Your Herbal Nutrition Supplement

Critical Information You Need To Know About The Herbs In Your Supplement
If you're using some form of herbal nutrition supplement or a multi ingredient nutritional health supplement with a number of herbal extracts in the formula, then this page will be of interest to you. As you read down the page you'll discover critical facts about herbal ingredients that will help you know what to look for and what questions to ask when comparing and choosing supplements containing herbs.

You're no doubt aware that for several years now there has been a worldwide ground-swell in the use of herbs and herbal supplements to treat, cure and/or protect against degenerative diseases and medical disorders.

There is also an ever growing trend of health conscious consumers with no illness' or medical conditions, using natural health supplements containing herbal extracts, as a form of ongoing anti aging preventative health care.

They're using the well established therapeutic and anti aging properties of medicinal herbs to guard against disease, especially some forms of cancer, while at the same time promoting general wellness and longevity ensuring no disease in old age.

The aging baby boomer's generation is leading this 'preventative health care ' march. They've become fed-up with overworked doctors tendencies to write drug prescriptions rather than taking the time to discuss natural healing options. This has created a world-wide 'self-care' attitude - taking control of your own healthand using new generation science-based supplements to assist in accomplishing this.

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Herbs provide a form of long-term wellness insurance!

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The major world markets for herbal supplements are in the US and Europe. It is estimated that herbal supplements are used by almost 50 million Americans on a regular basis. Herbal nutrition supplements account for the most dominant category in the European supplement market.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 80 percent of the earth’s population uses some form of herbal medicine in their health care.

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Did you know that up to 25% of all prescription pharmaceuticals in the United States today contain at least one active ingredient derived from plant extracts or synthesized plant compounds!

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In recent years there has been a resurgence of scientists re-examining herbal remedies as a complementary adjunct to western medicine drugs.

A growing body of research now supports many of the long known therapeutic activity of numerous herbs. A great deal of further research is needed however because only approximately 15 percent of the estimated plant species on the planet have been studied for medicinal use. (1)

Herbal Nutrition Supplements The Basics

Herbal supplements contain herbs with active ingredient compounds that offer beneficial effects on certain tissues and organs in your body – you could think of them as herbal vitamins.

Active ingredients possess potent properties such as

• anti-cancer
• anti-inflammatory
• anti-viral
• anti-bacterial
• detoxification
• decongestant
• antioxidant
• astringent
• laxative
• pain relief
• stimulant
• antibiotic

and the list goes on!

Although the benefits of herbs, (when used correctly), are well known, what is not widely known is that there are MANY variants of each herb that can and are used in a herbal nutrition supplement. This is due to different extraction methods. Additionally, the part of the plant that is used has a significant impact on its efficacy as does the percentage of extract. These are key factors to check on when considering supplements with herbal ingredients.


Potencies of herbal extracts in supplements can range from around 2 % up to 99%


There are 3 main forms of herb which can be used in a herbal nutrition supplement:

1. Powdered herb (whole herb)



2. An extract from the herb



3. A standardized extract from the herb

Whole herbs suggest a more holistic approach with multiple compounds in the whole of the herb working together synergistically. It’s more likely that there is more than one mechanism of action and other less potent components may act as buffers, synergists, or counterbalances to the more powerful ingredients.

The problem with this assumption is that since science to date has identified and studied only a relatively small number of the total constituents in all plant species – it’s just not known what they all do. It may be that some are actually of little to no use and are not worth having and paying for in a supplement.

A herbal nutrition supplement containing the whole form will more usually than not contain a single ingredient aimed at a particular ailment.

Now to extracts. From an extract point of view we know that research has confirmed the health benefits of specific active ingredients.

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So when it comes to extracts containing proven actives, I believe it is logical (at this point in time) to assume these are preferable to unknown quantities in whole herbs.

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Since extracts target only actives, they are many times more powerful than those in whole herbs! A major problem exists however in that the amount of these actives can vary TREMENDOUSLY when herbs are grown and processed.

Standardization - Your Active Ingredient Guarantee!

Please keep in mind that of all the various nutrient categories used in nutritional health supplements, herbal ingredients are the most vulnerable to CONTAMINATION!!

All of the following criteria should be clearly laid out on a supplement company's website. If not then you're looking at weak, lower quality supplements.

1. Standardization

2. Self Manufacture = Quality and Safety

1:- All raw materials must be sourced from GMP registered and audited facilities.

2:- All ingredients must have a CERTIFICATE OF ANALYSIS ON FILE FOR EVERY RAW INGREDIENT confirming it's composition and potency.

If this information is not mentioned (AND CONFIRMED) on a company's website, you absolutely should avoid that company's products!

These quality assurance measures protect you from contamination, guard your safety and ensure you receive exactly what you are paying for. Cost crazy, non-professional manufacturers don't care! All they think about is their bottom line profit. Weak industry regulations allow them to get away with it. This is well known within the supplement industry.

