[박승찬 하이키한의원 원장] What are the best nutrients for height growth? The first thing that comes to mind is calcium. However, it should not be overlooked that vitamin D is just as important as calcium.
Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium, is involved in immunity, and if it is deficient, it can be exposed to serious bone-related diseases such as osteomalacia and osteoporosis. Vitamin D is a must for everyone.
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It is a nutrient that needs to be supplemented even more, especially for growing children who need strong bones to grow well.
Vitamin D is called the ‘sunshine vitamin’, and is mainly produced by sunlight on the skin. It is also a nutrient that has been neglected because it can be sufficiently supplied to the body if the body is engaged in normal outdoor activities even if it is not ingested through food.
The thing is, things have changed. Children do not have enough time to get sunlight while going to and from school and cram school, and it has become more common to use sunscreens with too high a blocking index for skin cancer prevention and skin care. Moreover, in recent years, restrictions on outdoor activities due to the COVID-19 situation have overlapped.
Vitamin D deficiency is becoming more and more serious. According to data released by the Korean Medical Association in 2017, 86.8% of men and 93.3% of women are vitamin D deficient. According to the 2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 78% of domestic adolescents and the Seoul Institute of Medical Sciences in 2015 reported that more than 50% of children and adolescents aged 6-20 years had vitamin D deficiency.
In order to sufficiently synthesize the daily recommended amount of vitamin D required for growth (200IU in Korea, 600IU in the US National Institutes of Health (NIH)), the skin needs to receive regarding 5 to 30 minutes of sunlight every day. At this time, you should also keep in mind that the UV rays required for vitamin D synthesis do not pass through the glass window.
As outdoor activities are difficult, sardines, herring, salmon, tuna, mackerel, beef, eggs, milk and dairy products, and mushrooms rich in vitamin D are also helpful. However, as bioavailability through food intake decreases, taking vitamin D supplements is a good way.
Vitamin D deficiency in a growing child may not be a visible problem right away, but it can make a big difference in height growth later on. In order to return healthy height growth to children, we will have to pay close attention so that they can properly know and consume vitamin D as much as calcium.
