How To Increase Height Naturally With Indian Foods And Home Exercises
Nobody ever complained about being tall. Unless, of course you have to hunch over to fit into regular-sized car cabins or are asked to squat down to fit into that family picture. For those who aren’t blessed with good height, being tall is something that will help you look distinguished and boost your self confidence. Physical height actually does that to you. And therefore we are always looking for ways to look taller and be taller. Adding a health drink to their kid’s diet, engaging in exercise known to increase height, even making dietary changes on a doctor’s suggestion perhaps. But for some of us, the sixteens and seventeens are already gone and we tend to worry when we look around, finding people around us taller than us more often than not.
But not all hope is lost yet. We’ll look at it this way, things you can do to increase your height and food you can eat to achieve the same. To increase height after 21 is possible if you follow the below given guide.
Things to do:
1. Sleep
Sleep, at least 8 hours a day. It is when you sleep that the body undergoes some major changes. For one, the pituitary gland that is responsible for secretion of the Human Growth Hormone (HGH) that boosts our height is most active during this time. Also it is a proven fact that we are taller when we wake up and keep getting shorter, sometimes by almost 1 cm by the end of the day. The reason being when we sleep lying down, the vertebral column or spine is stretched out. As we move about our day, the spine is keep compressing to make us appear shorter. The trick here is to keep the spine decompressed as during sleep for as long as possible. If you’re in your teens, sleep pattern should be maintained to avoid stunted growth.
2. Alcohol and Cigarettes.
Bet some of you smiled wide while reading this one. Unfortunately for those of you who did, this is a what-not-to-do. Both alcohol and smoking affect your physical growth adversely, alcohol being hard on the liver and cigarettes pouring carbon-monoxide into the bloodstream inhibiting its normal function in body growth. Smoking also affects testosterone levels in the body which controls bone health. Information says, “One study in the Annals of Epidemiology found that boys who smoked frequently between ages 12 and 17 were about an inch shorter than their non-smoking peers, although a similar effect was not seen in girls. (Most boys are still growing during this period and girls are not, which could explain the difference).”
3. Stretch
Stretching exercises, aerobics, keep your bones in good health promote physical growth. You may even want to engage in specific exercises for the purpose, like cycling, swimming or hanging exercises. Don’t worry if this isn’t what you do. All of them work, even yoga. Make sure you are regular at it and always do it for a standard amount of time, say half an hour.
4. Correct your posture
People take posture to mean something to do with height and looks. Height is relevant to stature (your physical height when seated). Looks are relevant to posture. But these are incorrect definitions of posture. ‘Posture’ is the way someone holds himself/herself up while standing or sitting down. The way you hold yourself determines how tall or short you look. The ideal posture is to keep your back straight, chest out and shoulders back. You shouldn’t stoop no matter what your height is. The spine keeps compressing through the day if you do not maintain a correct posture while sitting, standing or walking; you don’t want to look shorter than you are. The way you lie down while sleeping at night also determines the effectiveness of your sleep. Ideally you must lie on your back with knees slightly raised. That is when we are most benefited physically from our hours of sleep.
Things to eat: Foods that increase height:
1. Banana
Banana is a power food and it provides you with instant source of energy. One normal sized banana weighing 136 grams contains 121calories, 1g of fat, 31g of carbs, 2g of protein, 406mg of potassium and 4g of dietary fibre. The potassium and manganese in banana makes for stronger bones and teeth and is great for nerve and muscle function. Vitamins A, C and B-6 are its added benefits.
2. Milk and dairy products
For the calcium of course that facilitates increase in born density. The list includes milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, butter etc. We need all of these in our body though their contribution of calcium may differ depending on the product. For milk it is, 250ml of low fat milk contains 104calories, 3g of fat, 3g of protein and 108mg of sodium. A walk in the sun is advisable since the best way to reap the benefits of calcium rich food is by accumulating vitamin D which happens when we’re out in the sun.
3. Eggs and Chicken
Eggs are one of the very few complete sources of food available to us because of its nutrient rich content. The protein in both eggs and chicken help in muscle development and growth. Protein should be consumed with every meal, if possible an egg a day is something that will really be beneficial. The macros of egg are that a couple of organic free range eggs contain 120calories, 9g of fat, 11g of protein and 122mg of sodium. It also contains 372g of cholesterol which can be of worry. 150gm of chicken breasts uncooked contains 228calories, 5g of fat, 44g of protein, 69mgof sodium, 480 mg of potassium.
4. Spinach
Spinach contains iron, vitamins and minerals that aid the body in functioning better and growing. From dietary fibre, protein, vitamins, a flurry of vitamins like A, K, E and C to magnesium, calcium and iron, you just can’t say no to spinach. 110g of spinach contains 23calories, 0.39g of fat, 3.36g of carbs and 2.86gms of protein, also 79mg of sodium and 558mg of potassium.
Note: Height is controlled by several factors and most of them are beyond our control. The effectiveness of these methods are dependent on a individual’s physique, age and genetics. Results may vary for men and women. But if nothing else, the above methods will surely make for a healthier living.