Is a Greens Powder Right For You?

Put simply, greens powders are food supplements that contain powdered vegetables, fruits, and other nutrients. They are a source of antioxidants, nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that can support people who may be lacking optimal amounts of these nutrients in their diet. Benefits of using them include: improved immune function, digestion, energy, cognitive function and detoxification to name a few.

If you are into wellness culture and on social media even a tiny bit, you are probably seeing ads for Athletic Greens AG1.  Maybe lots of ads – and good ones too!  Athletic Greens (now named AG1) is an American brand founded and owned by Chris Ashenden, and manufactured in New Zealand.  Their reported 2021 revenue was $16 million USD. While greens powders have been around for decades, AG1’s online subscription model and big investment into easy to understand, aspirational online ads, and a good product that consumers notice benefits from have made a sleepy wellness product category hot again – which is a good thing for overall wellness.

If you are an AG1 user, you’ve probably noticed more energy, better digestion, and an overall healthier feeling self.

As an admitted wellness geek, I’ve taken a daily greens powder more often than not for over 20 years – I’ve used a lot of then, starting with KyoGreens back in the 90’s, followed by Greens+, and later Progressive VegeGreens (I was a proud part of the launch of VegeGreens, when I worked for Progressive when it was owned by Body Plus, it’s now owned by Jamieson).  And I’ve tried many more over the years, but those were the main three that I have used personally.  As a personal aside, my husband and soulmate Renzo, spent most of his career with Body Plus, that created owned the Progressive Nutrition brand, and he was a huge part of the brand’s success, growth and development.  He launched his own brand in 2022, called Younited Nutrition with Purpose, and his first product was a greens and superfood powder called All-In Superfood (because he really is all-in, and so is the product!). So as a couple, we have two brands (we don’t really do things half-way around here LOL), and are very big on greens. 

When I looked at putting a greens powder into the Niyama line, I knew that Younited already had what I consider the best formula out there, in the now.  Renz spent almost a year formulating it, and sourcing every single ingredient, zero shortcuts and zero compromises.  So I simply asked him if I could put his All-In Superfoods into Niyama, under a new flavour and a different name.  He loves me and we are a team, so he agreed.  So that’s how Niyama’s Goddess Greens & Superfoods came to be.  Full credit and kudos to my sweet babe.  But I digress.

• Organic – as an insurance policy to ensure you are getting the micronutrient and antioxidant equivalent of the veggies and fruits you may not be getting enough of, you want the sources to be organic -otherwise you may be consuming pesticides as well as the veggies and fruits.
• Robust – a good greens and superfoods powder should contain a wide variety of plant nutrients from land and sea – fruits, veggies, mushrooms, adaptogens and herbs
• Nutrient-dense – based on the why most people use greens powders, I want them to deliver a significant amount of vitamins and minerals – from the actual foods. It’s not super meaningful to me to know how much spirulina or maqui berry each scoop contains, what I want to know is how much of my daily vitamin and mineral needs it’s meeting – so I want to see that on the label, and be satisfied.
• No low-value nutrients – I don’t want to see lecithin or brown rice on the label. Yes, there is a bit of nutrient value in them, but they aren’t nutrient dense and are widely considered filler.
• Digestive support – as I age, I’m finding I am more prone to bloating, and I need to support digestion more. I like a prebiotic fibre like inulin as it supports my body’s own microbiome and feeds my own unique microflora for improved digestion and less bloaty belly.
• Good tasting – I want to enjoy it. I don’t want to dread taking it.  I need it to be smooth, mix reasonably well, and not taste like it looks (swampy).   Not too sweet either and no artificial flavours or sweeteners.

I’m happy to say that Niyama’s Goddess Greens & Superfoods and Younited’s All-In-Superfoods are all of these things and more.  Each scoop contains the nutrient equivalent of 6-8 servings of fruits and veggies and provides more than 50% of 20 vitamins and minerals.  And they are delicious – if you’ve used any Niyama powders then you know to expect something that exceeds what you’ve normally experienced in each of our product categories. It’s my thing.  To create a habit, you have to enjoy it.  Goddess Greens is no different – in refreshing Raspberry Lemonade flavour, with zero grit or grassy taste, this is a greens powder your body and your tastebuds will enjoy.

I get this question A LOT.  At consumer shows and events, on social, by email.  The answer is, VERY WELL. It’s not exactly the same; Goddess Greens has 53 plant ingredients to AG1’s 70, and AG1 includes probiotics while Goddess uses organic inulin as a prebiotic to feed your own probiotic strains.  Goddess does NOT contain lecithin while AG1 does, and all the plants in Goddess Greens are 100% organically grown. AG1 adds vitamins and minerals to their food powder,  Goddess relies on the vitamins and minerals naturally present in the food powders we source to deliver the most absorbable multivitamin from food. AG1 is made in New Zealand in an excellent government-approved facility, Goddess is made in Canada in a Health Canada Approved facility.  AG1 costs about $80-$100 USD per month, and Goddess costs about $60 CAD.  Both will noticeably improve your energy levels and digestion, and both will confer immune function benefits from the vitamins and minerals they contain.

TBH, I don’t think you can go wrong with either choice.  A daily greens and superfood powder is an easy win for your health, and one that you will notice before you even finish the first bag. 

Let us know if you are using a greens and how it's working for you in the comments below!