Trends constantly change as the years go by, including products like super greens you can find in many health food stores. From chlorella to spirulina to barley grass, there are numerous types of super greens out there, and they’re often added to beverages, desserts, breakfasts, and smoothies. They’re incredibly popular since many people believe in the health benefits they offer.
If you’ve never tried them and you’re considering joining the hype, keep reading to find out whether they’ll still be trendy in the upcoming months or years.
What Are Super Greens?
Super greens are also known as greens powder. And as their name suggests, they come from a variety of healthy grasses, grains, and vegetables, most of which are green in color. Naturally, those foods are nutrient-dense as they contain antioxidants, phytonutrients, minerals, vitamins, and fiber. However, some people find it unappealing to take them individually and in their raw form due to their commanding flavor. Thus, nutritionists have turned super greens into powders to make those vegetables easy to incorporate into other foods.
Here are some of the ingredients you’ll encounter in most greens powders:
- Barley Grass: The juice of freshly squeezed barley undergoes a process for it to turn into powder. This is a popular greens powder ingredient due to the protein, fiber, minerals and vitamins in it. Also, it has more vitamin B11 and B1 than cow’s milk.
- Wheatgrass: Young wheatgrass shoots have vitamins like A, C, E, and K, thus making them perfect for greens supplements. Moreover, the plant is known to be low in calories, so it’s ideal for people who want to lose weight.
- Chlorella: This comes from green freshwater algae rich in antioxidants, minerals, and proteins. Some consume it in tablet form, while others prefer it as a powder.
Why Go For Super Greens?
With all the minerals and vitamins found in them, it’s no wonder why many individuals consider super greens extremely beneficial. Here are the other benefits they come with and the reasons they’re trendy in the first place:
- Enjoy A Natural Energy Boost
If you have a hectic schedule, you may need to have extra energy. While sugary beverages, coffee, and energy drinks could work, they might negatively impact your health when consumed excessively. As an alternative, you can take super green powders for health and wellness.
Super greens with chlorella and broccoli may energize and make you more alert throughout the day. Those ingredients are both natural energy boosters, so their effects are longer-lasting and healthier. And since they’re in powder forms, you can easily add them to your smoothie, juice, or water.
- They Help With Weight Loss Management
Apart from keeping you energized, most super greens can curb your appetite. This is essential if you want to lose weight quickly. And even if you use greens powder to control your calorie intake, you won’t be compromising the nutrients your body needs.
However, keep in mind that super greens shouldn’t replace your meals. They’re only meant to be taken as supplements, especially if you’re not fond of eating green leafy vegetables. You can choose to add them to your salads, soups, and main dishes.
Since most super greens are high in fiber, you’ll feel full for a longer time after taking them. Your body would have to work harder so it can digest and break down that fiber. This’ll likely prevent you from bingeing on food, which can contribute to weight gain.
Another vital contribution of super greens to weight loss management is helping you gain muscle to lose more fat. This is possible since muscles feed on plant proteins. So a spoonful of greens powder a day could do the trick, especially if you pair it with regular workouts.
- Relieve Constipation
If you have constipation, then super greens might help. All you need is to find a powder with yeast, live bacteria, or probiotics to help relieve constipation. Taking such supplements can keep things moving in your gut as they increase the number of probiotic bacteria in your gut.
In addition, you can leverage greens powders with prebiotics, either inulin or fructooligosaccharides. This way, you can feed the healthy bacteria as prebiotics can sustain probiotics.
- Offer Convenience
While you may want to have a healthy lifestyle, you might be worried about having to spend a lot of time preparing organic and nutrient-dense meals. Fortunately, you can opt to consume greens powder instead as they require barely any effort. You don’t need to peel, slice, boil, or bake anything because, as mentioned, you just add them to your drink or food.
And even if you enjoy eating fruits and vegetables, you may not know how much nutrients they contain and whether you’re consuming enough of them. Thus, it would be easier to add super greens to your diet to compensate for the nutrients you might be missing out on.
- Improve Antioxidant Profile
Since these supplements contain antioxidants, taking them is akin to eating foods rich in antioxidants. These chemicals can reduce or stop the damage caused by free radicals in your body.
Free radicals can be found in processed foods, UV rays, alcohol, tobacco, and chemicals that your body produces when turning food into energy. While you can control your consumption of or exposure to the other sources of free radicals, it’s impossible for you to stop your body from producing them. That’s why taking super greens in addition to vegetables and fruits could help create antioxidants.
If you have more antioxidants in your body, you can prevent the degenerative process triggered by free radicals that leads to the following:
- Parkinson’s or Huntington’s disease due to genetic degenerative illnesses
- Diabetes
- Hair loss, wrinkles, skin aging, and other age-related changes in appearance
- Age-related vision decline and cataracts
- Cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and other inflammatory disorders
- Cardiovascular disease
Conclusion
As they say, it’s better to prevent something than to cure it. That’s especially true when it comes to keeping your body fit and healthy. By consuming supplements like greens powders, you can increase your body’s intake of the nutrients it needs. As a result, you can minimize, if not eliminate, the unhealthy effects of nutrient deficiency. With that said, it’s clear that super greens are likely to continue being a trend and gain even more popularity in the years to come.
