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Taking a daily greens powder has become a popular trend in wellness, but how can it protect our health from the challenges of modern life?
Our modern world has placed higher demands on our bodies than ever before. So many of us live in cities, experience stress in our daily lives, make poor lifestyle choices and come up against environmental pollution every day. Turning to superfood-based greens powders has become one of the answers to the conundrum of how to live healthily in these times. One thing is for sure, our bodies need as much support as we can give them. Greens powders are packed with ingredients many of us might otherwise never include in our diets, such as spirulina, barley grass and chlorella.
Let’s explore some of the main ways these popular, potent green elixirs contribute to our health and vitality in the modern world.
Detoxification and cleansing
Our diets have changed dramatically in the past few decades, with many unpronounceable ingredients popping up in the supermarket in recent decades. Snack foods and takeaways are packaged in plastics that enter the body and are filled with preservatives, refined oils and sugars that are difficult to digest and detox.
Environmental pollutants in cities are breathed in every day and some heavy metals reach us through the water and air supply. This is not to be doom and gloom, but outline that our amazing organs of detoxification - namely the liver, kidneys and bowel - can only do so much. Heavy metals are a specific type of toxin that many of us will come across in our daily lives. These compounds can sit unmetabolised in our bodies and require ingredients like chlorella and spirulina which have proven heavy metal detoxifying properties.2,3
Specific ingredients such as dandelion, barley, wheatgrass, chlorella, parsley and broccoli sprout powder are powerful liver detoxifiers, helping to metabolise harmful compounds. High-fibre ingredients such as orange, globe artichoke and asparagus, and probiotic strains, help ease bowel movements, allowing toxins to be safely eliminated via the bowel.
Greens powders for digestive health and bloating
Modern diets and busy schedules have taken a toll on our digestive health. Gut health and the gut microbiome are some of the biggest buzzwords in wellness - everyone wants healthier digestion. Issues like bloating, food sensitivities, excess gas, and irregular bowel movements plague many of us. These symptoms can be caused by many factors, however, low fibre, poor nutrition and high-stress levels contribute significantly.
One of the most essential macronutrients for healthy digestion is fibre. A specific type of fibre called prebiotic fibre, found in foods like globe artichokes, oranges, and asparagus, feed the beneficial bacteria in the gut microbiome, including Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli.1 A healthy gut microbiome has a significant impact on how well we digest and assimilate nutrients from our diet, while also reducing bloating and improving bowel movements.
Greens powders for busy people
Managing stress is one of the major challenges of modern life. It can be difficult to keep up with daily pressures and making healthy choices is often the first thing to fall by the wayside. Greens powders are not a substitute for healthy eating. If you’re not eating enough fruit and veg on a daily basis, a greens powder won’t be enough. However, busy days, travelling and events that throw out our routine can impact ability to make good diet choices every day.
One of the major drawcards of a superfood-based greens powder is its convenience - we all want to make healthy choices that alleviate stress. The most common ingredients in greens powders provide a variety of B vitamins and magnesium. These nutrients are essential in supporting the body’s stress response and even promote energy levels.4
Stressful times require easy solutions - so it’s little wonder why so many of us are reaching for greens powders as an “insurance policy” for days when we may not be able to make the best diet choices. On the days when we can make better choices, greens powders serve to optimise health to the next level.
The ultimate blend for energy and focus
With demands on our concentration from work and study, it’s important to feed the brain and mitochondria the nutrients required for focus and energy. B vitamins are vital to brain function and need to be replaced in the diet every day. Sipping a greens powder throughout the day supports
Mitochondria are referred to as the ‘powerhouse’ of the cell, creating energy for the whole body to utilise. What happens when the mitochondria aren’t able to do their job properly? Fatigue, lack of concentration and that general feeling of ‘meh’ are the result. Superfood greens powders offer a wealth of nutrients that the mitochondria need in optimal amounts to function properly.
Nutrients required for energy and focus include antioxidants, magnesium, vitamin C, B vitamins such as folate - all of which can be found in abundance in a greens powder that contains ingredients like broccoli sprout, cherry, blackcurrant, spirulina and chlorella.
Greens powders staying well throughout the year
Modern living has given us so many advantages, but unfortunately our immune systems are under pressure every day from things like stress, travel, work and poor nutrition. Of course, no one wants to catch every cold and flu that comes along - but often we only think about how to support immunity once we’re already sick. It’s time to think preventatively when it comes to immunity and get proactive about utilising immune-boosting ingredients every day.
Including a daily greens powder is something that reinforces the immune system year-round. As a food-based product, a greens powder is not only safe to use every day, it’s ideal. Immune-boosting nutrients like vitamin C and zinc from food-based ingredients like orange, broccoli, strawberry, sunflower seeds, and shiitake mushrooms are easily absorbed and there’s no way of ‘overdoing’ them.
Greens powders promise to bridge the nutritional gap by offering a comprehensive and effective solution to the daily challenge of how to take the best possible care of our health.
For some ideas on how to use a greens powder, head over to the blog to check out our new recipes https://eimele.com/blogs/news
References:
- Carlson, J.L., Erickson, J.M., Lloyd, B.B., & Slavin, J.L. (2018). Health effects and sources of prebiotic dietary fiber. Curr Dev Nutr, 2(3): nzy005. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6041804/
- Bhattacharya, S. (2020). The role of spirulina (Arthrospira) in the mitigation of heavy metal toxicity: An appraisal. J Enviro Pathol Toxicol Oncol 39(2): 149-157. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32749124/
- Merino, J.J., Parmagiani-Izquierdo, J.M., Toledano Gasca, A. & Cabana-Munoz, M.E. (2019). The long-term algae extract (Chlorella and fucus sp) and amino sulphurate supplementation modulate SOD1 activity and decrease heavy metals levels in patients with long-term dental titanium implants and amalgam fillings restorations. Antioxidants (Basel), 8(4): 101. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6523211/
- Noah, L., Dye, L., De Fer, B.B., Mazur, A., Pickering, G., et al. (2021). Effect of magnesium and vitamin B6 supplementation on mental health and quality of life in stressed healthy adults: Post-hoc anaylsis of a randomised controlled trial. Stress & Health, 37(5): 1000-1009. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/smi.3051