UPDATED April 4, 2009
The number of green superfood powders that have sprouted up lately is astonishing. Now there are more than 150 brands on the market and they all have different formulas and offer different health benefits. But not only are there numerous products…but the number of herbs, veggie powders, grasses and grains used in these mixtures is nearly endless. So this article is your first stop for making some sense of this chaos. Here, you’ll get a bird’s eye view of the green drink market and what you should look for in a product. See the list of related articles at the end to take your investigation to the next level.
I’m including only those products I have determined to be among the best in this category and which contain the most robust mixtures of natural ingredients. Simple, single-ingredient drinks (like a simple wheat grass juice) did not make the cut. Products with a substantial amount of fillers or chemical ingredients will also not be included. I will add new products to this comparison as I become aware of them and if they are as good or better than those listed here.
Key Ingredients
Let’s begin with how these products overlap. Most green superfood drinks all contain some amount of the following ingredients:
- Land Vegetables (such as beets, spinach, grasses, dandelion, etc.)
- Sea Vegetables (kelp, purple dulse)
- Algaes (mainly spirulina and chlorella)
- Probiotics and Enzymes (the type and source differs)
- Fibrous Meal (flaxseed meal, brown rice solids, apple pectin, lecithin, and others)
The amounts of each of these ingredients may vary substantially from product to product. Some are heavy in the algaes while others favor land veggies. I look for at least 2 grams per serving being comprised of land vegetables, sea vegetables, and/or algaes, with a under 2 grams of fibrous meal, which is used like a natural filler to bulk up the product in most cases (not that lecithin or flax meal is not healthy, but I give more points for the better, more expensive, ingredients). Beyond this basic list, products may feature certain ingredients that add flavor or special qualities, such as energy enhancement or intestinal cleansing.
Special Additions
There’s nothing that says a green drink formula must have healthy herbs and extracts in addition to the key ingredients listed above. But those that include some well-chosen botanicals often rank a little higher in my book, depending on the way they are formulated and the overall cost. Some of the herbs I look for include:
- Nettle, Milk Thistle and Dandilion Leaf
- Green Tea Powder
- Mushroom Powders
- Olive Leaf Extract
- Pine Bark Extract
- Echinacea, Ginko Biloba, and Astragalus
Obviously, the more of these expensive ingredients in a green drink, the higher the price will be. So a great alternative to getting these in your green drink formula is to get a basic formula that’s strong in the key ingredients and then add your own herbs that you purchase separately.
Basic Formulas
Basic formulas are those with a focus on the key ingredients and not too many additions. They are the least robust of the green drinks and should be less expensive as a result. These are great for those on a budget or for those who like adding their own herbs to a basic mixture…or those wanting just the basics.
A good example of a basic formula is Dr. Shulze’s Super Food. This product is a simple mixture of the most basic ingredients with nothing noteworthy to help it stand out from the crowd. The land vegetables are minimal and the product focuses on spirulina and chlorella as its key ingredients — giving it an especially horrible taste. The good news is that it has one of the lowest price points on the market at only $2.43 per ounce. I suppose you can take the money you save and buy the flavoring ingredients you’ll need to disguise taste of this product. Dr. Shulze has a deluxe formula, called Super Food Plus, which has a much more competitive list of ingredients, including grasses, seaweed, beet and spinach leaf, orange peel and lemon peels. The product is still among the least expensive at $2.57 per ounce and this makes it a great value, even though it’s not the most robust formulation.
Other products that are comparable to this formula include Amazing Grass, EnerFood, Green Defense, Greenergy, and Mighty Greens.
Well Rounded Mixtures
The “well rounded mixture” is a formula that contains all of the basics ingredients with plenty of veggies to balance out the greens. Plus, these mixtures include extra ingredients to make the overall formula more directed toward a particular need. Some add protein, some add antioxidants, some add fruit blends, and most add a selection of healing herbs and extracts.
A perfect example of a well rounded mixture is Green Vibrance. It has a very nice and well rounded formulation, plus it contains a decent amount of green tea powder, which I personally like in a green drink because it adds anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory qualities (among other things). I don’t mind the little bit of caffeine that comes with the tea. Green Vibrance has some other very nice ingredients for additional antioxidant power and it’s got an extremely fair price tag at only $3.70 per ounce.
Another well rounded mixture is Macro Greens, which was among the first on the market and is still among the best. Its land veggies include beets, cactus, barley grass, and carrot. It has large doses of herbs, including ginger, horsetail, suma, astragalus, Echinacea, milk thistle and others. It includes a few fruits (berries, cintrus, acerola cherries) and offers green tea, watercress, royal jelly, and aloe vera as special ingredients. It has the usual algaes and contains a lot of fibrous meal, which is a mixture of lecithin, apple pectin and flax seed meal, but overall, it’s among my favorites and costs $4.00 per ounce.
