Can good quality powdered greens be a direct replacement for fresh vegetables? In this article, we aim to explain our surprising answer to this very common question.
Powdered greens containing freeze-dried, dehydrated vegetables, grasses and other green ingredients are often billed as X of your 5-a-day. However, fresh vegetables in their original format are generally still going to be better than greens powders.
Surprised that we’d say something like that? Here at Lean Greens, we believe in not sugarcoating the truth about nutrition.
A lot of people think because we sell super greens, we’re advocating replacing fresh vegetables with a powdered greens drink. But REPLACE is not the word we’d use. “Supplement” is more accurate.
Fresh vegetables are the gold standard for getting the hallowed 5-a-day, but for many achieving that is difficult. The NHS ran a study in 2018 about the UK population's habits towards eating fruit and vegetables, and only 28% said they consistently achieved 5 a day.
“In 2018, only 28% of adults were eating the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables per day – and the average (mean) was 3.7 portions per day. Fewer men than women meet the five-a-day guideline, and young people aged 16 to 24 are also less likely than other adults to get their five-a-day. In 2018, 18% of children aged 5 to 15 ate five standard portions of fruit and vegetables per day.”
NHS - http://healthsurvey.hscic.gov.uk/data-visualisation/data-visualisation/explore-the-trends/fruit-vegetables.aspx
A massive 72% are not getting 5-a-day, and that’s despite all the government promotion and the promotion of healthy foods by the food industry. Even more crazy is the number of times we get messages from vegans and vegetarians who say they struggle to eat enough veg, which begs the question...“what are they eating!”
Many of our customers turn to Lean Greens because they know they don’t consume enough vegetables, and for many they simply don’t like vegetables, and find our product is their route to a healthier diet.
You can see the attraction to a simple drink that promises to pack in the nutrients from vegetables. So are they worth trying?
The best quality powdered greens are made directly from raw, natural food sources. Usually containing ingredients such as broccoli, spinach, wheatgrass, spirulina, barley grass.
Because they are made directly from the raw ingredient, it’s very much like juicing your own vegetables and the goodness that is achieved from juicing.
It’s suggested that the vitamins and minerals and other nutrients from this type of drink are more bioavailable, meaning they are more easily absorbed by your body compared to a multivitamin. This is because most multivitamins are derived from synthetic sources which the body struggles to maximise the absorption of.
Convenience is probably the biggest factor with a super greens drink. When it only takes 30 seconds to mix and drink, it’s a fast and simple way to top up where your diet falls short. Especially compared to the time, hassle and mess created by juicing ingredients in your fridge.
One of the other big reasons to use powdered greens is the wide range of vitamins and minerals you get. Most people's diets usually only have 2 or 3 different types of veg. You might have broccoli or carrots, and perhaps spinach in your fridge, but that’s it. With powdered greens you often see 15 to 20 different ingredients with a very wide nutrient profile, giving your body a chance to consume all that it needs.
The negative side of greens powders is the potential loss of some nutrients during processing. For example, fibre may be lost during freeze-drying processes
Because you’re drinking your nutrients rather than eating them, there is a difference in how your body will process the nutrients.
If eating vegetables, you normally get benefits from chewing and the gut producing certain enzymes during digestion that help maximise the absorption of the nutrients. When drinking your greens that will not happen as much.
The last thing we want is for people to form negative associations with foods and nutrition. Sometimes people can become addicted to diet drinks, supplements and meal replacements. Having a greens drink may contribute to this problem.
It’s why we stress that powdered greens are NOT a replacement for fresh vegetables. We want customers to have positive associations and relationships with food. And to use supplements to help top up where your diet falls short.
The answer is not a simple yes or no. Everyone has different dietary habits, and if you are already eating your five a day, or you enjoy juicing your own vegetables every day, then a powdered greens may be totally unnecessary.
However, if you struggle to make the time for getting in your greens, or you simply don’t like eating vegetables, then a super greens supplement might be a great addition to your day, and you’ll reap the health benefits from doing so.
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