Powdered greens supplements are not all created equal. As their popularity continues to rise, more and more supplement brands are jumping on the bandwagon with their own version.
The supplement industry has a long history of being shady, and even downright illegal. I like to call it the “Wild West” of health, because the rules are essentially self-governed by the supplement brands themselves.
The profits are high, but without federal regulation so are the lies and deceptions.
It is important to educate yourself, and not just trust the marketing of a product before you start taking it.
Adding the right greens supplement into your diet can be very beneficial if you are like many of us who live a fast paced lifestyle, and struggle to get all of our fruits and vegetables each day.
Knowing what to look for in a greens supplement is vital for you to reap the benefits, without wasting your money.
Here are 3 things to look for when picking out a greens supplement to add to your diet.
1. Whole Food Sourced Nutrients
If you have decided to take a greens supplement, it is probably because you aren’t getting enough quality whole foods in your diet.
However, unless you’re careful with what greens powder that you buy, you might not be adding any whole foods into your diet.
In the name of cutting corners and saving money, there are many companies that will source their supplements with ingredients that leave little to be desired for.
Before you randomly pick a greens powder off of the shelf to buy, make sure you do your research and find out where they are sourcing their ingredients from.
2) All natural/organic
Labeling on food and supplements can oftentimes be misleading.
Just because a product has the wording “all natural” or “organic” displayed, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is actually the truth.
There are many loopholes in product labeling that favor the companies who sell them.
Terms such as “all natural” and “organic” can be used as purely marketing with little to no truth to them.
When picking out a greens powder, the last thing you want is to pick one that isn’t produced from the highest quality ingredients.
To ensure that you are getting the most out of your greens powder, make sure that it’s labeled as “No GMO’s, No Herbicides, No Pesticides, No Animal byproducts, No Artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, or sweeteners.”
3) Say no to propriotory blends
The term “proprietary blend” can be found on the label of many supplements.
This should be a major red flag if found on the label of the greens powder that you are thinking about choosing.
When a supplement has its ingredients listed as a “proprietary blend,” it essentially means that the company doesn’t want to tell you exactly what is in it.
By using the term “proprietary blend” on the label, they do not need to list what makes up that particular blend.
Hence allowing the companies to possibly put just a small amount of the active ingredient (the good stuff), and fill the rest with cheap, non beneficial filler ingredients.
If the company doesn’t have the transparency to list what is in it, you shouldn’t have the confidence to take it.
If you want to go deeper into choosing the right greens powder for you, listen to Episode #55 of the Next Gen Radio podcast – available on all major podcast players here. We discuss the differences in greens powders, and recommend two different brands.
Staff picks:
#1: Athletic Greens
#2: Ghost Greens
