Sunday, March 19, 2017

MacroLife Naturals Macro Greens Superfood Review

Macro Greens Superfood has a lot of labels: gluten free, raw, non-GMO, vegan, alkalize, energize, vitalize, best tasting. But do any of these have any measurable impact on its nutritional value?

A product of MacroLife Naturals, Macro Greens Superfood makes a pretty bold claim that one glass equals five servings of fruits and vegetables. I took a hard look at the product to see if that measured up.

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Ingredients

There are about thirty-eight different ingredients here that are split up into seven categories: “Nutrient Rich Super Food Blend,” which primarily consists of organic barley grass juice powder and organic spirulina powder; “Non-Dairy Probiotic Cultures” which delivers 18 billion probiotic bacteria from five different strains; an antioxidant blend that includes acerola, milk thistle, and green tea extract; an “Adaptogenic & Metabolic Herbs” blend of berries and herbs like horsetail, astragalus and echinacea; a blend of fibers; a blend of four digestive enzymes; and a blend of “Harmonizing & Support Herbs” that’s mostly comprised of aloe vera leaf powder and watercress leaf powder.

That’s a pretty broad variety, and it’s very cool that in addition to the plant-based ingredients, there are so many probiotics — 18 billion is a very hefty serving and really increases the value of the product.

One serving contains 40 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 6 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, and 1 gram of protein.

Macro Greens Superfood Ingredients

Image from MacroLife

Taste

Very tasty — it tastes a lot like a milder version of Athletic Greens, which is one of the best-tasting greens powders I’ve tried. It’s quite mild, and although it’s dairy-free it tastes both creamy and a little bit fruity, almost like a berry yogurt. It’s definitely one of the best tasting greens powders I’ve tried, but it’s mild enough that it can disappear into any smoothie.

Effectiveness

OK, so what does the product claim to do? It claims to deliver vital nutrients and to provide “antioxidants, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, 18 billion probiotics, plus an herbal blend that supports multiple systems.”

Here are the pros: first of all, it quantifies a lot of its claims, which is rare in the greens powder industry. For example, instead of just saying that it contains probiotics, it tells you how many: 18 billion. Which is a lot. Greens powders typically range between 2 and 25 billion, but very few contain as many as Macro Greens. That’s a big benefit, and given it also contains several kinds of digestive enzymes, it’s very likely to improve your digestive health.

It also provides a lot more nutrition information than many of its competitors. We know it contains 790 percent of your recommended intake of Vitamin C, 330 percent of your Vitamin E, 50 percent of your Vitamin B12, 8 percent of your daily iron, and 8 percent of your Vitamin A. There’s a small amount of magnesium (1 percent), calcium (2 percent), and sodium (2 percent.)

Macro Greens Superfood Review

The good news is that this greens powder is considerably more nutritious than many of its competitors (and much cheaper, too).

What I didn’t like: Macro Greens Superfood states, front and center on the label, that one glass equals five servings of fruits and vegetables.

This makes me question my rating of the product’s effectiveness, which is a shame because it is probably more effective than a lot of other greens powders. Even with the 800 percent of Vitamin C RDI, there’s very little magnesium, no information about B-vitamins besides B12, and there’s only a gram of fiber. I know nothing about the antioxidant content, and of course there’s no information about the countless specific chemical compounds found in fruits and vegetables like, say, indole-3-carbinol, which has anti-estrogenic effects.

Macro Greens Superfood Benefits

Price

At 65 dollars for 90 servings, or 72 cents per serving, it’s extremely well-priced. Most greens powders cost more and offer a lot less — or they’ll claim to provide more nutrition without backing up their claims.

Compare that with Athletic Greens ($4.23/serving), Onnit’s Earth Grown Nutrients ($2.30/serving), Patriot Power Greens ($1.96/serving) AI Sports Nutrition Red & Greens XT ($1.33/serving), Emerald Balance ($1.30/serving), Vitamineral Green ($1.16/serving), Green Vibrance ($1.08/serving), ORAC-Energy Greens ($1/serving), PharmaFreak Greens Freak ($1/serving), Sun Warrior’s Supergreens ($0.55/serving), and Amazing Grass’s Green Superfood ($0.52/serving).

The Takeaway

While I’m irked by the claim that this equals multiple servings of fruits and vegetables, it’s still an outstanding product in its field. It has more vitamin C, B12, E, probiotics, and digestive enzymes than the majority of other greens powders, and it’s incredibly cheap and tasty.

Overall I think it’s a quality product. The marketing just needs to be reigned in a little.

Buy Macro Greens on Amazon

The post MacroLife Naturals Macro Greens Superfood Review appeared first on BarBend.

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