenate the body’s vitality. Source: citrus fruits, berries, lemons, tomatoes.

D. Vitamin F: This vitamin accelerates the growth of kids. It is a growth vitamin for kids. Source: salmon, mackerel and seafood

E. Vitamin K: This vitamin is known for its function in blood clotting. This growth vitamin for kids is known for increasing bone density in the body and hence improves bone condition and helps in acceleration of height. Source: green vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage.

F. Vitamin B-Complex: This vitamin plays diverse roles in the development of the body. It has eight variants and each is responsible for the general well-being of the body and gaining height. 

• Vitamin B1: It is also called Thiamine and is primarily responsible for the supply of blood in different organs, it helps in the proper functioning of the heart and nervous system, thereby sustaining body growth and boosting height. Source: rice, peanuts, pork, and soya beans

• Vitamin B2: It is commonly known as Riboflavin. It is a growth vitamin for kids and provides the overall development of hair, nails, and skin. Apart from energy production, it helps in the welfare of bone health and aids in bone growth thus reducing the risk of fracture. Source: Milk, eggs, mushrooms, yoghurt.

• Vitamin B6: It helps in building a strong immune system and helps the body fight against infection. It also helps in improving metabolism and keeping cells healthy thus regulates overall growth and height in kids. Source: chicken, soybean, oats, wheat germ, bananas, and oats.

• Vitamin B12: This is a growth vitamin for kids and helps to keep blood and nerve cells healthy. It prevents megaloblastic anaemia, a condition that keeps kids exhausted and weak. Source: sardines, liver, beef, and dairy products.

3. Minerals 

If you are wondering how to make kids grow taller, then you simply can not ignore minerals. Here are a few that play a vital role in kids’ growth and height gain:

A. Zinc: Zinc supplementation along with the right combination of multivitamins has been known to enhance linear growth in children. For parents struggling with how to boost child’s height, multivitamins with zinc are a must-buy. The effectiveness of zinc in height gain in kids has been proven by multiple studies. Source: beans, poultry, fresh fruits, and red meat. 

B. Calcium & Magnesium: These are the precious minerals that we always remember whenever we think of how to boost a child’s height. They are very important for the growth of bones and teeth, repair and maintenance of muscles, and gaining height. Source: milk, dairy products, and cheese.

Tips on Choosing the Best Vitamins to Help Kids Grow

1. Growth vitamins for kids should have whole food sources. Multivitamins that come from natural food sources are easy to digest. They are also easily absorbed into the bodies. Keep this in mind while purchasing growth supplements.

2. Avoid growth vitamins for kids containing artificial sweeteners and ferrous sulfate. Growth vitamins containing over one gram of sugar per pill are unhealthy. Iron as ferrous sulfate is also harmful in children if taken beyond a limit. It may lead to sickness and even death. Carbonyl iron is, however, safer for kids. 

Since children love sweets, they may accidentally overdose on multivitamins containing sweeteners and iron sulfate. So, take care of these aspects while buying multivitamins for your children. 

3. Choose vitamins that have other minerals and amino acid chelates as well. If you are wondering about how to boost your child’s height, consider buying growth vitamins that contain minerals and amino acid chelates too. They help in accelerating growth in kids and get easily assimilated into their bodies. 

While shopping for growth supplements for your kids, you need to ensure that you get as many key doses as possible, e.g., calcium citrate 50-100 mg, folic acid 150 mg, etc.

4. Read the labels carefully. Google the ingredients you are not aware of and avoid vitamins that contain harmful additives. Some examples of the harmful additives you must avoid in the growth vitamins you buy for your kids are: 

• Hydrogenated oils (soybean)
• Soy lecithin
• Artificial colors
• BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene)
• Dicalcium phosphate
• Sodium selenite
• Titanium dioxide
• Magnesium silicate
• Magnesium stearate
• Talc

5. Opt for powdered or liquid forms of multivitamins. This will ensure a therapeutic dose. They are safer and more effective, as they don’t contain too many additives. 

6. Always search for more bioavailable options for your children. By bioavailable options in multivitamins, we mean those that have been combined with specific enzymes to enhance their absorption. 

7. Opt for more easily absorbable growth supplements. This can be best explained with an example. Assume if there is a supplement with calcium carbonate and another with calcium citrate, it is best to choose the latter, as it is more easily absorbed by the body offering maximum benefits. Similarly, for a choice between folic acid without 5 MTHF and with 5-MTHF, go for the latter.

Conclusion 

It is important to emphasize here that every child is unique. So, a perfect, tailor-made multivitamin that will work equally well for all kids does not exist. When deciding about the best supplement for child growth, you must take into consideration various factors such as regular diet, exercise, heredity, etc. Once you have done this assessment, use the knowledge we have shared above. 

We are confident that this will help you choose the right multivitamins and growth supplements for your kids. We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Do share it with other parents as well.