Balance of Nature Review: An Honest Analysis + Better Alternatives (2026)

by Michael Donaldson, PhD

UPDATE (03/12/2026): Balance of Nature commercials have been widely seen on the Fox News television network and they spend millions of dollars annually to promote their fruit and vegetable powders. They are proof that you can have success without a good product.

In this article, we will give you an honest Balance of Nature review and analysis so you can see the scam for yourself. We will analyze vitamin C content, enzymatic activity, and mineral content as three ways to compare Balance of Nature products with real data from real fruits and vegetables. There are some alternatives that are much better than Balance of Nature. 

“A serving of Balance of Nature Fruits and Vegetables is equivalent to maybe ¼ cup of cabbage and a small slice of an apple, when analyzed for vitamin C, enzyme activity and mineral content. Maybe.”

If you look at the the Balance of Nature website now or look at their bottles they don’t claim specific amounts of fruits and vegetables per serving. But previous claims included saying that one serving of one product contained the nutritional equivalent of five servings of fruit. Another claim stated that one serving each of two of their products would provide as much nutrition as 10 servings of salad.

Balance of Nature has been selling its encapsulated fruit and vegetable powders based on false advertising, and they have finally been caught, or at least slapped on the wrist. Read the press release below.

Balance of Nature False Advertising PDF

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Can the daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables fit into just six capsules? Balance of Nature says, “Yes!” But, as the old saying goes, “In God we trust. All others must show data.” So let’s investigate this claim a little bit closer.

What's Actually in Balance of Nature? Let's Start With the Label

Before we get to the lab data, let's look at what Balance of Nature says is in their products — because the ingredient list itself tells you something.

Balance of Nature Fruits lists these whole food powders: Aloe Vera, Apple, Banana, Blueberry, Cherry, Cranberry, Grape, Grapefruit, Lemon, Mango, Orange, Papaya, Pineapple, Raspberry, Strawberry, and Tomato.

Balance of Nature Veggies lists these whole food powders: Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrot, Cauliflower, Cayenne Pepper, Celery, Garlic, Kale, Shitake Mushroom, Onion, Soybeans, Spinach, Sweet Potato, Wheat Grass, and Zucchini.

That actually sounds pretty good. Sixteen fruits. Fifteen vegetables. Whole food powders. No fillers, no binders. So what's the problem?

The problem is the amount.

Each serving is three capsules, which works out to roughly 2 grams of powder. That's about half a teaspoon. When you divide 2 grams across sixteen different fruit powders, you're getting a fraction of a milligram of any single one of them. The ingredient list looks impressive on the label. The serving size tells the real story.

And here's what makes it worse: unlike a supplement with a Supplement Facts panel that lists exact milligrams per ingredient, Balance of Nature only gives you amounts of three blends of fruits or three blends of vegetables. You have no idea how much apple versus raspberry versus mango you're actually getting. Some ingredients are much more expensive than others, and they could be adding in more of the cheaper, less nutrient-dense ones. You don't really know.

How Many Fruits and Vegetables Do We Really Need?

At Hallelujah Diet, we stress the importance of eating fruits and vegetables. We practice what we preach and eat lots of them. In fact, an analysis of the Hallelujah Diet in 2001 showed that followers of the Hallelujah Diet consumed over 6 servings of fruit and 11 servings of vegetables a day ⁽¹⁾. And that was without counting BarleyMax. A more recent analysis showed very similar results—over 700 grams of fruits and 1,000 grams of vegetables per 2,000 calories. Another nutrient-dense diet, the Wahl’s Diet, recommends over 650 grams of fruits and almost 800 grams of vegetables per 2,000 calories. Obviously, this is more than the government will admit you need—their recommendation is a paltry 260 grams of non-starchy vegetables and 360 grams of fruits per 2,000 calories.

So, the amount of fruits and vegetables you need to be healthy is on the order of 1½ pounds of fruits and 2 pounds of vegetables a day. Try to put that into 6 capsules.

So, why eat so many fruits and vegetables? Simply put, life comes from life. Living foods supply the nutrients and vitality that our living bodies, made up of living cells, require. Eating more fruits and vegetables leads to less disease of all sorts. The more you eat, the better you feel. We do eat cooked food as well, including starchy vegetables, organic whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds on the Hallelujah Diet. But fruits and vegetables are a huge part of what we eat from day to day.

So, back to the main question—can the daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables fit into six capsules? No matter what you define as the “daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables,” the answer is, “NO.” I will share with you three lines of evidence to back up this answer: (1) Vitamin C testing, (2) Enzyme activity testing, and (3) Mineral analysis.

