The other day I came across Balance of Nature Fruits and Veggies on the same day I was watching a movie with my eldest kid. The movie involved a futuristic version of society, in which the characters no longer needed to eat.
Instead, they got all the nutrition they needed from pills. “But won’t they be hungry?” she wisely pitched in. I can only imagine, I told her, that they also take a pill to make them feel full.
It can’t just be me who feels that this is exactly where, as a society, we are heading? Supplement makers are and have been for a while, selling to customers the idea of something as easy as a pill that will cut out all of the ‘hassle’ of eating whole foods and deriving nature’s bountiful health benefits.
This is why I think it’s really important, before parting with your hard-earned dollars, to do some research into what it really is that you receive in return. So here is my Balance of Nature review in full.
I tried over 77 brands: check out my round-up of the best powdered greens!).
What is Balance of Nature?
It’s not just standard vitamin pills anymore. In searching for this new wave of fruit and veggies superfood powders I’ve stumbled across a product called Balance of Nature, which comprises two forms of capsules of fruits and veggies powders.
The claim – which is by no means a new one – is that they are doing what all the others do only somehow better. The makers say that they don’t use heat to dehydrate their fruits and veggies, therefore retaining more of the ‘goodness’ and nutrition of the product. This is very intriguing and I’d like to know more.
Claiming to be ‘serious nutrition’ I’d like to know how Balance of Nature can deliver on the promises they make, so here’s my full Balance of Nature review.
Background on Balance of Nature
In 1996, Dr. Douglas Howard developed a form of dehydration called ‘flash drying’ which, it is claimed, retains 99% of the nutrients within fresh produce when reduced to a powdered form.
It is proposed that the whole process – which is done in low levels of heat, light, and air – purposefully limits the amount of oxidation from the produce and therefore all the goodness goes directly to you when you consume the powder.
Balance of Nature capsules come in fruit and veggie varieties, and the idea is that you take three a day, one alongside each meal, as a supplement to enable you to derive fruit and vegetable nutrition but without the hassle of preparing whole foods to eat.
But what about the fiber, I ask myself…
Their fiber products (Fiber & Spice) neatly package precisely the fiber you are missing out on by taking powdered fruits and vegetables.
The ‘whole health system’ (taking the fruit, veggie, and fiber all together) says it will simplify your life. Everything that your doctor or nutritionist says you should be getting more of, in terms of whole foods, you can buy from Balance of Nature and take in capsule (and powder) form. How neat!
How modern!
But how is this any different from the other green superfoods competition?
Not only do they set out to help you to eat more healthily, but Balance of Nature also offers a Health Coaching service that keeps you accountable for your health and fitness lifestyle choices, another aspect of the company which gives “added value” to the products.
Balance of Nature Ingredients
The fruit capsules contain a blend of the following ingredients:
The veggies capsules contain a blend of the following ingredients:
Now, rather than go into great detail about the health benefits of each individual fruit and vegetable, I’m going to talk about how the makers of this product have pitched the benefits to customers, and what my take is on this.
Firstly, they don’t give any amounts for their nutritional information. That means that how much of each ingredient is included in their blend is actually hidden from the customer.
This is disappointing. I’d like to know if I’m getting a full portion of cranberries in this blend, to say nothing of the amount of kale in the veggie blend.
It’s also a shame that so much of the information about this product is hidden inside their FAQ page of the website. There is very little up-front which tries to inform the customer about their preparation methods and the added value they claim to be giving customers.
What Balance of Nature says is that ‘how’ they have prepared the ingredients in the blend is as important as what actually goes into it. But my main concern is that this whole product line is actually missing the added benefits of eating whole foods.
As opposed to encouraging people to explore a diverse range of fresh foods in their diet, and thereby benefiting from the phytonutrients from each individual fruit or vegetable directly by eating them, we are being convinced to pay someone for their efforts in preparing these foods for us.
