Height depends on both genetics and a variety of factors, such as good health and nutrition. Adolescents need to eat a variety of balanced meals and healthy snacks to ensure that their bodies will grow optimally. Parents can help their teens achieve a well-balanced, nourished diet by preparing meals and discussing the health benefits of certain foods.
Step 1
Prepare nutritious meals and snacks to help your teen achieve the sufficient amount of needed calories. The amount of calorie intake your child needs daily depends on her height, weight, and age. Bone tissues in the epiphyseal plate, or growth plate, need enough nutrients for the cells to divide normally, and without them, the cells will not proliferate, which will lead to no new tissue development in the epiphyseal plate, thus no lengthening of the bones. The growth plate consists of a cartilage that contains chondrocytes, cells that will eventually develop into cartilage tissues. This semi-transparent, bluish cartilage sits in the long bone next to each of the epiphysis, or the rounded end of the bone.
Step 2
Serve whole-grain meals with rich fiber and B vitamin content, such as brown rice served with black beans. Fiber helps to push waste out of the colon, thus reducing toxin and allowing a favorable environment for the cells to grow and divide. B vitamins help the body to break down food for energy, which tissues need for healing and growth. Brown rice ensures your teen will receive moderate levels of carbohydrates, an energy source that helps regulate the body's metabolism. Too much carbohydrate can lead to obesity and an insufficient amount can disrupt the body's metabolism, according to Jon Nalick from the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine.
Step 3
Prepare meals with lean meat, fish, eggs and poultry. Proteins help with tissue repair and muscle growth. In a study from the 2007 issue of "The Journal of Biological Chemistry," Dr. Pierre Moffatt and colleagues discovered that the osteocrin protein, found in most meat and poultry, can promote the elongation of bones by stimulating the production of chondrocytes, cells that form the connective tissue of the cartilage, in the growth plate (see references 3, abstract, discussion).
Step 4
Encourage your teen to eat fresh vegetables, legumes and fruits daily because these foods have large doses of antioxidants, necessary for building a strong immune system. Bone tissues grow best in a healthy environment, where growth hormones and cellular activity can function normally without disturbances. Fruits, vegetables and legumes with high doses of antioxidants include pomegranate, spinach and string beans respectively.
Step 5
Discuss with your teen about the ill health effects that alcohol, drugs and tobacco can have on the body. These aforementioned substances provide unfavorable environment for the cells and can interfere with the normal cellular growth and maturation of chondrocytes. Your teen should also stay away from second-hand smoke as this form of smoking affects the lung tissues more potently than regular smokers who have developed some resistance against harmful effects of chemical toxins.
Step 6
Prepare a variety of healthy meals and snacks for your teen, since this is the best method to ensure that your teen will meet the sufficient amount of needed nutrients. A balanced diet keeps the immune system strong and allows a favorable environment for chondrocytes to proliferate in the growth plate as well as the normal secretion of and responses to growth hormones.
