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‘Magical’ vitamin gummies have gone viral after teenage boys ‘grew four inches in just a few months’ – experts give their verdict…

Posted on by L. Dreeye
‘Magical’ vitamin gummies have gone viral after teenage boys ‘grew four inches in just a few months’ – experts give their verdict…

Experts have urged caution about sugary vitamin pills that are gaining popularity among teenage boys on social media due to their supposed ability to increase height.

Thousands of TikTok videos claim TruHeight supplements, which cost £33 and contain almost a teaspoon of sugar, help teenagers “grow taller”.

In one enthusiastic statement content creator Aaron Thomas told his 147,000 followers that he grew four inches in just three months after he started taking TruHeight vitamins.

Another young social media user, Omar Natour, urged fellow “short kings” who “need to get taller” to take Truheight, saying the supplement is “magical” and will “help you grow taller.”

And Damon Brown, who has 659,000 followers, named the gummies as one of the “four ways to get taller,” along with being active, eating healthy and getting enough sleep.

The gummies contain calcium, vitamin K, vitamin D and the Asian shrub ashwagandha.

The ad for the brand, which sells sleep supplements and protein powders in addition to growth gummies, features testimonial videos from parents and teens who say the vitamins helped them grow taller.

One of the brand’s TikTok videos tells the “origin story” of a boy named Liam, who is said to have increased his height from 5ft to 5ft 8in in a year and four months thanks to TruHeight.

‘Magical’ vitamin gummies have gone viral after teenage boys ‘grew four inches in just a few months’ – experts give their verdict…

Damon Brown, who has 659,000 followers, named the gummies as one of the “four ways to get taller,” along with being active, eating healthy and getting enough sleep.

A TikTok video posted by Aaron Thomas (left) told his 147,000 followers that your height is “20 percent your choice and 80 percent genetics.” He claims that three months ago he was “very small,” but after learning about TruHeight vitamins, he grew two to four inches. Damon Brown, who has 659,000 followers, named gummies (right) as one of the “four ways to get taller,” along with being active, eating healthy and getting enough sleep.

But experts speaking to MailOnline questioned the intended consequences.

Dietitian and British Dietetic Association spokeswoman Ashling Pigott warned that the marketing was “very misleading”.

She stresses that while there is evidence that taking vitamin D can promote healthy bone growth, it won’t help you grow beyond your “high potential,” which is “predetermined by our genetics.”

And at £33 a bottle, it’s around six times the price of regular vitamin D supplements.

She told MailOnline: ‘Teenagers can put pressure on their parents to spend money on these vitamins and it’s a waste of time.

“Our height is determined by our genetics.

“Poor nutrition can stop us from growing as tall as we could be, but this supplement won’t fix that.”

Ms Pigott said the supplements were unlikely to be harmful unless you took them in excessive quantities.

According to the NHS, 10 micrograms a day is enough to reap the bone-building benefits of vitamin D, but taking more than 100 micrograms a day can be harmful and can actually weaken bones and damage the kidneys and heart.

TruHeight Growth Gummies contain 20 micrograms per two gummy servings, so 10 gummies (or five servings of the recommended dose) may exceed the limit.

Social media user Dillon Latham told his 1.6 million followers on TikTok that the gummies

In one video from a supplement company advertising growth gummies, a teenage boy lines up vitamins with the caption: “We buy TruHeight, we take TruHeight and grow.”

Social media user Dillon Latham (left) told his 1.6 million TikTok followers that the gummies “really contain the nutrients and stuff that you need to help your bones grow.” One video (at right) from a supplement company advertising growth gummies shows a teenage boy lining up vitamins with the caption, “We buy TruHeight, we take TruHeight and grow.”

This isn’t the first time a dietary supplement company has been accused of “misleading” advertising.

The TruHeight brand is owned by Vanilla Chip, a firm that has been involved in several lawsuits, including one in April 2024 alleging that TruHeight made “false and misleading advertising claims” about children’s heights.

The lawsuit alleged: “Vanilla Chip advertises that regular consumption of growth products allows babies, children and teens to grow taller than without them.”

It added: “Growth products cannot deliver what they promise – a fact that Vanilla Chip knows or should have known. “Growth foods cannot make children grow taller than they would on a normal diet.”

Although videos online suggest the supplement will help children grow taller, the brand is careful not to say so outright.

Instead, the company uses language such as “supports healthy growth and development” and “supports normal bone growth and function.”

The supplement brand’s website also has a clinical trials section that says TruHeight is “testing our growth innovations.”

It said that after a six-month clinical pilot study, children who took TruHeight daily experienced a “statistically significant increase in collagen X levels” compared to those who did not take the supplement.

According to TruHeight, collagen X is “a critical biomarker closely associated with growth plate activity in developing bone.”

Ms Pigott warned the supplement company was “walking a very fine line”.

She said: “They stick to the rules but allow misinformation to creep in in the way it is presented.”

MailOnline has contacted TruHeight for comment.