It seems slightly absurd. Especially when fruits and vegetables are so delicious!
How Does Balance of Nature Taste?
Because the formulation is enclosed in a capsule there is unlikely to be any discernible taste.
Side Effects
I would say that apart from the lack of fiber in the fruit and vegetable capsules there is unlikely to be a side effect to taking these capsules.
The only side effect I can foresee is if it actively prevents you from eating as much fresh fruit and vegetables as you ordinarily would, in which case you should increase your fiber intake.
Does Balance of Nature Actually Work?
The suggested serving size is 3 of each capsule; three fruits, and three veggies, so that means you are supposed to take six capsules per day. Now I am personally not keen on this. I don’t like (or even want to be) taking capsules at the best of times, so six per day is a stretch for me.
Each serving is a tiny 2.4grams.
What is included is a proprietary blend, so in not declaring exactly how much of each ingredient is included in the blend, the makers are also not able to really tell us what it can do.
This is my bottom line on all blends. They are not being transparent about the powerful ingredients they have included, and therefore I can’t be sure whether I’m really getting enough of each individual ingredient, apart from going on what the manufacturers have told me.
We are told that when we take Balance of Nature capsules we derive all the nutrition from 10 servings of a salad containing 31 ingredients. The equivalent – we are told – of eating a large fruit salad and a large vegetable salad. We are further told why this ‘nutritional equivalence’ is not a trick.
We are informed, in quite frankly a bizarre tangent from actual nutritional science, that this is a matter of “Total Surface Area” and that the nutrition of each food is enhanced by the process of powdering it.
I assume this to be more than a little misleading.
What you miss out on by taking only a supplement in place of fruit and vegetables includes more than just micronutrition (vitamins and minerals). Dietitians are often asked whether vegetable powders are as good as eating the real thing.
There is limited research into these products and therefore most ‘scientific’ findings are conveniently made by the manufacturers themselves. I don’t find this at all convincing.
I’ll say it again because it bears repeating, these proprietary blends just don’t cut it for me in terms of transparency and really knowing what’s inside the capsule.
Balance of Nature Reviews
The four customer reviews I found on Amazon range from one to five stars:
great products5 star
waste of time and money1 star
Money Back Guarantee / Returns Policy
You get a 30-day money-back guarantee as a Preferred Customer (see below for an explanation of the buying options).
Where to Buy Balance of Nature
You can buy Balance of Nature online on their website or on Amazon.
Is It Worth the Price?
At three capsules per day, 30 capsules are only going to last you ten days. This represents pretty poor value for money. But don’t forget, what you are buying is not just the product, you are also paying for a personal health coach to keep you on track with your goals. So, in pitching this as an added value, the makers of this simple powder-in-capsule-form have sold you something so much more valuable than just the health benefits of what is inside the pills.
You can buy as a Preferred Customer or as a Retail Customer. The price quoted online is currently $69.95 as a Preferred Customer. This gets you 90 capsules of each fruit and veggie type – a 30-day supply.
For $2.33 per day, this isn’t cheap as an alternative to eating fresh fruit and veggies, but as I said above it depends on what you are replacing the whole foods in your diet.
Pills like this shouldn’t be a meal replacement as they don’t represent the full nutritional scope of a varied diet. This is why if I am looking to supplement my diet with greens I prefer consuming powders over capsules – you simply get much more of the dosages of the ingredients you need.
Balance of Nature Verdict
I’m still wary of the concept of completely replacing whole foods with powders or capsules, although I definitely believe in the power of supplements to fulfill a nutritional need where the basics are not being met.
I don’t agree that you need to pay someone to dehydrate all your fruits and veggies, but I do think that supplementation can add powerful nutrients that may be missing from an otherwise healthy diet.
For me, these pills would only be a short stop-gap if my nutrition was under par and I was struggling to get any fresh fruits or veggies in my diet, but I’ll keep looking for a premium product that provides more bang for my buck.
