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.
Awful value for the money. If anyone wants to try this, go to Walmart and their BOUNTIFUL NATURE item is the same. I wanted some vitamins, just because I’m not a huge vegie fan. And in asking a nurse about the recommended daily dose of Balance of Nature, I was told 6 daily is way more than necessary. I don’t have the finances to pay big bucks for much of anything, let alone vitamins. I’d purchase a liquid multi-vitamin if I could keep it refrigerated. I live in assisted living so I don’t have that option. So with the Walmart item, I take one every 3 days, switching back and forth between fruits and vegies. I want 90 days each to last. As long as I get some supplement, I’m fine. But the Walmart item is HALF the price of the TV brand, and ‘overdosing’ is not necessary.
is there sugar , processed or natural in this product?
Anyone with half a brain should be able to see through this scam. Spend your money on fresh fruits and vegetables, avoid thus scam.
Impossible to cancel. Don’t get caught in this web of nonsense
I am a retired psychologist who is being driven crazy by the endless commercials for this stuff, not just because they are so deceptive, but because the vast sums they spend on advertising shows these crooks are making money hand over fist. I have researched this stuff at length, and these capsules are absolutely WORTHLESS as nutritional supplementation. First, the chiropractor Dr. Howard did NOT invent freeze-drying; it’s been around since the ’60s, as any drinker of instant coffee knows. The process ONLY removes water, leaving all else behind. So, 10-13 servings of fruits and veggies, with the water removed, should have EXACTLY as many calories as the whole foods; in fact, no matter how you do it, you can’t get this quantity of food without at least a couple of hundred calories. The full serving of pills, as you note, contains all of 15 calories, so it is clear that the amount of foodstuff in these pills, in all, amounts to LESS than even ONE serving of veggies. The label also notes that there are three grams of carbohydrates in the six pills, and three grams of carbohydrates easily accounts for all 15 calories. Carbohydrates are SUGAR AND STARCHES, which provide nothing but empty calories. And of course, this is logical: if you remove all the water from any fruit or vegetable, most of what you have left is carbohydrates and fiber. So “Balance Of Nature” is truly unique, but in being the world’s most expensive sugar pills, and you know the other name for sugar pills: placebos, medicines that have no effect other than people thinking they do. And THAT, my friends, accounts for all the glowing testimonials to how people’s lives were changed by taking this stuff: after paying $100 a month to take 12 pills a day, OF COURSE people think it’s helping! When you spend a lot of time and money on something, it has a profound effect on your mind, especially if its’ bolstered by constant hype on media and nice touches like pretty packaging. When I was a psychology consultant, sometimes I provided advice to a client for free, and sometimes they paid as much as $300 an hour. It’s amazing how much more effective my words were when people were paying good money for them!
i take a allegry pill i have been told not to eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice, there is grapefruit i these pill s iis that safe for mr?
It is ridiculous to think that these pills are anywhere close to being a serving of fruits or vegetables. It’s dried and powdered food! Each capsule probably contains, at most, the equivalent of one-maybe two strawberries, or 4 blueberries. You said they are just over 2 grams each! These are not chemicals like a multi-vitamin which can give you the recommended value of vitamins and minerals. The fact that there is no nutritional value listed makes it absolutely sketchy. Any perceived benefit is a placebo effect. I’m so sick of the commercials and knowing that people are being mislead.
I took the full dose of the pills and did not feel any better or worse. I think they ae useless and costly. They need to list the amount of each ingredient so a user can tell what they are consuming. I want my money back but I don’t think that will happen. from M.
Exactly right Michael. This is the reason why I put my greens together in the first place! I wanted to know exactly the dosage and to know it was in sufficient quantities to actually work.
Adam
Apple seeds contain cyanide. What do they do with the cyanide?
My first major in College was Agronomy. I know a bit about Plants and science, and how nutrients work. Peach pits have cyanide also. Peach pits contain amygdalin—a substance that can create cyanide when digested by enzymes in the gut. The seeds of many types of fruit in the family Prunus, (e.g., peaches, apricots, cherries, and plums) contain amygdalin. Almonds are the seeds of a plant in this family as well but are safe to eat.
Human food was designed to work best in humans. Enzymes breakdown what the body needs to nourish itself. If you bypass your body’s mechanisms, that can’t be good. There’s no short cuts.
Were it only that easy that taking six capsules per day would make you feel so much better and so much healthier. I suffer from severe fibromyalgia and am in constant pain. Pain pills kill my pain for 4 to 5 hours. I don’t think for a moment that these six capsules would kill my pain and make me feel so much better. And at $89.95 per month, that is one of the most expensive supplements I have ever heard about. My pain pills cost me $60.00 for three months, with my health insurance, and are very effective. These supplements are never covered by health insurance, as they are not studied or verified by the FDA.
Are there any nutrional charts available showing how much of each vitamin and mineral each dose contains (recommended daily requirements)?
