Vitamin Deficiencies And Growth

[cyberprof]

OK, here

[ShayFL]

I will add what I know. I have a Phd in Holistic Nutrition, but I do not claim to be an expert. I studied to find a solution to my own health problems. I am also an ACE certified personal trainer (not practicing right now).

Since Vitamin A and Iron are both "stored" in the body and can easily become "toxic" supplementing with higher than the RDA might be unwise without getting some blood work done first.

That is an interesting article. Great find!

Also, keep in mind that puberty relates to body fat and muscle mass. In girls, they need to reach a certain % of body fat before they start puberty unless exogenous estrogen is high. In boys, they do need to get to a certain weight, but they need enough muscle mass to encourage testosterone production. Sex hormones come from our sex organs and also from fat and muscle. Fat produces estrogen and muscle produces testosterone (in both men and women).

Exercising helps the body produce more testosterone. Anything that builds the muscles up will work. It does not have to be crazy bodybuilding or anything like that. Some light weighs a few times a week and competitive sports too. Competition increases testosterone levels. Even video games.

Another avenue you might not have considered is "exogenous estrogen". It is all over our "modern" world. We feed hormones to our animals that we eat. Certain chemicals and plastics mimic estrogen in the body. There is mounting evidence and research that all of this environmental estrogen is what is leading to infertility, more genetic variations, etc. Men are becoming femanized. And many girls are entering puberty way too soon. Google this. You will learn a lot.

Products with Lavender and Tea Tree oil specifically have been linked to too much estrogen and not enough testosterone in boys. All of the "parabens" they use to preserve creams and such have high levels of estrogenic activity. I no longer use ANY products with methylparaben, propylparaben, etc. Excess estrogen leads to breast cancer, so I avoid as many environmental estrogens as I can.

If you can, I would only buy organic milks and meats that have not had an hormonal treatments. Never microwave anything with plastic even if it says it is safe. This increases the chemicals that mimic estrogen in the body by leaps and bounds. Get natural toiletries that do not contain parabens for your son. Some competitive activity. Some weight lifting (not heavy). Specifically the quad muscles increase testosterone. That is why bodybuilders love squats.

This article discusses all the places that estrogen can be hidden.

Open Original Shared Link

I hope I have offered some helpful advice. And I hope your son keeps building his body up and "catches" up soon.

[cyberprof]

I will add what I know. I have a Phd in Holistic Nutrition, but I do not claim to be an expert. I studied to find a solution to my own health problems. I am also an ACE certified personal trainer (not practicing right now).

Since Vitamin A and Iron are both "stored" in the body and can easily become "toxic" supplementing with higher than the RDA might be unwise without getting some blood work done first.

That is an interesting article. Great find!

Also, keep in mind that puberty relates to body fat and muscle mass. In girls, they need to reach a certain % of body fat before they start puberty unless exogenous estrogen is high. In boys, they do need to get to a certain weight, but they need enough muscle mass to encourage testosterone production. Sex hormones come from our sex organs and also from fat and muscle. Fat produces estrogen and muscle produces testosterone (in both men and women).

Exercising helps the body produce more testosterone. Anything that builds the muscles up will work. It does not have to be crazy bodybuilding or anything like that. Some light weighs a few times a week and competitive sports too. Competition increases testosterone levels. Even video games.

Another avenue you might not have considered is "exogenous estrogen". It is all over our "modern" world. We feed hormones to our animals that we eat. Certain chemicals and plastics mimic estrogen in the body. There is mounting evidence and research that all of this environmental estrogen is what is leading to infertility, more genetic variations, etc. Men are becoming femanized. And many girls are entering puberty way too soon. Google this. You will learn a lot.

Products with Lavender and Tea Tree oil specifically have been linked to too much estrogen and not enough testosterone in boys. All of the "parabens" they use to preserve creams and such have high levels of estrogenic activity. I no longer use ANY products with methylparaben, propylparaben, etc. Excess estrogen leads to breast cancer, so I avoid as many environmental estrogens as I can.

If you can, I would only buy organic milks and meats that have not had an hormonal treatments. Never microwave anything with plastic even if it says it is safe. This increases the chemicals that mimic estrogen in the body by leaps and bounds. Get natural toiletries that do not contain parabens for your son. Some competitive activity. Some weight lifting (not heavy). Specifically the quad muscles increase testosterone. That is why bodybuilders love squats.

This article discusses all the places that estrogen can be hidden.

Open Original Shared Link

I hope I have offered some helpful advice. And I hope your son keeps building his body up and "catches" up soon.

Yes, Shay, thanks! That does help. Of course, he is off milk because he is casein intolerant and I told him no/minimal soy due to the estrogen. I try for organic meats and will focus on that. We haven't done the lavender or tea tree oil and I don't ever microwave with plastic. He doesn't use many toiletries but I will check.

He plays fall league soccer and played on the HS soccer team too this spring. He plays tennis after school everyday now that soccer is over and rides his bike daily. His dad and I lift weights so I'll mention that to him, especially the quad squats and deadlifts. Thanks again.

Any one else?

