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Growth boosting supplements
Both my children are below average heights. My seven-year-old daughter, for example, looks more like a five-year-old. I am Malaysian and only 4ft 10in but their English father is 5ft 10in so surely his genes must have some influence? Blood tests and X-rays show the children are both growing normally. Are there any natural remedies that help boost growth?
One of the Growth Hormones (GH) that stimulate the growth of muscle and bone in children is called somatotropin. This is a protein that causes cells to grow and then divide. In Childhood, levels of Growth Hormone (GH) will rise eight or nine times a day, staying raised for between 10 and 20 minutes and usually, these “growth” bursts take place at night.
The height your child grow to can be a reflection of social and economic factors, as well as genetic inheritance. Studies show, for instance, that a significant proportion of the children born to families who have suffered long term unemployment fail to reach their predicted growth targets by school entry.
The amino acids arginine and ornithine have both been shown to encourage production of Human Growth Hormones (HGHs). Zinc too has been linked with delayed growth so give your children 5mg a day. Remember though, lots of people are shorter than the national average so don’t give your kids a life-long inadequacy complex about their height.
*Solgar makes a combined arginine and ornithine supplement. For children aged 6-12, use a quarter the recommended adult dose of nutritional supplements. Do not use arginine with people prone to cold sores or other herpes infections since it can reactivate the dormant virus.