I was raised eating about 3 or 4 servings of conventional dairy every day from childhood through my teens. I had my first period when I was 10 years old, and this is much younger than any other women in my family. I looked like I was at least 16 when I was 12, and I generally see that as a bad thing. I've suspected some of my speedy development could be attributed to the high intake of dairy and other standard american animal proteins, and I've read that early menarche makes me more likely to develop some reproductive cancers.

I don't have any studies to cite at this moment, and I know height was your concern, but I thought this perspective might be worth considering as well.

Growth hormone can be generated from HIIT, IF and plenty of sleep (even for kids - http://theprimalparent.com/2011/05/27/intermittent-fasting-safe-children/) http://www.naturalnews.com/034704_intermittent_fasting_fitness_HGH.html

The tallest people on the planet are Dutch. And to those people who say "genetics" I say "nutrition". Why?

Dutch people were not the tallest people on earth for a very long time. And the reason behind their height is nutrition that is backed by government support (I read about it in an article somewhere but since I am too lazy to look it up you can count it as opinion although it is not). By the way, each Dutch family gets 500 euros per month for child support, no matter whether you are middle class, rich or poor.

When you compare handsome Dutch guys (sigh) to other (equally handsome) guys from the neighboring countries, there is not that much difference genetically.

Also, another example. When Korea was divided into North and South Korea, North Koreans were about 2 cm taller than South Koreans. After years of malnutrition, now South Koreans grew 3 sm taller when North Koreans actually shrunk 2 cm. Why?

Because South Korea experienced rapid economic growth, people now are able to eat more meat on a regular basis. Before, when it was more rice and veggies, they were very short. Now the average height is 5'7". It is not uncommon for a young Korean male to be 6'2". The older guys are all short.

And by the way, neither South nor North Korea drink milk. It has never been a part of their diet. What does it tell you?

My suggestion: protein and vegetables with every meal. That's the diet of all Korean actors and they are HOT. I mean, they are like the hottest people alive. Brad Pitt looks like an ugly ogre compared to those Korean actors.

A lot of things I have said is my opinion BUT it is based on true facts.

I rarely drank milk, don't drink it at all now, and am 3 in taller than my sister who still drinks milk everyday!

I think genetics has more to do with it than anything. I drank lots of milk as a child because I lived on a farm. No artificial growth hormone, wasn't around yet. My sister and I are same height approximately as our grandmother. Our mother was slightly taller. Two of my daughters drank milk freely, two were lactose intolerant like my husband and did not drink milk. Everyone is about the same height. 5'2"-5'3" Adult boys, one drank lots of milk is shorter and stockier about 5'10". One was more moderate on milk and is 6'4" and very skinny and muscular. The other boys are much younger and it is hard to tell yet. One of them is lactose intolerant.

I think one difference might be in what I've seen with the teeth and dental issues. I definitely think that the least amount of dental bills have come from the milk drinkers. My husband as I mentioned is lactose intolerant. His mother had IBS and also did not like milk and didn't drink much. I doubt from what it sounds like that she drank much when she was pregnant with her children. My husband has terrible teeth. He dental hygiene couldn't be any better, but the teeth just deteriorate in his mouth and he's had to have tons of work done. I drink milk and don't do half the work he does and I haven't had a new cavity in many years. The lactose intolerant kids have some areas of poorly formed enamel and I've had one son who at age 13 had to have a root canal and crown. I realize this isn't a very scientific study, but that's been our experience.

Another anecdotal n=1 situation, but I did grow up in the 90's, so I'd be willing to bet I drank some rBST milk.

My parents made me drink a 10 - 12 oz glass of milk (and I'd often have two) with dinner every single night for as long as they could (until age 12 or 13) - and I ended up being 6'6", whereas my parents are 5'9" and 5'11". My tallest relative I know of (grandfather) is only 6'1".

It is not milk..but yogurt that makes you grow taller. P)

South Koreans actually do drink milk. It has become really popular. Government school lunch programs provide milk for all kids.

Who cares? Dairy may make kids taller, but does it make them healthier? I could ask: "if I don't give my kid injections of human grown hormone will he be smaller and weaker?" Of course, but you're not going to advocate me giving him HGH to to make him bigger and stronger. Dairy is designed to turn baby cows into big cows, that means it's great at stimulating growth. In humans who's to say that's ideal? Generally height is correlated with health but that doesn't mean artificially making someone taller will make them healthier.

Side note: my little guy is 9 months old and just got back from his 9-month checkup with the doctor. His growth is right on track, which turns out is surprising. The doctor said that kids usually have a little stall after 6 months when they start solid foods. To me that's not surprising, because usually the introduction of solid foods means crap like rice cereal which would mess with the little kid's guts and make nutrient abosrption hard, so they would have a stall in growth. Our guy eats 100% paleo and has had no issues with growth.

Just because we (at least my generation) grew up with tons of commercials that touted the health benefits of milk doesn't mean it really is healthy, so don't feel bad about cutting it out of the diet. I don't plan on ever feeding my little guy milk or dairy of any kind.

I dont think dairy products affect peoples height.I am 49 and my height is 4'9 i have suffered from crohns disease since i was 13.I was told by my doctor that having crohns will affect my height and to keep away from certain dairy products.WELL i love drinking milk and i dont think this has affected my lack of height.My mother is 5'6 and my dad is 5'7.I am the oldest and have 3 sisters they are all between 5'4 and 5'7.My 2 brothers are 5'10 and 5'9.I do have 2 aunts that are barely 5'0 and my grandmother is 5'1.I used to hate going to family gatherings especially if pictures were going to be taken has i was always shoved at the front.Even now i still look like i am in my 20's.I have a son who is 30 and he is 5'4 and a daughter she is 27 and she is 5'7.My husband is 5'6.I have noticed that since reaching 40 i dont seem to come up to the same point of my husband or children.I used to reach just below my husbands shoulder.Now i am below that.I think i will check my height out has i know that shrinkage does occur after a certain age.

I had a ton of dairy growing up. And ended up short.