by Chelsea Kilgore, MS, RDN, CDN

If you’ve been following some of the political coverage as closely as we have, you may have come across advertisements for a product called “Balance of Nature Fruits and Veggies”. These supplements claim to contain antioxidants and “8,000 combinations of phytonutrients”, but do they work? Can you just take a couple of pills to gain all the benefits of real fruits and vegetables?

According to complementary medicine doctor, Ronald Hoffman, “research indicates that the benefits of whole fruits and vegetables cannot be distilled down into a pill”¹, and furthermore, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says that the “synergistic effects of phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables” that “are responsible for their potent antioxidant and anticancer activities” in a “diet rich in fruits and vegetables are attributed to the complex mixture of phytochemicals present in whole foods”².

What this truly means is that a pill is not equal to real fruits or vegetables as they are found in nature. Not to mention, these Balance of Nature bottles do not even specify how much of each fruit, vegetable, vitamin, or mineral is inside, so we have no way of distinguishing whether they are in amounts that we would be advise towards your daily recommendation. It is also important to note that the FDA does not regulate supplements, choosing to supplement from a advertisement is not recommended.

We won’t even touch upon some of the other suspect claims about Balance of Nature as a company itself, and the hot water they have found themselves in with the FTC (but, if you’re interested, a quick Google search will get you there). All in all, from a nutritional standpoint, we recommend saving your $99.95 and just buying some whole, fiber-rich, micronutrient-packed, real produce instead! 

If you are interested in learning how to get antioxidants into your diet through fruits and vegetables, or meeting with one of our Registered Dietitian Nutritionists, please give the office a call at 631-740-9330 or visit our appointment page to schedule a visit.

References

1. Hoffman, Ronald. Are Balance of Nature Fruit and Veggie Pills as Effective as They Claim?, Intelligent Medicine, 16 Oct. 2018, drhoffman.com/article/are-balance-of-nature-fruit-and-veggie-pills-as-effective-as-they-claim/.

2. Rui Hai Liu, Health Benefits of Fruit and Vegetables are from Additive and Synergistic Combinations of Phytochemicals, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 78, Issue 3, 01 Sept. 2003, Pages 517S–520S, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/78.3.517S