Nature’s Sustenance Vs Balance of Nature: Is This Substitute Superior?

Fruits & Greens by Nature’s Sustenance is a newer competitor to Balance of Nature in the fruit and vegetable supplement market.

There are some similarities, but what are the differences in their ingredients, potential side effects, and daily and monthly costs?

Also, covered ahead in this Balance of Nature and Nature’s Sustenance review, is a comparison of their pros and cons, consumer feedback, and a verdict on which one is better for you and why.

What Is Nature’s Sustenance?

The American-based company Substance makes the Nature’s Sustenance Fruits & Greens superfood supplement. It’s manufactured in a USA cGMP facility from 20+ locally sourced greens, vegetables and fruits.

Substance says in its marketing that Sustenance Fruits & Greens: “helps with mental clarity, improves energy levels, supports immunity and provides essential nutrients”. It is sold in one container of 120 capsules and you take 4 a day for a 30-day supply.

The company also makes 5 other products: Beetroot Boost, Colon Cleanse, Vitamin D3, Deep Dreams Sleep Aid, and Nature’s Fiber & Spices, a digestive wellness supplement that is very similar to Balance of Nature’s Fiber and Spice.

What Is Balance of Nature?

The popular Fruits and Veggies product by Balance of Nature is a blend of 31 freeze-dried and powdered vegetables and fruit.

The company says that “Balance of Nature is whole food and an easy and convenient way to get a variety of 16 different fruits and 15 different vegetables every day.”

It comes in 2 containers, 1 for Fruits and 1 for Veggies, with 90 capsules in each. You take 6 a day for a month at the recommended dosage.

Ingredient Comparison

Both Balance of Nature and Nature’s Sustenance say that their powdered whole food supplements are made in America, are non-GMO, gluten-free, and contain no added sugar, fillers, preservatives or synthetic additives.

How do the specific ingredients in these fruit and vegetable capsules stack up in a direct comparison though?

Nature’s Sustenance Fruits & Greens Supplement Facts

Here is the full 2023 ingredients list for Nature’s Sustenance Fruits & Greens from their website:

• Alfalfa Powder, Eleuthero Root Extract, Organic Oat Grass, Dandelion Greens Powder, Broccoli Extract, Spinach, Horse Chestnut, Lion’s Mane Mushroom, Reishi Mushroom, Asparagus Extract, Apple Fiber, Beet, Carrot, Tomato Extract, Garlic, Blueberry, Ginger, Chlorophyll, Barley Grass, Kale.
• Other Ingredients: Vegetable Cellulose, Rice Flour, Magnesium Stearate, Microcrystalline Cellulose.

Balance of Nature Supplement Facts

The business website for Balance of Nature lists the following ingredients for their Fruit and Veggies product:

• Proprietary Whole Fruit Maintain Blend: Aloe Vera, Apple, Banana, Blueberry, Cherry, Cranberry, Grape, Grapefruit, Lemon, Mango, Orange, Papaya, Pineapple, Raspberry, Strawberry and Tomato.
• Proprietary Whole Veggie Maintain Blend: Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrot, Cauliflower, Cayenne Pepper, Celery, Garlic, Kale, Onion, Shiitake Mushroom, Soybean, Spinach, Sweet Potato, Wheatgrass and Zucchini.

Which Ingredients List Is Superior?

While Balance of Nature Fruits and Veggies capsules contain a wider range of ingredients, Sustenance Fruits & Greens has the more potent superfoods in its formulation.

Alfalfa, eleuthero, oat grass, dandelion greens and broccoli are the first 5 additions in Nature’s Sustenance, and therefore the ones with the highest volume by weight.

Alfalfa, oat grass, dandelion greens and broccoli are all rich in minerals, antioxidants and other beneficial nutrients. While eleuthero, also called Siberian ginseng, is an adaptogen known for increasing energy, reducing fatigue and improving cognitive function.

Fruits & Greens also contains other potent ingredients, such as lion’s mane and reishi mushrooms, blueberry, garlic and chlorophyll.

By comparison, Balance of Nature Fruits has blueberry, raspberry, cranberry and aloe vera as standouts. While the Veggies product contains shiitake mushroom, cayenne pepper, wheatgrass and garlic as its best ingredients.