An Analysis of Balance of Nature, Part 1: Vitamin C Content

Vitamin C is a crucial nutrient coming almost exclusively from fruits and vegetables. Unlike most mammals, humans, fruit bats, primates, and guinea pigs do not synthesize their own vitamin C. We must eat it. Vitamin C tends to be heat-labile, meaning it is not stable under heat. Fresh vegetables and especially fresh fruits supply the vitamin C that we need every day. If a product were to supply our “daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables,” it would need to have a substantial amount of vitamin C in it, as the government says we need between 75 and 90 mg a day. It probably is way more than that, but 90 mg would be a good start.

So, a laboratory test for vitamin C was conducted on a fresh batch of Balance of Nature Veggies and Fruits. A 3-capsule serving of Veggies (2 grams of powder) contains 0.097 mg of vitamin C, while a 3-capsule serving of Fruits contains 0.307 mg of vitamin C. The whole bottle of Balance of Nature Veggies contains less than 9 mg of vitamin C. Ten bottles of Veggies would still not get you to 90 mg of vitamin C. The whole bottle of Balance of Nature Fruits contains about 27 mg of vitamin C, so if you ate 3 bottles a day you would almost get your vitamin C needs met. Needless to say, you will never see a claim of “excellent source of vitamin C” or even “good source of vitamin C” on a bottle of Balance of Nature Fruits or Veggies. That is a legal claim that they could never meet.

“Ten BOTTLES of Veggies would still not get you to 90 mg of vitamin C. The whole BOTTLE of Balance of Nature Fruits contains about 27 mg of vitamin C, so if you ate 3 BOTTLES a day you would almost get your vitamin C needs met.”

When you compare the amount of vitamin C from the capsules of Balance of Nature with the amounts in raw vegetables and fruits, you can see that the capsules fall far short of what you get from eating actual raw fruits and vegetables. Some of the top ingredients in the Fruits product are apples, bananas, and raspberries, and some of the top ingredients in the Veggies products are broccoli, cabbage, and spinach. Take a look at Table 1 for a vitamin C comparison. Even relatively small amounts of broccoli, cabbage and spinach have 40-340 times as much vitamin C as the Veggie capsules. And apples, bananas, and raspberries, none of which are extremely high in vitamin C, have 13-26 times as much vitamin C as the Fruits capsules.

“Even relatively small amounts of broccoli, cabbage and spinach have 40-340 times as much vitamin C as the Veggie capsules. And apples, bananas and raspberries have 13-26 times as much vitamin C as the Fruits capsules."

Review of Balance of Nature, Part 1: Vitamin C? A swing and a miss! Strike One!

Table 1. Vitamin C content of Balance of Nature Veggies and Fruits in Comparison with Raw Produce.

An Analysis of Balance of Nature, Part 2: Enzyme Activity

Enzymes are associated with the vitality of raw, living foods. When you cook a fruit or a vegetable, the enzyme activity disappears. Even gently heated produce begins to lose its enzyme activity quickly.

For this test, acid phosphatase was used as a marker of enzymatic activity. This enzyme is fairly heat-stable and is usually abundant in all fruits and vegetables that I have tested over the years. The procedure used for this test is carefully explained in the recent testing of household juicers⁽²⁾. A comparison of the results of the enzyme testing, along with a comparison with the results from fresh juice, is given in Table 2.

Table 2. Comparison of Acid Phosphatase Activity in Balance of Nature Capsules.

The Balance of Nature Veggies has 7.1 U/g of acid phosphatase activity, while the Fruits have 0.79 U/g. To put this into perspective, I asked, “How many capsules would it take to equal the same amount of acid phosphatase activity in 1 tablespoon of fresh juice?” I have published the acid phosphatase activity in carrot, apple, celery and spinach juice⁽²⁾, so it is easy to make this comparison.

Well, it takes about 4 capsules of the Veggies to provide the same amount of enzyme activity as 1 tablespoon of carrot juice. Not 1 cup, not even 1 ounce. Just 1 tablespoon. A tablespoon of celery juice is equal to 2.2 capsules of Veggies. Celery isn’t known to be very nutrient dense. But spinach is quite potent. It would take 40 capsules of the Veggies to equal the acid phosphatase activity of just 1 tablespoon of spinach juice. Those Veggie capsules are looking pretty empty about right now.

“It takes about 4 capsules of Balance of Nature Veggies to get the same amount of enzyme activity as found in 1 tablespoon of carrot juice. And it takes about 40 capsules of the Veggies to equal the enzyme activity in 1 tablespoon of spinach juice.”

The Fruit capsules have only about 11 percent of the activity of the Veggies capsules, so the numbers are all about 9 times as high. Apple juice isn’t very nutrient-dense, but it still would take 9 capsules of the Fruit product to equal the enzyme activity of just 1 tablespoon of apple juice.

