UPDATED: December 21st, 2023

The Xtend-Life Total Balance Men’s Premium multivitamin is believed by many to be the best multivitamin for men. For quite a while products by Nature Made, GNC, One a Day, and Rainbow Light and Weider were considered to be the best multivitamins for men but no longer.

As you can see from the multivitamin for men rankings here, the Xtend-Life product ranks number one, but is it among the vast array of products?

Does this multivitamin work? It has certainly acquired a very loyal following and its product various reviews are effusive and praiseworthy. The Total Balance product line is Xtend-Life’s flagship product and what built its international reputation.

Is The Xtend-Life Total Balance Men’s Premium Vitamin Product The Best Multivitamin for Men?

Let’s now discuss the health benefits this nutritional or vitamin supplement.

According to Xtend-Life’s promotional literature, this “premium” version is bio-chemically designed to be just for men. Many think Xtend-Life makes the best multivitamin brands or best supplements. They say they are popular with exercise or workout enthusiasts and they welcome they say a comparison of the best vitamins on the market.

A few of the benefits purported by Xtend-Life are specific benefits given to men including benefits to the male prostate, improved overall energy levels and general health, a strong vibrant sex drive, antioxidant or anti-aging capabilities and so on.

Many male multivitamin products today now have a full complement of not just vitamins but also assimilable minerals, amino acids, and other important co-factor trace elements in them. That’s highly desirable.

The Total Balance Men’s Premium multivitamin option, according to Xtend-Life, has a full complement of vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants (these are vital as to deter aging), anti-glycation & methylation agents (again, key to anti-aging), amino acids (vital for tissue repair) trace elements, enzymes,  neuro-nutrients, flavonoids, carotenoids, adaptogens (another anti-aging element) calorie restriction mimetics, nutritional co-factors and even herbal extracts that meet British Pharmacopeia standards.

This comprehensive multivitamin product has 99 active ingredients. That far surpasses its competition. In addition, Xtend-Life believes its product combines the best elements of western medicine as well as alternative herbal medicine. So, how does this benefit you?  Well, it means you are getting the kind of focused vital nutrition at the cellular level that you need for optimal health, according to its manufacturer.

 Anti-Aging Nutrients in It

The supplement manufacturer Xtend-Life believes that the positive effects and benefits in their published testimonials are very diverse and cover the whole gambit from enhanced prostate health, to improved sex drive, stamina and performance, more restful sleep, enhanced brain functionality, even eye health improvement. While it’s not an eye supplement, it does have some specific nutrients designed to sustain good eye health.

Besides the vitamins and minerals it has, this product has a lot of anti-aging agents including methylation agents, adaptogens, anti-glycation agents, etc. People forget though that vitamin C, E and others have strong antioxidant powers.

Indeed a lot goes to a healthy lifestyle. Good vitamin supplements give wellness, endurance, fitness and stamina provided one has a healthy diet, Xtend-Life says. Their website, by the way, gives good recipes, advice, articles, which is rare for most companies in the supplement industry.

How Is It Made?

The manufacturing process that Xtend-Life voluntarily subscribes to meets GMP compliance standards as outlined by the FDA. I say “voluntary” but in New Zealand where the product is created their Ministry of Health oversees the manufacture of dietary supplements.

First off, the raw ingredients are sourced in most instances that I’ve been able to validate through my research from specific business partners who vouchsafe that the raw ingredients are of the highest quality. In truth, the raw ingredients from which the products are made are certified by an independent laboratory certifying their purity. The tablets are made and certified as pharmaceutical-grade quality ingredients per GMP (good manufacturing practices) requirements.

Then, a Certificate of Analysis (COA) is registered and stamped. What does this do? It confirms the ingredient batch’s purity and cleanliness. One of the things that Xtend-Life does is imprint a specific batch number onto the bottle’s label. The company says they can produce the batch number whenever desired and have it on file it for record keeping purposes.

