Top Foods + Drinks That Make You Taller and Healthier

Key Takeaways

• Your child’s body uses the nutrients they eat or drink for healthy growth and development.

• Certain foods can help your child grow taller, while others can slow growth.

• Foods that make you taller include those packed with protein, vitamins, and minerals.

• For kids who can’t get what they need from diet alone, dietary supplements can help.

One secret to growing taller and healthier lies in the foods and nutrients you give your body every day. Without the right building blocks, children can’t grow to their maximum height and health potential. According to the World Health Organization, in 2022, 149 million young children showed signs of growth stunting from malnutrition.

But, with the right nutrition, you can give your kids what they need to build strong bones, grow taller, and stay healthy. Read on to discover 11 foods that make you grow.

In the meantime, here’s a quick table to give a quick overview of the best food to help you grow taller:

Protein-Packed Foods for Height Growth

Protein plays an essential role in foods that make you taller. Kids need it to develop, heal damaged tissues, and strengthen their immune systems. Beyond these benefits, protein can increase levels of a type of growth factor, which helps children grow taller. Here are some healthy foods filled with protein you can try:

Beans

Beans (also called legumes) have plenty of protein, but also carry other essential nutrients like iron, vitamin B, fiber, copper, magnesium, manganese, and zinc. Iron and B vitamins protect against low red blood cells (anemia), which can prevent proper growth in children.

Chicken

One serving of chicken (about 85 grams) contains around 20 grams (g) of protein, which is a huge chunk of a child’s daily protein needs. As a bonus, it also comes with vitamin B12, which aids in optimal growth.

Eggs

Although not as packed as chicken, eggs still have a ton of protein, with about six grams per egg. Eating eggs also gives you vitamin D, which helps your body absorb calcium—an important nutrient for bone formation. In fact, one study of 874 children under five years old found that the more eggs they ate, the taller they grew.

Dairy Products for Bone Health

As part of a balanced diet, dairy products make you taller because they provide plenty of calcium and support bone health. At birth, children drink only milk. As they grow, they add new foods and nutrients, but dairy still plays an important role in overall health and proper growth.

Milk

Full of essential nutrients, milk is key for a healthy diet that will help you grow taller. Milk provides calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium—all important micronutrients for bone growth, strength, and health. Also packed with protein, milk has almost eight grams per cup. 

Research suggests that cow’s milk can support healthy growth and increase height in children. Kids with allergies to cow’s milk should avoid it, and focus on all the other foods that make you taller.

Does milk make you taller at 14?

Milk can make you taller at 14 if your growth plates are still active. Bone growth happens at an area of the bone called a “growth plate.” Drinking milk helps children grow taller, but once they finish puberty, their growth plates seal up for good, and they can’t grow any taller. Each child follows a different timeline, but typically, growth plates close between ages 13 and 17.

Yogurt

Like milk, yogurt carries some key nutrients for healthy growth, including protein, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium. Greek yogurt is especially high in protein, and one container (about seven ounces) is loaded with almost 20g.

Some yogurts also have probiotics—good bacteria that keep your gut healthy. Research suggests a healthy gut can lower inflammation, boost your immune system, and even help children grow taller.

Cheese

Cheese comes in all shapes, sizes, and even colors, and its nutrients can vary just as widely. But all cheese is full of calcium, which is essential for bone mineral density and preventing stunted growth. Depending on the type, cheese can also carry a large amount of protein, which you read above can boost a child’s growth.

Why are dairy products important for bone health?

Dairy carries calcium, a key nutrient for any child’s growth. Calcium plays a role in bone metabolism (the process of bone formation). And other components of dairy—like vitamin D—help with nutrient absorption, so you can use all that calcium more efficiently and support bone health.

Dairy is a rich source of calcium. A person can find calcium in the following dairy products:

Nutrient-Dense Vegetables: Which vegetable is good for height increase?

