Greens powders: what they are and what is inside (UK guide)

What is a greens powder?

A greens powder, sometimes called a super greens or green powder, is exactly what the name says: a blend of green plants and other whole-food ingredients, dried and milled into a powder you mix into a drink. The idea is convenience. Rather than buying, storing and preparing a long list of different plants, you get a scoop that carries a selection of them in one place. It is a food product in powder form, so it belongs in the same mental box as the vegetables and fruit it is made from, taken as a daily scoop in water or blended into a smoothie.

What is typically inside one?

Blends vary a lot between brands, but most are built from a few recognisable groups. Reading them by group is the easiest way to understand a label.

• A greens blend: the core of the product. Commonly spirulina, chlorella, wheat grass, barley grass, alfalfa, kale, spinach and broccoli.
• A berry and plant blend: ingredients such as acai, blueberry, goji, bilberry and green tea.
• Root botanicals and adaptogens: plants like reishi, ginger, astragalus, ashwagandha and rhodiola, named as part of the blend.
• A fibre blend: a small amount of plant fibre.
• Digestive enzymes and live cultures: included in some blends as part of the mix.

None of those names is a promise. They are the ingredients, and a good label groups them so you can see what you are getting.

Where does a greens powder fit around your diet?

This is the honest part the category tends to skip. The foundation of a good diet is whole vegetables and fruit, which the NHS five-a-day message is built around, along with wholegrains, beans and the rest of a varied plate. Whole vegetables bring water, fibre and bulk that a scoop of powder does not, and no powder changes the basic advice to eat them. Where a greens powder fits is alongside that, as a convenient way to add a bit more plant variety on a busy day, or for someone who finds it an easy habit to keep. It sits with your food, not in place of it.

Who might use one?

A greens powder tends to appeal to people who already like the idea of adding more plants to their routine and want a simple, repeatable way to do it. Some people use one on days when their meals are rushed or travel gets in the way of cooking. Others simply enjoy a daily scoop in water or a smoothie as part of a habit they keep. It is a personal-preference product rather than a nutritional necessity, and it is worth being clear about that, because the honest reason to use one is convenience and variety, not a fix for a poor diet.

How to read a greens powder label

The same rule applies as to any supplement: read past the front.

• Look for a label that names and groups the ingredients, so you can see what is in each blend.
• Check the scoop size and how many servings are in the tub, so you know what a month actually costs.
• Decide whether you want it unsweetened and unflavoured, or sweetened, and read how any sweetness is added.
• Treat a long list of front-of-pack promises as marketing, and judge the product on its ingredients instead.

Our Raw Greens

Our Raw Greens Whole Food Powder is a blend of 36 whole-food ingredients grouped into a greens blend, a berry and plant blend, root botanicals, adaptogens, plant extracts, a fibre blend, and digestive enzymes with live cultures, with every ingredient named on the label. It comes in a plain unsweetened version, for anyone who wants greens with nothing added, and a mixed berry version sweetened with monk fruit. One scoop goes into a glass of water or a smoothie once a day. We describe what is in it and leave it there, because a greens powder is a food you add for variety, and the ingredients are the honest story.