Balance of Nature Review and Alternatives: What to use as a replacement

Let's face it: even if you're dedicated to nutrition and health, it can be hard to consume the fruits and vegetables needed for a healthy diet each and every day. In fact, a recent report from the CDC showed that just 1 in 10 Americans consumes the recommended 1.5-2 cups of fruits and 2-3 cups of vegetables per day, and the numbers don’t seem to be getting better anytime soon.1

So, if cramming down salads every day doesn’t fit your budget or lifestyle, what can you do? Is a freeze-dried supplement really the same as eating a diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables?

We’ve investigated Balance of Nature, the manufacturer of Fruits & Veggies and Fiber & Spice, to see what its freeze-dried supplements have to offer and if they are worth the price tag. We believe that there are better options to consider. For those in a hurry, we’ll share our top picks without further delay. These alternatives are all more affordable than Balance of Nature while aiming for the same supplementation goals, and all of them conduct third-party testing to ensure safety and verify that ingredients are present as promised.

Below, you can explore our full assessment of Balance of Nature’s products for more information about where and how they stack up to other products that we believe provide better value as supplements for you and your family.

Balance of Nature offers two freeze-dried powder supplements: Fruits & Veggies and Fiber & Spice. The product formulations contain whole foods with vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Though freeze-dried supplements should not replace a healthy diet of fresh foods, such products could benefit people who struggle to consume enough fruits and vegetables. The big problems with Balance of Nature’s supplements have been:

• Unjustifiable priciness compared to the competition, with a stingy return policy.
• Unfortunately, the integrity of the company — a history of making unwarranted health claims and insufficient manufacturing practices that raised red flags and eventually led to the FDA ordering the company to stop manufacturing and selling its products until it could be found to be in compliance with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

The company succeeded in showing compliance not long thereafter. And we know that many people have loyally used Balance of Nature and trusted it to fortify their diet with nutrients. But we believe there are better alternatives.

Over the past two decades, Innerbody Research has helped tens of millions of readers make more informed decisions involving staying healthy and living healthier lifestyles. To provide you with an unbiased review, we extensively researched Balance of Nature’s product ingredients and manufacturing processes by reading and evaluating over 45 scientific articles. Our testers ordered and tried the product, scrutinizing the customer experience and comparing Balance of Nature’s blends against comparable products.

We evaluate products and services we review based on current health standards and research, continually assessing our findings to make sure they are up-to-date. Additionally, like all health-related content on this website, this review was thoroughly vetted by one or more members of our Medical Review Board for accuracy.

When we evaluate a product, our first step is determining what criteria should be used to assess its value and benefit to the average consumer. In the case of Balance of Nature’s products, we used the following four main criteria, in order of importance:

• Efficacy: Are the ingredients included beneficial to your health?
• Safety: What quality assurance practices are in place? Are the ingredients themselves safe?
• Cost: How does the product’s price (including subscription deals, discounts, and shipping) compare to the competition?
• Convenience: Are the purchasing and customer support experiences positive? What is the routine of taking the supplement like?

Efficacy

Balance of Nature’s website eventually stopped making any direct claims of health benefits from taking its supplements, but we set out to investigate the science behind powdered fruit and vegetables. Powdered supplements made from freeze-dried whole foods could be considered a step up from synthetic vitamin products; however, there is no substitute for real fruits and veggies. While freeze-drying is an effective method for preserving the essential vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients found in fruits and vegetables, there are some components that you can only find in fresh foods.2

For example, eating a variety of fresh foods provides you with water content and digestive enzymes that aid in digestion and help you to feel full. There are also complex synergistic effects that take place when consuming fruits and vegetables, impacting the bioavailability and absorption of vitamins and minerals.3 It’s unknown if a dried powder can truly mimic what a fresh, whole food does for the body.

