Do you get your five serves of veggies a day? If meeting your daily vegetable intake recommendations seems challenging with your busy schedule, there's a convenient alternative to ensure you receive all the essential vitamins and minerals for a healthy lifestyle.
Supplementing with a daily greens powder is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to complement your existing diet and boost your energy, digestion, skin and long-term health.
In this article, we'll unpack the top 7 greens powder benefits and some frequently asked questions we receive here at Melrose.
What Do Greens Do For You?
So, what do greens do for you?
From detoxification to skin health and beyond, the potential health benefits of greens powder are nothing short of incredible:
Detoxification
A popular greens powder benefit is its ability to help detoxify your body . Leafy greens are essential for phase 1 and phase 2 of liver detoxification , meaning your body can eliminate toxins, heavy metals and hormones rather than re-circulating them.
Supplementing your diet with greens powder helps achieve adequate detoxification, allowing your liver to stay healthy while supporting your digestive system to eliminate waste effectively.
Absorption
Bioavailability is a huge benefit of greens powder, as it allows nutrients to be absorbed by your body almost straight away.
This not only means you obtain maximum health benefits, but you'll also get a boost in energy levels right after you've taken it.
Gut Health
One of the nutritional benefits of greens powder is that it acts as a plant-based prebiotic, making it great for your gut and digestive health.
Greens powder dietary supplements are high in fibre, which acts as food for our good bacteria, allowing them to thrive and produce short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate. In turn, butyrate has a natural anti-inflammatory effect on the gut and supports our immune health .
Greens powder supplements are also high in vitamin C, an antioxidant that strengthens our gut barrier function against potential pathogens.
Convenience
We all know we should eat more fruits and vegetables, but the reality is that we are often time-poor, tired, or simply staring into an empty fruit and vegetable drawer.
Having a greens powder on hand means you never have to miss out on the essential nutrients you need to thrive just because life gets in the way of following a healthy diet.
Versatility
Not sure how to take greens powder? One of its benefits is that there isn't a right or wrong way to take it!
Green powders are traditionally consumed in a glass of water or your favourite fresh fruit smoothie, but there are so many other ways to include greens powder in a well-balanced diet.
Here are just a few ideas:
- Stir it through a glass of herbal tea or milk
- Mix it in with your porridge or pancake batter
- Sprinkle it on your salads, roast veggies, scrambled eggs and soups
- Make protein ball power snacks with it
- Add it to your homemade protein balls
Skin Health
Greens powder benefits also extend to your skin, hair and nails.
Many of the nutrients found in greens powder, including vitamins C, A and E and folate are all essential to supporting skin health and circulation. Folic acid is essential for healthy cell growth , which maintains glowing and healthy skin, as well as strong hair and nails.
So, when you regularly take your greens powder, you'll not only feel more energised but also enjoy glowing skin and hair.
Long-Term Health
The last benefit of drinking greens powder we'll discuss is its ability to reduce inflammation in the body. Greens powder is rich in powerful antioxidants which act to offset free radical damage caused by reactive oxygen species .
This down-regulates inflammation and reduces your risk of inflammatory-related chronic diseases including arthritis, type 2 diabetes and obesity.
And after all, managing inflammation is the key to long-term health and quality of life.
Can You Take Greens Powder While Pregnant or Breastfeeding?
There haven't been any studies conducted to observe the impact greens powder has on pregnancy, so it's best to confirm with your health practitioner if greens powder is right for you.
Can Greens Powder Cause Acne?
Despite the many green powder benefits, acne sufferers might be cautious about adding it to their diet and potentially triggering a flare-up.
While there aren't any published studies that unpack the correlation between acne flare-ups and greens powders, there have been anecdotal reports of people experiencing an acne flare-up while taking a greens powder.
A 2016 study suggests that high levels of iodine may be the cause of acne flare-ups in some people, and while the study was conducted using milk, some greens powders can also be high in iodine thanks to ingredients like algae and spirulina.
We recommend consulting your health practitioner if you are concerned about how greens powder may impact your skin.
Benefits of Greens Powder For Bloating and Constipation
Since greens powder supports digestion, it can be a great help for bloating and constipation . Greens powder is packed with digestive enzymes and antioxidants that boost your gut's microbiome.
Studies have found that taking a prebiotic, like greens powder, can be beneficial if you're experiencing digestive issues like bloating or constipation as it restores the good bacteria in your gut.
Greens powder is also a great source of fibre, which supports the healthy passing of stool.
Benefits of Drinking Greens Mixed With Protein Powder
Mixing your super greens with your protein powder is a great way to incorporate your greens powder into the day, and it can make the perfect recovery drink post-workout.
Does Greens Powder Break A Fast?
While greens powder isn't a substitute for food, it can still break your fast. Whether you're an intermittent faster or you've got a blood test booked in, fasting requires you to avoid foods and beverages for a certain period of time.
Because greens powder is packed with nutrients and calories that provide an extra boost in energy, it activates your digestive system and will ultimately break your fast.
We recommend incorporating your greens powder into the first meal or beverage you consume after your fasting has ended.
Buy The Best Greens Powder Now
Enjoy all these incredible greens powder benefits with Melrose Organic Essential Greens .
Made up of 100% organic green powders like wheatgrass , barley grass, chlorella and spirulina powder, it will not only increase your energy and vitality but support your healthy body functioning, too.
This nutrient-rich green superfood is packed with phytonutrients such as chlorophyll, carotenes, folate, vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre for whole-body health.
Purchase your very own Essential Greens product today and begin your journey towards optimal health.
References:
- Bedu-Ferrari, C. et al. (2022) Prebiotics and the human gut microbiota: From breakdown mechanisms to the impact on Metabolic Health, Nutrients. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9147914/ (Accessed: January 31, 2023).
- Guan, Y.-S. and He, Q. (2015) Plants consumption and liver health, Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4499388/ (Accessed: January 31, 2023).
- Kucharska, A., Szmurło, A. and Sińska, B. (2016) Significance of diet in treated and untreated acne vulgaris, Postepy dermatologii i alergologii. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4884775/ (Accessed: January 31, 2023).
- Lobo, V.et al.(2010)Free radicals, antioxidants and Functional Foods: Impact on human health,Pharmacognosy reviews. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3249911/ (Accessed: January 31, 2023).
- Otten, A.T. et al. (2021) Vitamin C supplementation in healthy individuals leads to shifts of bacterial populations in the gut-a pilot study, Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland). U.S. National Library of Medicine. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8389205/ (Accessed: January 31, 2023).