Some vegetables carry more of a nutritional punch than others, especially with foods that help you grow taller. Two of these nutrient-dense foods are leafy greens and sweet potatoes:

Leafy Greens

Leafy green vegetables include spinach, arugula, kale, and cabbage. Their nutritional content varies a bit, but they carry plenty of vitamin C, vitamin K, calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium. Vitamin K helps bone metabolism (the building and strengthening of new bone), which can make you taller and promote proper growth in children.

Sweet Potatoes

Full of key nutrients like vitamin A, fiber, vitamin C, manganese, vitamin B6, and potassium, sweet potatoes hold a lot of health benefits, including some that can make you taller. For example, the high fiber content keeps your gut healthy, which—as you read above—can lower inflammation and help kids grow taller.

Healthy Fats for Growth

Plenty of diets tell you to avoid fat as much as possible. But not all fats are alike. Bad fats, like those found in highly processed and fried foods may not hold much value. But good fats found in fatty fish, nuts, and seeds are essential for a developing brain and body.

Salmon

Fatty fish like salmon are a substantial source of healthy fat. These healthy fats, called omega-3 fatty acids, help you absorb vitamin A, vitamin, D, and vitamin E, essential vitamins that all play a role in healthy growth and development. 

Some research suggests that omega-3 fatty acids may help bone formation and lessen bone loss, leading to peak bone mass in teenagers. When kids don’t get enough good fat, it can also keep kids from getting enough sleep, which can also contribute to stunted growth.

Can A Person's Sleep Patterns Affect Their Height?

Nuts and Seeds

Nuts and seeds carry plenty of good fats essential for healthy growth and development. But they also offer other nutrients for a child’s growth, like calcium, protein, iron, vitamin K, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium. They also have a ton of vitamin E, and when children have a vitamin E deficiency, it can contribute to stunted growth.

Children with nut allergies or those under five should avoid nuts, but older kids with no dietary restrictions around this food group can go for it!

Whole Grains for Bone Development

Grains like those used to make cereal, bread, and other delicious snacks are often ground down into a fine powder (flour) before they turn into your child’s favorite cake or treat. But whole grains like quinoa and brown rice offer a much bigger nutritional punch.

Quinoa

A type of seed, quinoa is a whole grain with many nutrients to help a child’s growth. As the only plant-based food that offers all the essential amino acids that make up protein, quinoa delivers plenty of protein, magnesium, manganese, folate, and phosphorus—all nutrients that support growth and bone density.

Brown Rice

Brown rice contains a lot more protein, fiber, and other nutrients like B vitamins and phosphorus than white rice. Although it’s higher in calories than the white option, brown rice offers a bigger nutritional value to support growth.

Which fruit is best for height growth?

Fruits hold essential nutrients to support growth and are an important part of a healthy diet. This food group contains all kinds of important vitamins, like vitamins A and C. But which fruits can help you grow taller?

Berries

Berries deliver a huge amount of vitamin C, which helps grow and repair tissues in your body. Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries all offer high levels of vitamin C, which also boosts levels of collagen, an important protein. 

Collagen not only builds bone, but also increases bone density and helps repair bone damage, making it a powerhouse for bone metabolism and health. On top of their vitamin C content, berries also contain other nutrients great for growth like vitamin K, fiber, and manganese.

Oranges

Like berries, oranges and orange juice also give you plenty of vitamin C, which helps build bone tissue with the collagen it produces. Healthier bones from vitamin C can help you grow taller, along with good overall health and a balanced diet. Oranges also have calcium, another bone-building nutrient that can increase your bone mineral density and bone mass to grow taller.

What is the best drink to increase height?

Milk may be the best drink to increase height because of its calcium, protein, and vitamin content. But green smoothies, orange juice, coconut water, and banana shakes don’t come too far behind. 

Overall hydration is an extremely important part of a child’s balanced diet for many reasons. Drinking enough fluids has these benefits for your child:

• More efficient blood flow, carrying nutrients and oxygen throughout the body

• Better joint development and function

• Boosts memory, attention span, and mood

• Improved body temperature balance

• Helps maintain healthy body weight

• More effective food digestion

• Increases metabolism

Foods that Stunt Height Growth

Some foods aren’t good for growth and development. These specific foods can even stunt growth when eaten too often:

• Cakes and candies: These foods can increase insulin levels, a hormone closely tied to growth hormone.

