BALANCE OF NATURE: ANOTHER OVER-HYPED, PHONY, AND EXPENSIVE PRODUCT

In my review of various “Fruits” and “Veggies” pill supplements that are heavily promoted, we can conclude the following: Although no significant contamination has been detected in any of the various products, none were considered particularly worthwhile because they don’t provide anything near the equivalent of the daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables as they suggest. Based on the USDA’s recommendations, adults should get about 2 cups of fruits and 3 cups of vegetables daily — totaling 5 cups of fresh produce. Dried powder, as contained in various supplements, would weigh far less than the whole products. As a result, these supplements each provide far less than the suggested daily requirements and at much higher cost than an equivalent amount of fresh produce.

Regarding “Balance of Nature”: A full day’s serving of Balance of Nature’s Fruits and Veggies capsules provide only about 10% of the daily recommended intake of fruits and 7% of recommended intake of vegetables. These capsules cost as much as $3 per day. A single apple could easily provide a larger amount of macro nutrients than a full daily serving of both products combined and at much lower cost. Supporting these deficiencies, the distributor of Balance of Nature Supplements agreed to pay $1.1 million dollars in penalties, investigative costs, and customer restitution to settle a lawsuit in California charging that the company made false and misleading claims regarding the equivalence of one serving of its products to five servings of fruit or 10 servings of salad, Moreover, penalties extended to unsupported claims that the supplements could prevent or treat diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and other conditions.

In contrast to a promotional video that seems to suggest Balance of Nature’s “Fruits” and “Veggies” capsules supplements supply “complete” augmentation, they actually fail to provide the equivalent of the daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables, These supplements are promoted as blends of 16 whole fruits or 15 whole vegetables, respectively. Each product is to be taken as 3 capsules daily providing a total of about 2 grams of dried and powdered fruit or vegetables. However, it is unlikely that these daily servings of capsules yield anywhere near the amounts of fruit or vegetables in the USDA’s recommendations for adults, as noted above. Two grams of powder in a daily serving of “Fruits” or “Veggies” would likely represent only 20 grams of fresh fruits or vegetables. Just one cup of fresh fruit or vegetables weighs, roughly, 100 grams, so a suggested 3-capsule daily serving of “Fruits” or “Veggies” would seem to provide the equivalent of only about 1/5th of a cup of fresh fruit or vegetables, providing only about 10% of the daily recommended intake of fruits and 7% of recommended intake of vegetables. In addition, the Supplement Facts labels on these supplements do not list the amounts of vitamins or minerals they may provide: They list only the amount of carbohydrates in a 3-capsule serving: 2 grams in “Fruits” and 1 gram in “Veggies.”

These products are also expensive. “Fruits” and “Veggies” supplements appear to be only sold together, and the combined cost to get a 90-capsule bottle of each (i.e., a 30-day supply) is about $90 (or about $70 on a continuing basis), so you’ll be spending as much as $3 per day and will still need to get about 90% of your fruits and vegetables from fresh produce. In short, although the dried fruit and vegetable powders that you get from these products may be okay, it appears that you’re not getting much for your money.

Now the product is in legal hot water, required to pay $1.1 million in false-advertising settlement!

Utah-based supplement company Evig, doing business as Balance of Nature, has agreed to pay $850,000 in civil penalties and investigative costs and $250,000 in customer restitution to settle a consumer protection lawsuit filed by the California Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. The company was charged with making unlawful false advertising claims for its dietary supplements, purportedly made from ground-up fruit and vegetables and sold in capsule form. Under the settlement, the company is prohibited from claiming:

• its supplements can prevent, treat, or cure serious diseases including diabetes, fibromyalgia, arthritis, heart disease, and cancer
• one serving of one product contains the nutritional equivalent of five servings of fruit
• one serving each of two of their products would provide as much nutrition as 10 servings of salad

The company recommended that customers take 12 capsules each of its Fruits and Veggies supplements if they had been “diagnosed with life threatening illness.” Balance of Nature was also charged with using customer testimonials to make false claims.

The judgment calls for any California resident who purchased a Balance of Nature product in the past six years to be told how to claim a refund from the restitution fund.

CONCLUSION

Needless to say, we can conclude that one should opt first for the real fruits and veggies, for even at modest amounts, the nutrients are likely to exceed those contained in the “supplements.” And, after consuming “Balance of Nature,” as alleged in the phony testimonials, do not expect to emerge as an energized super performer, ready to keep up with your kids or grand kids!