I worked in this industry! I know all the secrets and shortcuts!

Here are more things to check on.

A reputable supplement company will TEST, BOTH IN-HOUSE AND INDEPENDENTLY, all their raw ingredients prior to manufacture for compliance with certificates of analysis and for MICROBIOLOGICAL CONTAMINATION! Once again, if this is not confirmed on a company's website avoid their products.

Disreputable manufacturers simply DO NOT TEST!

3. Pharmaceutical Level Manufacturing - Count Them On One Hand!

4. No Artificial ANYTHING

• Colors


• Flavors


• Preservatives


• Fillers


• Binders

5. 100% Money Back Guarantee - No Ridiculous Conditions

If your supplement company doesn't have an honest and sensible money back guarantee ask yourself why!

And 30 day guarantees don't count! That's a RIDICULOUS period of time to give a nutritional health supplement to do its work ! A famous bio-scientist once told me that you should allow around one month for a supplement to address a medical problem (for every year which that particular problem has been there). Use this as a rough guide.

Would you be interested to look at the herbal nutrition supplement I use? It contains over a dozen of the most recognized, broad spectrum medicinal herbs.

Actually, it's far more than just a herbal nutrition supplement. It's a multi nutrient nutritional health / vitamin supplement and it's the market leader in this category without question, both in terms of efficacy and value for money. It contains virtually every nutrient mentioned in this entire site! Read through my best vitamin supplements comparisons and the supplement reviews on that same page - you'll see the proof and understand why I make such a bold claim.

Let me introduce you to Total Balance from the Xtend-Life Company. They operate and manufacture in New Zealand.

A point worth mentioning here is that the supplement regulatory environment in New Zealand is FAR STRICTER than in the U.S. (even with the 2007 updated dietary supplement regulations!) Total Balance is a SUPER SUPPLEMENT!


It was formulated by a world renowned bio-scientist:

Prof. Dr. A Munem Daoud PhD., MSc., ND.

Prof. Dr. Munem was chief scientist in Iraq and governed 200,000 scientists and bio-chemists. He escaped Iraq to settle in New Zealand some 20 years ago. He is a world-renowned scientist who was included in the 1997-98 Who's Who in the World list for scientists

His qualifications and experience are impeccable. He has been hired multiple times by governments around the globe to create natural supplement formulas that their own scientists could not master.

Prof. Dr. Munem is a bio-chemist with a medical, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical background. He is one of a select few individuals working in the supplement industry who has the expertise to understand the actions of various nutrients in the body at the molecular level and in particular how they interact with each other and with bodily fluids. This requires a pharmaceutical background in addition to expertise and degrees in natural substances.

This is something that is missing in a Physicians training! Beware of "Doctor Formulated supplements"!

Here is a very important fact - the Total Balance formula has been revved up 5 times in the past 7 years (as new developments in nutritional science come along). The large, well known multi-national supplement companies cannot do this due to their size and the huge costs incurred when up-grading a formula. This gives the smaller supplement companies, like Xtend-Life (a family owned business), a critical advantage - THEIR FORMULAS ARE UP TO DATE!

View Total Balance Women's (Regular)



Total Balance Men's (Premium) - (the one I use)

Total Balance Women's (Premium)

Here are some highlights of the Total Balance formula. Each daily dose is chocked full of:

• Rare and Specialized ANTI AGING NUTRIENTS



• DOZENS of high potency PHYTONUTRIENTS



• More than a DOZEN POWERFUL MEDICINAL HERBS – STANDARDIZED of course



• A Full Range of AMINO ACIDS



• Standardized ENZYMES



• Special GENDER SUPPORT NUTRIENTS



• And a Potent IMMUNITY BLEND - a formula within a formula!

• Vitamins


• Minerals


• Trace Elements


• Enzymes


• Antioxidants


• Amino Acids


• Anti-Glycation Agents


• Neuronutrients


• Flavanoids


• Carotenoids


• Methylation Agents


• Adaptogens


• Calorie Restriction Mimetics


• Herbal Extracts


• Co-factors

I've reviewed hundreds of supplements including the industry's (so-called) super supplements and Total Balance demolished all others in terms of it's extraordinary formula AND value for money. After all the best supplements have to be affordable right, or what's the point if the majority of consumers can't afford them!


That's why my family and I have used this unique wellness supplement since 1999 - we can afford it! We're just a comfortable middle class health orientated family. My mum, dad and sister all have great health and a large part of that is due to the support that comes from Total Balance. My mum's health (she's 80 years old) is truly fantastic. Weight training, golf and lawn bowls every week!

1. Balch PA. Prescription for Nutritional Healing. Third Edition. 2000. 1:85

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