LifeHacker Guy Greens Recommendation
Some Call This An "Extreme" Step...
Most super greens supplements are disappointing.
I learned this the hard way. After creating this blog in 2018, I spent months buying and testing all the most popular brands.
I wasn’t happy with the results so I did something you might call "extreme"....
In 2019 I created my own brand that ticks every single box of what I look for in a super greens product:
- No hidden ingredient amounts - we have full disclosure labelling, so you know EXACTLY whats inside
- Ingredient amounts that make a difference - we include the minimum effective amounts supported by research, and most of the time, MORE
- Ingredients that help immunity, boost mental clarity and shake off brain fog - making for a much more productive and happy lifestyle
No more worrying about ineffective ingredients or too low dosages. I finally have a product I KNOW does the job it’s made to do.
I use it every day and, after years of battling Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), I now have my energy (and my life!) back.
The good news? I made my brand available to the public so you can see and feel the difference for yourself.
Bo. 03/27/2021
All I want to see is the papers that list the hundreds of millions of nutrients that exist in every fruit and vegetable. If anyone knows how I can find that information please let me know.
First off there is not millions of natural chemicals in fruits and veggies. How can this guy sleep at night knowing that he cant backup his claims. Just eat the real thing .And most supplements and vitamins are passed on thru to the potty before they completley get into our systems. Save your money!
Each bottle provides only 10 doses! It’s far too expensive for so little quantity!
I was with you until you said you have your own product to sell.
Hi Harry,
The information provided in the review is based on the available facts on the supplement – this doesn’t change whether I am recommending an alternative or not. You can fact-check all the information in the review against the product to find this is the case. I do have an extensive background in this, from not just my Sports Science degree, but the last 2 years of my life have been focused on researching, testing, tasting, and producing superfood supplements.
You should consider any review, on my site or elsewhere on its merits. If you agree with my research great, not keen on my recommendations that is fine too.
Adam
I think this balance of baryre guy must be NY Mayor Bill De Blasio. Coincidence?
Harry J Houck Jr… Come on man… Lifehacker Guy is not trying hide his offering of his alternative product.
What you are completely overlooking is that Lifehacker Guy allows for full and complete exchange of ideas (comments) about Balance of Nature.
That is something almost no one else allows on their site.
I’ve looked all over the internet and this site is one of the very few where the truth about Balance of Nature is allowed to be posted.
There are SIXTY FOUR posts… and only three of them are by LifeHacker. If you read all the rest, including mine, you’ll end up seeing Balance of Nature for what it really is. Not a pretty picture about the distorted claims they make. Like, the six capsule daily dose equaling “over TEN servings of fruits and veggies”
A complete lie which is allowed to go out to hundreds of thousands of naive buyers who think they’re getting TEN servings.
Fleecing many seniors on fixed incomes.
It is too bad there aren’t more sites like this one.
LifeHacker allows everyone to post almost anything, any opinion, about Balance of Nature’s true facts.
So, Harry J Houck Jr, why don’t you give us your own analysis of Balance of Nature’s claims. If you don’t think they are cheating people with their wild claims, then tell us what you think the real truth is.
Free speech is give and take. Sites where both sides are allowed.
That is the value of this site’s “comments section”
Disappointed too. Cant seem to get info without the sales pitch
Barbara, there are over 66 posts here, many with great details, facts, and analysis of Balance of Nature.
Almost all of which have nothing to do with the owner of this site. Much to his credit for allowing a open and free flowing discussion of the topic.
So how can you say you “Can’t seem to get info without a sales pitch” ?
Are you unable to gain a significant understanding from the other 60+ posts?
In my prior posts I’ve made a great effort to give all the facts I’ve gathered about Balance of Nature.
What more do you want or need to understand?
Just ask and I’ll try to not only answer your question, but when possible I will give you links to where I found the information.
