The world of Tzu Chi (Vol.109)

2019 • 04 58 ellness A Conversation with My Mother on Dietary Supplements I took off my shoes and settled myself, cross- legged, on my chair. My fingers started dancing all over the keyboard. My mother left her room, pulled up a chair and sat herself opposite me. Her gaze was fixed on the assortment of dietary supplements and medications lined up on the table. As I was busy translating my thoughts into words on the computer screen, my mother vented her troubles. “Taking this pill after breakfast gives your heart a boost, apparently. I have trouble walking steadily because I have a weak heart,” surmised my mother with a capsule in one hand, while handing me a packet of traditional Chinese medicine with the other, before proceeding to swallow the capsule in one gulp. She continued, “But Dr Lee reminded me to take my medications for stroke and high blood pressure after breakfast daily. I am fed up with taking so many pills every day.” I finished typing the last sentence of the first paragraph of my writing and closed my laptop. I turned to face my mother and said, “I remember Dr Lee mentioned your unsteady gait is associated with your cognitive functions, not your heart.” Her immediate response was, “Talking to you really drives me up the wall!” We fell silent. Seconds later, my mother pointed towards an intricately designed box containing an unknown powder, and chattered on. “Taking this supplement makes you so healthy that even if there are any tumours growing in the body, What would happen if a salesperson touts misleading claims on dietary supplements to someone diagnosed with a health condition to the extent that the person believes the claims wholeheartedly and delays treatment until it is too late? Would the salesperson take responsibility for making such unfounded claims? they will naturally shrink and be expelled,” she claimed.Mymother’s exaggeratedendorsements of her dietary supplements, as if they were magicians with the miraculous ability to heal ailments with a wave of the wand, sent chills coursing through my spine. “What would happen if a salesperson touts the same claim to someone who is really diagnosed with a tumour, misleading that person to rely on the supplements and delay treatment until it is too late? Would the salesperson take responsibility for making such extravagant claims?” I retorted. Dietary supplements do not possess any healing properties. But, in their bid to persuade consumers to part with hundreds of Ringgits, some salespersons make false and far-fetched proclamations that after consuming the supplements they are trying to sell for 30 days, any tumour found in the body will shrink by itself and be expelled. Mymother startedbehaving likean inquisitive student, asking, “Why are these supplements so expensive if they weren’t effective?” Chuckling, I replied, “The price of a supplement does not necessarily correspond to its effectiveness. It depends on the manufacturer’s business acumen. If there is demand for the supplements despite their high price, the manufacturer will continue to supply them. The authorities won’t bother testing the products one by one for their purported effectiveness.” “Wouldn’t the manufacturers be taken to task if these supplements are found to be ineffective?” Translated by Yip Sook Ying