Is Milk Good for Growth?

The idea that a high level of Calcium in your diet will lead to stronger bones, IS A MYTH.

(It's a bit like expecting the car to go faster because you've put more petrol in it)

Vitamin D is also useful for helping to build bone, but it does NOT stimulate the process.

The relationship between Calcium and Calciferol (vitamin D) is complex, because they each do more than one job in the body. Some calcium-related functions can interfere with calciferol-related functions, so a high level of calcium being absorbed from your food could even be counter-productive.

With most vitamins and minerals, a good dietary intake is useful for avoiding a DEFICIENCY. However, excess intake can often be useless, and is sometimes dangerous.

Another MYTH about bone growth, is that bone density (or bone mineralisation) can only be increased before the age of 25 (or 30, or even 18 in some versions). Experiments with elderly people have shown increased mineralisation at up to 8% per year; this is faster than the fastest recorded rate of bone loss.

These results were produced by a simple exercise routine, NOT by changes in diet.

Bone growth (and shape) is stimulated by ACTIVITY. The bones of inactive children will not grow. At the other extreme, overactive children will suffer from 'osgood-schlatter disease'. This is an overgrowth of the most heavily-used bone areas; most commonly, it appears as a lump below the knee of kids who play football too enthusiastically. It can affect other joints, which is why teenagers should be cautious about taking up weight-training or bodybuilding, and why gymnastic and athletics coaches are often unwilling to 'push' kids as hard as possible.

A good diet IS necessary for achieving your greatest potential height, because it will help your 'long' bones to do more growing before they stop. But this is not caused by any single 'magic' ingredient, such as calcium or vitamin D. A balanced diet will help you to fight infections, will help your circulation and breathing, and will provide plenty of energy.

All of these things help you to be ACTIVE, and to fully enjoy the things that physically stimulate bone growth. If you remain active beyond the age when you stop growing taller, the activities you do will continue to stimulate bone growth, making your bones denser and stronger throughout your entire life.

Unfortunately, the culture around us encourages people to be less and less active as they age. This is the main cause of 'primary' (age-related) osteoporosis.

Source: yahoo answers