Greens Superfood: 22 Ingredients, Wheat Grass, and a 10-Minute Rule

Greens Superfood — $35.90, 126 g. Twenty-two plant ingredients in one scoop. Three things to check before you buy.

1. It contains wheat grass, and there is no gluten-free badge

The ingredient list includes Wheat Grass (Triticum aestivum L.) (leaf) and Barley Grass Powder (leaf).

Wheat and barley grasses are the young leaf, harvested before the grain forms, and the leaf itself is not a gluten source. But cross-contamination with the grain is a recognised risk in this category, which is why gluten-free cereal-grass products are specifically tested and labelled as such.

This product's badges do not include gluten-free. Several other products in our range do carry that badge — L-Glutamine, Nitric Oxide, the Energy Powders — and this one does not.

If you have coeliac disease or a wheat allergy, do not buy this one on the assumption that grass is safe. Ask us and we will get a straight answer from the manufacturer before you spend the money.

2. It contains ashwagandha and ginseng

Buried in a 22-ingredient list: Ashwagandha Powder (root) and Panax ginseng Powder (root).

That matters because both carry real considerations, and nobody expects to find them in a greens powder:

• Ashwagandha — thyroid interaction, avoid in pregnancy, documented case reports of liver injury, possible additive effect with sedatives. Full detail in our ashwagandha article. If you also take CalmWell or Shilajit Complex, that is now three products containing ashwagandha.
• Panax ginseng — the same botanical as in FocusRoot and Focus Powder. Worth raising with a doctor if you take blood thinners or diabetes medication.

No individual amounts are given, so these are likely small. But "likely small" is not "zero", and if you are stacking several of our products you should know what is actually repeating across them.

3. Drink it within 10 minutes of mixing

The label says: consume within 10 minutes of mixing. That is unusual and specific, and it is there for a reason.

The formula contains sodium alginate, a thickener from seaweed. Left standing, a greens powder with alginate will thicken and become unpleasant to drink. Mix it and drink it — do not make it in the morning for the afternoon.

The full ingredient list

Barley grass · broccoli · spirulina · green tea · alfalfa · wheat grass · beet root · hibiscus · strawberry · cranberry · acai · blueberry · pomegranate · cinnamon · turmeric extract · Panax ginseng · ashwagandha · mangosteen · black pepper extract · inulin · ginger · sodium alginate.

No individual amounts are disclosed for any of them. With 22 ingredients in one scoop, several are necessarily present in small quantities. We are not going to estimate which.

Two more worth noting: green tea contains caffeine, amount unstated — so this is not a caffeine-free product. Inulin is a FODMAP and commonly causes gas and bloating in people with IBS.

Greens Superfood or WholeEarth?

We sell both, and they are different things:

• Greens Superfood — a powder, 22 ingredients, leafy greens and algae led, plus botanicals. Vegan.
• WholeEarth — capsules, 10 fruit and vegetable ingredients, 600 mg. Not vegan — gelatin capsule.

And the same honest caveat applies to both: a greens powder does not replace eating vegetables. You do not get the fibre, the volume, or the bulk of the nutrition. It is a top-up.

How to use it

One scoop in 6–8 oz of cold water or a beverage of your choice, once daily. Consume within 10 minutes of mixing. Do not exceed the recommended dose.

Consult a physician if pregnant, nursing, under 18, or if you have a known medical condition.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. All ingredients quoted are taken from the product label.