Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Hello everybody.

First post. Just a little background, I've already been on paleo for a couple of months and is feeling great. I'm 18 and a college student, currently a basketball player and aiming to be a professional wrestler after college/university. I'm around 5"7" to 5"8" right now and 150 pounds. I'm aiming for 6"0" or at least 5"10" I would still happy. One inch a year up to my early twenties ain't asking too much I guess. I know maybe 18 is a bit late to diet for height, as one can gain the most benefit when start from infant or teenage years, which I wish my parents would have done that for me, but hey, better late than never. I'm wondering what is the diet for maximum height?

flag	asked Dec 4 2010 at 21:01 Andreas1125 256●3●12

Adults can add height? – Carl_Stawicki Dec 4 2010 at 23:17

-Carl That varies from person to person as far as I'm concerned. My cousins grew in their mid twenties and I also know others who have stopped growing before they're eighteen. – Andreas1125 Dec 5 2010 at 0:18

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Yeah, I actually grew about an inch and a half in my early 20's. Same story with my dad and granddad. – Futureboy May 10 2011 at 3:19

Shari Bambino · Answer 1 · 2011-05-11 04:38:36Z UTC

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Forget the diet. You're already cooked. Just go out and make a lot of money. Money makes every man appear much taller than he really is. ;)

answered May 11 2011 at 4:38

Shari Bambino
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Tom Cruise !!!! – Ikco May 11 2011 at 9:37

Marie · Answer 2 · 2011-05-10 04:50:12Z UTC

At the end of puberty the epiphyseal plates close, ending the ability of the bones to lengthen. When this occurs, a teenager has reached their maximum adult height. This is why all those scrawny little guys in high school come back to the 10 year HS reunions +6ft and looking damn good.

This is also why dogs neutered under the age of one tend to be lean and leggy. I'm not suggesting neutering yourself, but you may want to stay away from testosterone building diets and supplements for a few years and focus on keeping your body lean.

tonysolo · Answer 3 · 2011-05-10 00:42:51Z UTC

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Sorry, dude. I'm 6'5" and until a couple of years ago, I ate absolute crap. If it makes you feel better, I'm ugly.

answered May 10 2011 at 0:42

tonysolo
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Hahaha. I love this answer. I don't even know why. – sherpamelissa May 10 2011 at 1:02

Travis Culp · Answer 4 · 2011-05-09 20:43:05Z UTC

I would just do what all of us do for optimal health in general. This means lots of fatty grass-fed ruminant meat, grass-fed ruminant liver and fructose-free carbs. The liver will likely make the biggest difference with regard to addressing any possible nutrient deficiencies. 4000IU of D-3 a day, 200mcg k-2, and 200mcg Se on non-liver days.

katebeckinsale7648 · Answer 5 · 2011-05-09 19:58:22Z UTC

the best for growth is exercise and good nutristion in that order if you reach maxium height for even poor genetics is around 6'2 for most men dont know for women 6'75 is the maxium height for any human being with out any genetic defoming (giantium) i am only 5'3 fully grown (i was starved by an abusive mother) am male btw stavation and malnutrition stunts growth badly and increses chance of any diseases the taller you are the faster your cromasome with weaken/degrade (age) or life expectancy will shirten this really isnt a problem evan when your 6'75 you can have a very long life but a large problem at 6'8 most giant dont live very long

there is 3 growth sequences both men and women have the same apart from women have less at there end you do not stop growing at 18 (you may stop growing height wise but not musical mass or density) you stop growing at 21 (brain stops increasing around 45) best time phyicly is 23 hope this helps

ChrisG · Answer 6 · 2010-12-05 07:29:34Z UTC

What is your family history for late growth? In my family, we all hit full adult height early (by age 15-16) but I know families that grow well into their 20's. I'd say plenty of animal protein can maximize your potential, but I can't claim any great science behind that.

Michael · Answer 7 · 2010-12-05 05:03:59Z UTC

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I was under the impression the eating insulin releasing foods like milk and wheat augmented height. The trade off is increased cancer risk later on.

answered Dec 5 2010 at 5:03

Michael
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Eva · Answer 8 · 2010-12-05 03:08:56Z UTC

Go to fitday.com and punch in your food intake. The service is free. Make sure you are not missing any nutrients that may be needed. Your nutrient intake will depend on your individual choices within the paleo options. It is still possible to be missing nutrients while still eating paleo. What nutrients you might miss will depend on your individual eating choices and preferences.

Personally, I would not bother with natto if you are already intaking a reasonable amount of K. IMO, the goal is to have balanced nutrition and plenty of each nutrient. But megdoses of any one nutrient, like from natto, will probably not help you and in some cases may not be as good as intaking a more moderate amount of that nutrient. So my advice would be to not supplement on things you are already getting plenty of but instead pinpoint what you may lack and try get more of that only, either by eating more whole foods with that in it or by supplementing, or both. Getting more of something is only useful if you lack it.

