Green powders have both health benefits and health risks. They help prevent chronic diseases and also help manage your blood pressure. Also, pregnant and lactating women should not take green powders. Nevertheless, taking green powders with a doctor’s prescription provides more benefits than risks.
We all need some recommended amount of vitamins and minerals in our bodies. However, we often fail to reach the recommended minerals and vitamin intake with the current meal types worldwide.
This vitamin deficiency has led to the emergence of green powders. These dietary supplements have helped people supplement the vitamins and minerals needed in our bodies.
Green powders have faced some criticism over the years, and it has led to more questions on where taking green powders could be a waste of money.
Have you found yourself in a position requiring that you take green powders? Or have you gotten some advice on taking some green powders in your diet?
If yes, walk with me as we discuss more on the green powders topic, and you might take home some meaningful information.
Green powders help boost the body’s immunity while adding to the nutritional value needed in a diet.
Green powders ingredients
Green powders are rich in nutritional ingredients. Some of these highly classified dietary ingredients found in greens powders commonly include:
- Grasses like the alfalfa, oat, barley, and wheat grasses
- Seaweeds like Nori, sea lettuce, dulse, and kelp
- Vegetables including broccoli, carrots, green cabbage, tomatoes, and beets
- Antioxidant fruits like raspberries, blueberries, acai berries, and goji berries
- Leafy greens like kale, spinach, parsley, moringa, and collard greens
- Herbs like astragalus, milk thistle, and holy basil
- Nutritional extracts like grape seed, Ginkgo Biloba, and green tea extracts
- Probiotics like L. acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis
Most green powders will contain these ingredients and many more. Some green powders have up to 30 elements making them very nutritious.
The more components a green powder contains, the higher the chances of supplementing you with the essential nutrients for the body’s optimal functioning.
So, what are the benefits of taking green powders?
Green powders have become known for our bodies’ nutritional and medicinal values. Some of these benefits include:
1. Green powders help regulate blood pressure
Most green powders contain potassium and calcium. These minerals help in blood sugar management.
If you suffer from irregular blood pressure, taking green powders may help decrease the diastolic and systolic blood pressure levels.
2. Green powders and the immune system
The immune system relies primarily on the vitamin and mineral levels in our body.
Green powders help supplement the vitamin and mineral levels required by our bodies. This way, they help in boosting our immune system a great deal.
Vitamin A in green powders helps boost the anti-inflammatory properties of our immune system.
Also found in most green powders, Selenium helps the body fight infections. Our immune system gets more vitamins and minerals responsible for certain immune responses.
3. Green powders boost our cognitive and eye health
Dementia and eye problems have become a health concern, especially among the elderly. Green powders contain vitamin K.
Vitamin K helps maintain healthy blood vessels. When the blood vessels stay healthy, we face fewer heart-associated problems.
Vitamin K also reduces the risk of bone loss, especially for aging seniors. Eye problems also go down with sufficient vitamin K in our bodies.
It also prevents dementia, making our elderly grow old with their memories intact.
Without green powders, the cognitive and eye health cases don’t get the improvement seen in patients who start on vitamin K-rich green powders.
4. Green powders help prevent the onset of some chronic diseases
Have you seen diabetes and chronic heart disease patients take green powders?
One time, a doctor prescribed green powder to my diabetic grandmother, and we saw a noticeable improvement in her health.
Green powders help supply sufficient vitamin C and K. The body sometimes produces cell-damaging radicals, leading to oxidation.
Oxidation refers to a damaging cell process in the body that majorly results in diabetes and chronic heart diseases.
Vitamin C and K found in most green powders serve as antioxidants that help reverse and prevent the oxidation process that leads to cell damage.
Therefore, if you start taking green powders early enough, they help prevent the onset of these chronic diseases.
Do green powders pose potential health risks?
While we have seen that green powders help our immune system, you should also practice caution while taking them.
We advise that you take green powders under your doctor’s supervision. Please don’t buy them blindly without checking the brand or knowing the potential health effects they may pose.
For instance:
- Green powders may interact with other medications to cause organ damage or lower the effectiveness of some drugs. For example, if you take anticoagulant drugs, you should practice caution before taking green powders.
- Some green powders may contain heavy metals that pose a health risk to anyone taking them. Before taking any green powders, let your doctor know and advise on the accepted green powder brands. Like any other products, some green powder manufacturers may not be licensed.
- Some people develop allergies to green powders. Be cautious of some extracts found in green powders like green tea. These extracts may cause nausea and headaches. If you notice certain allergic reactions after taking green tea, we recommend you see your doctor for a better prescription.
- Pregnant and breastfeeding women should not take green powders. The supplements in green powders may pose health risks to pregnant and lactating women. In addition, the effects of certain supplements on pregnant or lactating women have not gotten determined. Hence not safe for such women.
Summary of the benefits and risks of green powders
| Benefits of green powders | Potential risks of green powders |
|---|---|
| They help regulate blood pressure | They may cause harmful interactions with certain medications |
| Green powders boost the immune system | Some contain harmful substances |
| Green powders promote cognitive and eye health | They may cause allergies in some people |
| They prevent chronic diseases | Green powders may cause health risks to pregnant and breastfeeding women |
So, are green powders a waste of money?
We conclude that green powders will not be a waste of money if used under our doctor’s prescription.
On the contrary, they lead to great health benefits that add value to your money.
FAQs
Can green powders replace vegetables?
Green powders can’t replace food, but they supplement the vitamins and minerals that food may not provide sufficiently.
Do green powders make you poop?
Green powders may contain enough fiber that may help boost the easiness of pooping in some constipated patients.
Are greens necessary?
Yes, green vegetables play an important role in providing our bodies with vitamins.
How often should you drink super greens?
The recommended prescription is once daily. You should take the recommended amount once every day with water, yogurt, or smoothie.
Furthermore, you should follow your doctor’s prescription depending on your health condition.
Conclusion
Most people wonder if green powders are a waste of money. But, taking green powders under your doctor’s prescription proves that they are worth your money.
They help boost your immune system and lower the risks of contracting some chronic diseases.
However, without a doctor’s prescription, you may risk your health and thus fail to get the value of your money. Therefore, we advise you to follow your doctor’s prescription for green powders.