More products in this category include New Greens, a formula that includes a little of everything, with a focus on algaes and alfalfa. Land veggies include carrot, spinach, tomato, kale, broccoli and others. Some special herbal additions worth highlighting include royal jelly, pollen, green tea, milk thistle, tumeric, and ginko biloba. It has a small amount of fibrous meal in the form of flaxseed meal, apple pectin, and brown rice solids. Also look at Delicious Greens, Go Greens, Greens First, Greens Pak, Boku Super Food, NanoGreens 10, and ProGreens.
Super Robust Formulas
The products in the super robust category are those that go the extra mile and offer more than the basics…more than extra veggies and herbs, but unexpected quality of ingredients. They also tend to have few or no fillers and, of course, they tend to be the most expensive of the bunch, but you get what you pay for.
My favorite super robust formula is Vitamineral Green, which has a lot of grasses, and some kelp and sea veggies. To compliment the grasses and kelp is a healthy dose of Nettle and juices of alfalfa, dendelion, broccoli, kale and other veggies. It is high in spirulina too, so you can bet you’re getting a quality blend here. There are no fruits, but honestly, most green products don’t have enough fruits to make them a substitute for the “Red” products (see RedDrinkReviews.com), so the lack of a fruit blend is not a huge negative on my list. Vitamineral Green clocks in at $3.06 per ounce, which makes it one of the best values among the super robust formulas.
Ben Kim’s Greens, Billy’s Greens, and Sun Is Shining are all formulated at the Vitamineral Green laboratory — by expert formulator Jameth Sheridan. All these products are top quality in terms of the source and freshness of ingredients and excellent formulations.
Berry Green and Vital Greens are also on the high-end of the spectrum. They both have excellent formulations and approximately the same cost per ounce (above $5). They are heavy in spirulina and grasses, while also offering substantial amounts of fruit powders. In the case of Berry Green, this comes in the form of red berries. In the case of Vital Greens, it comes in the form of apple powder, Billberry and acerola. If you want your berries and fruits along with the green superfoods, then these are worth looking at.
Other super robust products include Udo’s Green Blend, Pure Synergy, Perfectly Healthy Mega Greens, LifeForce, Emerald Balance, and Berry Green.
Summary
So, there you have it, some of the top contenders in the main green superfood drink categories. Which one you choose depends on your reason for taking the stuff in the first place — and your budget. If you’re looking for the most nutrition per spoonful, then look at the Super Robust formulas. But remember that these are also the most expensive. If you want a good, well-rounded formula that doesn’t cost too much, or you like getting some special herbs together with your green drink, then look at the products in the Well Rounded Mixtures category. If you are on a budget or prefer to just get the basics and add to it, then check out the Basic Formulas category.
I hope this helps you decide on how you’re going to “go green” and increase your nutrition and overall health.
Related Articles
Why Take a Green Drink
Get More from your Green Drink
Green Super Foods, Drink to your Health
Green Superfood Products: How to Read the Labels
April 4th, 2009
This is a quick view of sweeteners for those of you who want to enhance the taste of your green drinks, while remaining healthy. I’m not even going to talk about artificial sweeteners, such as saccharine and Aspartame. These are highly toxic chemicals and should never EVER be considered as a sweetener. In fact, you should never ingest any of these toxic chemicals for any reason. You’d be better off with ANY of the sweeteners listed below.
Sugar, Evaporated Cane Juice, Unprocessed Sugar, Maple Syrup, Molasses
Sucrose sugar, which is made from sugar cane and sugar beets is 50% fructose and 50% glucose. The glucose is a simple sugar that gets processed quickly by the body into energy. Thus the energy spike when you eat sugar. If your blood-sugar metabolism is normal, then your body processes half of the sugar (the glucose) into energy quickly, while the other half (the fructose) is probably stored as fat. Sugar is high on the glycemic index, so it’s not good for diabetics and should not be eaten in excess.
When it comes to sucrose sugar, I prefer the least amount of processing, which means the evaporated cane juice (pure cane sugar) and maple syrup are the best. Molasses is basically cane juice that is cooked down into a dark syrup and unprocessed sugar is actually semi-processed sugar. You can also find pure sugarcane sugar in block form and grind it or cut it into chunks for your various needs.