However, research has shown that powdered fruit and vegetable products do hold some promise. Clinical trials have confirmed that such products can raise levels of polyphenols, carotenoids, and vitamins in the blood after supplementation in healthy adults.4 5 A number of scientific studies have also been performed that indicate powdered fruit and vegetable supplements benefit cardiovascular health and inflammation, to name a few.6 7

So, if you are looking for a way to supplement your diet or you have difficulty consuming the recommended daily servings of fruit, vegetables, and fiber, a product like Balance of Nature may be beneficial for you. Just know that Fruits & Veggies does not list the vitamin and mineral content on the supplement labels, so you don’t know just how much you are getting in a daily serving.

Safety

Dietary supplements aren’t regulated by the FDA in the same way drugs are; this means that supplements shouldn’t make claims to treat or cure diseases. This also means it is up to the manufacturers to incorporate quality testing procedures, ensuring that the customers are safely consuming exactly what the label says. Ideally, this testing is performed by a third-party laboratory, and products are made in a facility with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certification.

Balance of Nature doesn’t have a strong track record at all in this respect. A 2019 warning letter from the FDA called out the company for making exaggerated health claims and not following current GMPs.8 The company also recently settled a $1.1 million consumer protection lawsuit that revolved around false advertising.9 And eventually, the FDA ordered the company to stop manufacturing and selling its products.

When we were most recently testing and researching these products, it seemed that all health claims had been removed from Balance of Nature’s website. When we reached out to the customer service team with questions about the company’s quality assurance practices, we learned that Balance of Nature wasn’t utilizing third-party testing on all finished products. We were told that testing of incoming and finished products for pesticides and heavy metals is “periodic” and that the accompanying Certificates of Analysis are unavailable to the public.

The infrequency of testing and lack of transparency were certainly red flags for us, especially considering the history of violations that Balance of Nature has had with the FDA. If safety is a high priority for you, competitor Terra Kai Organics (Super Fruits & Veggies) has comparable products with more stringent testing programs.

Cost

The price of Balance of Nature’s products has been one of its biggest downsides. We analyzed both Fruits & Veggies and Fiber & Spice against the competition for a cost comparison. Both products were by far the most expensive on our list of comparable products. Even with subscribe-and-save price cuts (which required you to first pay a $24.95 one-time fee), Balance of Nature’s products have been very pricey. In addition, free shipping is only available to subscribe and save customers.

To break it down, Simply Nature’s Promise Simply Fruits & Veggies has a remarkably similar ingredient list and serving size, yet costs $59.95 for a month’s supply, compared to Balance of Nature’s $89.95 price tag. Subscribe-and-save discounts bring Simply Nature’s cost down further to $39.95, and the company does not require the one-time preferred customer fee that Balance of Nature has required.

We found similar results when comparing Fiber & Spice with other fiber supplements, like Garden of Life’s Raw Fiber Powder, which arguably has a better ingredient list with its inclusion of probiotics. Garden of Life’s product will set you back $38.99 for 30 servings, compared to Balance of Nature’s $69.95 cost. Garden of Life also offers free shipping for orders over $25.

Convenience

Balance of Nature’s products have been available directly on the company’s website as well as Amazon in the Balance of Nature store, although there weren’t any additional discount offers there at the time of this review. In our testing experience, ordering online from Balance of Nature was straightforward, although online customer reviews have often mentioned frustration when attempting to cancel a subscription.

We tried the website’s live chat feature to find out some additional information about the products, and customer service was helpful and able to answer our questions quickly.

In order to even be eligible to return a product, you need to be a preferred member and utilize the company’s subscribe and save program (which requires an initial $24.95 fee). The company allows 30 days for you to return your order, which has to be initiated on the website, and the policy is only valid for first-time orders. This is one of the least customer-friendly policies we’ve seen. In contrast, Juice Plus has a generous 180-day return policy for unopened products.

