Athletic Greens Review

Why a superfood powder could make your life healthier and easier:

And why we are recommending Athletic Greens Premium Superfood Cocktail
Superfood powders combine a whole range of nutrients into one product, so you don’t have to take a whole load of supplements, capsules and pills every day. They tend to include a lot of natural, raw food ingredients, rather than just a single nutrient extracted from its source. Superfood powders are therefore particularly popular with those who prioritise healthy eating, and recognise that getting nutrients directly from fruit, vegetables and other natural sources makes them more bioavailable and more readily digested by the body.

Why you should trust us

As you can probably tell by reading this site, we are superfoods enthusiasts who do our homework and provide current and up-to-date information regarding scientific and health data in regards to diets with superfoods. More specifically, I have been published on many reputable online publications including Livestrong and eHow.

What do superfood powders contain?

All superfood powders are a little different to each other, but they all have one thing in common: they aim to deliver a whole range of nutrients and health benefits in one simple serving.

The claims of the companies producing these cocktails of supplements can be pretty impressive, so it’s worth paying close attention to ensure a product really delivers the nutritional benefits being promised.

One of the most appealing aspects of these products is the fact that they bring all the benefits of eating a diet high in healthy, raw fruit and vegetables together in one supplement.

Many of us aspire to living a whole food lifestyle – maybe you even bought a high spec blender this year or buy up a whole load of greens from time to time.

In reality, eating the perfect diet is something most of us only ever plan to do. The time taken to prepare fresh, healthy foods into appealing meals or smoothies is not something we all have to spare.

Not to mention the cost – often, it would cost far more to obtain all the nutrients available in a superfood powder through fresh food, or individual supplements.

But fresh fruit and greens are dietary essentials, with the World Health Organization recommending that a wide variety are consumed to minimize the risks of heart disease, cancer, and strokes, and to lengthen life expectancy.[1]

Incorporating a superfood powder into your lifestyle can be a great way to ensure you are more than meeting your dietary requirements.

What should you be looking for in a superfood powder?

If you’ve noticed these exciting look packaged powders on the shelves of your local health store or online, you will also have noticed that these products are not the cheapest.

If you weren’t aware of them before, but like the sound of a product which can deliver so much in one go, you will be wondering where to begin. Here is our handy list of what you should be looking out for in a superfood powder, to help you navigate the confusing world of supplements and choose the product which fits you and your lifestyle.

• Take a look at the nutritional information displayed on the label – does it really meet all the claims made on the packaging? Some brands are better at meeting their own hype than others, so don’t assume that your needs are going to be met based on marketing alone.
• One of the great things about superfood powders is that they are made from nutrient rich, fresh foods in powdered form. To check this, have a look at the ingredients listed on the product. You should find a good, wide range of fresh vegetables, fruits, and herbs, as well as other ingredients. If not, you might as well be taking any old supplement.
• Does the product contain prebiotics and probiotics? These healthy bacteria ensure that your digestive system is primed to absorb all the other nutrients contained in a superfood powder as effectively as possible, so be sure that a good level is included. Probiotics have also been shown to reduce the symptoms associated with taking antibiotics, such as diarrhea, providing an important natural defense to the side effects of commonly prescribed medications.[2]
• Digestive enzymes also speed up the process of nutrients being broken down and absorbed through the gut, so check that these are listed too.
• Antioxidants are essential to fighting free radicals and preventing cell damage. Ensure they are included, as they have been shown to help stave off the symptoms of aging and various diseases.
• Great quality: take a look at customer reviews, and other information. Browsing amazon reviews can be pretty tiresome though, so we have done some research on consumer feedback and compared products to save you the hassle.
• Preparation methods and servings should fit in with your lifestyle. Superfood powders mean you don’t need to devote time every day to putting together a balanced smoothie – or cleaning up afterwards! But all products will vary a little as to how they are used, so be sure to choose one which is convenient to you.

Our research:

In looking at the range of superfood powders currently available on the market, we compared the range of nutrients and benefits each one delivered with its cost and reputation.

As well as looking at each product’s claims, we also considered consumer feedback and nutritional information.

Not everyone has the time of knowledge needed to trawl through the range of supplements emerging in the health market, but comparing products in this way allowed us to weigh up pros and cons in order to make a recommendation to confused buyers.

Ultimately, individuals will have different needs and priorities, and should make their own minds up accordingly – but we are confident in recommending a product which we feel is the current best buy.

Our Recommendation:

Athletic Greens Premium Superfood Cocktail is currently the best quality product to look at if you are considering trying a powdered superfood supplement.

It isn’t the cheapest, but it provides by far and away the broadest and most effective range of nutrients. As the main reason most people will consider trying a powdered multi-supplement is convenience and broad range of benefits, this really is the main criteria by which these products should be assessed.

