I initially fell hook, line and sinker for the hype around powdered greens.
An influencer I respect wrote about feeling powerful whenever he takes his daily Athletic Greens (AG), so I figured what the heck. I too like to feel powerful.
I don’t eat enough dark green leafy vegetables (who does?) and I liked the idea of boosting my nutritional intake.
I winced a little at the price of these green powders, but I figured there was no harm in trying it once. There are far worse things one could get addicted to, right?
I did like the ritual of drinking Athletic Greens (AG) first thing in the morning in a glass of cold water; it felt like another form of self-care. I even grew to like the taste, which is supposedly pineapple-vanilla flavored but I think that’s a bit of a stretch.
Did AG give me a little boost of energy? It’s possible – or perhaps a glass of cold water and positive thoughts would have done the same.
I liked AG – and I did feel somewhat virtuous every time I drank a glass of it, like I was being a good girl and getting my veggies in. I even got my greens-loathing teen to try AG; she said it tasted a little like dirt yet still drank it down.
There were things I liked about AG, but I also started feeling like these powdered green “superfood” drinks may have a dark side.
I kept reading articles about powdered greens that can all be traced back to the creators and promoters of powdered greens. It seems there’s a tight little hype circle of people who make the products and influencers who get paid to promote them. Please note that I am not getting paid one cent for this post.
I liked AG so much at first that I started looking for a more reasonably priced alternative. I found a blog post by a young man named Haim that seemed to do a thorough job ranking the pros and cons of different green powders. I believed Haim’s story – he seemed like he was legit just trying to find a good greens source for his dad. He sounded totally on the level!
But that’s when I started digging deeper. Maybe something inside of me – call it a journalist’s nose or intuition or Spidey sense – knew something was up. Because that techie kid Haim who claims to have “stumbled onto” powdered greens and researched them for his dad? It turns out he’s the co-founder and CEO of Enso Superfoods. Which also happens to be his “number one choice” for the healthiest and best-tasting greens powder.
Ughh. What a scammer! I feel it is completely unethical for him to not disclose that on his little website, BestGreensPowder.com. How many people stumble upon that well-funded, highly-placed Google link and then fall for his story and fake research findings?! And even if by chance he did truly do the research, it’s still NOT cool of him to leave out the fact that he owns the company he chose as his #1 pick.
I don’t know why any of this surprises me. The wellness industry is worth BILLIONS of dollars. Wellness marketers will do anything to get money out of hard-working consumers just wanting to keep themselves and their families healthy. As an avowed anti-diet person, I should have known better than to fall for this green powder wellness hype.
Anytime we stray from the outer aisles of the supermarket – where the fruits, veggies, dairy and meats are – we’re at risk of being sucked in by overly processed foods with marketing claims that may or may not be true. As someone who has worked adjacent to marketing for my whole career, I should know better.
I truly fell for the supergreens powder hype at first – but once I saw the unethical behavior of one company and read a few articles about the category overall – I realized this new “healthy” offering is just one more wellness industry trap.
Bottom line: human beings don’t need to drink powdered supergreens. They are a lot more processed and expensive than just going to the store and buying veggies – or even than going to a juice cafe and getting a green smoothie.
I thought I had found a quick and easy way to get greens into myself and my family. From now on, I will simply start blending spinach into my fruit smoothies if I want to achieve that goal. That’s pretty quick and easy – and a lot less expensive.
I don’t have any desire to contribute to the wellness industry and line the pockets of another greedy CEO. I’m glad to stick with actual fruits and vegetables.
Have you ever tried powdered greens? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or over on Facebook or Instagram.
