Superfoods Powders and Capsules - Experience Sharing

mjbnj0001

On a lark the other day, I picked up a jar of Country Farms Super Greens Berry-Flavored powder to add to my morning smoothie and/or daily consumption. I don't have a particular objective in mind for this stuff, but like most folks on MFP, getting healthier, losing weight, etc. are major goals. I do get my daily veg/fruit servings per day, and more, and don't take a bunch of supplements otherwise. I recently switched off of coumadin (warfarin) to Eliquis for anticoagulant therapy, so I've boosted my green veggie intake already. I'm in my 60s. I didn't pick this product specifically, it was just a "what the heck, there's no harm" moment.

Now, I'm not (yet) able to report leaping over tall buildings in a single bound or anything like that, LOL, but I am thinking of a long-term program with this other similar products. I'm building a comparative spreadsheet between the common products that I'm aware of (this Country Farms, Balance of Nature, Texas SuperFoods, Garden of Life) using their website data.

My questions:
1. do you have any experience to share with these types of products, which should I look at?
2. anything striking, odd, or unexpected?
3. any (in the powder form, anyway) recipe utilization besides smoothies/shaker bottle? Can you do anything with them other than mix and drink?
4. any issues, warning, problems? I already know it's relatively expensive - this Country Farms powder is about $1/scoop = 1 serving.

Thanks in advance for any advice and info. I'll post the spreadsheet (Excel) when I'm done if anyone would find it useful.

BTW: my typical morning smoothie consists of an apple, banana, plain greek yogurt, nonfat cows milk or lowfat almond milk, and unflavored whey. The super greens powder blends right in with it, with a reasonable taste and a berry-pink coloring. It's a pretty hefty meal, macros-wise, but I like to start that way, have a light lunch and a reasonable dinner on a 2000-calorie plan.

Wetcoaster

No such thing as a superfood. Do not waste your money.

kommodevaran

... or mental energy. It's a scam.

Unknown

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Unknown

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TheDevastator

If you want greens, eat greens(fresh, canned, or frozen). There are a lot of types to choose from and they are cheaper than any powder.

Skipjack66

When I go into the health food store, I'm always amazed at the selection of food powders. Maca, moringa, chlorella, acai, the list goes on. It's almost mesmerizing. Like a super food to fix everything from hormones and fatigue to the crazy "detoxx" claim! I haven't bought into the hype myself (not to mention it would be bad for the wallet) however I do have some powdered foods that I buy from this same rack at the store that I consider super for other reasons:

Vanilla bean powder - This is whole ground up vanilla beans. If you bake a lot or make raw desserts and want a vanilla flavour that is potent without an alcoholic tang from the extract - then this powder is the best. I buy Giddy Yo Yo brand. I store it in the freezer. Beware - it is super expensive.

Cocoa powder - I use this now instead of Dutch processed cocoa (eg Frys cocoa) for all my baking and smoothies. It has a rich chocolate flavour that can't be beat! I buy Organics brand. It's completely addictive.

Blueberry powder - fabulous for making white icing a brilliant blue with a light blueberry flavour. Also good in smoothies to bump up the blueberry flavour when your frozen blues just don't cut it. I buy Giddy Yo Yo brand.

Milled Flaxseed (mine's like a powder). I put it on cereal and oatmeal for my Omega 3s. I also put it in baking like muffins and banana bread and use it as an egg replacer in vegan baking. Tastes nutty. I buy any brand that's on sale.

Matcha (green tea powder). Its supposed to have lots of cure-all antioxidants but I'm just a fan of the flavour. I use the culinary grade in baking and the ceremonial grade for tea. It's super expensive and a real treat. I ration myself with this stuff. I order Kiss me Organics brand from Amazon for the culinary grade (which can be used in smoothies by the way) and the ceremonial grade I use is DoMatcha (from the health store).

As for green smoothies, they are delicious. However I would rather throw my own baby spinach into the blender than buy a bag of expensive powders. I also like to know exactly what I'm eating too. Three cups of raw spinach? Coming right up! You'd be amazed how much spinach you can pack into a smoothie and it won't taste "green" if other fruits or some nut butter is in there.

I hope this helps!

kimny72

Everything I've read says there is no proof that dried pulverized powder has the same health benefits. Or that it's possible to fit the amounts necessary into a capsule. And that there is no guarantee that what they say is in there, is in there in any measurable amount.

I don't have enough money lying around to have ever tried those kinds of supplements so I focus on continuing to add more, and more varied, produce to my diet, especially local and in-season (and therefore cheaper) choices.

mjbnj0001

thanks so far for everyone's input. i'm dealing with fallout from crashing my bicycle, so i'm afraid i won't be able to give a more fitting reply right now.

mjbnj0001

mjbnj0001 wrote: »

thanks so far for everyone's input. i'm dealing with fallout from crashing my bicycle, so i'm afraid i won't be able to give a more fitting reply right now.