“It takes about 9 capsules of the Balance of Nature Fruit to equal the enzyme activity in 1 tablespoon of apple juice.”

Are the Balance of Nature products good sources of raw nutrition? No. I guarantee you that there is more enzyme activity in your green smoothie than in a whole bottle of Veggies or Fruits, let alone your “daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables.”

The Balance of Nature Veggies and Fruits are woefully inadequate sources of active enzymes.

Review of Balance of Nature, Part 2: Enzyme activity? Another swing and a miss!. Strike Two!

An Analysis of Balance of Nature, Part 3: Mineral Content

Minerals are critical nutrients as well. Minerals are heat-stable. They don’t disappear during cutting, grinding, drying, and bottling of a product. Even when you take out the carbohydrate (the fiber and the sugar), you still have the minerals of the fruits in the powder. You can really tell how much material you started with by examining the mineral content. So, a sample of each product of Balance of Nature Veggies and Fruits was sent to an independent analytical laboratory for mineral analysis. The results for the Balance of Nature Veggies are given in Table 3, while Table 4 has the results for Balance of Nature Fruits.  Comparisons are given with vegetables and fruits that are said to be ingredients in these products.

Table 3. Mineral Comparison of Balance of Nature Veggies with Raw Vegetables.

A half cup of broccoli is considerably more mineral-dense than a serving of Balance of Nature Veggies. Just a half cup of broccoli has almost 5 times as much potassium, almost 2 times as much calcium, almost 3 times as much magnesium, 2.5 times as much iron, and 3 times as much zinc as 3 capsules of the Balance of Nature Veggies. So much for the Veggie capsules replacing your “daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables.”

In fact, the mineral content of the Veggie capsules is close to what you find in ¼ cup of green cabbage. But raw spinach blows out the competition (you should see the kale comparison!). A half cup of raw spinach leaves has 3.5 times as much potassium, 1.5 times as much calcium, 3.5 times as much magnesium, 3.5 times as much iron, almost double the amount of zinc, and 2.5 times as much copper.

“Just a half cup of broccoli has almost 5 times as much potassium, almost 2 times as much calcium, almost 3 times as much magnesium, 2.5 times as much iron, and 3 times as much zinc as 3 capsules of the Balance of Nature Veggies.”

A serving of Balance of Nature Veggies (3 capsules) is equivalent to ¼ cup of green cabbage for mineral content.

The Balance of Nature Fruit capsules aren’t any better in comparison with raw fruit. For comparison, apples, bananas, and raspberries were chosen, all of which are ingredients in the Fruit capsules. But the capsules don’t contain very much fruit at all. Half of a medium apple has almost 5 times as much potassium, almost 5 times as much phosphorus and almost 3 times as much magnesium, 3.5 times as much iron and more than 3 times as much zinc as a serving of 3 Fruit capsules.

One-half of a banana (who eats only ½ a banana?) has 10 times as much potassium, six times as much phosphorus, 10 times as much magnesium, 5 times as much iron, 7 times as much zinc, and 8 times as much copper as the serving of Fruit capsules.

And ¼ cup of raspberries has more than double the potassium, almost double the calcium, 4 times as much phosphorus, 4 times as much magnesium, almost 7 times as much iron, 10 times as much zinc, and 5 times as much copper.

In fact, these common fruits look like superfoods next to the Balance of Nature Fruit capsules.

“One half of a banana has 10 times as much potassium, six times as much phosphorus, 10 times as much magnesium, 5 times as much iron, 7 times as much zinc and 8 times as much copper as the serving of Fruit capsules.”

Table 4. Mineral Comparison of Balance of Nature Fruits with Raw Fruits.

Review of Balance of Nature, Part 3: Minerals. Another swing and a miss! Strike Three! You’re OUT!!

Does Balance of Nature Have Any Nutritional Value at All?

Balance of Nature has struck out. But before we move on, let me answer the question we hear most often from people considering this product: Does it have any nutritional value?

Yes, technically. The Veggies product shows measurable enzyme activity. Both products contain trace amounts of vitamins and minerals. It is not zero.

But trace amounts of nutrients are not the same as meaningful amounts of nutrients. A glass of tap water has trace minerals, too.

When we ran the numbers, a full serving of Balance of Nature Fruits and Veggies combined delivers less vitamin C than a single bite of a bell pepper, less enzyme activity than one tablespoon of carrot juice, and less potassium than a bite of a banana. A 6-capsule serving is worth about a quarter cup of cabbage and a small slice of apple. Small.

"The only balance going on is your bank balance going to theirs."

If Balance of Nature wanted to earn back any trust, they would do something simple: pack those same fruit and vegetable powders as loose powder in a jar with a 10-gram scoop, put an honest Supplement Facts label on it with actual nutrient amounts listed, and price it competitively with other products on the market. And they would stop implying it is anything more than a convenient dietary supplement.