Lastly, Balance of Nature’s Fruits & Veggies regimen requires you to take six capsules daily to meet the recommended serving. While not very convenient, this is pretty typical among similar products. The capsules are not abnormally large; we measured them to be just under one inch long. We appreciate the flexibility of having the option to break open the capsules to sprinkle on food or even chew them to help reduce the number of pills to swallow.

Dr. Douglas Howard, a medical doctor and chiropractor, founded Balance of Nature in 1997 to address nutrition in standard diets across the globe, from regions facing food insecurity to industrialized countries where fast food has led to widespread obesity and multiple health risks. Dr. Howard’s study of phytochemistry led to his development of Balance of Nature Fruits & Veggies, a dietary supplement containing vacuum freeze-dried fruits and vegetables.

Balance of Nature is a nutritional supplement manufacturer whose primary product, Fruits & Veggies, is made of 100% whole fruits and vegetables that have been freeze-dried. Fruits & Veggies comes in capsule form that can be swallowed with water, dissolved in liquid, sprinkled over food, or chewed as a treat. A daily serving consists of three capsules of both Fruits and Veggies, for a total of six per day.

In addition to Fruits & Veggies, Balance of Nature began offering Fiber & Spice, a daily fiber supplement powder that is mixed with water and taken twice daily. Fiber & Spice is made of whole fiber sources and a blend of 12 spices.

Legal problems

The FDA issued a public warning letter in August 2019 stating that Balance of Nature had extensive violations, including unwarranted medical claims, and that its products did not meet the standards of Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP).8

More recently, in July 2023, Evig LLC, which does business as Balance of Nature, settled a $1.1 million consumer protection lawsuit filed by several district attorneys in California, with $250,000 of the sum for customer restitution.9 The lawsuit stated that the company made unlawful, exaggerated health claims about its products. This included statements claiming that Balance of Nature’s products could prevent, treat, or cure serious diseases. There were also allegations of unclear terms related to the company’s subscription program that negatively impacted customers.

As a result, Balance of Nature was prohibited from all false advertisements, and its website was stripped of all promises or claims about the efficacy of its products. In addition, Balance of Nature stated that a third party tested its products, but no test results were visible on the company’s website.

In November of 2023, the FDA blocked the manufacturing and sale of Balance of Nature supplements, but the ban was lifted within a couple of weeks when the company was back in compliance.

Reputation and other customer reviews

Balance of Nature has a C- rating and is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau. There have been 351 complaints closed in the last three years, and the company’s reviews are not good, with a 1.21 out of 5 customer rating (with just 106 reviews). Complaints seem to be heavily focused on the company’s business practices, namely difficulty in canceling an order or subscription service.

Trustpilot seems to be a little more forgiving with Balance of Nature. With almost 21,000 reviews, the company has a 3.2 out of 5 star rating. Positive reviews report overall better health and even improvements in lab results. Complaints again center around Balance of Nature’s customer service and difficulties with the subscription program.

Fresh fruit, vegetables, and fiber are essential to a healthy diet. Decades of research have shown us that consuming these food groups can lead to longer, healthier lives.10 11 Fruits and vegetables not only contain essential vitamins and minerals but also phytonutrients like polyphenols, which are powerful antioxidants.12

Unfortunately, fruits and vegetables are two of the main food groups Americans struggle to get enough of.1 In an effort to make up for their dietary shortcomings, some people choose to look to an OTC vitamin and mineral supplement to fill in the gap. However, experts say there is a lack of evidence to show that multivitamins are as beneficial as a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and fiber.13

This is where Balance of Nature entered the picture. Instead of synthetic ingredients, the company incorporates freeze-dried whole foods, which are full of phytonutrients on top of the vitamins and minerals you receive in a multivitamin.

Balance of Nature Fruits & Veggies is a duo of products sold together and intended to be taken side by side daily. You could take the capsules with water, mix them in a smoothie, chew them, or sprinkle them over food. A one-month supply of Fruits & Veggies includes 90 capsules of Fruits and 90 capsules of Veggies, with three of each to be taken daily (a total of six).