[joopie]

hey cyberprof-

i was recently diagnosed w/ celiac- i wish i would have known when i was your sons age...

always small- at 15years old i weighed 91 pounds and i was 5'1" maybe! i remember the exact weight because i was on the high school wrestling team and wrestled at 102. pounds (the wrestling was not my idea- i enjoyed soccer much more )- but, the following year at 16 years old- i returned to school at 140 pounds and 5'8'- puberty had hit!

almost nobody at school recognized me- i still have stretch marks on my lower back from this growth spurt- i began to lift weights a bit and continued to put on weight and grow- it was not until my early to mid twenties when i started feeling unwell at times- but that is because i had no idea my diet was trashing my body- i grew to 5'10" and weighed 175- i won't go into the rest of my story- but if i were your son i would give it just a little longer- eat right - maybe lift some weights- and continue to do research- it's a tough thing to be smaller and less developed- but hang in there- the growth is right around the corner!

your friend,

Joopie (latebloomertoo)

[cyberprof]

hey cyberprof-

i was recently diagnosed w/ celiac- i wish i would have known when i was your sons age...

always small- at 15years old i weighed 91 pounds and i was 5'1" maybe! i remember the exact weight because i was on the high school wrestling team and wrestled at 102. pounds (the wrestling was not my idea- i enjoyed soccer much more )- but, the following year at 16 years old- i returned to school at 140 pounds and 5'8'- puberty had hit!

almost nobody at school recognized me- i still have stretch marks on my lower back from this growth spurt- i began to lift weights a bit and continued to put on weight and grow- it was not until my early to mid twenties when i started feeling unwell at times- but that is because i had no idea my diet was trashing my body- i grew to 5'10" and weighed 175- i won't go into the rest of my story- but if i were your son i would give it just a little longer- eat right - maybe lift some weights- and continue to do research- it's a tough thing to be smaller and less developed- but hang in there- the growth is right around the corner!

your friend,

Joopie (latebloomertoo)

Thanks Joopie. I appreciate hearing from you.

[RiceGuy]

Wow, I think your son is indeed overdue for some growth and development! I began a major growth spurt at around 13-14, and up to that point I was so tiny! All the kids at school towered above me. For years I ate tons of food, and I'd have to say peanut butter was my body's favorite. I could not get enough of it. I now know it was because of the nutrients, especially the protein and fat. That's not to say there wouldn't be a better choice, but it was the best I had available. I was so hungry all the time. I was packing two lunch boxes in second grade.

Yes, vitamin C or citric acid will boost absorption of iron up to six times over, but only for non-heme iron, which is from plants. Here is a good explanation: Open Original Shared Link

If iron is low, I'd say a supplement is the way to go, as it seems obvious that absorption isn't up where it needs to be. Magnesium helps absorption of nutrients, so I'd recommend that too. A sublingual methylcobalamin (B12) wouldn't hurt either. And yes, foods or supplements rich in calcium should be consumed apart from those rich in iron, as the two nutrients tend to play against each other. A good multivitamin would probably help too. Maybe even above the RDI, but care needs to be taken with certain nutrients, as overdose can occur more easily for some than for others. But if iron is low, to me that seems like it would impact everything else, as the blood is the method of transport for nutrients throughout the body. Some nutrients are probably checked through blood tests more accurately than others, and of course what looks like a "normal range" may not be when the body is trying so hard to heal. If it were me, I'd want to get many of the major nutrients in the upper range. That's my take on it, from what I know.

Some foods to help boost iron absorption:

Fruits: Orange, Orange Juice, cantaloupe, strawberries, grapefruit etc

Vegetables: Broccoli, brussels sprouts, tomato, tomato juice, potato, green & red peppers

Some foods which inhibit iron absorption:

Red Wine, Coffee & Tea

Spinach, chard, beet greens, rhubarb and sweet potato

Whole grains and bran

Soy products

Open Original Shared Link

As for hormone treatments, I'd recommend avoiding that one. I do believe it would be a disastrous mistake. As I understand it, the hormones signal the body to grow and develop, but that happens normally in life when all the nutrients are there to make it happen. The hormones get produced when the body can support the development. However, signaling the body to make such developmental changes without the nutrients in place to support it would be like building a house before the foundation is in place. Where is all that calcium, protein, etc going to come from? It is no wonder he isn't shooting up like a weed yet, as the absorption can't keep up. Nature probably knows what it's doing. I actually know someone who got hormone treatments (I'm sure they are Celiac, as it runs in the family), and it closed what the doctors call the "growth window", leaving them dwarf-sized, with no chance of further growth.

I agree that it will probably take some more time before absorption is where it needs to be, so I don't think physical workouts like weight lifting would be such a good idea. I'm no doctor, but if the body doesn't have enough nutrients to go around, why put such an additional load on the body? But by all means he does need to keep active of course, just use common sense and moderation, I'd think. Again, just my two cents.

[ShayFL]

We are all preaching moderation with the workouts. But moving the muscles and working them sets off a chain reaction that tells the body to absorb nutrients better. So if you dont work out, you are telling your body the opposite. It might sound logical to not work out if you are deficient, but it works the other way really. Our whole bodies are a looped feedback system. Stimulus and response.

So yes, keep him active.

[ShayFL]

A perfect example is Osteoprosis. The bones are brittle and weak. But the worst thing you could do is "rest" them. What you have to do is put some "stress" on the bones and then it will set of a cascade of bio-chemical process (enzymes and hormones) that tell the body to "build bone"!! You will actually absorb more calcium and Vitamin D when you put stress on the bones than you would if you just laid around in bed. Inactivity makes osteoprosis worse!! And the same is true for testosterone. You need to build the muscles on an ongoing basis for them to tell your body to create more testosterone for the types of activity you are doing.

Now overdoing it and getting completely exhausted is another thing. That is counterproductive. Moderate exercise is key.

[cyberprof]

Thanks riceguy. I appreciate your input, especially about the hormones.

Shay, I think that moderate exercise is the key, as long as he has the energy for it.