I have been scouring the internet myself for just such studies, but they are hard to find. I did find one analysis that simply looked at Vitamin C, something that is essential in the diet, meaning that without it, we actually get sick, in this case with the disease scurvy. The study found all of 1 milligram of Vitamin C in the “Fruits” pill (and even less in the “Veggies”), which is roughly 1% of the amount needed per day just to prevent scurvy (75-120 mg), never mind to promote optimal health.
These ‘ glowing’ testimonials are by individuals. They should not be taken seriously for everyone. We need fruits and vegetables in our daily diet. Who wants a fruit and vegetable supplement on their plate with Thanksgiving dinner? Or any meal. No supplements should be taken so seriously. They promote with doctors. And it is more expensive than real fruit and vegetables. I want to taste them. Not just swallow a capsule. Plus even though I know they cause severe diarrhea in people, they still take them! Unbelievable.
My observation. On the bottles they do not provide vitamin percentages. If the product is indeed fruits and veggies then there must be vitamins. Why isn’t this provided to the consumer?
I gave the product a chance and after 3 months of wasting money and feeling no affect I stopped taking. It is a total rip off. Don’t waste time and money on something that is supposed to be super foods. Eat right is the answer.
They don’t list nutritional information like vitamins because there are virtually no vitamins or other important nutrients in them. One web site owner I told this to said, well, with all the good stuff in them, they must have SOME vitamins. While this is technically true, unless you eat a whole bottle a day, they won’t add up to enough to do a thing for you.
My guess is they are 99% soy flour with a small amount of a couple other ingredients thrown in for color.
By reducing fresh fruits and vegetables these folks must be wasting tons of food. Their waste will cause the prices of fresh produce to the point where many less affluent folks will be unable to feed their families nutritious meals.
Just another BS scam. If you really want to throw your money away…….give it to a charity instead of buying someone their next yacht.
I agree!
What a joke. $70 per month for pills. Such a scam. But if you’re too lazy to feed yourself real food, BoN is probably better than eating cat poop.
Their advertising alone screams SCAM.
– Their first ads have this earnest “nutritionist” saying he sometimes gets busy and forgets to eat his fruits & veggies. Really? A nutritionist who regularly screws up his diet? Then I sure don’t want to hire him to advise me on my diet!
– their current ad campaign has upped the ante, to I suppose the real goal, which is to get you to simply take these pills INSTEAD OF actually eating any of the right foods. These ads try to convince you that it is cheaper!! to take the pills vs eating fruits and veggies. Uh, no. Not even close.
If these people are really nutritionists, they are committing malpractice – no honest practitioner would recommend that approach.
Final note – this product seemed to have come out of nowhere, and they are advertising very, very heavily. There is a ton of money pushing these. That usually suggests some hedge fund or other mega-investor trying to get rich(er) off unsuspecting consumers.
Total 100% snake oil, whoever would ingest any product, especially a supplement, that doesn’t list the nutritional value of the supplement, is simply buying a marketing version of a get rich quick scheme, simply repackaged as a get healthy quick scheme. There’s a reason they don’t tell you how much vitamin C is in the capsule, and it’s because it’s an infinitesimal amount. Paying their price for a “Mystery Pill”, is like listening to Bernie Madoff saying, “Trust me”. I’m disappointed your critique didn’t point this out forcefully.
I agree. My senior client gets diarrhea almost daily. Sometimes ‘ explosive diarrhea’. I mean to the point of running out of him like a faucet. Plus his diarrhea causes discoloration to the seat if we don’t get him there fast enough. Yellow stain that doesn’t come off. It’s a plain ruse. The testimonials are ridiculous. Actually paid for. Especially doctors.
Is there sodium in balance of nature food in vegetables
I think it’s a great supplement, but I stress supplement. I have some health issues and I’m a very busy parent and I work. It’s great to know on nights when we get less than adequate nutrition we still had some greens/veggies and fruit. This is not our sustenance but a great back up. A lot of people also don’t think about this but for some people who are on very low calorie, very low carb diets with slow metabolisms and you can’t eat a lot of fruit or even orange veggies this is a great supplement during these times. Having autoimmune hypothyroidism and other conditions this has definitely helped me feel better and finally (not a claim of the product but want to mention) I’m losing less hair. All my dieting to try and be healthy and thin has a side effect, losing hair and I tried so many different things and I’ve only used this product for 2 + months and my hair is coming back! It could be a coincidence or something else but it’s the only true change I made that was like wow my thinning hair is coming back. All in all it’s probably not the best for everyone and young, healthy thin people that aren’t dieting should eat all the good orange vegetables and fruits they can get but for some people like me it’s helpful. I will say if you have allergies make sure you read everything carefully bc I am allergic to strawberries so can’t use the fruit capsules but my husband and son can take them. Just my take…
You state, “It’s great to know on nights when we get less than adequate nutrition we still had some greens/veggies and fruit.” My guess, as a retired psychologist, is that this comforting thought is the source of whatever benefit you perceive. The mind is a powerful source of wellness.