The Balance of Nature Fiber & Spice Blend is an additional powder supplement that can be purchased separately or alongside the Fruits & Veggies to round out Balance of Nature’s Whole Health System. A daily serving of Fiber & Spice consists of two 13g scoops of powder, and each jar contains a one-month supply.

We will take a deeper look at each of these blends below.

The freeze-drying process

While food processing techniques can be tough on the beneficial compounds found in fruits and vegetables, the vacuum freeze-drying method used in some supplement products like Balance of Nature has been shown in numerous studies to have the best outcome among drying techniques for phytonutrients like polyphenols.2 14 15 Without exposure to heat, air, and light, freeze-drying prevents nutrient-destroying oxidation.

This information leads us to believe that supplements of this nature may offer health benefits that are different from simple multivitamins made of synthetic ingredients. However, it’s worth noting that Fruits & Veggies never included vitamin and mineral content on its label like a multivitamin does, so it’s impossible for customers to know how much of those nutrients they’re consuming.

Freeze drying of a food product happens in three steps:2 16

1. Freezing step: Foods are rapidly frozen.
2. Primary drying step: Utilizing a vacuum, about 95% of water is removed.
3. Secondary drying step: This removes any remaining unfrozen water.

To keep it simple, the water content of a food will go from an ice state to a vapor without entering the liquid phase. Using low temperatures helps to preserve nutrients and protect from microbial growth. For Balance of Nature’s products, the resulting freeze-dried fruits and veggies were then ground, blended, and encapsulated. Research shows that grinding, similar to freeze drying, does not appear to have a negative impact on the stability of phytonutrients.14

While there haven’t been nearly the same number of studies performed on powdered fruits and vegetables as their fresh counterparts, we have found some evidence that supports consuming them as a beneficial dietary supplement. Studies have demonstrated their potential positive impacts on a variety of health conditions:

• Cardiovascular disease6
• Blood pressure17
• Glucose metabolism18
• Pulmonary function19
• Cholesterol7
• Inflammation7

However, these clinical trials did not study Balance of Nature specifically or products with an identical composition.

Balance of Nature Fruits capsules contain 16 fruits. They have a sweet flavor without added sugar and could alternately be chewed up or swallowed whole. One daily serving of Fruits (three capsules) contains 10 calories and 2g of total carbohydrates. Unfortunately, Balance of Nature doesn't break down the amount of each individual fruit present in the three proprietary blends, unlike competitor Justified Laboratories Vital Fruits & Veggies.

The ingredients advertised in Balance of Nature Fruits

Maintain Blend (731mg): tomato (fruit), papaya (fruit), banana (fruit), apple (fruit), grape (fruit), wild blueberry (fruit), strawberry (fruit), and aloe vera (leaf)

Fend Blend (719mg): orange (fruit), tart cherry (fruit), cranberry (fruit), wild blueberry (fruit), grape (fruit), apple (fruit), grapefruit (fruit), and aloe vera (leaf)

Refresh Blend (561mg): raspberry (fruit), pineapple (fruit), mango (fruit), sweet cherry (fruit), lemon (fruit), and aloe vera (leaf)

While Balance of Nature stopped making health claims on its website due to legal action, we do know that there are benefits to consuming fruits and vegetables and that freeze-dried foods actually retain most of their nutritional value.9 14 However, we can’t know how much of each ingredient is present in Fruits or what quantity of a freeze-dried powder translates to a fresh fruit serving. With those caveats, we set out to research potential benefits you can gain from consuming these fruit ingredients.

How Balance of Nature Fruits taste

Balance of Nature Fruits capsules are a pretty typical size for a supplement, at just under one inch long. We found that the Fruits capsules smell and taste as expected — fruity.

