MAN FINDS SUCCESS WITH NUTRITIVE PILLS.

Byline: Deborah Adamson Daily News Staff Writer

When Elliott Balbert was a brand-new entrepreneur in the 1980s, he was an absolute failure.

``I am living proof that one businessman can do everything wrong and still survive,'' he says now.

At least he learned from his mistakes.

These days, Balbert's Natrol Inc. of Chatsworth - a maker of nutritional supplements such as vitamins, minerals and herbs - is not just surviving, it is thriving.

Earlier this year, Balbert became a finalist for the 1997 Greater Los Angeles Entrepreneur of the Year competition. That's for racking up an average sales growth of 50 percent annually in the last five years. Since 1980, Balbert has built his dietary supplement business into a $40 million-a-year operation.

Today, he is celebrating the grand opening of a 90,000-square-foot facility in Chatsworth. It is a state-of-the-art plant that manufactures products such as Siberian Ginseng pills, Digest Plus capsules and Cardio-Herb supplements.

The facility triples the company's former headquarters and plant, which was also in Chatsworth, as well as quadrupling its manufacturing capacity to 20 million bottles a year with the ability to expand to 100 million.

Natrol - created by combining the words ``natural'' and ``control'' - also plans to introduce 30 new products in the next 12 months to add to its slate of 80 offerings.

Balbert attributes the company's growth to increased advertising, expanded sales channels and the introduction of new products.

But most of all, he credits the sales gain to a skyrocketing demand for all-natural supplements by aging baby boomers concerned about their health.

``It's a veritable stampede right now,'' the 51-year-old Balbert said.

Since 1994, the nutritional supplement industry has almost doubled in sales from $6 billion to $11 billion, according to the National Nutritional Foods Association, an industry trade group in Newport Beach.

More than 100 million Americans take dietary supplements.

``The explosion is just great,'' said Michael Q. Ford, executive director of the trade group. ``People want to be in charge of their own health.''

The turning point for the industry came in 1994 with the passage of the Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act, he said. Before the act's passage, growth in the industry came slowly.

Under this legislation, dietary supplements can use healthful claims as long as labels don't say the products treat or stop diseases - assertions used in medicinal drug labels, said Arthur Whitmore, spokesman for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Washington.

For instance, it's OK for a product to say that it helps you get a good night's sleep but not to claim to cure insomnia.

Under the act, the burden falls on the FDA to prove that a dietary supplement is unsafe, Whitmore said.

Recently, the agency has taken steps to warn consumers against ephedrine, which is traditionally used for bronchial problems but lately is being taken to boost athletic performance and energy as well as to hasten weight loss.

That warning came after discovering 800 injuries related to ephedrine, including more than 30 deaths, Whitmore said.

Last week, the FDA also warned the public against the herbal product plaintain after a woman using the laxative ``Arise & Shine's Chomper'' was hospitalized with life-threatening heart problems.

The agency said the herb might have been contaminated with digitalis, a heart stimulant that can cause cardiac arrest. (The herb plaintain should not be confused with a tropical banana sold in supermarkets under the same name.)

In April, the National Institute on Aging warned consumers to be careful about taking ``anti-aging'' hormone supplements such as melatonin and DHEA.

Natrol sells melatonin and DHEA in tablet and capsule forms.

``There's clearly no scientific data (to prove) that these reverse the aging process at all,'' said NIA spokeswoman Jane Shure. ``For some, it's potentially hazardous.''

But the industry trade group believes the government is too cautious.

``I think it's very one-sided,'' said Ford of the National Nutritional Foods Association. ``There's no long-term safety data about the products, that's true. But it's wrong to say that there is no scientific data (for their health claims).''

He added: ``I don't see reports of massive deaths, bodies on the street.''

Balbert took his protest a step further. He mailed out 850 videos to TV stations across the country showing support for dietary supplements.

He used testimonials from nutrition experts to counter the NIA warnings, while not disputing that more testing could be done.

``We agree, but the NIA took a negative slant, that these could be harmful,'' Balbert said.

Admits Shure: ``It is a somewhat conservative position.''

Contrary to what some might believe, Balbert said the industry ``deals in science'' not old wives' tales.

``Our products are not a scam,'' he added. ``They are not a fake.''

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Chart

Photo: (1--Color) Elliott Balbert, president of Natrol Inc., stands in his vitamin and nutritive supplement company's new Chatsworth plant.

Terri Thuente/Daily News

(2--Color) No caption (Bottles of Natrol)

Chart: (Color) NATROL INC.