If kids don’t grow tall enough, should we give them a foodtech grow drink? Pictured here are Syrian refugees growing a garden in Jordan.
Americans are shrinking in height after becoming a giant of a population, thanks to cheap meat, lots of dairy and access to fresh vegetables. Current shrinkage in their size is now due to poor diets over the last couple of decades. Food deserts in cities where a bodega chocolate bar is easier to access than fresh fruit is partly to blame. So is access to cheaper fast food and supersize me.
A health supplement marketed to parents with small kids in America is now now being marketed to Asians who want taller kids, because height is still a first world sign for health and fecundity. The growth of vegan protein for adults, kids, pets, is part of the “Veganification” meta trend. Other examples of this meta trend include pea milk, vegan jerky, vegan collagen and vegan ramen.
If your kid can’t eat because they are sick, okay. Then market to physicians and hospitals. Because this height drink is starting to sound like Soylent for kids.
Soylent is created for programmers in Silicon Valley so they don’t need to eat real food.
The Israeli-made drink is a protein shake for kids made to help them reach their full height, according to a company release. Most picky kids often eat pasta or white bread only because parents allow them to. Now a health shake can fill in the gaps.
Unless your kid is undergoing a health procedure and can’t keep food down, I highly recommend giving your kids real, whole foods. Allowing picky eaters from the range of 3 to 9-years-old, the target range for this health shake, to drink a sweet shake instead is only putting salve on the wound.
Good gut bacteria, immune system health, and so many important things a kid needs are tied to real food. .
Healthy Height says their drink was developed and tested by paediatricians to give a holistic solution to nourish kids especially those with health problems. But it’s also for picky eaters who stress their parents out.
Protein shake for kids?
Healthy Height is made with whey protein and the amino acid arginine. The company says it can be mixed with ice cream, pancakes or smoothies –– often the foods that picky eater parents return to when nothing else works. The chocolate and vanilla flavors however contain sugar (labelled as organic cane sugar, which is simply sugar), unless you go for the plain variety which does not contain sugar.
Healthy Height nutritional supplement with ingredients label. Sugar in 2 of the flavors
The company claims that top medical professionals in paediatric endocrinology, gastroenterology, and nutrition were behind the research and development of the Healthy Height formulation:
“There is no doubt that genetics plays the most significant role in an individual’s height, with studies showing this accounts for up to 80 percent of final height,” a company rep said.
“There is a window of opportunity where we can influence the potential height of an individual. Parents are seeking natural solutions to help their kids grow, and Healthy Height certainly fills this gap.”
Unlike other nutritional products, Healthy Height is not a meal replacement, as the protein drink takes a more supplemental role, therefore still leaving room for a focus on developing healthier eating habits, the company notes.
Children who included it in their diet for a one-year period added 13.8 to 34% to their annual growth in height. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was published in the prestigious Journal of Pediatrics.
But what about the remaining percentage? Researchers believe that environmental factors fill that gap, with nutrition being the most dominant factor.
Some of the countries showing the most significant gains from nutritional knowledge are in Asia. According to NPR, women in South Korea gained an average of eight inches in height in the past century — a bigger jump than any other population, globally. In Japan, the average increase has been 6.31 inches. Yet, Americans on the other hand are shrinking. The data are clear: Nutritional value plays a key role in growth.
Healthy Height could be a solution for medical challenges.
Author: Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist and publisher that founded Green Prophet to unite a prosperous Middle East. She shows through her work that positive, inspiring dialogue creates action that impacts people, business and planet. She has published in thought-leading newspapers and magazines globally, owns an IoT tech chip patent, and is part of teams that build world-changing products to make agriculture and our planet more sustainable. Reach out directly to [email protected]