Fructose, Corn Syrup
Fructose is the sugar that comes from corn (high fructose corn syrup) and many types of fruit. When we eat fructose, the liver and digestive system converts some of it into energy, but store much of it as fat. In fact, fructose is practically all carbs, so it can lead to weight gain quite easily. It is low on the glycemic index, so it does not cause blood sugar spikes, but that’s offset (for diabetics) by the growing evidence that it enhances the body’s resistance to insulin, thus increasing risk of diabetes. So the truth about fructose is that it comes from corn and it has the same nutrients as sugar (practically none) and it’s stored as fat when sugar is burned as energy. Sugar gets burned first. Then fructose.
Xylitol
A derivative of birch wood, Xylitol is not actually a sugar, but a sugar alcohol. Its chemical properties are different than sugar, which makes it safe for diabetics and less harmful on the teeth and on the waistline. It was discovered in Germany in the 1970s and is studied for its use as a sugar substitute.
Sweet as Stevia…er, uh, Honey
Honey is a combination of glucose and fructose, but it has more fructose than sugar, so while the sucrose gets converted into energy, the fructose is most likely stored as fat. What makes honey a terrific alternative as a sweetener is that it also contains nutrients–mostly in the form of minerals. Of course, that’s only if you get real honey that has not been made from corn syrup. Oh, and also if you get honey from other countries because most American honey is now bereft of nutrients due to migrational bee-keeping practices that have weakened our bees to the point that many hives have been abandoned. Honey also tastes great and is sweeter than sugar. But while I use honey quite often, I also have no problem using sucrose sugar in moderation to sweeten my green drinks from time to time.
Stevia
Let’s face it. Stevia tastes like…well…artificial sweetener. It has a bitter, almost chemical taste on the back of your tongue and it’s often over-used. Since stevia is hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, it’s very easy to over do it…and I honestly have never tasted a green drink formulation that uses stevia that I like. If you’ve tried stevia and you like it…you’re in great shape. Stevia has no negative health effects and is not a sugar, so it’s ok for diabetics. Personally, I’d rather go without sweetener than put stevia in my food. Now, I know that many companies claim to have solved the stevia after-taste problem, but I have yet to try one that delivers on the promise.
Agave Nectar
Lately, agave nectar has been getting a lot of attention. It has a low glycemic index, so it’s great for diebetics. It is easy to use, being much like honey in consistency, but “thinner”–and it tastes great. It is being used quite often in protein bars, drinks, and sauces, because it dissolves easily and goes well with these foods. Much like honey in its chemistry, it’s made up of mostly fructose and some glucose. From a health perspective, it’s much like honey, but has the added advantage of being low on the glycemic index.
Brown Rice Syrup & Barley Malt Syrup
Brown rice syrup, which is often made with barley malt syrup, a series of sugars, with very little glucose, which means it does not spike the blood sugar and is low on the glycemic index. It can be used as a time-release source of energy, because the combination of Maltose and carbohydrates burn off at different rates–usually giving energy for hours, if you remain active. It has a bit of protein and is made much like the process of honey–by adding enzymes to the starchy sugars.
Summary
If you are interested in fast energy for a workout or if you are active and plan to burn up that energy…then you should just use sugar in some kind of natural or raw form (provided you’re not diabetic). If you’re interested in a longer-lasting form of energy, then go for brown rice syrup. If you like sweet things and want to get as much of it as possible…and want to know what you should use to minimize your health risks, then I suggest a variety of all of these, with a focus on the non-sugar alternatives (Xylitol and stevia). The truth is, excess is more dangerous to your health than any of these sugars when eaten in moderation.
October 25th, 2008
UPDATED August 24, 2008
In this third installment on green superfood powders, I’ve prepared a handy comparison chart that shows the ingredients of several products side-by-side. This makes it easier to compare and contrast the different products. Although this completes my series on green superfood powders for the time being, I will update these various comparisons and listings as needed, so check back from time to time to see the new additions and updates.
As for the chart, you can view it in pdf format (Adobe Reader required) or download it using this link: Green Superfood Comparison Chart or the link in the right column at the bottom of the list of green drinks.
I’ve also created a quick-view Green Drink Price Comparison Chart. When viewing this chart, remember that this only shows the price and does not compare the quality. You can see this chart using the link: Green Drink Price Comparison Chart. More to come.
Send me your comments and additional information about green drinks you want added to the chart (use the response form on the About page).