• Overly greasy foods: Foods high in “bad” fat can prevent good nutrient absorption, stealing needed building blocks for your bone development.

• Foods with too much salt: High salt levels in your blood can make your body get rid of calcium you need to build strong bones.

• Fast food: Fast food usually has poor nutritional value, and when you miss out on key vitamins and minerals in your meals, your growth can slow.

• Too much beef: Beef has a ton of protein, but it also comes with a lot of unhealthy fat and ranks low on vital nutrients like calcium.

If you’re thinking that list sounds like a delicious menu your child would love, you’re not alone. Children can rarely eat a perfectly nutritious diet, and that’s where dietary supplements can help.

Essential Nutrients for Height Growth

Nutrition plays a role in growth and the foods that make you taller do so through the nutrients inside. Let’s take a look at how these vitamins and minerals help support growth and development

Vitamin D

Vitamin D helps your body with nutrient absorption, especially calcium, according to the National Institutes of Health. If your child has a vitamin D deficiency, their body can’t use the calcium they eat for healthy bone development and growth.

Vitamin A

Also called retinol, vitamin A aids in building strong bones, and it also has a hand in developing good eyesight, healthy teeth, reproductive health, and a robust immune system. Research suggests vitamin A supplementation could also help kids grow taller, faster. 

Vitamin C

Vitamin C helps your body repair damaged tissue and promote cell growth. It also helps your body make collagen, which, as you read above, is an important protein for lots of body processes, including bone growth.

Zinc

Children need zinc in their diet for maximum growth and development. Zinc helps your body fight diseases and creates DNA and proteins needed for growth. One study found children who took zinc supplements for 24 weeks grew more than those who didn’t. 

Calcium

Your body uses calcium for bone density and development. Experts recommend teenagers consume at least 1000 to 1300 milligrams (mg) of calcium a day for maximum bone health. But here’s where vitamin D is important, too, as a vitamin D deficiency can lead to inadequate calcium absorption.

Magnesium

Energy comes from food, and magnesium plays a huge part in this process. It also helps the body build strong bone structure and works with zinc and calcium to improve bone health. In fact, some research suggests magnesium deficiency correlates with less growth. 

Protein

Proteins are made up of molecules called amino acids and help your body function. But how does protein help in height growth? The essential amino acids in proteins serve as building blocks for tissue and bone growth. Protein also promotes the release of human growth hormone to stimulate growth. 

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates provide fuel for muscle development and for bone density and growth—especially complex carbohydrates like whole grains, beans, and sweet potatoes. Without enough carbohydrates in a child’s diet, they may experience stunted growth.

Conclusion

Nutrition has a lot of say in bone health, tissue growth, and healthy development. Above, you read about 11 foods that make you taller and how the nutrients inside (like vitamin D, calcium, and protein) build strong bone tissue. 

Sometimes, children and teenagers don’t eat enough of the right foods to give their bodies the tools they need to grow. In these cases, dietary supplements can help. 

NuBest offers tailored options for different ages and needs for optimal growth and development. You can also ask your child’s doctor about using supplements to help them grow better.

What are the best foods to eat to grow taller?

The best food to eat to grow taller are:

• Beans

• Chicken 

• Eggs

• Milk

• Yogurt

• Cheese

• Leafy Greens

• Sweet Potatoes

• Salmon 

• Nuts and Seeds

• Quinoa

• Brown Rice

• Berries 

• Oranges 

What role do vitamins and minerals play in growth?

Vitamins and minerals are crucial for children's growth and development. They support bone formation, the immune system, and mental processes needed for healthy development.

How can regular exercise support growth?

Regular exercise supports growth by stimulating growth hormone production, particularly through high-intensity interval training. Physical activity helps optimize hormonal balance, enhances muscle development, and promotes overall physiological growth in children and adolescents.