Often times from scrutinizing Balance of Nature’s “claims” on their own site as well as from online viewing of their current and older commercials.
Eat fresh fruit and exercise. This elixir is a bunch of marketing bullshit. All of it. if you want the benefits of fruits and vegetables, buy some fruits and vegetables and eat them. For fucks sake people , their ain’t no free lunch. This is a bigger scam than mona Vie or Amway and only proves that a good marketing team could convince most idiots that a capsule full of turds will make you a rockstar. In the words of P T Barnum, “There is a sucker born every minute.”
I don’t think you understand what a consumer is looking for. Myself, there is no way I can possibly eat the amount of recommended servings per day of fruits and vegetables. Whether it be too much food per day and/or not having the time to get actually eat them all. For most, it’s a lot of food. I don’t think people are looking to replace meals however, I think they are looking to supplement what they are unable to get in each day. Most days I don’t eat fruit. My lunch will consist of 3/4 veggies & dinner I’ll have a vegetable & always a salad. Though I agree I would like to see what % of what is put i balance of nature, it would be nice to see something out there to help supplement all natural, no gmo’s etc. to ensure you’ll get servings of fruits and vegetables to help you supplement what you cannot eat.
Let’s try this again. I have seen your product promotions and they sure sound good. Looks like it’s successful to boot.
I have a small question in the process to get the nutrients into capsules.
I would like to know how much powder is produced from say, one slice of apple – skin on? Would this amount of powder fit into one capsule?
I don’t believe it would. My point is then, how much does go in. How then is it possible to share the space with all the other fruits or vegetables. How much nutrition can you fit in one capsule (without some other serious process to concentrate nutrients, not mentioned in their promotions)?
You can do the simple math. The end product in a daily dose of 6 capsules is a combined 4.8 grams. The company says they get the 4.8 grams after removing only “air and water” from the “whole produce”…
—And YES, according to Dr. Howard, they include the fiber in that 4.8 grams. AS he says in his infomercials, the “whole fruit” and the “whole vegetable” removing only inedible parts like the banana peel.
Then they state that fruits and vegetables are 85% water. In earlier statements they use a 90% figure for the water weight.
Thus the 4.8 grams is derived from a maximum of 48 grams of fresh produce, fiber and all.
A small apple weighs about 100 grams… thus 48 grams is less than one serving in six capsules. Not the claim the company makes over and over and over, that you will be getting “OVER TEN servings of fruits and veggies from your combined daily dose of 6 capsules.
So Balance of Natures boastful claims are TEN times reality.
They count on consumers, mostly seniors, to never do the math.
They are correct in their judgement of customer’s lack of investigation.
Lets take another look at it from a different perspective.
They directly sell the products on Amazon, where they answer questions. They are the “Seller” and the “Shipper”…
Thus the answers labeled “Seller” are answers from the company directly.
Here is one question and answer that is most revealing of the true content on the daily six capsules.
————————————–
Question: How many calories per capsule or dosage?
Answer: A serving of the Fruits (3 capsules) has 7 calories, and a serving of the Veggies (3 capsules) has 7 calories.
By Balance of Nature Inc SELLER on February 5, 2021
—————————————-
3 Fruit capsules have only 7 calories….
A small apple has about 70 calories….
Do the math, you are getting one TENTH of a apple in 3 capsules.
3 Veggie capsules have only 7 calories
A medium carrot has about 25 calories.
Do the math, you are getting less than one THIRD of a carrot.
So for your six capsules combined, you are not getting even close to ONE full serving of produce. YET all over their advertising and their website, they have stated for years that you will be getting
“Over ten servings of fruits and vegetables from the daily six capsules”
The level of their deception is truly extraordinary, yet hundreds of thousands of suckers just accept it (especially seniors, many on fixed incomes)
BTW, for those doubters who think that the “flash drying” process used by Balance of Nature has some magic, it is just a form of dehydration after which they just grind up the remains into powder.
