Persiba Balikpapan Wants to Ban Nasi Goreng. Is It Really That Bad For You?

You could call it the world's most expensive plate of nasi goreng.

Persiba Balikpapan's manager banned the team from eating the tasty street food staple for the entire season, warning that anyone caught indulging in a plate of this MSG-flavored treat would have to fork over Rp 5 million—roughly the cost of 500 plates of this ubiquitous dish.

"If I hear word of any player eating nasi goreng, there will be a direct fine of five million," Milomir Seslija reportedly said. "I have many friends there [in Malang]. If my friends catch a player eating nasi goreng, they'll send pictures to me. That way I can fine the player."

Milo is famously for his strict and unusual training methods. In the past, he's barred players from using the internet before or during games. And, from the looks of it, Beruang Madu could use all the help they can get. The club is in last place in the league, but only time will tell if it was all that sticky kecap manis that was slowing them down.

Milo's bizarre methods have seemed to work in the past. He did win trophies with Arema Malang when they were on his short leash. In a weird twist of fate, Persiba is now playing out of Malang's Gajayana Stadium instead of their home city of Balikpapan. So when Milo says he has friends in the city, he likely means it.

But just how bad for you is a plate of nasi goreng? I called Jansen Ongko, a professional nutritionist and sports science educator, to find out.

VICE Indonesia: Is nasi goreng really that dangerous?
Jansen Ongko: Nasi goreng isn't a hazardous meal, but it isn't exactly an ideal choice for an athlete either. It's hard to calculate its nutritional value, because the recipes vary according to each nasi goreng vendor. Not only that, but it's toppings of fried eggs and shrimp crackers are seemingly inseparable from the dish. Maybe that's the reason the Persiba coach forbids his players from eating nasi goreng.

What are the effects of eating a lot of nasi goreng?
The calorie count of a plate of nasi goreng is inconsistent, it's between 400 and 700 calories, but it all depends on the toppings and how it's prepared. In a plate of plain nasi goreng, the highest contributor in calories would be the rice and the fats contained in the frying oil.

If you're an office worker or a college kid, someone who is physically inactive to begin with, then you should try and limit your servings of nasi goreng to one a day, since it fulfills one-quarter to one-third of your daily required caloric intake.

Why do you think the team took nasi goreng off the menu?
It seems the Persiba manager does have an understanding of sports nutrition. Eating patters do dictate performance.

So do Indonesian athletes need to pay more attention to their diets?
Yes, their eating habits are still below par.

Some coaches still think that the food found in hotel buffets are enough to fulfill the nutritional requirements of their athletes. But if we're talking about nutrition, you need to remember that too much food is also a form of malnutrition. What athletes need are precise calculations of their nutritional intake if they're aiming for a win.

There needs to be a greater understanding of sports nutrition, even more so in the field of athletics, in Indonesia. Some cases show that when clinical nutritionists are put in place instead of specialists in sports nutrition, it can lead to a failure on the pitch.