Overall though, Balance of Nature includes quite a few average additions, such as grape, banana, apple and orange. These are commonly eaten foods and are much lower in nutrients than most of the superfoods in Nature’s Sustenance.

I also think it’s important to make note of the raw soybean found in Balance of Nature Veggies. Soy is a cheap filler found in many processed foods these days. It’s low in nutrition, some people are allergic to it, and it really has no place in a supplement designed to improve your health.

In fact, most vitamin manufacturers go out of their way to market their products as soy-free. That Dr. Howard, the creator and formulator of Balance of Nature, still hasn’t substituted soybean for something better in 2023, after so many years of criticism about this inclusion, is strange to say the least.

Nature’s Sustenance Pros and Cons

Pros

• Contains nutritionally potent greens, such as alfalfa, oat grass, dandelion greens, barley grass, kale and chlorophyll. As well as adaptogenic Siberian ginseng, immune boosting reishi and cognitive enhancing lion’s mane mushroom.
• Nature’s Sustenance says their Fruits and Greens supplement is made in the USA in a cGMP facility from American grown produce. They also state that all their products are vegan, non-GMO, and gluten, dairy and soy-free.
• Substance, the makers of Nature’s Sustenance, have an unconditional 90-day satisfaction promise. They say they will give a full refund if you’re not completely satisfied with any of their products.
• Less than half the retail price of Balance of Nature for an objectively superior superfood supplement.

Cons

• Nature’s Sustenance comes in 1 bottle of 120 capsules versus Balance of Nature’s 2 bottles of 90 capsules each. You take 4 capsules of Fruits & Greens compared to 6 capsules with Fruits and Veggies. To many people taking less capsules will be a pro not a con. It still adds up to a 3095 mg dosage though, compared to over 4000 mg of whole food powder when taking Balance of Nature.
• Fruits and Greens by Substance contains rice flour, magnesium stearate and microcrystalline cellulose as other ingredients, whilst Balance of Nature lists only vegetable cellulose from the capsules. The company could improve its formula by removing these fillers or finding a better substitute.

Pros and Cons of Balance of Nature

Pros

• Dr. Howard’s formulation has some nutritious berries and fruit, such as cranberry, blueberry, papaya, pineapple and strawberry. As well as healthy vegetables like spinach, broccoli, kale, wheatgrass and shiitake mushroom.
• The company says all ingredients are harvested at the peak of ripeness and freeze-dried to retain the most antioxidants and other nutrients.
• Balance of Nature Fruits and Veggies comes in 2 bottles containing 180 capsules in total, versus Nature’s Sustenance Fruits & Greens which has 120. With the 6 caps compared to 4 caps daily dosage, Balance of Nature offers around 1000mg of extra whole food powder per day.

Cons

• Raw soybean as an ingredient in the Veggies formula makes it unsuitable for those with a soy allergy, and anyone who wants to avoid this controversial additive.
• Too many cheap and common fruits added, like apple, banana, orange and grape. The ingredients in Balance of Nature are also listed alphabetically, rather than in the conventional format of by weight. This means there is no way to know if Fruits and Veggies is primarily the cheaper and less nutritious ingredients on the supplement label.
• Balance of Nature has a retail price of $89.95 for a 30-day supply. That’s more than double the cost of Nature’s Sustenance. It’s also around 6 times more expensive than alternatives like JuiceFestiv, which is also made from organic produce .

Substance Fruits & Greens Side Effects and Precautions

Nature’s Sustenance states on their packaging that “pregnant and nursing mothers, as well as individuals with a known medical condition, should consult a physician before using this or any other dietary supplement”.

They don’t list any specific side effects from taking Fruits + Greens and few would be expected from freeze-dried whole food powder capsules like this.

Reading through customer reviews on Nature’s Sustenance there were no common themes of negative effects that I could find. This is a much newer product than Balance of Nature though and has a lot less consumer feedback.

Balance of Nature Side Effects

Most of the ingredients in Fruits and Veggies should not cause negative effects for the vast majority of people. There are a few themes that emerge however in the thousands of ratings by customers on Amazon.