Dehydration removes the water. Not the calories, or carbs, or the fiber.
Thus their company stated math reveals the true amounts of actual fruits and veggies you are getting, which is almost nothing compared to their wildly exaggerated claims.
Enjoyed your reply – Thanks Ron
I don’t have $1200 a year to spend on vitamin supplements. I’m 75 and healthy. So I don’t think Balance of Nature is something I need to add to my daily routine.
Balance of Nature and its founder Dr. Douglas Howard, were cited by the FDA in a lengthy Warning Letter back on August 20, 2019. Issues cited included failure to maintain good manufacturing practices and proper manufacturing records, claims by BoN of a medicinal nature thus the product is considered a drug by the FDA, also related claims of efficacy in preventing illness etc, labeling issues, namely failing to abide by labeling standards set by the FDA and by federal law including a breakdown of ingredients by weight and other nutritional info found on every food related product.
When I asked BoN for more nutritional info they pointed me to the page with pictures of the supposed ingredients listed alphabetically.
I could go on. Suffice it to say, Dr. Howard has not changed his practices since receiving the FDA Warning Letter.
Caveat Emptor, caveat emptor
The false and misleading testimonials are a total disgrace= BoN has no integrity . The one where a “Dr. Looking Guy” says he has a 2 masters degrees and has been in main steam health care for 20 years is such fraud. He claims he was in a study and BoN was significantly successful in folks who stayed on drug for one year. What about the folks who quits.
All such trials must be registered with the FDA. The FDA website that liss all current and past trials has no such trial registered/ IT IS A BoN LIE.
Lets face it, most of us really do not eat enough fruits and vegetables. To me, the only real issue with this product is the cost. Way outside most of our budgets and I will not be purchasing. But I did buy a freeze dryer for our garden excess production and will also be using it to make my own fruit and vegetable supplements… I won’t eat beets and kale, but if I don’t have to taste it then why not…lol
“It’s all there….Just as mother nature intended…”
Haha what a joke!
I agree with you
It’s pretty strange that all the folks who indorse this product are chiropractors, optometrists and nurses. Have not seen any recommendations by Doctors of Medicine come forward to recommend this product. Wonder why?????
Exactly
To be a real physician takes years of highly advanced science courses and years of clinical work and residences
Chiropractors are not physicians
Optometrists are not physicals
The only real physicians are MD’s and DO’s
Is it still foolish if you are one of those rare people that don’t touch fruit or vegetables?
Perhaps the biggest side effect is the amount of money wasted by foolish consumers.
The BoN home page refers to it as ‘real food’ yet the bottles carry a Supplement Label rather than a Nutritional Label. Big difference!
That’s a bit over one thousand dollars for a year of powder.
I’m not the best person on having a daily diet of fruits. Apparently not eating fruits won’t kill you, I’m 70. I’m a country boy and love vegetables
A pill form food doesn’t have me jumping up and down over the idea.
I get it that’s it’s a “food” supplement.
Tried for 8 months without benefit. Expensive.
another to good to be true! I guess if I was on a space ship going to another galaxy I would be happy with powdered fruits and vegetables. But since I an stuck on the third rock from the sun I will just eat the real thing. I have a masters degree and was a registered nurse for 40 years and retired from the US Army as a Lieutenant Colonel.
WHERE r they made
That is my question too… there is no mention of the quality of the original food, if pesticides were used, is it shipped in from china, or where the capsules are made. Big NOPE for me!
May be made in Russia where their research was done – on rats & not humans!
They almost had my stupid a??.
I agree. I look at these ads and other and just go “What!” If they just dehydrated fruits and vegetables where’s the fiber? I think our gut health and natural biom in our bodies are not supported by these products. I like the idea of making sure you get all your micro minerals and vitamins, but no powder is going to replace the nuance and synergy of real fruits and vegitables.
They’re not trying to replace anything it is a supplement.