Thinking of taking a green supplement?

Green supplements are not a short cut to good health but they can provide health benefits if you are on a low-carbohydrate diet or are unable to get enough serves of green vegetables in your daily eating. The most beneficial effect occurs when a green supplement is used in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise regime. A supplement is not used to replace the food you eat but will enhance the nutrients you eat and help fill in any missing vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that may be lacking in your diet. Things like trace elements, especially selenium, can be hard to come by in our usual diet but a green supplement will have a good dose of selenium from spirulina.

Finding the right supplement

The best way to find a good greens supplement for your health is to check the ingredient list. Don’t buy a cheap supplement and assume it will contains the same ingredients as a more expensive product. Make sure it contains algae such as spirulina and chlorella, wheatgrass and barley grass and a range of fruits and green vegetables such as kale, spinach, broccoli, beetroot, carrot, pineapple, apple, cherry, bilberry, green tea as well as other herbs and extracts. It should also be dairy free so as to not add to acidosis.

Many contain more than 70 ingredients that can be divided into different groups:

• Nutrient dense super foods-such as spirulina, chlorella, wheatgrass
• Alkaline foods-to normalise pH and reduce acidosis
• Vitamins and minerals sourced from whole foods-vitamins A, C, K2, E, B group, magnesium, iron, zinc, calcium, selenium, manganese, chromium, copper
• Dairy free probiotics such as lactobacillus acidophilus
• Protein-usually in the form of pea protein
• Fibre

1. Ingredients for better health

A green supplement powder can be any shade of green depending on the ingredients used. They will contain spirulina and chlorella (both from algae), grasses (wheatgrass, barley grass), green tea extract, broccoli flower powder, Rhodiola rosea, ashwaganda, various vegetables and fruits (spinach, kale, broccoli, mushrooms), prebiotics, probiotics, enzymes (lactobacillus, coenzyme Q10) and a range of the B Vitamin group( folate, riboflavin) .

Spirulina is the largest ingredient found in green supplements. It contains a lot of nutrients that can help our body: iron, polysaccharides, selenium, linoleic acid, beta carotene, chlorophyll, amino acids and trace elements.

Ashwaganda is used in Ayervedic Indian medicines and has been used to treat depression, sleep problems, anxiety, asthma, some skin conditions and other ailments.

The ingredient pea protein is essential for those not eating a lot of protein from meats and is made from yellow coloured split peas.

A good green supplement should contain raw greens from whole foods, adaptogens, enzymes, vitamins, minerals and trace elements from whole foods, antioxidants and dairy free pro- and prebiotics.

2. Detoxification and green supplements

A green supplement will not specifically detox your body but it contains ingredients that will help with the detoxification process. Your liver is what detoxifies your body so having a healthy liver is the best way to detox. A good green supplement should contain milk thistle that supports liver health.

3. Differ from other supplements

Many of the supplements that are available on the market today contain just one vitamin or mineral or a combination of ingredients. Green supplements differ in that the ingredients used come specifically from green plants found on land and in water. Ingredients in green supplements contain phytochemicals that act as antioxidants in the body. These phytochemicals include carotene, chlorophyll, enzymes and flavenoids.

If kale and spinach are on the ingredient list you will also be getting lutein, another powerful antioxidant.

Greens also contain prebiotics, probiotics, antioxidants and detoxifying nutrients. These are not usually found in other food supplements.

Ingredients are sourced from whole foods which means the ingredients are synthesised better by the body and absorbed better. Artificially produced ingredients are not synthesised as easily as whole food ingredients.

4. Benefits from green supplements

Many ingredients in green supplements are antioxidants that can boost immunity and help prevent disease. A supplement can help fill important ingredients that for one reason or another may be lacking from your diet. If you are on a low protein or low carbohydrate diet they can be especially useful.

• Iron, vitamin B12, Chlorophyll- can improve the capacity of red blood cells to carry oxygen
• Linoleic acid- helps our bodies synthesise choline and helps with the excretion of cholesterol, lower blood viscosity, improve circulation, keep blood vessels elastic
• Chlorella- an algae has been found to reduce blood sugar and percentage body fat in people suffering from Type 2 Diabetes.
• Trace elements- vital to health but not always available in suggested quantities from fruits and vegetables.

5. Restoring pH balance

Our bodies like the pH balance, acid to base balance, to be maintained. The food we eat influences the balance and by taking a green supplement we are able to put our bodies back in balance and reduce acidosis. Proteins, dairy foods and grains are all acidic compounds but green foods are alkaline products. By taking a green supplement you are ensuring that the body’s pH is put back into balance.

Green supplements are recommended for athletes as well as the average person who is concerned about getting the right mix of protein, vegetables and antioxidants. Just one drink a day made from the green powder can help to improve immunity against disease, balance pH levels in the body, maintain a healthy circulatory system, improve liver function to help detoxify your body easier, add vital trace elements such as zinc and selenium and fill in any gaps in your diet.

Physically active people such as athletes can increase their daily dose to 2 drinks on an empty stomach in water. When taken on an empty stomach the ingredients are better used by your body.