What's Up With Greens?

Greens supplements are now a health food staple and there are a ton of amazing varieties to choose from. What is it that makes them so popular, and how do they help your body function? 

At their most basic, greens supplements are dehydrated, powdered plants such as brassicas (broccoli, kale etc.), grasses (wheatgrass, alfalfa etc.) and algaes (spirulina, chlorella etc.), as well as various supportive herbs. Different varieties of greens supplements have various blends of additional dehydrated fruits and vegetables, vitamins, enzymes, and/or probiotics added in. Before we go any further, though, let’s take a moment to be clear: there is a reason supplements are referred to as supplements. They are meant to supplement a healthy diet, not replace one. Fresh fruits and vegetables are a cornerstone of a healthy diet and the best place to get your nutrients from.  That said, a lot of us find it can be a challenge to keep up with our recommended five-a-day, and to maintain a wide variety of those fruits and vegetables, especially when life gets busy. Greens can be a great way to make sure we’re not falling behind on our nutritional needs when factoring those days that are less nutritionally stellar than we might ideally like. (Donut for lunch, anyone? Popcorn for dinner?) For those of you who already have a morning smoothie habit going it’s super simple to add a scoop of greens supplement to the blender. If you’re not using or don’t own a blender, they’re easy to mix with water or your favourite juice using a whisk and a glass, or shaken together in a closed water bottle. Another great option, of course, is to add them to smoothie bowls.

The algae often used in greens are a particular benefit because they're mostly pretty unlikely to appear in other areas of our diets and they are an amazing source of nutrition. Spirulina, for example, is actually a complete protein source via its phycocyanin. It contains 18 amino acids including all 8 essential amino acids necessary for human health and it’s also an effective source of vitamins A, B1, B2, E, and K, as well as magnesium and iron. As we mentioned, there are a lot of different greens options on the market for you to choose from, and beyond ensuring they are using the highest quality ingredients—we’re very particular about the greens products we stock at Pomme—figuring out the best one to select comes down to your own personal health needs and general dietary preferences. If you’re worried you might not be getting enough calcium, for example, many brands offer blends that are targeted at building bone mass by incorporating relevant vitamins and minerals into the nutritional mix. Focussing on healthy skin? Again, there are greens powder blends tailored to providing you with nutrients that will support a glowing complexion.  And if you’re feeling at all overwhelmed with choice, don’t  forget we always have a health specialist in store who is  happy to help you sort out the perfect choice greens for you!