Sorry to have sounded melodramatic above, but it's been a tough couple of weeks.

Here's the story (skip to below paragraph regarding superfoods if you wish): I cracked up my bicycle (my error), making hamburger out of my knee and giving assorted pains, heavy bruising and abrasions (lucky, no bones or joints - I think). As the healing progressed a couple of days, I developed a mass infection in the leg (might've propelled some germs into the wounds that I had failed to get cleared out well or quickly enough), leading to further pain and mobility issues. Prescribed antibiotic began clearing the infection, but I had a relatively rare side-effect: colestatic jaundice. More issues, too much to drone on about, although I will say that I'm looking more like Homer Simpson (yellow) than I would have ever thought. So, the past couple of weeks have been ones to forget and the liver/galbladder insult will apparently drag on for several weeks to clear up. I had earlier told my family my goal that I was going to work on getting healthy "even if it killed me" - but I didn't expect the universe to take me literally, LOL.

1. SUPERFOODS. Yep, I hate the term as well, wish it hadn't caught on as a marketing moniker. I had hoped my "not leaping tall buildings" remark would have signaled this. That being said, I'm always on the lookout for foods that have or might have useful properties. Beets are one. I was on a lackadaisical hunt for Super Beets when I came across the Super Greens. Gave them a try. I don't think of this as a replacement for real foods, consumed normally, but an add-on. I don't think that the minimal amount of any particular powered item in one scoop of these "50 fruit/veg" mixes has a great impact, except maybe over time, but together might have some impact, much as a fuel additive does. "Do no harm" as the experimental basis. Something like a Super Beets, supposedly good for circulation system and more, as a one-ingredient product, would concentrate any positive effect. But more than/easier than just adding more beets to your diet? I wonder.
2. POWDER MIXES. I've been taking the powder in my morning smoothie all this time. Still not leaping tall building in a single bound, LOL. The other bike-crash-related health conditions are overwhelming any sensible experimental result. I'm also not in a position to put any mental bandwidth into comparing the various brands/compositions right now, as I thought I might be doing, sorry to any/all who might have wanted to see such side-by-side comparisons. The powder form seems to be easy to ingest, although limited in cooking utility (not similar to useful herbs or foods that can be used as recipe ingredients). And relatively expensive - have to pay for that marketing, LOL.
3. WHERE NEXT? I am just maintaining status quo on this stuff for now. Have other things to think about.

Thanks again, all who responded. I appreciate it.

mjbnj0001

TheDevastator wrote: »

If you want greens, eat greens(fresh, canned, or frozen). There are a lot of types to choose from and they are cheaper than any powder.

Fresh and frozen, certainly. There are fairly few veg that I find great canned. A few more fruit, though. Thanks!

mjbnj0001

Skipjack66 wrote: »

When I go into the health food store, I'm always amazed at the selection of food powders. Maca, moringa, chlorella, acai, the list goes on. It's almost mesmerizing. Like a super food to fix everything from hormones and fatigue to the crazy "detoxx" claim! I haven't bought into the hype myself (not to mention it would be bad for the wallet) however I do have some powdered foods that I buy from this same rack at the store that I consider super for other reasons:

Vanilla bean powder - This is whole ground up vanilla beans. If you bake a lot or make raw desserts and want a vanilla flavour that is potent without an alcoholic tang from the extract - then this powder is the best. I buy Giddy Yo Yo brand. I store it in the freezer. Beware - it is super expensive.

Cocoa powder - I use this now instead of Dutch processed cocoa (eg Frys cocoa) for all my baking and smoothies. It has a rich chocolate flavour that can't be beat! I buy Organics brand. It's completely addictive.

Blueberry powder - fabulous for making white icing a brilliant blue with a light blueberry flavour. Also good in smoothies to bump up the blueberry flavour when your frozen blues just don't cut it. I buy Giddy Yo Yo brand.

Milled Flaxseed (mine's like a powder). I put it on cereal and oatmeal for my Omega 3s. I also put it in baking like muffins and banana bread and use it as an egg replacer in vegan baking. Tastes nutty. I buy any brand that's on sale.

Matcha (green tea powder). Its supposed to have lots of cure-all antioxidants but I'm just a fan of the flavour. I use the culinary grade in baking and the ceremonial grade for tea. It's super expensive and a real treat. I ration myself with this stuff. I order Kiss me Organics brand from Amazon for the culinary grade (which can be used in smoothies by the way) and the ceremonial grade I use is DoMatcha (from the health store).

As for green smoothies, they are delicious. However I would rather throw my own baby spinach into the blender than buy a bag of expensive powders. I also like to know exactly what I'm eating too. Three cups of raw spinach? Coming right up! You'd be amazed how much spinach you can pack into a smoothie and it won't taste "green" if other fruits or some nut butter is in there.

I hope this helps!

I'll have to look for the vanilla. I haven't seen it as powder.

