The full dish on food supplements

The full dish on food supplements

They cost a pretty penny and their inflated claims may be
dubious, but dietary supplements have still scored a hit with
well-heeled consumers. Or rather they had -- local agents grumble
that the monetary crisis has taken a big bite out of business.
The Jakarta Post's team of reporters Imannudin, I. Christianto,
Christiani S. Tumelap, Aloysius Unditu, Ivy Susanti and P.J. Leo;
and contributor Rita A. Widiadana gets the skinny on the formerly
fat market for selling beauty dreams.

JAKARTA (JP): Want to be healthier and sexier? Looking to keep
up your stamina despite a hectic working schedule?

Out to win the endless battle of the bulge?

Teasing messages like these inundate us daily in TV and
magazine advertisements. They plug the wonders of dietary
supplements, and promises of youthful beauty and optimum health.

Shelves in drug stores, shopping outlets and supermarkets are
crammed with assorted brands. Their target markets are also
diverse, spanning people of all ages and a long list of beauty
and "medical" complaints.

Demand for supplements in the nation's major urban centers
soared in the past decade in line with economic prosperity.
Members of the swelling middle class wanted to be healthy and
look their best.

Sales increased, and so did prices. For the fortunate with
overflowing pocketbooks, the ability to buy the products was a
status symbol.

They are especially popular with those whose face is their
fortune.

"I know many people in the entertainment business who take
dietary supplements," said Edwin Manansang, a member of the pop
group Trio Libels and a user of collagen pills for skin.

"It's understandable -- our appearance is our selling point
when we are up there on stage."

This obsession with inner and outer health is an offshoot of
the worldwide "Back to Nature" movement, which began in Europe in
the 1980s.

Preaching a holistic, environmentally aware approach to life,
its disciples eschewed the harmful trappings of modernity.

As they donned natural fabrics and banished pollutants from
their homes, they also sought exotic extracts of fruits,
vegetables, herbs, marine products and grains to ward off the
harmful excesses of the world around them.

Big business heard the call, and the marketing of dietary
supplements was soon in full swing.

It reached Indonesia's shores by the early 1980s and gradually
staked a loyal customer base.

Removed from alluring advertising images of people in the
bloom of health, however, is the harsh reality of striving to get
consumers to part with their rupiah.

Most agents adopt the hard sell.

Some assert their products can cure almost any medical
complaint, including cancer and impotency. Others maintain they
can reduce cholesterol levels in the body, enhance vitality,
tighten the skin, trim down a bulging belly and tone the body.

Experts warn consumers to be wary of empty promises.

Putu Gede Konthen, a nutritionist from the Surabaya-based Dr.
Sutomo General Hospital, said there was no clinical research to
verify the role of dietary supplements in treating medical
conditions.

Vitamins can improve the appetite and general health, but they
do not have properties for curing major illnesses, he said.

"Dietary supplements, no matter how great their names are,
will function just like salt, acids, monosodium glutamate or
ketchup."

F.G. Winarno, a professor of food and nutrition technology at
the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, and Ascobat Gani, dean of the
University of Indonesia's School of Public Health, agreed that
consumers should be skeptical before purchasing a product.

There is also the chance of too much of a good thing.

Excessive intake of vitamin C will usually be excreted by the
body, but too much of some others, including A and D, could be
toxic, Winarno warned.

Pregnant women should be particularly careful about vitamin A
intake. And an overdose of vitamin D will disrupt the balance of
calcium and phosphate in the body, leading to weakness, abnormal
thirst, increased urination, stomach upsets and depression.

Dietary supplements are most beneficial to those in poor
health or stressful situations, they said.

"They should only be consumed by illness-prone people, such as
pregnant women, the aged, refugees or those who are on medical
treatment," Winarno explained.

The rest of us seldom need to religiously down tonics and pop
vitamin pills every morning. A healthy diet should be sufficient
for prime health, they said.

"What is important is how you balance the carbohydrates,
protein and vitamins in your diet," Ascobat said.

Although a carbohydrate, rice also contains protein. Soybeans
are an inexpensive protein alternative to meat and fish. They
also contain fat, which is necessary for healthy skin and hair.

Several helpings of fruit and vegetables are ideal for
providing vitamins and minerals, and are also good sources of
fiber.

While most of us know that we are what we eat, we still tend
to slide into a slothful lifestyle, feasting on rich, high-fat
foods and doing little exercise.

Many of those unwilling to bite the health bullet and change
bad habits take dietary supplements as a shortcut.

"I am quite busy and sometimes I don't have time to eat
fruit," said Lulu Dewayanti, director of a modeling agency. "At
those times, taking vitamin C becomes more important."

Actual benefits of taking dietary supplements may be more
psychological, starting consumers on a more healthy track.

"Dietary supplements are there to help, but they are just a
help," said Edwin. "The rest is up to you." (team)