Athletic Greens superfood powder contains:

• Prebiotics and probiotics: not all powdered superfoods offer these healthy gut bacteria, which help maintain the ideal environment for the absorption of all the goodness contained in everything which passes your mouth. The fact they are included in this product means you don’t need to spend on extra supplements or store probiotic drinks. The product does need to be kept refrigerated in order to keep the bacteria fresh, but bear in mind that any superfood powder which can just be thrown into a cupboard is not going to offer real prebiotic or probiotic impact.
• There is a huge range of plant-based nutrients in this product. With 7 different types of fruit, and over 20 vegetable and herb extracts or concentrates, the Athletic Greens offering really delivers on its claim to provide the antioxidant equivalent of ten to twelve servings of fresh fruit and vegetables per day. This also means it contains a huge range of vitamins and minerals, the first thing people tend to look for in a dietary supplement such as this.
• Remember when wheatgrass smoothies were the latest thing? It’s a shame they taste awful, because wheatgrass is one of the most nutrient-rich vegetables you can include in your diet. Research has found it can prevent or reduce the symptoms of various conditions, such as ulcerative colitis.[3]Wheatgrass is a major ingredient in Athletic Greens product, which is one of the reasons for recommending it. A convenient powdered format is a great way to incorporate foods which we know are good for us, but aren’t so easy to eat fresh.
• Athletic Greens have incorporated a range of ingredients which promote efficient digestion, including several ingredients which act as catalysts to speed up the way the body breaks down complex nutrients to ensure as many health benefits are available as possible. After all, there’s not much point taking in a load of fruits, greens, and other supplements if your digestive system isn’t well equipped to absorb them for use in the body. The inclusion of bromelain was another factor which makes this product worth recommending: besides the usual reason to take digestive enzymes, bromelain has been shown to have positive effects on some types of cancer in recent research.[4]
• Athletic Greens product is vegan, dairy free, and contains no genetically modified products. All ingredients are naturally sourced, so it shouldn’t interfere with any specialist diets.

Alternative Options:

Whilst Athletic Greens is the product we’ve decided to recommend as the current market leader, there are other options which savvy shoppers will want to consider. To help consumers make informed choices, we have also looked at the competition in order to provide summaries of the pros and cons of these alternatives.

Pinnacle of Wellness Ultimate Organic Green Superfood Powder

Pros:

• Very low cost, so will appeal to those on a tight budget
• Contains a good range of greens and probiotics

Cons:

• Does not contain any prebiotics
• No digestive enzymes mentioned in nutritional information
• Claims to help the user work toward five to nine portions of fruit and veg per day – considerably less than Athletic Greens
• Recommends storing in a cool, dry place rather than the refrigerator, suggesting probiotic ingredients are not likely to have been stored properly and may not be as effective as when stored at the optimal temperature

Bodybrite Superfood Powder

Pros:

• Mid-range cost is likely to appeal to those concerned about spending but looking for quality
• Contains a good range of antioxidants to fight free radicals

Cons:

• Contains no vitamin A or C, both vital nutrients one would expect to find in a broad range superfood supplement
• Contains no prebiotic, probiotic or digestive enzymes. This ‘superfood’ contains nothing to help the body absorb the other nutrients it contains.

Other recommendations:

It’s not just us recommending Athletic Greens, a lot of fitness fanatics and health gurus are shouting about it too.

Taylor Ryan, a fitness trainer who writes on health and nutrition, recommends Athletic Greens superfood powder because she actually tries to avoid taking excessive pills and supplements, preferring to get a wide range of nutrients from a range of fresh foods. Whilst Taylor’s fitness regime means she is already careful to eat a balanced diet full of fresh foods, she finds this product reassuring as she can be sure of getting a wide range of vegetables which might not currently be available freshly or in season.This is exactly what we love about these products too – all the health benefits are much more readily absorbed, and less nutrients go to waste because they are being consumed in a more natural format.

Green Drink Reviews has written about a whole range of superfoods, but recommends Athletic Greens because it not only has a high quantity of top quality ingredients, but tastes more acceptable than competitors’ offerings too – less ‘swampy’ apparently!This might sound like a minor reason to factor in to choosing a broad range superfood powder, but the taste of a product is definitely important when you are going to be taking it every day. If you don’t want to buy another supplement which ends up forgotten at the back of shelf, choose something you are going to enjoy drinking.

Sources:

Ben-Arye, E., et al. “Wheat grass juice in the treatment of active distal ulcerative colitis: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.”Scandinavian journal of gastroenterology37.4 (2002): 444-449.

Hempel, Susanne, et al. “Probiotics for the prevention and treatment of antibiotic-associated diarrhea: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” JAMA307.18 (2012): 1959-1969.

Romano, Barbara, et al. “The chemopreventive action of bromelain, from pineapple stem (Ananas comosus L.), on colon carcinogenesis is related to antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects.” Molecular nutrition & food research58.3 (2014): 457-465.