For quite a long time, I thought greens powders were a waste of money. I would scour the aisles, looking at greens powders, almost convinced each time that I needed more barley or wheat grass in my diet. It’s green, therefore it makes sense. Green is good, right? It never quite added up to me why all of these products focused on cereal grasses. So I decided to do some digging.
Do You Need a Higher Plant Intake?
Based on the research of the Paleolithic era and hunter-gatherer tribes, humans collectively do not get enough plant diversity in their diet for the majority of climates. A general rule of thumb is that unless you live very far north in frigid climates away from pollution and much plant life, your plant intake should be higher for protecting against UV rays, environmental toxicity, and the stress of modern life. Nutrition Genome and PhytoVest help answer the question of which plants to focus on for your individual ancestry or health goals.
A research paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences identified 55-300 species of edible plants, including seeds, fruits, nuts, leaves, stems, roots and tubers (with the use of fire) that were included in our diet. Many of these were found in the migration route out of Africa from 780,000 years ago.
The Human Microbiome Project found that those who consumed 30 different species of plants a week had a more diverse microbiome compared to those with less than 10 plants per week. Adults in the U.S. consume fruit an average of 1.1 times per day and vegetables 1.6 times a day! The health of the microbiome is the foundation of almost every health disorder and greens powders can help you reach this goal.
Plants contain numerous phytonutrients that protect against environmental pollution, stress, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Diversity here is key. For example, research has found that women with the BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 gene mutations who consumed up to 27 different fruits and vegetables a week (variety important) saw their breast cancer risk diminish by 73 percent.
Plants provide the fiber for your gut bacteria to thrive and enhance your internal and external health. This includes the ability for the bacteria to produce vitamins, enhance absorption from all nutrients in your diet, balance neurotransmitters for mood and sleep, and give your skin the youthful glow through enhanced blood flow and nutrient transport.
Are You Getting Enough Grass in Your Diet?
In regards to grass intake, you have to go back about 3.5 million years to Australopithecus and Paranthropus to find any potential record of grass intake. One of the striking differences between the two was that Australoptheticus had smaller teeth and jaws, while Paranthropus had much larger teeth and jaws.
Researchers have determined the potential diet for each by carbon isotopes, calcium, barium and strontium levels in the fossil records. Grasses are also known as C4 plants and are used to determine carbon isotope levels and therefore the potential diet. One group of researchers found that Australopithecus had high C4 levels, but they couldn’t tell if the diet was actually meat from animals eating grass or grass directly consumed from the savannahs because C4 comes up from both.
Other researchers who used calcium, barium and strontium to deduce the diet of Australopithecus and Paranthropus found that Australopithecus ate a diversified diet of meat, leaves and fruit that changed with the seasons, while Paranthropus ate a more limited vegetarian diet. Researchers believe the reason for extinction of Paranthropus was due to the limited vegetarian diet during a time of climate change.
Even with this knowledge, this is too far back and distant from modern humans to be relevant to the diet today. The past 10,000 years alone have shown dramatic genetic mutations for digesting and utilizing plant and animal foods, and none of them have involved an adaptation to grass intake.
We are Humans, Not Ruminants
The fact of the matter is that we have one stomach, not four. Ruminants require four stomachs to digest grass in the first place. You will see some companies advertising that they juice the grass first to bypass this little issue, but there still isn’t a logical explanation for using these grasses over other plants that we actually consume.
Another concern is the potential of wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) in wheat grass. WGA is a lectin found in wheat that protects it against insects and is suspected to be a cause of non-celiac wheat sensitivity. Fermentation through sourdough is one way to reduce WGA as well as gluten, and may explain why those with wheat sensitivity can tolerate long-fermented sourdough bread.
There has been a debate as to whether WGA is in wheat grass. At 34 days of growth, the wheatgrass shoots still contain almost 50% of the levels of lectin found in the dry seeds, with approximately one-third in the roots and two-thirds in the shoot. So it seems very possible that it could be concentrated in wheat grass powder.