Balance of Nature’s Veggies includes over a dozen whole vegetables, spices, and mushroom powder to supplement your diet. One daily serving (three capsules) contains five calories and 1g of total carbohydrates, according to the company.

The ingredients in Balance of Nature Veggies

Maintain Blend (720mg): broccoli (whole head), spinach (leaf), soybean (seed), green cabbage (head), wheatgrass (leaves), kale (leaf), cauliflower (whole head), celery (stalk), white onion (bulb), and zucchini (fruit)

Fend Blend (713mg): garlic (clove), red cabbage (head), red onion (bulb), soybean (seed), carrot (root), kale (leaf), cayenne pepper (fruit & seeds), shiitake mushroom (whole), wheatgrass (leaves), and sweet potato (tuber)

Refresh Blend (576mg): carrot (root), kale (leaf), green onion (scape), soybean (seed), spinach (leaf), cauliflower (whole head), celery (stalk), and zucchini (fruit)

While we know that these vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet and provide numerous benefits to our well-being, we don’t know exactly how much of each individual ingredient is included in this product. Despite this, we’ve broken down some potential benefits that vegetables can provide below.

How Balance of Nature Veggies taste

Balance of Nature Veggies capsules are also just under one inch long. We found the Veggies capsules to have a pronounced allium smell and taste (like garlic and onion), which can be either pleasant or off-putting, depending on your preferences.

Balance of Nature’s Fiber & Spice is a powdered product containing a Whole Fiber Blend and a Whole Spice Blend. To take Fiber & Spice, you mix two heaping scoops of the powder in water or diluted apple juice and drink twice daily. One serving contains 50 calories, 1g of fat, 9g of carbohydrates, and 8g of dietary fiber (29% of your Daily Value).

The ingredients advertised in Balance of Nature Fiber & Spice

According to the company, Fiber & Spice is a powdered fiber blend made of psyllium husk, whole apple, flax seed, whole monk fruit (10g), and 12 spices (3g):

These spices are well documented to contain phytonutrients that work as excellent antioxidants that help to reduce free radicals, which is beneficial for preventing chronic diseases.30 However, again, we do not know exactly how much of each spice is included in the 3g blend, making it impossible to confidently predict benefits based on the results of scientific studies.

Balance of Nature’s Fiber & Spice capsules contain both soluble and insoluble fiber.31

• Soluble fiber: This type of fiber dissolves in water. When it dissolves, soluble fiber creates a gel that can improve digestion. This slows digestion and can help you to feel full longer. Good sources of soluble fiber include oatmeal, apples, and psyllium.
• Insoluble fiber: The type of fiber does not dissolve in water. It draws water to the colon, adding bulk to the stool and making it easier to pass. This effectively helps to speed up digestion, preventing constipation. Sources of insoluble fiber include apple skins, wheat bran, and nuts.

While we don’t know exactly how much of each type of fiber is present in Fiber & Spice, one serving contains 8g of dietary fiber (29% Daily Value) in total. Though fiber is abundant in many foods, many Americans (perhaps especially those suffering from digestion issues or other health conditions) may benefit from a supplement to increase their fiber intake.

How Balance of Nature Fiber & Spice tastes and mixes

When we first opened the jar of Fiber & Spice, we noticed that the smell of the apple and spice ingredients was reminiscent of a strudel or apple pie. However, the aroma lacks a certain sweetness, and that lack of sweetness ultimately translates to the flavor. The texture of the powder is a bit grainy, but we have found that to be typical of any supplement that contains insoluble fiber; in terms of texture, it is on par with comparable products like Garden of Life Raw Fiber Powder, for instance.

Currently, the answer is that these products are probably safe for most healthy people, now that the company is once again in compliance with the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. But the company's recent track record, combined with what we consider to be an unsatisfactory pattern of third-party testing and lack of transparency, doesn't inspire confidence, in our opinion. We believe there are more transparent and rigorously tested products that are more deserving of your business.

