Supplements: A necessity or a modern 'con'?

This is the fourth in the six-article series New Millennium New You, providing practical tips on how to stay healthy. The weekly column is written by Clare E. Urwin, a nutrition, fitness and health adviser based in Surabaya.

SURABAYA (JP): Good news. You are enjoying those positive changes in your eating habits. More surprisingly, your exercise routine is not that bad! OK, nobody loves doing push-ups or strength training, but regular practice makes perfect.

You are feeling better, lighter and more energetic. So, with such a good start to Y2K, what's next? Supplements are the third factor required for optimum health and fitness in the new millennium.

Recently, there has been a huge increase in the sales of vitamin, mineral, food and herbal supplements. Health food stores, pharmacists and supermarket shelves are filled with products, promising an easy way to feel better and stay well.

For the average concerned consumer, who genuinely wants to reach and maintain good health, the choice is mind-boggling. All those bottles, each seemingly filled with "life changing", trendy, megavitamins, pills and potions. The advertising hype is intensive, and excessive claims for various products abound.

Meanwhile, controversy continues regarding the benefits or otherwise of supplements, even among the medical community. No wonder you, the customer, is totally confused. Are supplements really necessary? What about safety? Do they work or are they just a modern "con", useful only for making money and expensive urine? What is folic acid anyway and who exactly would want to eat shark cartilage? You don't!

Ideally, our diet should provide all of the vitamins, minerals and trace elements that our body needs.

In a perfect, pollution-free world, we would be able to eat well balanced, organically grown food in the correct combination at the right times, as we went about our stress-free lives. No supplements required.

Unfortunately, it is not as simple as that. Modern living often means polluted environments, unbalanced diets and stressful, imperfect lifestyles.

Current intensive farming methods frequently include the use of pesticides, fungicides, rodenticides, herbicides, nitrate fertilizers, antibiotics, steroids and growth hormones. Sounds almost sinister, doesn't it? More follows! Genetic engineering of plants is becoming commonplace throughout the world. Food processing strips vital nutrients from what we eat. Storage times are increasing.

Safety net

Chemicals are added in the form of colorings, sweeteners, texture modifiers and preservatives. These practices must make the nutritional value of some foods questionable.

Regular supplements can act as a safety net.

The reason for supplementing is to guarantee receiving the optimum level of every single nutrient that your body needs. Sometimes it's hard to receive all those needs from diet alone. Hasn't everyone woken up too late for breakfast at least once? Skipped a lunch and grabbed only coffee?

At certain periods of your life and in particular situations, supplements seem to be appropriate. For instance, older people who have a lack of appetite and dieters who are calorie counting may not eat enough to obtain all the necessary nutrients.

If pregnant or breast-feeding, you need more iron, calcium and that important part of the vitamin B complex, folic acid. Some vegetarians or vegans require additional B-12, and smoking significantly increases your body's requirements for vitamin C. The list goes on.

Evidence supporting the value of nutritional supplements is substantial in many circumstances, and anecdotal data is abundant.

There is certainly convincing testimony that supplements of at least 1 gram of vitamin C daily can help minimize the length and severity of colds. Other research seems to back the recommendation that higher than normal intakes of some vitamins or minerals are helpful for specific disease prevention or treatment.

Back to basics. Vitamins and minerals are essential to life. They promote growth, health and normal metabolism by assisting the biochemical processes that release energy from digested foods.

These micronutrients act as catalysts, "turning-on" enzymes, to encourage necessary chemical reactions in our cells. Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat soluble vitamins and can be stored in the body.

The B group and vitamin C are water soluble and cannot be stored.

The European Community's Recommended Daily Amount (RDA) and the Recommended Daily Allowance and Daily Values (DV) in the U.S. are measuring standards used in food labeling. They tell how much of each vitamin and mineral you need to maintain health.

However, these levels only give the bare minimum required to prevent deficiency diseases, such as scurvy. Larger doses can change borderline health into enhanced health.

Recommended

In this 21st century concept of creating the New You, certain daily supplements are recommended. This is true even though you are now following the sound nutritional habits described in the previous "Diet" article.

Remember that untapped potential? Supplements are an integral part of the five factors necessary for mind and body to reach their peak.

A good quality multivitamin with 100 percent RDA for vitamins and minerals to be taken daily. Vitamin C is an important antioxidant and infection fighter.

It encourages the body's healing system and is great for the skin. Take at least 1 gram per day and more if under particular stress. Four hundred International Units (IU) of natural vitamin E, another powerful antioxidant, are recommended.

To complete the formula, take 100 micrograms of the trace mineral selenium, which has antioxidant and anticancer properties. This minimum "cocktail" of supplements will ensure you are providing enough raw material for the body to maximize health.

These recommendations apply to healthy adults only, and not to children or pregnant women. Always take supplements with food, and never without the consent of your doctor if you have a current medical problem or are on prescribed medication.

Different individuals may require separate additional nutrients. Zinc, calcium, coenzyme Q, mixed carotenes and the B complex or specific parts of it, are often recommended in tailor- made programs by health professionals.

Seek advice and don't self-prescribe. Supplements are not magic pills. Too much of one particular nutrient can cause imbalances.

The year 2000 is having a great beginning. Eating healthily and exercising regularly already gives a wonderful feeling of added vitality and enthusiasm. The recommended supplements will further advance your goal of reaching optimum health and fitness. Start taking them!

Next week, the fourth element, stress control.