Some companies promote consuming grass for increased chlorophyll intake or higher levels of certain vitamins and minerals. Chlorophyll is found all over the plant kingdom in numerous vegetables that are actually designed for human consumption. There’s also plenty of fruits and vegetables known for high levels of specific vitamins and minerals that also include unique phytonutrients, so this promotion of grass also does not fly.
In the end, I can’t help but think that a grass-based greens powders are a product with a giant mark-up with plants that you would never consume otherwise.
The Best Greens Powders
The ranking system for the greens powders are based on the criteria that the product is organic, uses cold-processing methods to retain nutrient levels, is exceedingly low in heavy metals, includes a high diversity of plants, prebiotic fiber and does not use cereal grasses.
The biggest issues with concentrated plant powders include pesticide and herbicide residues from non-organic sources or high levels of heavy metals from poor sourcing.
\We have a new Supplement Ranking page for all supplements as of April 2024 that we are adding to every month. You can check out the new Greens Powder list here: Greens Powder Rankings
As always, leave any comments below if you have a greens powder you want us to add to the supplement ranking page.
Adam,
What are your thoughts on Super Green Tonik? https://supergreentonik.com/
Hi Jon,
I reviewed this one, and while it has a lot of good ingredients, I didn’t like the use of barley grass and the cheap additions of poor forms of vitamins. This includes vitamin D2 (poor bioavailability, should be D3), cyanocobalamin (poor bioavailability, should be methylcobalamin), dl-alpha tocopherol acetate (a cheap synthetic form of vitamin E), folic acid (synthetic folate, should be methylfolate or folinic acid), zinc oxide (poor bioavailability), and cupric oxide (poor bioavailability).
Thanks Alex! (Sorry for calling you Adam). As always thank you for all that you do! It is very much appreciated by many!
Not a problem! Thanks for the feedback and taking the time to comment!
Hey Alex,
Great article, I was looking at different greens powders what is you opinion on Green Vibrance and Naturelo’s greens powder? thanks
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for the feedback. I would not recommend Green Vibrance due to the use of 6 cereal grasses, including wheat grass. I also would not recommend the Naturelo Raw Greens powder due to the use of barley grass and wheat grass.
Ok thanks I appreciate it I’m going to go with the PaleoValley Organic Supergreens.
No problem!
Hi Alex,
Please could I get your thoughts on Athletic Greens?
https://athleticgreens.com/ingredients/en?gclsrc=aw.ds&gclid=Cj0KCQjwvqeUBhCBARIsAOdt45b0SondJ1Aykn05bpAWQtvBQF6YBsNr0h8U80EQdF8ByC9jQ-C3tdIaAib7EALw_wcB
Hey Shaun,
Athletic Greens is probably the most promoted greens powder on the market. It’s hard to avoid an ad for it during many podcasts. There is quite a bit to break down in this formulation.
From the multivitamin standpoint, the positives include using superior forms of folate, B12, zinc, and magnesium. The negatives would be that beta carotene appears to be a synthetic isolate, the poorly absorbed form of B6, a high dose of isolated alpha-tocopherol that can be inflammatory for those with certain genetic variants, and a 4.5:1 ratio of calcium to magnesium (I prefer 1:1 or 2:1 magnesium to calcium).
For the blends, I would prefer these didn’t have wheatgrass juice powder or barley leaf powder as outlined in this article. The other change I would make is that hot water extracts should be used for reishi and maitake. Straight powders can include lots of starch and are ineffective at these lower doses.
Overall, it is better than a lot of formulas out there, but I wouldn’t fully endorse it over the products I have listed unless they make some changes.
Hey Alex,
If Paleo Valley (1) and Mind Body (2) were the same price would you still go with Paleo Valley? The reason why I am asking is Mind Body is free shipping and Paleo Valley isn’t so it basically comes out at the same price for me. Just curious if the price is the same for both which one you would go with.
Hey Jon,
The price breakdown is actually significant between the two because PaleoValley uses 1 tablespoon and lasts 30 days, whereas MindBodyGreen uses 1 tablespoon and lasts 18 days. So the dose for PaleoValley lasts longer. I’m pretty sure PaleoValley offers free shipping when you order two at a time. The ingredients are comparable, but PaleoValley tastes more like a green juice in just water, and Mindbodygreen is plain/earthy and can blend into something without really noticing (some people prefer that). My top pick is PaleoValley.