The most common two Balance of Nature complaints I could see were about heartburn or an upset stomach after taking the capsules. Heartburn is most likely due to taking them on an empty stomach which is not recommended.

The garlic, onion and cruciferous vegetables in the Veggies product could cause some gas and bloating for sensitive individuals. This side effect is usually temporary and resolves after a day or two of use.

People with a soy allergy should not take Balance of Nature Veggies due to the raw soybean it contains.

Comparing Monthly and Daily Costs

Both Nature’s Sustenance and Balance of Nature provide a 30-day supply when taken at the recommended daily dosage.

Substance Fruits & Greens is available for $39.95 on Amazon, while Balance of Nature Fruits and Veggies sells for $89.95, both there and on their own website.

That works out at $1.33 as the daily cost for taking Nature’s Sustenance versus $2.99 for Balance of Nature. It’s a huge difference in price points and one that’s difficult to fathom given the comparison of ingredients and different pros and cons listed earlier.

Consumer Reviews for Nature’s Sustenance

Sustenance Fruits & Greens currently has 4.3 out of 5 stars on Amazon. Since it’s quite new, there are only 51 customer ratings at the time of writing. 79% of these are 4 and 5 stars, while 21% are 3, 2 and 1 stars.

Common positive themes included “more energy”, “good ingredients” and a “fair price versus competitors”. Here’s some example quotes:

• “I could tell a difference right away after taking the daily dose of 4 pills. Can’t explain it, but I seemed to feel better and have more energy.”
• “I think it’s more about ensuring that your body gets some good stuff, especially antioxidants and anti-inflammatories. I especially appreciate the addition of mushrooms because I’m excited about their health benefits.”
• “I noticed that I had more energy when I woke up and it lasted long through the day.”

There aren’t many negative reviews on this new product but the couple I found generally mentioned not feeling any effect from taking Nature’s Sustenance. For example:

• “I haven’t felt any harm or good from taking this, but I think it’s best for someone who wants to add some fruit and veggies, but aren’t taking other supplements or have a specific deficiency.”
• “I feel no different than I did a few weeks ago when I first started taking these.”

Customer Feedback for Balance of Nature

There are currently over 2,500 consumer ratings for Balance of Nature Fruits and Veggies on Amazon USA. It’s not surprising then that there is a wide range of differing opinions.

Overall Balance of Nature is rated 4.4 stars out of 5. 83% of customer reviews are 4 and 5 stars, while 17% are 3, 2 and 1 star opinions.

Positive themes include a “boost of energy” and “a convenient way to get fruits and vegetables”. Here are some quotes:

• “Both myself and my husband started taking these and have noticed an increase in energy. Don’t feel like I need a nap in the afternoon.”
• “I love that I’m putting something good in my body that is easy and convenient.”
• “My husband and I have been taking them for over a month now. We’re mostly just feeling a small boost of energy. Didn’t do much for aches and pains.”

Negative reviews on Balance of Nature often mention terms like “expensive”, “a waste of money” and “felt no difference”. For example:

• “I have been using it for 3 months. I really didn’t notice any change.”
• “No change. Disappointed we wasted our money. Seems obvious to me now that the advertisements have embellished a bit.”
• “I didn’t notice any health difference at all. Very expensive.”

Balance of Nature Versus Nature’s Sustenance: The Verdict

With over 10 years of experience researching superfoods, it’s my personal opinion that Fruits & Greens by Nature’s Sustenance is a superior substitute for Balance of Nature Fruits and Veggies in 2023.

There’s simply no good reason for Balance of Nature to be more than twice as expensive given its ingredients and the other issues covered in this review.

Perhaps if the company spent a little less on TV ads, and a little more on improving their formulation, they could offer a better product to potential customers at a lower price.

While Nature’s Sustenance is a better choice in this direct comparison, the Juice Plus alternative JuiceFestiv is an even cheaper option. As is Nature’s Way Garden Veggies and Orchard Fruits.

If you don’t mind mixing up a green powder then this Field of Greens review has a superfood supplement that’s much better than both Balance of Nature and Nature’s Sustenance Fruits & Greens. Thank you for reading.