This link I found seems to validate some ideas previous height increase researchers had about possible supplements that can be orally taken to lead to increased growth.

The website or source I found this list from is Healing Pastures back in 2009. The entire list and details is taken from that website posting. However I would like to give an analysis of the list at the end of this post to see whether we can find any useful information that can help us in our own research.

---

Quercetin – Cabbage, kale, brussel sprouts, onions and garlic, citrus fruits, apples, parsley, tea, and red wine are the primary dietary sources of quercetin. Olives and olive oil, grapes, black currants, cranberries, dark cherries, and dark berries such as blueberries, blackberries, bilberries, lingonberries and red raspberries are also high in flavonoids, including quercetin. Quercetin seems to work better when used in conjunction with bromelain, a digestive enzyme found in pineapples.

Chrysin  – This is a flavonoid from the passion flower plant, bee propolis, bee pollen and raw honey. Chrysin has poor bioavailability so it is normally taken as a supplement along with piperine (from black pepper) which greatly enhances its bioavailability.

Naringenin  – This is found in all citrus fruits, like orange, tangerine, lemon and lime. Avoid obtaining it from grapefruit or grapefruit juice, which has an inhibitory effect on the human cytochrome P450 isofrom, another enzyme in the same complex as the aromatase enzyme. This enzyme is involved in breaking down and metabolizing sex hormones and preventing their excess accumulation in the body, so inhibiting it will allow estrogen levels to rise.

Apigenin – Dietary sources include celery, parsley, artichokes, basil, chamomile, thyme, peppermint, gingo biloba, and other herbs like horsetail herb, lemon balm herb, perilla herb, vervain herb, and yarrow. The highest concentrations of apigenin seem to be in chamomile and thyme.

Genistein  – This is an isoflavone found in herbs like red clover (the herb of Hippocrates), parsley, sage, green vegetables, fruits and particularly pulses and legumes like chick peas and beans, and soy. Soy and soy foods contain high amounts of plant estrogens or phytoestrogens. These estrogens are very weak and have almost no harmful effects. They compete with the estrogen receptor sites in the body, and prohibit the more potent and harmful estrogen. Phytoestrogens are only 1/500th as potent as estradiol, the most dangerous form of estrogen. The body senses the estrogen level to be high and stimulates the P450 system in the liver to metabolize the estrogen. This helps keep estrogen levels where they should be. There is some controversy about whether soy is protective against breast cancer or promotes it. Much depends on variables like genes. Asians have a long history of soy consumption and their bodies process it far more efficiently than Westerners.

Diadzein – Another isoflavone found in soy products. Genistein accounts for approximately 50% of total soy isoflavones, whereas daidzein accounts for about 40%.

Oleuropein  – Oleuropein gives olive oil its distinctive flavor, It is found in abundance in the leaves of the olive tree.

Resveratrol  – Good sources are the skin and seeds of red grapes, grape seed extract, and black and red berries. Muscadine grapes, often used to make red wine, have the highest content. Although supplements of resveratrol are popular and widely available, getting resveratrol from red wine allows you to get the entire grape polyphenol group of nutrients, a group that has been shown to work much better synergistically. Breast tumor growth and metastasis to bone and liver have been shown to be better inhibited by the complete grape polyphenol complex.

Linoleic Acid  – An essential fatty acid from the Omega-6 family, linoleic acid can be found in common mushrooms like button mushrooms, shitake, portabello and crimin, as well as vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains and seeds. Good sources are oils made from safflower, sunflower, corn, soya, evening primrose, pumpkin, olives and wheat germ. In a study conducted by Dr. Shiuan Chen of the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope in Duarte, California, it was found that in laboratory and animal experiments, mushroom extracts reduced the proliferation of breast cancer cells. This study also surmised that it is the linoleic acid that may be responsible for the anti-cancer effects.

Interestingly, the study also found that white button mushrooms suppressed production of the enzyme 5-alpha reductase. This enzyme plays a big role in development of prostate cancer.

Progesterone  – A popular source is wild yam extract cream for topical application, such as Neways’ “Endau” progesterone cream. A study (Formby and Wiley, Journal Nat. Cancer Inst. June 7997) shows that natural progesterone actually inhibits growth and induces cell death in breast cancer cells by affecting p53 and Bcl-2 gene expression.

This followed work by Chang, Lee et al (Fertility and Sterility vol 63 7995) that showed that whilst oestradiol (the most potent oestrogen hormone) increases the number of cycling epitbelial cells, natural progesterone actually decreases them. The study further states that natural progesterone secretion suppresses oestradiol receptors in both the endometrium and breast tissue, and has an anti-oestrogen effect (just as, for example, the latest aromatase inhibitors aim to do), but that very high concentrations of synthetic progestins can stimulate human breast cancer cells.

Zinc – The best sources are wheat germ, oysters and liver, Less zinc-rich sources include meat, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, nuts like pecans and brazils, spinach, mushrooms etc.

Those searching for an aromatase-inhibiting diet may wish to take a closer look at the Mediterranean diet, Fresh fruits, vegetables, olive oil and red wine are components of this diet, the one diet that has consistently correlated with lower death rates from all causes. Flavonoids from each of these foods inhibit aromatase activity to reduce incidence of breast cancer.

A final thought: the aromatase enzyme resides in fat cells. It is no surprise that being overweight and obese is linked with breast and other hormone-sensitive cancers. Fewer fat cells in the body means that less unbalanced estrogen is produced. High levels of insulin, a big factor in weight gain and fat mass accumulation, promote production of the aromatase enzyme. Avoiding processed foods and foods with chemicals helps keep insulin levels under control, in turn resulting in lower levels of aromatase and as a consequence, lower levels of unbalanced estrogen in the body

Analysis

This list is interesting because of the first two types of compounds listed, Quercetin and Chrysin. At one point in the research, I had listed both of these compounds as possible things a person can ingest to grow taller in the Supplements Section of the website. I even at one point said that Quercetin might help people with closed plates grow taller.

Two posts were written about the height increase potential of the two compounds…

1. Can Quercetin Really Help People Grow Taller And Increase Their Height After Reaching Adulthood?
2. Increase Height And Grow Taller Using Chrysin

After doing more research, I had to state that it seems that I was previously wrong about the efficacy of these compounds. The whole idea with chrysin was that it was an aromatase inhibitor. With Quercetin, I forgot why it was a viable idea.

Two of the compounds were isoflavones which can be found in soy products. The section that I will talk about is on the phytoestrogens, which is something which I have been looking into recently…

“Phytoestrogens are only 1/500th as potent as estradiol, the most dangerous form of estrogen. The body senses the estrogen level to be high and stimulates the P450 system in the liver to metabolize the estrogen. This helps keep estrogen levels where they should be.”

There is enough evidence that estradiol is harmful towards growth in the literature but this section seems to imply that phytoestrogens may be actually good for growth, since they prevent the much stronger estrogens from binding to estrogen receptors. There is even ways for the human body to regulate estrogen levels using the liver to metabolize estrogen.

The last compound which is something which I am remotely curious about is the compound progesterone. I wrote about the connection between progesterone and growth in the old post “Analysis On The Possible Cause For Height Increase During Pregnancy”