Ok great! Thank you for clarifying that! Appreciate it!
Hello Alex,
I tried a super green powder that doesn’t contain cereal grasses – It has fewer super-foods than most powders, and it has an unpleasant taste (why I stopped using it – maybe I will use blate papes). What do you think of this product? Thanks!
https://www.inspirednutraceuticals.com/collections/just-in/products/greens
Hi Frank,
Overall, the formulation hits a lot of the positive checkboxes, but there are a few things I don’t like. The first is that it uses artificial flavors. The second is that Lion’s Mane should be a hot water extract. Blends that use mushroom powders instead of hot water or alcohol extracts are not giving people the benefits from these mushrooms. I could see how it would have an unpleasant taste even with monk fruit and the artificial flavor. The blend has almost all plants that have a bitter flavor profile.
Hello Alex,
Thanks for your comments. I have ordered PaleoValley Supergreens – looks promising and hope it tastes good!
Frank
Nice! It is definitely one of the few that I think actually tastes good.
Hi Alex!
If green powders are a good source of needed properties and can be used as a prebiotic, can you switch out prebiotics for green powders once you feel that you’re regulated from taking probiotics?
This article reminded me of chlorophyll; what are your thoughts on it? is it needed, what is it really for? if so, which do you recommend?
Hi Tanya,
Yes, I think greens powders are good sources of prebiotics and can be used in place of supplemental probiotics once your digestion is cruising along without issues. You can still include probiotic dietary sources as well.
I think you can get plenty of chlorophyll from the diet (and greens powders), and it isn’t necessary from supplements. A higher intake of chlorophyll has been linked to better body weight composition and reduced skin damage from the sun in published studies.
Hey Alex,
What do you think of this product? I still use Paleo Valley but wanted to get your thoughts on Thorne because I do use a lot of Thorne Products
Thanks!
https://www.thorne.com/products/dp/daily-greens-plus
Hey Jon,
I think that it is overall it is a good product. The adaptogen portion is the best part of the formula. The greens part is a pretty short list, so the lack of plant diversity and the ones chosen seem like an odd choice to me for a greens powder. The two issues I see with it is that I don’t see any organic ingredients for the greens. If they didn’t want to use the certified organic label, I would like to see purity testing for pesticides, herbicides and glyphosate. The second issue is that it is a pet peeve of mine when companies do not use the extracts of medicinal mushrooms (hot water or alcohol extracts are the proven ways to get the benefits) and do not label wild/organic, mycelium or whole mushroom.
Hi Alex,
Thank you for all the information! Really appreciate the work you put in !
I have a question about serving these powders to toddlers.
I was looking if I can give chlorella or spirulina to my 3 and 4 year old.
If so, do you recommend any ?
Currently I give the naturelo multivitamin for my toddler and earthly health plus for iron.
He is iron deficient, and in addition to diet I want to see what else I can give him.
– Sushma
Hi Sushma,
There is research showing spirulina to be safe for children, but I haven’t seen anything confirming chlorella is safe. Personally, I would be cautious with both of these being given to toddlers. The risk of contamination is higher, and I stay very conservative when it comes to children.
Iron levels can be brought up successfully with dietary changes unless there are problems with absorption, so I don’t think anything additional would be needed. Vitamin C given at the same time as iron helps increase absorption.
Thanks for the reply Alex ! With the flu and rsv season, I couldn’t reply soon !
I won’t give them to my toddlers, will check your recommendations for me and my husband 🙂
i would love to know what scientific research has been done to prove that these grasses do harm or are not good for you? as i like to do my research before buying a product but am in the market for one thank you
Hi Alexis,
Sure, I would be happy to share the research.
1. Digestibility Here is the study referencing WGA levels in wheat grass. WGA may contribute to non-celiac wheat sensitivity, and therefore some people may have trouble digesting cereal grasses. The level of harm really depends on the sensitivity of your digestive system.