August 24th, 2008
If you’ve read a few of the posts in this blog, you’ll see that I’m a fan of certain super foods and health formulas. There are certain health supplements (or non-supplement enhancement products) that I think benefit just about anyone who might adopt them. One of these is a good green superfood drink. A good green drink is made from freeze-dried plants and vegetables (and often fruit or fruit juices) and is actually a food product — not a supplement, like a vitamin or mineral supplement. Green drinks are basically food in concentrated, powdered form. The best ones use organic ingredients and combine a variety of food sources, which may include the following super ingredients:
- Spirulina
- Chlorella
- Spinach, kale or other green leafy vegetables
- Maca Root
- Nettles & Milk Thistle
- Gooseberry
- Green tea or extract
- Bee pollen
- Olive leaf
- Wheatgrass, barleygrass or other grasses
- Alfalfa
This is not a complete list, but is a good list of some of the best ingredients to look for in a good green drink. Many green drinks also include probiotic ingredients that help to balance your intestinal flora, reduce yeast infection, and help with digestion and elimination. These are excellent to add to your diet and getting some extra culture can never hurt. If you don’t take a probiotic supplement or eat plenty of live cultures, then getting this in your green drink is a good strategy.
Many of these drinks must be refrigerated for the live cultures to remain live. However, some plant-based cultures can be stored outside of the refrigerator without a problem (although the best require refrigeration and come from animal sources, such as yogurt).
Depending on the green drink you choose, you may be adding more than just vitamins and minerals to your diet. Many green drinks have blood cleansing, blood pressure balancing, diuretic and energy enhancing properties. Here’s the key: By taking a green drink every day, you’ll be giving your body more nutrition and, therefore, you will require less food to nourish your body. Most likely, you will lose weight as a result because you will eat less. Many people report that certain cravings go away when they take green superfoods regularly.
Find a drink that works for you. Experiment with different brands and read the labels to compare ingredients. Some drinks have fillers. Some have more variety of ingredients. Others have organic ingredients. Most have certain key ingredients that come first on the list — and each of these offers something different. Experiment with recipes and methods of taking the powder. Most people combine these with juice and drink in the morning. I find that being able to “shake” the mixture is important, as it really mixes the powder with the juice and eliminates that lumpy texture.
Next article, I’ll compare some of the popular brands and make some recommendations. Stay tuned…
Related Articles:
Comparing Green Superfood Products
My Favorite Power Foods & Super Foods
landscape image credits
August 14th, 2007
A tasty way to cure the blues
Here’s a recipe for a tasty chocolate smoothie that combats depression. The ingredients in this concoction are selected for their antidepressant qualities and for their ability to work together in this mixture. Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 capsule of dry St. Johns wort (anti-anxiety, mood enhancer, antiviral, antibacterial)
- 1 capsule of Unha de Gato (Cat’s Claw) (circulation enhancer, blood purifier, immune system enhancer)
- 1 capsule of powdered DHEA (mood control through brain cell membranes)
- 1 tsp glutamine powder (stimulates metabolism, growth hormone and protein assimilation)
- 1 tsp powdered cinnamon (circulation stimulator)
- 1/8 cup pure, unsweetened chocolate or cocoa (antioxidants, endorphin stimulation, circulation regulator)
- 1/8 cup chopped mint leaves or 20 drops of mint essential oil (antispasmotic and anti-anxiety)
- 1/8 cup chilled flaxseed oil (omega-3 fatty acids)
- 1/4 cup walnuts (tannins, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids)
- 2 cups crushed ice
- honey or sugar to taste
Mix all ingredients in a blender (emptying the powder from the supplement capsules into the blender) and liquefy until fully mixed and smooth. Drink immediately.
Chocolate photo byhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/whitewizard_studio/147401275
November 7th, 2006
The number of Americans suffering from thyroid imbalance is reaching epidemic proportions. An estimated 15 million individuals are living with this imbalance, but the number is probably much higher. The most common imbalance is Hypothyroidism, which is an under-active thyroid. Symptoms include low energy, sensitivity to cold, slow digestion and elimination, weight gain, slow heartbeat, and even depression.
Sound like you?
Maybe you should pamper your thyroid a bit. The first step is to stop drinking caffeinated beverages. The caffeine causes your adrenal gland to secrete adrenaline, which increases blood sugar levels and therefore energy. But this has negative effects on the thyroid. With the increased energy, the thyroid re-regulates the metabolism and, if repeated every day (from your daily pot of coffee?) then the thyroid goes into hibernation. Take Panax ginseng to help counter this. Ginseng is reported to mitigate the effects of caffeine and stress on the system, including the adrenal gland and thyroid.
Another way to support the thyroid is with sea kelp. Kelp is rich in natural iodine, which supports your thyroid. Another excellent source of natural iodine is in walnuts.
The thyroid is the regulator of metabolism, which is like the gas pedal of the car. No matter what kind of fuel you put into the car, it won’t go well if the throttle is broken. Use kelp, ginseng, and walnuts to help it out…and go easy on the caffeine.
walnut photo by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Fir0002
Kelp phot by http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Lyzzy
October 13th, 2006
