What Are Benefits of Greens Powder & Who Should Take Them

There are many conflicting opinions on what constitutes a healthy diet, but there’s one thing that every dietician agrees on: you should eat more leafy greens.

Although most people know it’s essential to include veggies in their diet, the World Health Organization estimates that only 1 in 10 people get enough vegetables.

Since not everyone can get fresh vegetables every day, experts have created a perfect solution to this problem: formulate green supplements that can deliver almost the same nutritional benefits as fruits and vegetables.

While greens powders offer some key nutrients you get from fruit and vegetables, these dietary supplements aren’t a direct substitute for fruit and vegetable intake, but they can help bridge the gap.

So is a green powder, called greens powder, the cure-all dietary supplement we’ve been waiting for? Let’s find its numerous health benefits below.

What Are Greens Powders?

Green powders are dietary supplements that help people reach their daily intake of vegetables, fruits, vitamins, and minerals. The organic nutrients combination in green powders is formulated to promote a healthy immune system and high energy levels while meeting the nutritional requirements for a healthy diet.

Many greens powders vary by brand, but one of the biggest selling points of these supplements is they contain plenty of greens and superfoods. In addition, here are some of the most commonly included ingredients:

• Leafy greens
• Seaweed
• Probiotics
• Herbs
• Antioxidant-rich fruits, such as grape seed extract, monk fruit extract
• Grasses, such as barley grass, milk thistle
• Natural extracts

Benefits of Greens Powder

Even if you want to eat portions of greens every day, due to different factors, you may likely be falling short. Adding a scoop of greens powder delivers the nutrients you get from the combination of 30 different vegetables, fruits, fiber, and other ingredients to your smoothie that can meet the nutritional requirements you get from nutrient-dense foods.

Here are the health benefits you can get from this amazing grass green superfood powder:

Support hormone balance

One specific class of vegetables from the Brassica (cruciferous) family makes up the foundation of most greens powders. These veggies help balance hormones, specifically estrogen.

Many greens powders contain a variety of cruciferous vegetables, including:

• Brussel sprouts
• Collard greens
• Kale
• Broccoli
• Turnips
• Cauliflower

Promote healthy blood pressure

Minerals found in greens powders, such as calcium and potassium, are responsible for maintaining blood pressure.

One article in Health Canal featured a randomized controlled trial data where people who took one serving of greens powder daily experienced a decrease in both their systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

Aid detoxification

Greens powders support detoxification by giving your body the nutrients and phytonutrients with antioxidant properties to help in the natural cleansing process.

For instance, spinach that is rich in folate, Vitamin C, and betaine plays a vital role in the body’s natural detoxification process. Moreover, these cruciferous veggies promote the production of glutathione, one of the most essential antioxidants for detoxification. It protects the body from free radicals.

Helps gut health

A typical Western diet is full of processed foods rich in carbohydrates, which can decrease the body’s pH. Thus, creating a more acidic environment.

A high acid load can affect the digestive enzymes, making you feel less vibrant and healthy. Hence, greens powders can help neutralize acids by decreasing the overall acid load in the GI tract.

Prevent chronic diseases

The vitamins found in green powders can lessen the risk of chronic diseases. Some vitamins are rich in antioxidants that can fight cell-damaging free radicals.

This cell damage process is known as oxidation and is often linked to the development of these diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease. For best results, incorporate some physical workouts when drinking green powders since regular exercises decrease oxidation.

Increase the nutrient density of your diet

Vegetables are one of the diet’s richest sources of vitamins, mainly fat-soluble vitamins (Vitamin A, D, E, and K) and carotenoids. Unless you’re able to meet the recommended five servings, it’s likely to fall short on these important nutrients.

They are a great way to increase the nutrient density of the diet without much effort because they come in powder form. One scoop of greens powders included different nutrients you get from other supplements.

Therefore, you can get it all on green powders instead of taking multiple supplements. Here are other ingredients (in powder form) you can find in green powders:

• Vegetable powder
• Goji berry powder
• Protein powder
• Juice powder concentrate

Who May Need to Take (or Avoid) Greens Powder?

Powdered greens may seem like an innovative way of fruit and vegetable supplements. However, not everyone can take this kind of supplement; in general, whole foods and fresh produce are preferable.

Only recommended groups can take a daily green powder, including those who struggle to eat veggies, drink enough water, people with weight loss problems, and athletes with high-calorie demands.

If you already feel good about getting three to five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, or you’re sensitive to supplements, then there’s no need to rely on these green juices.

Moreover, not all greens powders have the same amount of nutrients because they can vary based on the brand. If you have health concerns, ask your doctor which formulation would be best for your health.

Other things to consider before adding these vegetable powders to your diet include:

• Medication interactions: Vitamin K can have serious interactions with blood thinners; therefore, people who are taking anticoagulants should be cautious about maintaining a consistent intake of Vitamin K.
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding concerns: The added herbal and nutritional supplements in green powders can pose some health issues for pregnant or lactating women since the effects of these supplements are not well-studied.
• Allergies: Some ingredients of green powders like wheatgrass and other herbs can cause allergic reactions, such as diarrhea, nausea, and headaches.

Conclusion

In summary, greens powders are good for you, but the question of whether it’s necessary should be considered. Supplements should be tailored to one’s needs, and not everyone needs them.

If you have access to fruits and vegetables, you shouldn’t replace them with these dietary supplements. It’s necessary to seek professional advice before taking green powder supplements as they can affect your health.