2. There’s no conclusive evidence that cereal grasses were ever part of the human diet. Most evidence points towards grasses only being consumed by animals, and carbon isotope levels found in fossils 3.5 million years ago can’t differentiate from human ancestors consuming animals eating grass or grass itself. In a time period of the most modern dietary adaptations (last 10,000 years), cereal grasses have not been part of the diet.
3. It’s my opinion that more nutritionally-dense and easier to digest plants would better utilized in their place, especially at the price points of these powders.
Hey Alex,
What do you think of this green powder? Gnarly Performance Greens
https://gognarly.com/products/performance-greens
Hi Jon,
This is an interesting formula. Here are my thoughts:
The positives are that it is NSF certified, it uses mostly the correct forms of the vitamins and minerals at appropriate amounts. I like the use of tart cherry, beets and pomegranates for nitric oxide and recovery. Chlorella is also a good addition.
Here are some things I would change:
-Remove the wheat grass, oat grass and barley grass
-Change mushrooms to hot water extracts to gain the most benefits
-Remove flax seed powder, which goes rancid quickly once exposed to oxygen
-Remove 8g of added supplemental iron, or create a men’s version that does not have iron. Men shouldn’t be supplementing with iron daily (unless vegan).
-Change B6 pyridoxine hydrochloride to P5P
I think this could be a contender with some of these tweaks for it to work as both a multivitamin and a greens powder.
I do like that it is NSF certified which you don’t find a lot.
Thank you! I appreciate the response!
Hi Alex,
First, thank you for all your research and for passing the knowledge on to those of us trying to differentiate between all the supplements on the market.
Second, can you tell me you opinion on Live Conscious Beyond Greens please. Thank you.
https://weliveconscious.com/product/beyond-greens
Hi Jennifer,
I appreciate that! Sure. This is a very different formulation from greens powders, so my question is, what is your goal? What are you trying to achieve with this type of product? From a formulation standpoint, the mushroom blend does not use hot water extracts (which is what has the research behind it for medicinal mushrooms) and the dosage is way too small to make much of a difference. A good dose for effectiveness starts about about 500mg, and this only has 100mg total. The dosages of rhodiola and Lactospore are also way too small. What you are really getting is echinacea, chlorella, matcha leaf, and milk thistle. If your goal is liver detoxification and an immune boost, then I think this formula accomplishes that effectively.
Hi Alex,
Thank you for your insight. I appreciate all you do. I will definitely keep this in mind when choosing my supplements.
Jennifer
i would love to know if there is any studies to these claims of cereal grasses do you happen to have any?
Hi Alexis,
I would like to see more research as well. Here is one study I reference in the article regarding WGA levels. My opinion is that there should be convincing published research as well that these are beneficial in the diet, despite there not being any historical record of consumption. This is what gives us the best reference of understanding our digestive evolution and adaption to foods introduced in the diet over thousands of years. Dairy is a great example of a food introduced and adapted to over the last 8,000-10,000 years for digesting lactose for certain populations but not for others. The other angle is to look at the nutritional profile of cereal grasses vs. other plants in greens powder, and what you are paying for. Side by side, you are getting much more phytochemical diversification and levels with other plants in the powder for your money compared to cheaper cereal grasses filling up the bulk of the powder.
Hi Alex do you know of any cereal free grass powder available in the uk?
Hi Lisa,
Unfortunately I don’t! But if you have any you want me to review, I would be happy to do so.
Thank you!
Hi Alex,
So I have looked at NaturePlus organic ultra juice green powder. What is your opinion about this product?
Hi Lisa,
This looks pretty good! Just keep it refrigerated due to the use of ground flax seed that can go rancid over time.
What are your thoughts on the use of maltodextrin in the Paleo Valley?
Hi Rachel,
I asked the same question to the company, and essentially it is used in very trace amounts as a processing aid to create a dried product. This is a very common practice. The amount is so small that it is not required to be on the label. Also, the type they use is from organic cassava root instead of GMO corn. So I’m good with this explanation.
