Green Drink Reviews

Comparing Green Superfood Products, Making Sense of Green Drinks

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

26 comments April 4th, 2009

Green Superfood Comparison Chart

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).

3 comments August 24th, 2008

Green Superfood Products: How to Read the Labels

How to Judge the Quality of a Green Superfood Product

There are more and more green superfood products hitting the market all the time. What you should know as a consumer of these products is that the quality of these products varies greatly and it can be difficult to judge one from another just by looking at the label.

There are two things that affect quality of a green superfood product. The first is the quality of the ingredients themselves:

• Are they organic?
• Do they come from reliable sources?
• Are they handled and stored properly?
• Are they fresh?

Second, the formulation of the product — that is, the mixture of ingredients — can greatly affect its quality:

• Are there any additives or artificial ingredients?
• Are there any fillers or bulking ingredients?
• Are the majority of ingredients the ones with the highest nutrient values?
• Are there any ingredients that are added in “token amounts” just to get them onto the label?
• Is there a variety of ingredients and is the variety well planned and executed?

These are the questions I’ll answer in this article…and give you an idea of how to read between the lines when looking at the labels. In fact, the first thing to look for when studying a label is the way ingredients are listed. Are they listed one by one or are they listed in groups. If they are listed one by one, then you can assume that they appear in order of quantity in the mixture (based on percent of the total mixture). If they appear in groups (Land Vegetable Blend, Fruit Blend, Etc.), then you can assume that the groups are listed in order of quantity of the mixture they represent and within the groups themselves, the ingredients are listed in quantity order. Between one group and another, it’s impossible to know how much of each ingredient is part of the mixture — only that the mixture higher on the list represents more of the product.

Tip: Make special note of the ingredient that appears first within any group or blend. It’s quite likely that this represent up to 80 percent of the group.

So, a fruit blend that lists banana or apple first, is probably hiding the fact that the blend is mostly banana or apple. Why? Because banana and apple are two of the least expensive fruit ingredients and most formulators will bulk up the blend with the cheapest ingredients. If berries and exotic fruits are last in the list, then you can bet that these are added in small or even token amounts.

A land vegetable blend that lists grasses first is probably giving you a good helping of the cheap stuff. If vegetables like tomato powder, spinach powder, dandelion juice and broccoli powder are high on the list, then you’re getting a lot of the good stuff.

Caveat: Placement on the list is not always a perfect indicator of value, due to the potency of certain ingredients. For example, Blueberries are very potent in antioxidants and it does not take a lot them to make a difference in a blend. So even if blueberries appears lower in the “Fruit Blend” list, it could be sufficient to make a valuable contribution to the product.

The bottom line is that you need to know a bit about each of these ingredients to know what you’re getting — even when you read between the lines of the label. So, here’s a little summary for you. Here are the ingredients that add super nutrition to a blend…

• All berries including gogi and Acai
• Kelp and seaweeds (kelp more so than exotic seaweeds like laver)
• Nettles
• Dandelion juice
• Horsetail
• Vegetables like broccoli, spinach, parsley, and kale
• Spirulina
• Green tea powder or extract

Now here’s a list of ingredients that should not be too high on anyone’s list…

• Apple pectin
• Banana powder
• Brown rice solids or juice
• Whey or Soy protein
• Lecithin

Ingredients that are average in terms of nutritional value and are perfectly ok to have in fairly large quantities include…

• Grasses
• Exotic kelps and seaweeds
• Flaxseed meal
• Fruits like grape, papaya, mango, and citrus
• Maca root

So, I hope that helps you make better decisions about the quality of your super green drink formula. Don’t forget to check the Green Superfood Comparison Chart regularly for updates to the listings. Also, be sure to read the recently updated article Comparing Green Superfood Products. I’ll be updating it again soon.

photo credits

Add comment March 8th, 2008

Green Super Foods, Drink to Your Health

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

9 comments August 14th, 2007

What’s All the Klatter about Klamath Lake?

The health benefits of spirulina were not discovered at Klamath Lake in Oregon, but some of the first companies to offer spirulina products, under the name of “Blue Green Algae” came from this unique location. That was back in the late 70s and early 80s. Since then, companies have been raided by the FDA for “false claims” and other companies have sprouted up around the edge of the lake. Now there are four or five companies wild harvesting the algae from the lake for sale directly to consumers, through health food stores, or through network marketing structures.

The popularization of these early products brought about a heightened awareness of the health benefits of algae and a recognition of its primary constituent, spirulina. Since spirulina is, essentially, blue-green algae, the Klamath Lake entities further distinguished their products with the designation “Super Blue Green Algae,” pointing out that the Klamath algae is higher in a particular strain of algae called AFA, which normal spirulina has in only small amounts.

So far, however, there is no research to support that AFA algae is a “better” strain than normal spirulina. On the contrary, other forms of spirulina have been shown to contain more proteins and minerals than AFA, with the exception of vitamin B12. They are also thought to be “cleaner” than the “wild harvested” Klammath algae, since they are grown in controlled environments. However, as far as I can tell, there have been no conclusive studies to prove that the Klammath algae is somehow contaminated with “foreign matter from the lake.” Wild harvesting was, after all, the accepted method of gathering plants and herbs for consumption long before controlled environments were created.

One Klamath Lake company, known as StemTech, claims to have invented a process for isolating a chemical in the AFA algae, a chemical that enhances stem cell production in adults. They say that they are the only ones with this technology and only Klamath AFA algae can be used. Could this be another ploy to make people believe that Klamath algae is the “super” algae?

My guess is that they DO have a special process to isolate something from the algae, although I doubt that only Klamath algae can be used. But since they have the process and their labs are located on Klamath Lake, then it’s no surprise that they would try to favor their own strain. Most likely, if their stem-cell-enhancing technology is valid, then someone else will find a way to isolate the same element from normal Spirulina or AFA that is not from Klamath Lake. I’ve seen that happen over and over. Remember Willard Water–the special water that is more hydrating than normal water? Well, Willard Water is still around, but Dr. Willard, who invented (or discovered) the process of enhancing water, is today one of many suppliers of what is now known as Carbon Activated Water (CAW). And Willard’s carbon, which is from lignite matter, is now recognized as the least effective type of carbon for activating water. It’s still a great product and maybe his special touch does in fact make his CAW slightly better than the competition.

My guess is that the Klamath Lake companies are pretty much like Willard Water. Wait a minute…Dr. Willard was originally from Oregon too. Maybe there really is something in the water out there.

May 9th, 2007