The raw ingredients are formulated into the multivitamin tablets with what Xtend-Life says are highly sophisticated, FDA-certified and GMP-compliant manufacturing processes that equal pharmaceutical-drug quality. This appears to be true. One thing Xtend-Life has invested in is a pharmaceutical blending process that blends the raw ingredients evenly. This is in stark contrast to the more traditional paddle/ribbon blender-type mixers most vitamin manufacturers typically use.

Again, this GMP auditing process is quite innovative — and expensive, Xtend Life says. These standards meet FDA and/or British Pharmacopoeia drug standards.

Once the tablets are made, the encapsulation process is the final step before the vitamin tablets are bottled. Xtend-Life encapsulates their Total Balance line in enteric coating versus just pharmaceutical glaze (most vitamin companies don’t even add pharmaceutical glaze). This is very noteworthy.

What is so special about enteric coating? What is it? Well, enteric coating is what you get when you use pharmaceutical or most prescription drugs. It is a coating that passes harmlessly through the system through normal biological, elimination procedures. The enteric coating preserves the nutrients in the stomach. The stomach acids can break down a vitamin tablet and thus cause its sensitive nutrients to be destroyed. Not so with the Total Balance tablets.

This state-of-the-art nutrient delivery system is costly. It’s why you see it with pharmaceutical drugs but not so much with nutritional or vitamin supplement products.

The enteric coating is vital to the success of the multivitamin as it preserves the sensitive nutrients from being destroyed by the harsh stomach acid environment. In addition, the enteric coating preserves the nutrients in the tablets until they can pass into your upper intestine where they’re finally released into your bloodstream to do their work.

This is a radical departure from most vitamin supplement companies. Without the protection of the enteric coating, almost all of the nutrient value of the vitamins from inferior manufacturers are virtually all eliminated through normal human urination. Here’s a simple key, they say, to determine the assimilability of a vitamin. Note the next time you urinate. If it is a deeply rich yellow or yellow-brownish color, that is a clear indicator of the tablet’s lack of assimilation.

If there is one fundamental reason as to why this product is so effective, Xtend-Life says, it is because of its superb delivery system through the enteric coating. Xtend-Life says 80% of the 99 nutrients in the Total Balance Men’s Premium multivitamin tablet will be assimilated. They actually guarantee that fact, which they say they’ve proven in clinical tests.

For more detailed information on how the multivitamins are made at Xtend-Life, go here and there you’ll receive all the information you want regarding the manufacturing processes.

Consumer Testimonials

Total Balance sells very well in the global market place. Here are a few testimonials I’ve taken from their website. This is not a comprehensive list of testimonials, by the way.

I have been taking Total Balance Men’s 3 x a day, Neuro-Natural General 3 x a day and Omega 3/DHA Fish Oil 2 x a day for the past week and a half….…I’ve had ADD and allergies for as long as I can remember, especially after the age of 8/9. I’m 20 now. In the short time I’ve been taking your products my ADD and allergy symptoms have diminished quickly…..I know your products are working because I’ve been taking prescription medications to treat my symptoms for over a decade…..As soon as I took your products I quit taking my prescriptions cold turkey. In less than a day I noticed that my ADD was virtually gone, I sleep better, I have more energy and my allergies are reduced as well. The disappearance of my allergies is a huge difference because spring is here and allergies have hit my region and I’m virtually unaffected.
William, USA

I am now 57. Your supplements have made possible the following measurable differences…. A Pulmonary Function Test at the hospital in February 2003 (before using Xtend-Life products) showed a 45% increase in lung capacity after using Ventolin. A 10% increase indicates asthma. I was prescribed a puffer to be used for the rest of my life and told that I would never get my lung capacity back. I began using Xtend-Life Total Balance Men’s Premium, and Omega 3/DHA in December 2003. In February 2005 after using your products for 14 months, a follow up Pulmonary Function Test showed only a 15% increase in lung capacity after using Ventolin. My Doctor was surprised with such a reversal of an irreversible condition….
Steve W, Canada

I’ve been worried about the vitamins and cancer connection. Big Pharma and health has never been synonymous either. I want a long career, a long sexual life while I continue dating my wife; I want to continue to go to the gym. Yea, Pharma & Healthcare don’t mix. Paul Offit says mens health can be enhanced by taking good vitamins, and I believe I’ve found one here. This is a great product, and I don’t say that lightly. I feel a tangible difference in my health when I take this product. Thank you.
J. Raburn
California, USA

Is There a Guarantee?

