Natural Cures (the blog)

Green Superfood Products: How to Read the Labels

March 8th, 2008

How to Judge the Quality of a Green Superfood Product

There are more and more green superfood products hitting the market all the time. What you should know as a consumer of these products is that the quality of these products varies greatly and it can be difficult to judge one from another just by looking at the label.

There are two things that affect quality of a green superfood product. The first is the quality of the ingredients themselves:

• Are they organic?
• Do they come from reliable sources?
• Are they handled and stored properly?
• Are they fresh?

Second, the formulation of the product — that is, the mixture of ingredients — can greatly affect its quality:

• Are there any additives or artificial ingredients?
• Are there any fillers or bulking ingredients?
• Are the majority of ingredients the ones with the highest nutrient values?
• Are there any ingredients that are added in “token amounts” just to get them onto the label?
• Is there a variety of ingredients and is the variety well planned and executed?

These are the questions I’ll answer in this article…and give you an idea of how to read between the lines when looking at the labels. In fact, the first thing to look for when studying a label is the way ingredients are listed. Are they listed one by one or are they listed in groups. If they are listed one by one, then you can assume that they appear in order of quantity in the mixture (based on percent of the total mixture). If they appear in groups (Land Vegetable Blend, Fruit Blend, Etc.), then you can assume that the groups are listed in order of quantity of the mixture they represent and within the groups themselves, the ingredients are listed in quantity order. Between one group and another, it’s impossible to know how much of each ingredient is part of the mixture — only that the mixture higher on the list represents more of the product.

Tip: Make special note of the ingredient that appears first within any group or blend. It’s quite likely that this represent up to 80 percent of the group.

So, a fruit blend that lists banana or apple first, is probably hiding the fact that the blend is mostly banana or apple. Why? Because banana and apple are two of the least expensive fruit ingredients and most formulators will bulk up the blend with the cheapest ingredients. If berries and exotic fruits are last in the list, then you can bet that these are added in small or even token amounts.

A land vegetable blend that lists grasses first is probably giving you a good helping of the cheap stuff. If vegetables like tomato powder, spinach powder, dandelion juice and broccoli powder are high on the list, then you’re getting a lot of the good stuff.

Caveat: Placement on the list is not always a perfect indicator of value, due to the potency of certain ingredients. For example, Blueberries are very potent in antioxidants and it does not take a lot them to make a difference in a blend. So even if blueberries appears lower in the “Fruit Blend” list, it could be sufficient to make a valuable contribution to the product.

The bottom line is that you need to know a bit about each of these ingredients to know what you’re getting — even when you read between the lines of the label. So, here’s a little summary for you. Here are the ingredients that add super nutrition to a blend…

• All berries including gogi and Acai
• Kelp and seaweeds (kelp more so than exotic seaweeds like laver)
• Nettles
• Dandelion juice
• Horsetail
• Vegetables like broccoli, spinach, parsley, and kale
• Spirulina
• Green tea powder or extract

Now here’s a list of ingredients that should not be too high on anyone’s list…

• Apple pectin
• Banana powder
• Brown rice solids or juice
• Whey or Soy protein
• Lecithin

Ingredients that are average in terms of nutritional value and are perfectly ok to have in fairly large quantities include…

• Grasses
• Exotic kelps and seaweeds
• Flaxseed meal
• Fruits like grape, papaya, mango, and citrus
• Maca root

So, I hope that helps you make better decisions about the quality of your super green drink formula. Don’t forget to check the Green Superfood Comparison Chart regularly for updates to the listings. Also, be sure to read the recently updated article Comparing Green Superfood Products. I’ll be updating it again soon.

photo credits

Entry Filed under: good foods, health, spirulina, superfoods