But are fruit and vegetable supplements, in general, safe? As non-synthetic, whole-food products, they would be considered safe for adults, children, and pregnant or nursing women. Supplements of this nature should not generally interfere with medications, with the notable exception of grapefruit; grapefruit may interact with certain drugs.35

Also, Balance of Nature's Veggies complex includes soy, which is an allergen for some individuals. People with allergies and dietary restrictions should read product labels carefully to make sure. (And this is another reason why it’s so important that we can trust that a company tests and verifies that its ingredient labeling is accurate.)

As with all dietary and nutritional supplements, we recommend consulting with your physician prior to using a supplement containing freeze-dried, powdered fruits and vegetables, particularly if you have food allergies or special dietary needs. It’s worth noting that competitor Simply Nature’s Promise Simply Fruits & Veggies has a similar formula to what Balance of Nature advertised, but it does not contain soybean. This could make it a viable option for those with a soy allergy.

Given the history that Balance of Nature has with the FDA regarding manufacturing practices, we reached out to the company to confirm its safety procedures.8 Customer service relayed that Balance of Nature “periodically conducts third-party testing on incoming products and finished products.” The testing includes checking for heavy metals and pesticides below established limits. The representative also said that the finished product Certificates of Analysis are internal records only and not publicly available. In our opinion, a company ought to do better than that. Other companies adhere to more rigorous testing approaches and make testing results more transparently available to consumers.

You can purchase Balance of Nature products individually through the company website or Amazon, but we found the greatest savings through the Subscribe & Save option available through the Balance of Nature website. This could save you anywhere from 22-31% for a month's supply, depending on the product.

However, the subscription plan option requires an additional one-time member fee of $24.95 and also requires you to keep your account active (order within a year). Otherwise, you have to pay the fee once again. The subscription earns you free shipping and is the only way to activate the company’s 30-day money-back guarantee.

This policy can only be considered stingy, however, especially since it is only available to subscription members and only an option for the first order you place. For perspective, most of Balance of Nature’s competitors, like Justified Laboratories and Simple Nature’s Promise, also have 30-day return policies, but without all the restrictions.

We tested Balance of Nature’s Whole Health System, the company’s recommendation for optimal results. This combination pack, including both Fruits & Veggies and Fiber & Spice to be taken in conjunction, shaves about $10 off of the normal pricing if you go the subscribe-and-save route. Just note that, even for subscribers, it amounts to a significant monthly investment of over $100.

We found that ordering the product on the Balance of Nature website was straightforward. We tested out what it would be like to cancel a subscription since online reviews mentioned this as a weak spot for the company.

Based on our experience, there seems to be a three-day delay between placing our order and receiving a shipping confirmation. Products arrive about one week after placing the order.

Here’s a handy breakdown of Balance of Nature’s prices.

While a balanced diet is the most effective way to get your daily recommended servings of fruit and vegetables, freeze-dried powdered supplements like Balance of Nature can be beneficial for some people. For example, if you have difficulty eating or have trouble consuming a diverse diet, these capsules could help fill nutritional gaps.

Who should exercise particular caution or avoid such supplements

Some products like Balance of Nature contain grapefruit. Individuals who are taking certain medications that are known to interact with grapefruit should avoid taking this supplement.

In addition, Balance of Nature’s Veggies contains soybeans, which makes them unsuitable for people with an allergy to soy.

It’s worth noting that the best way to get all your daily vitamins and minerals is through a healthy diet with a variety of fruits and vegetables. However, if you are shopping for a freeze-dried dietary supplement, there are quite a few options on the market. Even before running afoul of the FDA, Balance of Nature had very stiff competition, and frankly, we feel that several different products outshine them.

Fruits & Veggies

We’ve broken down some of the competition for you below.

