Often advertised as a magical elixir, green powders are increasing in mainstream popularity, especially among endurance athletes. Typically, green powders are boasted for providing antioxidants, vitamins, and nutrients that help fill the gaps in your diet. It can be difficult to know if there is any validity behind these claims. Fortunately, my team and I have your back. Let’s review what green powders can offer endurance athletes. And ultimately, answer the question, are green powders a waste of money?

Understanding Green Powders

These touted miracle powders sure do sound fancy but let’s examine them further. Green powders are dietary supplements that contain vegetables, fruits, and other nutrients in powdered form. Often these powdered products are dehydrated and intended to be mixed with water or a smoothie for consumption. 

Green powders are advertised as health-promoting and a great source of antioxidants, nutrients, vitamins, and minerals for individuals looking to boost their nutrition intake. Or perhaps those who are looking to fill nutrition gaps in their current diet. 

Depending on the brand, green powders can contain anywhere from 20-50 ingredients and often include:

• Greens blend (spinach, matcha leaf, spirulina, alfalfa)
• Seaweed
• Adaptogen blend (ginger root extract, ashwagandha, spearmint)
• Grasses
• Probiotics
• Digestive enzymes
• Herbal ingredients
• Mushroom blend
• Natural sugar substitutes (stevia, monk fruit)
• Added fibers

Many of these green powders market “comprehensive nutrition” as a multivitamin substitute though of note are often lacking in important nutrients including vitamin D and iron. Often very low in calories (<50 calories or less per serving), many green powders provide >100% Daily Value (DV) needs for vitamins and minerals including Vitamin A, C, E, B1, B2, B6, folate, zinc, among others.

Because most green powders are made from dried fruit and vegetables, some important nutrients including fiber are lost in the manufacturing process. 

Examining the Health and Wellness Claims of Green Powders

Not necessarily backed by overwhelming scientific research, many popular green powder products claim:

• Increased energy levels and immunity 
• Reduced bloating
• Improved gastrointestinal health
• Detoxified body
• Supported recovery for athletes

While there is overall very limited research on the health benefits of green powders specifically. The nutrients and plant compounds in green powders may support wellness when combined with a well-balanced diet. For example, green powders are very rich in vitamins A and E, which are important antioxidants that help to boost immunity. Green powders also often obtain probiotics, which can help optimize gut health and maintain bowel regularity.

There is also quite small, but forthcoming research that shows green powders can help to improve blood pressure. Again, this has been researched in a very small population. 

Many green powders contain adaptogens, which are herbal ingredients used in alternative medicine practices. These herbs and supplements are touted to decrease the effects of stress on the human body. Though unfortunately there is no adequate research to back these claims.

Broad scientific research has not been conclusive regarding green powder consumption in endurance athletes.

Are Green Powders a Suitable Supplement for Endurance Athletes?

Endurance athletes have higher nutritional needs. There are countless reasons why it may be difficult to meet your nutrition goals day in and day out. Many factors including a busy and hectic work schedule, lack of meal planning and preparation, and frequent travel can hold us back from meeting our daily nutrition goals.

In situations where you’re not able to meet your nutrition through food alone, a green powder supplement is worth exploring. That being said, my team and I highly value getting your nutrition from food first. 

Furthermore, supplements, including green powder supplements, should never be a replacement for a nutritious and well-balanced diet. Certainly, green powders can enhance your daily nutrition intake. Supplements can also help to optimize nutrition goals whether you are in peak training season or out of season.

If you’re thinking about incorporating a green powder supplement into your routine, consider using it during times when your eating routine may be “off”. Such as, when traveling or during periods of higher-volume and intensity training. When you have longer training sessions this can limit your ability to get in enough nutrition for the day. Green powder supplements can also be a go-to for endurance athletes who need to follow a fiber-restricted diet. Tread lightly as many green powder brands contain added fibers or probiotics, which can worsen gastrointestinal issues.

Most green powder supplements do not contain vitamin D or iron so you may need additional supplementation for those nutrients. Always speak with your medical care provider when deciding this.

Real-Life Experiences

Several of my clients (and also my team dietitian) have experimented with green powder supplements, mostly out of curiosity. Noted benefits among the crowd included:

• increased and stable energy levels throughout the day,
• improved hair and nail growth,
• and ultimately relief from knowing that they were better at meeting nutritional needs day in and day out. 

Taste can vary depending on the brand. Athletic Greens is a common brand and it offers an earthy but surprisingly refreshing flavor. This can be enhanced when mixed with a frozen banana and whey protein for a flavorful mid-day treat. 

Always make sure that you are opting for vitamin and mineral supplements that are third-party tested. A supplement brand that I love and trust is Thorne Research! You can use this link to get 15% off your order, discount applies at checkout. (The whey protein isolate and liquid vitamin D are a couple of my personal go-to’s).  

Evaluating Cost Effectiveness- Are Green Powders a Waste of Money?

The answer to, are green powders a waste of money? It’s really up to you. Many green powder supplements can be quite expensive, upwards of $100 US dollars per month. For some people, that is far too steep of a price to pay for any nutritional supplement.  

It is also important to note that many alternative multivitamin supplements available are much less expensive than this. Fortunately, there are countless third-party tested multivitamin supplements available to consumers that you may want to consider.

Watch our dietitian team’s deep-dive discussion on green powders, creatine and sodium bicarbonate

Watch Endurance Eats, Ep. 7 – a video series dedicated to discussing optimal fueling for athletes – triathletes, runners, cyclists, and more!

Hit that subscribe button to catch future episodes!

IN THIS EPISODE:
(1:04) – Sodium bicarbonate for lactate/lactic acid build-up
(20:30) – Does creatine monohydrate boost endurance performance?
(33:45) – Green powders for athletes – are they worth it?

Always Make an Informed Decision

Before you start using any nutrition supplements, check that they are third-party tested. Look for labels such as Informed Choice for Sport or NSF Certified for Sport. In a recent study, it was reported that >28% of the analyzed dietary supplements posed a risk of unintentional doping. The contaminated products originated mostly from the U.S., but also in the Netherlands, UK, Italy, and Germany. Some of the samples originated in China and Southeast Asian countries.

Furthermore, it’s ideal to opt for a green powder supplement that’s free of added dyes, sweeteners, or other unnecessary ingredients.

As always, it’s best practice to discuss any specific supplementation routine with your PCP for more specific dosage guidelines. Your medical care provider also has access to your medical history and medications, which is important to consider when starting any nutrition supplements.

My team and I are here to support you in your athletic endeavors. If you are feeling that your nutrition and supplement routine needs some fine-tuning, check out my 1:1 performance nutrition coaching.