FanOfSunshine · Answer 9 · 2010-12-05 16:42:29Z UTC

I think it is quite possible to grow a bit taller. We can be hopeful. My brother grew after high school and so did another boy that I knew in high school. My girls are taller than me and my son is also in the 95% for height. My husband is 5'8". I am 5'4". I think my kids are taller than average because of good nutrition. I always tell people we eat EGGS. And lots of them. So my recommendation is to make sure you getting lots of eggs in your paleo diet.

One egg has 13 essential nutrients in varying amounts – including high-quality protein. Make sure you eat the whole egg or at least the egg yolks.

Ambimorph · Answer 10 · 2010-12-05 01:09:16Z UTC

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I don't know that you can increase height, only prevent stunting growth.

answered Dec 5 2010 at 1:09

Ambimorph
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Well said; the difference between repleting a deficiency and magic pill syndrome. – Travis Culp♦ May 9 2011 at 20:40

emptyvacuum · Answer 11 · 2010-12-04 23:30:49Z UTC

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There is no such thing as a "height diet" that I'm aware of. Height is hereditary, not dietary. I ate a terrible diet during my youth and puberty, and I'm a type 1 diabetic, which has been known to cause stunted growth, and I'm still 6'3. Just eat well, live a healthy life, and work with what you've got.

answered Dec 4 2010 at 23:30

emptyvacuum
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	@emptyvacuum I beg to differ. I think it seems hereditary is due to parents feeding their kids the same food they eat. In Southern China, the diet mainly consists of rice and people are much shorter than that of Northern China, where the diet has much more meat and other stuff. A terrible/SAD diet can be somewhat nutritious but a diet of pure rice offers absolutely no nutrient at all. In most East Asian countries where rice is a staple, the people were and still are very short, where as a tribal people like Mongols were very tall, which I assume their diet is more paleo-ish. – Andreas1125 Dec 5 2010 at 0:33
	Much of height is genetic, but a bad diet will definitely stunt growth by a food or more. Just look at the height diff between north and south Korea. Not long ago, they had the same average height, but now food availability has made a drastic shift. – Eva Dec 5 2010 at 3:03
	@Andreas1125 & Eva: It's true that starvation and malnourishment will stunt growth, but height potential is a genetically inherited trait. – emptyvacuum Dec 5 2010 at 13:15
	Almost everything is limited by genetics, but expression within those limits is variably variable. – JJ Dec 6 2010 at 15:58
	Diet can certainly affect growth and height in some people. For instance celiac disease which is caused by gluten sensitivty can cause failure to thrive in some people. There is evidence that all human beings have some degree to "gluten sensitivity". It's just that some people have more obvious symptoms. A less obvious symptom could be cancer at age 35, that is not as easily linked to gluten as small intestine damage and immune response which can be detected and traced to gluten. Just one example. Dairy is another thing which can cause growth problems in susceptible people. – justanotherhunt Jan 29 2011 at 1:50

mari · Answer 12 · 2011-05-09 21:59:59Z UTC

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Milk has growth hormones which can help you grow. I would try to get raw. Not eating past the afternoon can help you release more growth hormone at night too.

edited May 9 2011 at 21:59

answered Dec 4 2010 at 21:12

mari
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	b12 also promotes growth, not sure if it would help though. And make sure you don't have any deficiencies, and at least supplement d, k2, and magnesium. – mari Dec 4 2010 at 21:31
	Raw milk is great.. but the best would be raw colostrum. Where do you live? Organic pastures sells it in CA, but any farm that sells raw milk will likely sell it. It is expensive and very nutrient dense. Best thing to do is to freeze the raw colostrum in ice cubes, and add an ice cube of colostrum to your raw milk. But as mentioned, vitamin d, k2 (natto, liver, other organ meats), and getting plenty of sleep will help growth hormone release. – Payam Dec 4 2010 at 21:47
	My raw milk supplier also has colostrum. What is it exactly and why is it so good? – mari Dec 4 2010 at 22:19
	@Mari, obviously your parents will guide you best but not eating after early afternoon at only 15 years seems unnecessary. – ben61820 Dec 5 2010 at 0:26
	@mari Thank you very much for the raw milk advice. However, I don't seem to tolerate it well in large amount. I'm already supplementing D3/K2/Magnesium. Just want to make sure I'm doing everything right. @Payam I live in California and I get raw milk products from Organic Pastures too. I'll definitely check that out. And you mentioned natto, which is fermented soy, as a source of K2. Is it any good? I've read that the K2 is in MK-7 form which is not as bio-available as MK-4. And also soy increases estrogen and what not. – Andreas1125 Dec 5 2010 at 0:43

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Nutrients for maximum height potential?

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