Greens Supplements: Are they right for you?

Green drink powder mixes essentially provide a little extra insurance, working to fill in any nutritional gaps. Fruits and vegetables in their whole form do have certain advantages – they contain more fiber and help keep you full for longer, but we often do not eat enough daily servings, which is where a greens powder comes in. A good greens supplement powder is like your own personal safety net! Let’s explore who should use a greens drink mix, how to work it into your daily routine, and more. 

What is a green supplement?

Green vegetables are essential for a strong immune system, proper gut health, healthy detoxification, and better cognition. Most importantly, greens help keep your body’s pH in balance, thanks to their alkalinizing properties. But healthy green nutrition goes beyond what you’ll find at your local grocery store or farmer’s market. Think chlorella and kelp from the sea. Or barley and wheat grasses from the fields. 

In a perfect world, we would all be getting plenty of fruits and vegetables in our day-to-day diets. But that is easier said than done. While the majority of our daily nutrients should come from whole plant food sources, a greens powder can help to fill in the gaps, can provide an added boost of vitamins and nutrients, and can be beneficial for just about everyone. They can also be very helpful if somebody is not a huge fan of eating their vegetables. They can increase our veggie intake and can be added to smoothies so that they are even better for us. There is also a convenience factor. A greens powder is an easy way to stay healthy while you travel, or are on the go, and don’t have access to fruits and veggies. 

Who should take green drinks?

However, if you just want to get out of eating your broccoli, you’re out of luck. You cannot out-supplement a poor diet. Greens should be used in addition to a diet that is still rich in whole plant foods, including fruits and veggies. Using a green powder does not mean you should neglect your intake of whole fruits and veggies. 

It’s no secret that getting kids to eat their veggies can often be a tough sell…they’re not usually fans of broccoli and brussels sprouts. Green drinks are a perfect vehicle for boosting their daily intake, especially for leafy greens and superfoods – something all kids could benefit from. Adding a spoonful of powdered greens drink mix into a delicious smoothie provides a concentrated source of nutrients to support growing bones and bodies, and can turn into a lasting habit for life. 

To get your kids on board the green drink train, ask them to help pick out the ingredients from the grocery store, involving them in the process. Also allow them to help with the smoothie, washing the fruits and veggies.

Whether you’re among those who are frightened by the sight of broccoli, or you simply have trouble meeting your daily quota due to a hectic schedule, upping your intake of a variety of greens should be an essential part of your health game plan, and a greens powder can help you do this.

Do greens supplements work?

Most of our diets fall short when it comes to getting in our greens, fruits, and veggies. This is where a quality green powdered drink mix comes into play. A greens powdered drink mix can be a great way to supplement a healthy diet with a boost of extra greens, vitamins, and antioxidants. They are a great way for busy folks who want to include more superfoods into their diet but have a tough time making it to the salad bar. 

Green drink mixes are a great addition to a healthy lifestyle because they not only help you meet your daily veggie intake, they support almost every system in the body and can even boost energy levels. Chlorella, kelp, wheatgrass, barley grass, and other powdered greens are packed with an array of concentrated vitamins and minerals essential for optimal health.

Greens supplements can also help to foster good health by balancing your body’s pH. In your body, your blood needs to be kept in a slightly alkaline range between 7.35 and 7.45. Normally your blood pH is tightly regulated and shifts only when a person is very sick. However, intercellular acidity, which is measured by urinary or saliva pH testing, can change significantly due to lifestyle, including things like diet, exercise, and sleep. Fortunately, the body has a unique “buffering” system that protects your blood’s pH to keep it in a safe range – but it does so at a cost.

When blood and other bodily fluids become too acidic, the pancreas and kidneys secrete neutralizing bicarbonate. Key alkalizing minerals can also be pulled from bones to aid in this buffering process. But as a result, this extra buffering can deplete the body of alkaline minerals like sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium.

What can you do to rebalance your pH? Add vegetables, but especially leafy greens top the list. These foods provide potassium and other minerals in a low-calorie package that has the net effect of helping to alkalinize the body. Some fruits (but not fruit juice), and healthy fats, like olive or avocado oil, are also alkalizing. Many beans and legumes along with whole grains can be either neutral to moderately acidic. The bottom line is that green foods can help you to maintain your cellular health. The goal is to eat about 75 to 80 percent alkalizing foods and about 20 to 25 percent acidifying foods.  Including a high-quality powdered greens drink as part of your routine can help you reach this goal.

How do you take them?

Greens supplements, especially the powdered drink mixes, are pretty simple to take, all you need to do is to mix the powder into your beverage of choice (cold beverage – since heat lessens some of the nutritional properties), and you’re good to go! They are safe to take at any time of day as well, though some people swear by drinking their greens in the afternoon to prevent the dreaded “afternoon slump.”

And if you ever get sick of green drinks and smoothies, we have a few fun recipes using green supplements for things like a green “superfood” guacamole, tasty energy bites and even a yummy chocolate/banana smoothie (with added greens powder) to satisfy your sweet tooth. 

Bottom line, if you consistently eat at least 10 servings of fruits and veggies per day, then supplementing with a greens product will likely be unnecessary. But if you’re falling short in your daily intake, a greens powder is a great, convenient, way to help to fill in those nutritional gaps. 

This article is for informational purposes only. This article is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice.