What is the most economical way to grow protein?

How much more will I possibly grow?

• Hi I am a 15 year old male (My birthday was recently, on June 26). I am 5' 6'' feet tall, and I'm worried I won't grow anymore. My mother is 5' 7'' feet tall and my father is 5' 6'' tall, and I weight 145 lbs. I've been almost the same height since the age of 13. Before I was among the tallest in my class, now I'm just average or a little below it. Friends that have always been 1 or 2 inches smaller than me are now 1 or 2 inches taller (of course not all of them but some). I feel like they are catching up to me and I'll stay the same height. I thought that maybe I was a late bloomer but I have a deep voice, facial hair (still no complete beard), underarm hair, etc. I still have acne so my puberty hasn't ended yet, but I wan't to know if there is a way to stimulate my growth. My doctors predicted I would be around 6' 1" when I am an adult. I have 6' 4" and 6' cousins and a 6' grandfather, all coming from my mother's side. Since I was tall most of the time and got stuck now, I think the height genes I have is the ones from my mother's side of the family, so maybe I'll have a growth spurt soon? I want to be at least 5' 10", I'm very shy and auto-critical of my image and most (not all) girls like average - tall boys so height is very crucial to me. Btw, about sports and diet, I am a meat lover, so I consume a LOT of protein, and drink milk around once every 2 or 3 days. I play Tennis 2-3 days a week for 1-2 hours. So, will I grow more? If so around how much? What can I do to stimulate my body to grow more taller or what stretching exercises I can do to stretch my back for better posture? Thanks!

• Answer:

  Barcode isn't right. There's good news: this isn't hopeless! According to recent clinical/scientific data, you can do a lot to influence how tall you get, your bone density and your strength. You might find useful the following clinical evidence in support of techniques to help males gain height, bone density and muscle hypertrophy so you can get an early start on growing as big as you possibly can. In the 2005 study linked below, 143 boys were given 1g of calcium carbonate supplement daily for 13 months. They outgrew their peers, on average, by 0.7 cm, and also gained 1.3% more lean body mass and 1.5% more lumbar spine bone area, which means reinforced bodies and more rugged spines. It's a very important supplement for growing boys to take, even if they're getting enough calcium according to RDA. If you started taking 1g of calcium carbonate daily right now and continued until you stopped growing around age 21, it's conceivable that you could grow an additional 4.9 cm or 2 inches beyond your normal max height. Like it or not, heightism is real, especially when it comes to jobs, social networking and dating, and people favor tall men. So it pays for males to grow as tall as they can. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heightism This eHow article suggests drinking 3 glasses of milk daily, but not all at once, and getting to sleep before 12 midnight and sleeping for at least 8 hours per night: http://www.ehow.com/how_4545098_grow-taller.html Consider the following clinical evidence to reach your maximum potential. MAXIMIZING HEIGHT AND BONE DENSITY 1) Take a daily multivitamin with micronutrients. See below for recommended micronutrients to improve height. 2) Take 1000mg (1g) of calcium carbonate supplement daily. 3) Take 3g of GABA (an inexpensive amino acid supplement) at least once daily to quadruple baseline growth hormone levels. 4) Engage in regular low-risk vibrational physical activity, such as plyometric training, volleyball, basketball, short-to-medium range jogging. 5) Practice meditation for 20-30 minutes regularly around dusk in order to reduce stress and improve hormonal profile for growth (cortisol can inhibit growth). PubMed primary clinical journal articles: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18091016 - 3g GABA quadruples growth hormone levels. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15755856 - We conclude that calcium carbonate supplementation of adolescent boys increased skeletal growth, resulting in greater stature and bone mineral acquisition. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16426962 - The micronutrient-fortified beverage was beneficial in promoting growth and decreasing duration of common illnesses among middle-class residential schoolchildren who had adequate energy and protein intakes. MAXIMIZING MUSCLE HYPERTROPHY 1) Take 3g of GABA at least once per day. (already linked above) - 3g GABA QUADRUPLES growth hormone levels! 2) Post-Training Meditation - http://www.ergo-log.com/meditationhormones.html 3) Have lean protein for breakfast: eggs, steak, yogurt and/or a protein shake 4) Stock low-fat, low-carb, protein rich foods and snacks such as yogurt, milk, hard-boiled eggs, lean marinated chicken breasts and unprocessed, unsalted nuts - make your own lean & clean trail mix with almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, dried fruits and yogurt or dark chocolate. Don't let your baseline blood sugar trough while you're recovering from workouts; keep feeding the furnace with protein at least once every two hours. 5) Avoid drinking any form of cola, at all. It inhibits protein synthesis, which means you won't grow much muscle while drinking it. http://www.ergo-log.com/milkcola.html Drink milk and fresh-brewed green tea instead of colas, soft drinks or alcohol. "Improved endurance capacity following chocolate milk consumption compared with 2 commercially available sport drinks." 6) Use a twice-daily combinatorial protein and ALA supplement offset from workout times (i.e., morning and night) but drink creatine solution during resistance training 7) Take quercetin to reduce post-workout inflammation and boost mitochondrial biogenesis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercetin 8) Learn the basics of training if you haven't already—http://exercise.about.com/cs/exerciseworkouts/a/weight101.htm%E2%80%94and learn how high-quality rest is at least as important as exercise for anabolism 9) Use clinically proven, evidence-based weightlifting techniques including muscle confusion, eccentric loading and optimal intensity for maximum ROI. Concentrate especially on "the big three": squats, deadlifts and bench press, for maximum returns for effort. 10) Keep up-to-date about muscle and fitness by bookmarking the best, most objective online sources (PUBMED, etc.) and mix in alternatives such as hemp protein, vibrational and TENS/EMS techniques ( http://www.medword.com/MedwordStore/PCP/EMS_truth.html ) from time to time to see whether you get good results