Simply Nature’s Promise Simply Fruits & Veggies

Simply Nature’s Promise Simply Fruits & Veggies has a very similar formula to Balance of Nature’s Fruits & Veggies. Both come as a duo pack containing freeze-dried whole foods. The serving sizes are the same (6 total capsules daily), and the products even have similar names for the blends on the supplement labels.

The biggest difference we can see is the price. Simply Fruits & Veggies is $59.95 ($39.95 with subscribe and save) for a one-month supply, compared to Balance of Nature’s $89.95 price tag. If you are deciding between these two products, another consideration is the return policies. While both have a short time frame (just 30 days to decide if a product doesn’t work for you), Balance of Nature restricts returns to only “preferred” customers that utilize its subscription program; also, returns can only be initiated on a customer’s first order. Simply Nature’s Promise appears to have a more lenient policy.

Juice Plus Fruit & Vegetable Blend

Juice Plus is a well-known supplement brand that poses serious competition with its Fruit & Vegetable Blend capsules. While conducting research for this review, we noticed that some of the clinical trials that focused on powdered fruit and vegetable capsules used Juice Plus in their research. The biggest downside we see with Juice Plus is that you must enter into a subscription program to purchase the product. Despite this, the company has several advantages over Balance of Nature, which we’ve listed below.

• Nutrition facts: Juice Plus includes some vitamin content in its supplement facts, which Balance of Nature does not.
• Return policy: Juice Plus has a generous 180-day return policy, compared to Balance of Nature’s strict 30-day policy for preferred customers only.
• Price: A one-month supply of Juice Plus Fruit & Vegetable Blend capsules is $54; Fruits & Veggies would cost you $89.95 (or $69.95 with subscription).
• Serving size: Juice Plus’ total daily serving size is 4 capsules versus Balance of Nature’s 6 capsules.
• Safety: The company’s NSF certification means there’s a high degree of quality assurance.

Fiber & Spice

When scoping out the competition for Fiber & Spice, we placed the most value on the fiber portion of the product since it is the predominant ingredient blend. Also, because Balance of Nature includes soluble and insoluble fiber in its product, we only considered other supplements that included both types of fiber in its formula, as well.

Garden of Life Raw Fiber Powder

Garden of Life’s Raw Fiber Powder is a less expensive fiber supplement, costing $38.99 for a month’s supply (versus $69.95 for Fiber & Spice). While the two products have similar total fiber content, we like that Garden of Life breaks down exactly how much of each type of fiber (soluble and insoluble) you are getting in each scoop on its label. Garden of Life’s Raw Fiber Powder has a large ingredient list in its Raw Organic Sprout and Fiber Blend, but it also contains two more beneficial ingredients: omega-3 fatty acids and 900 million CFU of probiotic Bacillus coagulans MTCC5856. The transparency of the bacterial strain used is a nice bonus and something we wish all probiotic supplements included since not all strains offer the same potential health benefits.

Garden of Life’s product contains all-organic ingredients, but it also has sesame and coconut, which can be problematic for those with food allergies. The company utilizes third-party testing, as you’d hope, and has a 60-day money-back guarantee. This is more generous than Balance of Nature’s 30-day policy. As for taste and mixability, we found that Balance of Nature and Garden of Life’s fiber products had a similar, somewhat grainy texture, which is typical for any supplement containing insoluble fiber.

NorCal Organic Fiber

NorCal Organic Fiber has a small serving size (just 7g) to be taken twice a day. Taking this supplement will give you 12g of daily fiber (8g soluble, 4g insoluble) and only costs $0.27 per serving, compared to Balance of Nature’s pricey $2.33. While NorCal’s product does not contain spices like Fiber & Spice, it does have an all-organic ingredient list, including agave inulin, oat fiber, and psyllium husk.

Similar to Balance of Nature, NorCal Organic’s Fiber supplement does not have any added sugar or fillers. But where this product really stands out is its transparency of quality and safety testing. The Fiber webpage contains a link to independent testing results for the customer to view, unlike Balance of Nature, which does not share that information with the public.