In the section above, we made the case for needing 1.5 pounds of fruit and 2 pounds of vegetables per day to really thrive. It is impossible to deliver all the goodness of your daily fruits and vegetables in 6 capsules.  It always was. The lab data just proves it.

A Better Alternative — What Real Greens Products Actually Deliver

So if Balance of Nature isn't the answer, what is?

The fundamental problem isn't the concept of concentrated greens and fruits in a convenient form. The concept is perfectly fine. The problem is the form factor. You cannot fit meaningful amounts of nutrition into three capsules at any reasonable price. The math doesn't work, as we just showed you.

A bulk powder in a jar with a scoop is a different story. A real serving of a quality greens powder runs 8 to 10 grams — four to five times more material than Balance of Nature's capsules. There's actually room for real ingredient amounts. And an honest Supplement Facts label tells you exactly what you're getting.

We put together a direct comparison below. BarleyMax is our concentrated barley grass juice powder — made from juice, not whole grass, which means the fiber is removed and the nutrients are more concentrated. TrioMax combines CarrotJuiceMax, BarleyMax, and BeetMax in a single daily blend, covering a broader range of vegetables. Advanced Superfoods is our most comprehensive option — a 100% organic blend of cereal grass juice powders, leafy greens, microalgae, sprouts, prebiotic fibers, sea vegetables, and organic vegetable powders, all in bulk powder form.

Table 5. Nutrient Comparison of Balance of Nature with Hallelujah Diet Superfood Powders.

The difference isn't subtle. When you move from capsules to concentrated bulk powders with transparent labels, you're in an entirely different product category.

When you compare Hallelujah Diet's BarleyMax or Advanced Superfood, gram for gram, the Hallelujah Diet powders have an average of 3 to 4 times the vitamin C and mineral content as Balance of Nature powder. And these  100% organic powders are still much cheaper than Balance of Nature.

One more thing worth saying: even the best greens powder is a supplement to a good diet, not a replacement for it. At Hallelujah Diet, we eat lots of real fruits and vegetables every day, and we use these products to fill the gaps and add concentrated nutrition on top of that foundation. That's the honest use case for any super greens product, including ours.

Balance of Nature's marketing would have you believe their capsules are your fruits and vegetables. That's the lie. A greens powder that's honest about what it is (it is just a supplement, not a replacement) and delivers real amounts of real ingredients is a genuinely useful tool. Balance of Nature is neither of those things.

Even if you don’t buy from us, now you know that Balance of Nature is a false nutritional product—long on promises but very short on deliverables. There are many, many products offered by honest companies that provide true value to their customers, but Balance of Nature is not one of them.

Frequently Asked Questions About Balance of Nature

Is Balance of Nature FDA approved? No, and this applies to all dietary supplements, not just Balance of Nature. Supplements are not drugs and don't require FDA approval before going to market. The FDA can step in if a product is unsafe or makes illegal claims, which is exactly what happened here. Balance of Nature was fined over $1 million after a false-advertising settlement for claims that could not be scientifically supported.

Is Balance of Nature a scam? The capsules do contain real food powders, so they're not completely inert. But the serving size is so small relative to the price, and the marketing claims that the word "misleading" is being generous. A court agreed — Balance of Nature settled a false advertising case in 2023 after claiming their capsules were nutritionally equivalent to full servings of fruits and vegetables. The lab data in this article shows exactly why those claims couldn't hold up.

What are the side effects of Balance of Nature? Because the ingredient amounts are so small, significant side effects are unlikely. Some people notice mild digestive changes when starting any food powder supplement. The bigger concern isn't side effects — it's opportunity cost. If you're spending $90 a month on Balance of Nature and believing your fruit and vegetable needs are met, you may be missing the real nutrition your body needs.

Does Balance of Nature have any nutritional value? Yes, technically — trace amounts of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes are present, as our testing confirmed. But the amounts are so small that calling it "nutritional value" is a stretch. As we showed above, a serving is nutritionally comparable to a quarter cup of cabbage and a small slice of apple. There are far better and far less expensive ways to get your greens.

What is the best alternative to Balance of Nature? The best alternative is always eating more actual fruits and vegetables. If you want a supplement to fill gaps on days when that's difficult, look for a bulk greens powder — not capsules — with a transparent Supplement Facts label that lists actual ingredient amounts. See our comparison table above for a direct look at how our products stack up.

References:

1. Donaldson MS (2001) Food and nutrient intake of Hallelujah vegetarians. Nutr Food Sci 31:293–303. doi:10.1108/00346650110409128
2. Donaldson M (2020) Household Juice Extractor Comparison and Optimization. J Food Process Technol 11:1–14. doi:2157-7110.20.11.819