Our Nutritionist's Honest Review of Balance of Nature Supplements
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Did you know that only 1 in 10 adults gets enough fruits and vegetables in their diet? It's no wonder that fruit and vegetable powders and supplements, like those sold by Balance of Nature, have caught on. These supplements can be a quick and easy way to incorporate produce into your routine, but you'll inevitably be missing out on the synergistic nutrition benefits that come with eating whole fruits and vegetables.
Balance of Nature is a popular fruit and veggie supplement system that has taken social media by storm. But is the brand legit, and are the supplements worth the high price point? As a nutritionist, I evaluated the supplements myself to give you my honest review. Here's everything you need to know about Balance of Nature, including its cost and the brand's quality control standards.
Editor’s note: Balance of Nature was recently court-ordered to stop manufacturing and selling its products until they demonstrate compliance with FDA regulations. In response, the brand has stated on its website that it "does not claim to treat or cure any disease" and, as of now, its products are still available to purchase on the brand's website and Amazon.
What is Balance of Nature?
Founded by retired chiropractic physician Douglas Howard, Balance of Nature started in the 1990s. The brand aims to provide a "convenient and consistent way for you to get whole fruits and vegetables," according to the company's website. Howard developed the Balance of Nature Fruits & Veggies supplement in 1997, made with freeze-dried produce to enable people to get a variety of different fruits and vegetables daily. The brand has since expanded to include other products. "Balance of Nature products are the culmination of Howard’s passion for people, health and science," the company website says.
How does Balance of Nature work?
The brand is best known for its Fruits & Veggies supplements, which contain 31 fruits and vegetables. In the Fruits supplement, you'll find 16 different fruits including aloe vera, apple, banana, blueberry, cherry, cranberry, grape, grapefruit, lemon, mango, orange, papaya, pineapple, raspberry, strawberry and tomato. In the Veggies supplement, there is a blend of 15 different vegetables including broccoli, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, cayenne pepper, celery stalk, garlic, kale, onion, shiitake mushroom, soybean, spinach, wheatgrass, sweet potato and zucchini.
Balance of Nature also offers a Fiber & Spice supplement to help people get more fiber. This product is a blend of four whole fiber sources and 12 spices. It contains whole psyllium husk, whole apple, whole monk fruit, whole flax seed, allspice, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, coriander, cumin, fennel seed, fenugreek, ginger, mustard seed, nutmeg and turmeric.
Balance of Nature cost
The brand offers a variety of products and options to purchase one time or through subscribe and save. The product portfolio includes:
Fruits & Veggies: $89.95 (22% off discount available if you subscribe)
Fiber & Spice: $69.95 (29% off discount available if you subscribe)
Whole Health System: $159.95 (31% off discount available if you subscribe)
Those who subscribe to the products will receive free priority shipping, convenient shipments every 28 days and a 30-day money-back guarantee. There is also an additional $24.95 one-time member fee. If you opt for a one-time purchase, you won't receive any of these perks and will lose the option for a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Our experience testing Balance of Nature
Ordering & delivery
I chose to order the supplements directly on the brand's website, though they are also available on Amazon and a few other retailers. The ordering process was pretty straightforward. I ordered the Whole Health System, which includes all of the brand's products, but you can also opt for just the Fruits & Veggies or only for the Fiber & Spice.
After I placed the order, I was told that it had shipped two business days later. Nearly two weeks after that, I still had not received the product. Based on the tracking information, the product was still in pre-shipment and hadn't even been sent to the mail carrier. When I contacted customer support, they said that there was a small backlog that should be caught up shortly and that the product should start moving any day now. This was a frustrating experience as I wouldn't have known this unless I had reached out. I did finally receive the product — over three weeks after placing my order.
Size, scent & texture
A few things that stood out to me were the size of the pills. They are on the larger size and a serving requires three capsules, which is quite substantial. If you are taking both the Fruits and Veggies supplements, that adds up to six pills a day. The brand's website does say that you can chew or swallow the capsules, which is interesting.