Love blueberries. Had a great little blueberry-based cookbook picked up in Maine on a bike tour. Can't find it. Too bad, lots of unique recipes (such as a savory blueberry salsa for baked fish).

Little story: I mentioned in my original post that I had been on coumadin for some years, and recently switched to something else - that lets me freely eat greens. I got a little "green crazy" for a couple of weeks, making all the variants of green sauces I could think of (chimichurry, gremolata, Italian salsa verde [herbs], Mexican Salsa Verde [tomatillo], sofrito, etc.). Also kale/spinach salads, kale/spinach soups and kale smoothies. I got back to a more sedately green diet after that splurge period.

The "going green" experience and consequent well-being effect has fueled my curiosity about superfood powders - since I had been missing whatever small, unknown components of a well-rounded veg blend diet for so many years. It may be just a psych thing, I feel generally better with more greens and veg in my diet than I had before. I've always liked veg, and had maintained a good consumption of them even on the coumadin, but I had avoided all the dark-green, Vitamin-K rich veg to avoid monkeying around with the coumadin.

Thanks again.

mjbnj0001

mjbnj0001 wrote: »

mjbnj0001 wrote: »

thanks so far for everyone's input. i'm dealing with fallout from crashing my bicycle, so i'm afraid i won't be able to give a more fitting reply right now.

Sorry to have sounded melodramatic above, but it's been a tough couple of weeks.

Here's the story (skip to below paragraph regarding superfoods if you wish): I cracked up my bicycle (my error), making hamburger out of my knee and giving assorted pains, heavy bruising and abrasions (lucky, no bones or joints - I think). As the healing progressed a couple of days, I developed a mass infection in the leg (might've propelled some germs into the wounds that I had failed to get cleared out well or quickly enough), leading to further pain and mobility issues. Prescribed antibiotic began clearing the infection, but I had a relatively rare side-effect: colestatic jaundice. More issues, too much to drone on about, although I will say that I'm looking more like Homer Simpson (yellow) than I would have ever thought. So, the past couple of weeks have been ones to forget and the liver/galbladder insult will apparently drag on for several weeks to clear up. I had earlier told my family my goal that I was going to work on getting healthy "even if it killed me" - but I didn't expect the universe to take me literally, LOL.

1. SUPERFOODS. Yep, I hate the term as well, wish it hadn't caught on as a marketing moniker. I had hoped my "not leaping tall buildings" remark would have signaled this. That being said, I'm always on the lookout for foods that have or might have useful properties. Beets are one. I was on a lackadaisical hunt for Super Beets when I came across the Super Greens. Gave them a try. I don't think of this as a replacement for real foods, consumed normally, but an add-on. I don't think that the minimal amount of any particular powered item in one scoop of these "50 fruit/veg" mixes has a great impact, except maybe over time, but together might have some impact, much as a fuel additive does. "Do no harm" as the experimental basis. Something like a Super Beets, supposedly good for circulation system and more, as a one-ingredient product, would concentrate any positive effect. But more than/easier than just adding more beets to your diet? I wonder.
2. POWDER MIXES. I've been taking the powder in my morning smoothie all this time. Still not leaping tall building in a single bound, LOL. The other bike-crash-related health conditions are overwhelming any sensible experimental result. I'm also not in a position to put any mental bandwidth into comparing the various brands/compositions right now, as I thought I might be doing, sorry to any/all who might have wanted to see such side-by-side comparisons. The powder form seems to be easy to ingest, although limited in cooking utility (not similar to useful herbs or foods that can be used as recipe ingredients). And relatively expensive - have to pay for that marketing, LOL.
3. WHERE NEXT? I am just maintaining status quo on this stuff for now. Have other things to think about.

Thanks again, all who responded. I appreciate it.

Quick update for anyone who might be interested: I seem to be getting near to my normal state following the antibiotic-induced coleostatic jaundice. There are still some residual things going on, but all-in-all, much better. It's been an ordeal - I know there are many who have real serious, real long-lasting health issues and life-threatening conditions, more than this scare has impacted me - all I can say is that this experience has given me a renewed perspective on your struggles.

Regarding multi-ingredient supplement powders, I'm going to hold off on them for the foreseeable future. I've done some preliminary searching on effects of some of the ingredients, and, as you can imagine, there's "more written than is known" [grin] about some of them, and this became a big research project. There are questions on some commonly-included items, such as aloe vera, that might have outlier liver complications. So, being newly cautious, I'll either adopt single-item supplements or just eat food. Liver-beneficial foods seem to include beets, radishes, barley, tomatoes, grapefruit, orange and more. I've included these items these past weeks in greater percentage than previously, and things seem to be ok.

That's all for now, folks, and thanks again to all who responded earlier.

Skipjack66

Glad you are feeling better!!!

AnvilHead

Good read on "superfoods": https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/superfoods/?awt_l=BV.g9&awt_m=3gv.Upbtrx0ExV5