THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 15, 1996 TAG: 9605140038
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAT DOOLEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 106 lines
IN THE DAYS after B.C. - Beaver Cleaver, for those too young to remember - millions of baby boomers learned the not-so-delicate skill of eating on the run.
Moms joined dads in the work force. Tykes tuned into television. Convenience foods proliferated on supermarket shelves.
And ``breakfast'' often came from packets of vitamin-fortified powder, stirred into whole milk and swallowed at warp speed by schoolchildren heading for the door.
Some 30 years later, those fast-moving boomers aren't babies anymore. But they are still on the go. And scores of new or repositioned products are promising to help them age healthfully.
Among the most aggressively marketed are liquid nutritional supplements with names like Ensure, Resource, Sustacal and Boost.
Upscale instant breakfasts, many nutritionists say.
Some of the products have been around since the '70s and were originally made for hospital and nursing-home patients too ill or feeble to eat solid food.
Now sold in six-packs, four-packs, three-packs and in single-serving cans and cartons, these ready-to-drink beverages are busting out of the nursing-home scene to command space on store shelves. They're showing up in magazine advertisements, Sunday coupon inserts and television commercials featuring fit fiftysomethings.
``Life is busy. You get hungry. Grab a can of Boost,'' reads an ad for the MeadJohnson supplement geared to 25- to 54-year-olds. The company also makes Sustacal, which has a following among seniors.
``The adult beverages category is expanding,'' reported this month's issue of Grocery Marketing magazine. ``According to A.C. Nielsen, this segment including complete nutritional beverage products, showed a 52 percent increase for the same 52-week period between 1994 and 1995. Sales in the category reached $280 million in 1994.''
Judy Foulke, a spokesman for the Food and Drug Administration, says the supplements used to be classified as ``medical foods.'' But now that the products are sold in grocery stores and drugstores, the FDA considers them ``foods for special dietary use.'' The category includes diet, infant and hypoallergenic foods, she says.
Because liquid supplements are going mainstream, Foulke says the FDA is ``looking to write regulations'' that better fit the products.
The American Dietetic Association says supplements can be beneficial as part of a balanced eating plan or for someone too ill to eat solid food. But it does not recommend substituting the beverages for meals.
While most of the beverages are loaded with protein, calcium and other nutrients - ``25 vitamins and minerals'' reads a can of Boost - they lack the fiber and antioxidants of a balanced diet, says ADA spokesman Connie Diekman, a registered dietitian in St. Louis.
The Boost label boasts antioxidants, however. And Ensure With Fiber is due out in July. Some liquid supplements tout high protein, low fat and even low calories.
Still, Diekman says, ``We try to recommend for the individual that is healthy, that they learn to incorporate foods from the Food Guide Pyramid.''
Diekman says liquids, no matter how nutrient-dense, don't satisfy appetites over time. ``Food should be enjoyed for its taste, texture. You can't use liquid forever.''
Even for the elderly, some nutritionists prefer to use liquid supplements sparingly.
``We encourage our people to eat regular food,'' says Shirley Patterson, a registered dietitian for Sentara Life Care in Norfolk.
``I feel like a supplement is maybe a last resort. . . . I don't like to see them used in place of meals unless it's absolutely necessary.''
For a less expensive alternative ``often exceeding'' the nutritional value of packaged drinks, Patterson says, mix about 8 ounces whole, low-fat or skim milk with a few teaspoons nonfat skim milk powder.
Frances Casper, a nutritionist with Consultants in Nutritional Services in Norfolk, says packaged instant-breakfast powders mixed with milk provide nearly identical nutrition for less money.
Drinking a supplement is better than skipping a meal - occasionally. But they aren't designed for weight loss. Several supplements are high in calories or fat. An 8-ounce can of Sustacal Plus contains 360 calories, 130 from fat, for example. An 8-ounce can of Ensure contains 225 calories, 54 from fat; an 8-ounce carton of Resource French Vanilla contains 250 calories, 80 from fat.
Prices at one local drugstore ranged from 69 cents for an 8-ounce can of Ensure to $10.99 for a six-pack.
If you prefer the convenience and don't mind the expense, nutritionists agreed the drinks make excellent snacks - especially in place of empty-calorie munchies.
``Food is the best source of vitamins and minerals,'' says Elizabeth Susich, of Golin/Harris Communications in Chicago, which represents Resource. Still, the products have a place in our eating plans, she says. ``This is a very healthy alternative to a Snickers and a Coke at 4 o'clock in the afternoon.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos by CANDICE C. CUSIC
The Virginian-Pilot
They may seem to pack the power of a glassful of vitamins, but
liquid nutritional supplements should be part of a balanced eating
plan.
While most of the nutritional supplements are loaded with protein,
calcium and other nutrients, they lack the fiber and antioxidants of
a balanced diet, says one dietitian.
by CNB