On the plus side, there seems to be just produce in the blends and no additives or fillers, and the pills did have a fruit and veggie scent to them. Meanwhile, the spice product had a sawdust consistency and I found it very difficult to mix into a variety of liquids. It also had a very distinct smell of pungent spices — between the odor and consistency, I would have a difficult time trying to get this down every day. However, I did not ingest the products myself because I am currently six months pregnant and also was concerned about some issues the brand is having with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Claims & quality control
I was able to chat with a customer service representative on the brand's website to ask a few questions pertaining to quality control standards. When asked about third-party testing, the representative replied that Balance of Nature periodically conducts third-party testing on incoming products as well as on their finished products. The testing confirms that pesticides and heavy metals are below established limits, according to the representative. They also noted that Balance of Nature does have a vendor qualification program verifying the absence of undesirable chemicals. But none of the Balance of Nature products have a third-party testing certification.
When asked about Certificates of Analysis (COAs), which are documents that show you everything that's in the product and what's not, the representative said that with the brand's periodic testing, they do have finished product COAs. but that these are for internal records only. I probed deeper to understand their internal quality control standards, since keeping the finished product COA's internal felt like a red flag to me.
Credible brands will openly provide a COA, especially if requested by the customer. The representative replied, "Thank you for your question! While I don't have a specific answer to your question, be assured we take quality control very seriously." There was no mention of standards or any specific quality control measures that the brand takes. Although on the brand's website, it says, "We have very stringent standards, and we test all of the products we get for color, smell and taste."
I also noticed that the brand claims that the powder is "vegan friendly," gluten-free and non-GMO. When asked about these claims, the representative said that the products do not contain wheat kernel, which is where gluten comes from. They also said that they do not use GMO products or synthetics and that no animal products are used in their Fruits & Veggies.
Additionally, the brand has received numerous FDA warning letters for problematic claims in which the FDA cited multiple videos and written materials in which Balance of Nature supplements were credited with treating or even curing several diseases and ailments, including cancer and diabetes. However, on the brand's website, we found that it currently says, "Balance of Nature does not claim to treat or cure any disease." The brand's manufacturer, Premium Production, was cited for failing to comply with Current Good Manufacturing Practices established with FDA regulations as well. Ultimately, the brand has been court-ordered to stop manufacturing and selling its products until it demonstrates compliance with FDA regulations.
Is Balance of Nature worth it?
Pros
Capsules can be swallowed or chewed
No additives or fillers, according to the brand
Vegan-friendly
Cons
Expensive
Large serving size of six capsules daily
Third-party testing is only "periodic" and no results available to customers
Delivery issues and delays
Since Balance of Nature has been ordered to stop manufacturing and sales until they come into compliance with FDA regulations, I can't confidently recommend this product. Between the high cost, lofty claims and delivery issues, there were many issues with my experience. The daily serving size of six capsules is excessive, and the consistency and smell of the Spice powder were off-putting.
Our recommended alternatives
Consider opting for Athletic Greens or another greens powder from a credible brand that does extensive third-party testing. Athletic Greens is transparent about its quality control standards, maintains Full Batch Manufacturing Records, and its hero product, AG1, is registered as a Certified for Sport product under NSF International, which keeps some of the strictest industry regulations available today. Ultimately, fruits and veggies in their whole food form should be prioritized before any powders or supplementation.
A supplement should do just that: supplement the diet, not replace high-quality, nutritious food and important healthy lifestyle practices. As always, check with your healthcare provider before starting any dietary supplement regimen.
Why trust Good Housekeeping?
As director of the Good Housekeeping Institute Nutrition Lab, Registered Dietitian Stefani Sassos handles all nutrition-related content, product testing and evaluation. She stays up-to-date on the latest research to provide evidence-based reporting on all things diet and nutrition. Stefani runs and oversees supplement testing and analysis for Good Housekeeping and has covered several other supplements, including multivitamins, vegan protein powders, vitamin D and joint supplements.
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