Yes. Xtend-Life actually has a full one-year guarantee on their entire product line including, of course, the Total Balance Men’s Premium product. The company says if you aren’t happy with the product, you will be offered a full refund or a product replacement — the company gives you that choice.

What’s the Price?

As of December 21st, 2023, it sells for $51.50 per bottle. Each bottle has the obligatory cotton ball, desiccant and 105 enteric-coated tablets. Buy it here.

What About Shipping Cost?

If your order is $60 USD or more, the shipping and handling is free. If the order is less than the $60 amount, Xtend-Life will then charge a flat $6.50 shipping fee for shipment worldwide. This fee, by the way, applies anywhere in the world.

What Are the Customer Complaints?

The biggest complaint about the Total Balance multivitamin, and their product line in general, is its price tag. Some of its ingredients, too, have caused some raised eyebrows — like adding folic acid, silica, and other fillers to its products like Total Balance.

Xtend-Life counters that saying they could ask more if you bought all the vitamins and minerals separately. (I have validated this premise for myself. If one takes all the nutrients in various supplement products that one purchases, it would be over $500.)

Another point they make is that their products are made from independent laboratory, certified pharmaceutical grade quality ingredients that are manufactured in cGMP-compliant facilities. They also assert that these facilities actually meet standards with various product-creation procedures that meet or even exceed the ever rigorous British Pharmacopoeia standards. That is debatable.

Lastly, Xtend-Life says that the Total Balance line (and their other products) has a guaranteed assimilation rate of 80% level. They say this number surpasses over-the-counter, grocery-store vitamin products and even other competitors. Dr. Linus Pauling and others like James Lind, Douglas Mawson and others say a lack of good vitamin synthesis is a precursor to disease. An 80% assimilation goes a long way to allay that.

Is This the Best Multivitamin for Men?

No, it’s not the best multi-vitamin for men, but the company is very slick in its web copy, graphics, and promises to affiliates. Xtend-Life provides a lot of pre-selling information regarding the multivitamin, and all their products really, including actual in-house clinical studies, ingredient info, health benefits you can reasonably expect if one uses the product regularly, recommended protocols and so on. If you explore the site a bit, you’ll see a lot of information provided there.

Pros?

• All Xtend-Life products are made in a FDA-registered and GMP-certified facility
• Xtend-Life controls the tablet creation process from raw ingredients to manufacturing to bottling
• The enteric coating is pharmaceutical quality
• Xtend-Life guarantees the customer will notice an improvement in their health
• The company guarantees that 80% minimum of the tablets are assimilated — that is debatable
• All their products including the Total Balance for Men Premium product has a one-year money-back guarantee — if the company keeps their word on it.

Cons?

• It’s more expensive than other multivitamin products on the market
• Shipping takes sometimes more than a week once the order is made
• Some may not like that it’s a New Zealand company and not an American company
• The company has engaged in dishonest business practices such as not paying affiliates money earned

Where Can One Buy It?

Xtend-Life sells their products via their website. They only sell directly so you won’t find it in grocery or health-food stores.

As of December 21st, 2023, I no longer recommend Xtend-Life or its products. I have personally experienced their dishonest business practices and that coupled with some questionable business practices, like using fillers like sand and synthetic ingredients like folic acid lead me to disavow their products. The company was sold by the Matthews family and since then, the company has engaged in dishonest practices like not paying affiliates they had promised to pay for a lifetime of earned commissions.

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