Hi Alex,
Fiestly I wanted to mention how thorough you are and your explanations in the comments are awesome! I was hoping you would give your opinion on this product line from New Zealand. They do contain barley and wheat grass, however the price point is very affordable. Also, do you have any recommendations for products that contain mushrooms that are hot water extracts as you say? Thank you!
https://www.cressvalley.co.nz/
Hi Alicia,
I’m glad you appreciate all the little details because I use a lot of them! I checked it out and you definitely can’t beat the price. I like the use of kawakawa and manuka leaf that are unique to New Zealand. Watercress and broccoli sprout are also great additions. I would just ask them what percentage of the formula is barley grass and wheat grass to make sure most of the blend is made from the other goodies.
I’m not familiar with any mushroom companies in New Zealand, but I personally use the mushroom products from Real Mushrooms out of Canada.
Good evening. What’s your opinion on NeuroEffect supportive mushroom blend from Paleovalley? Thank you for all the great info. I’ve just learned about the detrimental effects of cereal grasses. Frustrating. God bless 🙂
Hi Wendy,
I think it is an excellent product. I recommend it on my Top 8 Cancer Fighting Mushrooms article and as an additional supplement on the Best and Worst Multivitamins for Seniors article.
I’m glad to see several greens powders on the market that don’t contain cereal grasses. Cereal grasses can be a problem for people with gluten sensitivities or allergies, so it’s great to have safe options. I’m also glad to see that many of these greens powders are packed with nutrients, so they can be a great way to boost your intake of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Thanks for the great article. Which of the green powders is good for nursing mothers?
Hi Abi,
Are you looking for plant foods that help milk production or just general nutrition in the milk?
Hey Alex,
Any thoughts on this green powder?
https://theranchmalibu.com/product/complete-greens/
Hi Jon,
I wouldn’t recommend this one due to ground flax seed that goes rancid quickly and the the large cereal grass blend: (The Ranch® Organic Cereal Grasses Blend (4,400 MG) Certified Organic: Barley Grass (Juice), Alfalfa Leaf (Juice), Oat Grass (Juice) Wheatgrass Juice, Kamut® Grass (Juice), Alfalfa Leaf (Whole), Barley Grass (Whole), Oat Grass (Whole), Wheatgrass (Whole).
Thanks Alex!
Hi there, I’m new to the greens trend. You briefly talked about chlorophyll supplement. Do you have one that you’d recommend? Also, I think I know this answer after reading your article but what about
Earth&Ocean by Yu
Hi Claudia,
I was mentioning that companies are often promoting cereal grasses due to the chlorophyll content, which isn’t a good reason for their addition due to chlorophyll being found in all green vegetables. The Earth+Ocean product contains wheatgrass as the first ingredient, as well as barley grass, so it isn’t one I recommend.
Good Morning, sorry for the late reply. I lost where this blog was. Happily, I found it. Thank you for all your insights and detail that is backed by research. I appreciate your feed back. Happy New Year!
a different question. my son was recently diagnosed with crohn’s. that seems to be a digestive issue. would a greens power be helpful? or, do you feel any supplements would be helpful?
Hi Claudia,
I’m very sorry to hear about your son. A green’s powder may cause more issues, especially if there are cruciferous vegetables. Supplements aren’t typically helpful, but a carefully designed diet can be very successful. There are many books on the subject, but one that I’ve read is by Jordan Rubin (who suffered from Crohn’s disease) called Restoring Your Digestive Health: A Proven Plan to Conquer Crohns, Colitis, and Digestive Diseases.
Hi Alex,
Thanks for all your research! Can we use the paleovalley supergreens powder for toddlers ?
Thanks !
Hi Rahul,
I don’t see anything that could be considered an issue for toddlers. Just different dosing. However, I would run it by your pediatrician because each child is different.
Hi Alex, thanks for sharing your research! What do you think about this product – CODEAGE MULTI COLLAGEN PROTEIN RAW GREENS? I was looking for a greens powder and a product that had the essential amino acids. So was wondering if this would work since it has both. I am skeptical about the collagen aspect (could not find studies proving it is beneficial). I am looking to rebuild my core muscles as I have diastasis recti and a very weak core.
Hi Nidhi,
Of course! This looks like a solid product. You can read more research on collagen and the different types here.