In recent years, greens powders have surged in popularity as a convenient way to supplement everyday nutrition. With numerous brands vying for attention, it can be challenging to determine which product best aligns with individual health and wellness goals. This article compares two well-known brands, Kiala Greens and Bloom Greens, alongside Live it Up Super Greens, examining their ingredients, benefits, and overall value.
Introduction to Greens Powders
Greens powders are dietary supplements designed to provide a concentrated dose of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants derived from various fruits, vegetables, and other superfoods. They are often marketed as a way to support gut health, boost energy levels, enhance immunity, and promote overall well-being. While not a substitute for a healthy diet rich in whole foods, greens powders can help bridge nutritional gaps and offer a convenient way to increase intake of essential nutrients.
Kiala Greens: A Sweet and Fruity Option
Kiala Super Greens is the flagship product of Kiala Nutrition, a supplements company founded in 2021. Kiala Greens is marketed almost exclusively to women, with the company successfully partnering with wellness influencers to promote their greens powder. Kiala Greens is available in nine flavors, including Tropical Splash, Strawberry Swirl, Carnival Candy, and Miami Vice, though some are frequently out of stock. Kiala Super Greens strives to make the potential health benefits of green powders more accessible with its fun packaging and tasty flavors.
Key Features:
- Price: A 30-serving container costs \$49.99, or \$1.67 per serving.
- Taste: Sweet, blended flavors like Miami Vice and Tropical Splash. Some customers love the fruity flavors, while others find Kiala Greens excessively sweet with a slightly gritty texture.
- Ingredients: Contains powdered vegetables, coconut water powder, and herbal extracts. Includes an organic greens blend and a Spectra Antioxidant Blend.
- Certifications: Non-GMO and free from dairy, gluten, and soy.
- Drawbacks: Only lists 3 minerals, no vitamins. No dietary fiber, probiotics, or digestive enzymes. Contains the artificial sweetener sucralose. Uses maltodextrin as a thickener and filler.
Ingredients Analysis:
Kiala's formula can be divided into three major components:
- A blend of powdered green superfoods: Provides 6 grams of every 8.3-gram serving. Includes organic kale, organic oat grass, organic wheatgrass, organic alfalfa grass, organic barley grass, organic chlorella, and organic spirulina.
- A proprietary blend of antioxidant-rich fruits, vegetables, and herbal extracts: Features around 30 fruits, vegetables, and herbal extracts in its “Spectra Antioxidant Blend,”. Contains antioxidant-rich ingredients, such as apple extract, acerola extract, blueberry extract, black currant extract, sweet cherry, raspberry, and bilberry extract. Vegetables, such as onion extract, broccoli sprout, tomato, spinach, carrot, and Brussels sprouts. Herbs like turmeric, garlic, basil, oregano, and cinnamon. It also features Coffea arabica extract and green tea extract, which are rich in polyphenols like chlorogenic acids and catechins, respectively.
- Additional ingredients: Includes coconut water powder, sucralose, and natural flavors.
Health Claims:
Kiala Greens is supposed to “support gut health, reduce bloating, boost energy and immunity, and promote clear skin.” However, Kiala lacks most of the ingredients that typically provide gut support and help with bloating. The label doesn’t mention probiotics, prebiotics, digestive enzymes, or dietary fiber.
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Customer Reviews:
Some customers say they love the fruity flavors, while others find Kiala Greens excessively sweet with a slightly gritty texture. Some customers say that the powder mixes easily, while others are frustrated by its chalky or gritty consistency, especially when stirred into water. Some say they’ve noticed improvements, while others say they haven’t felt different since adding Kiala to their routine.
Bottom Line: Kiala Greens could be a good choice for those looking for a very sweet, flavored greens powder made with fruit and vegetable extracts and minimal extras. However, after thoroughly researching this product, there are several concerns that have stopped from recommending it. There is hardly any mention of micronutrients on the Kiala Greens label. This suggests that the vitamins and mineral content is negligible or that the manufacturer hasn’t adequately tested the product’s composition. It contains coconut, and the green tea and coffee extracts provide 12mg of caffeine - a small amount, yet potentially detrimental to individuals who are hypersensitive to caffeine.
Bloom Greens & Superfoods: Flavor Variety and Added Benefits
Bloom Nutrition is a supplements company founded by Mari Llewellyn and Greg LaVecchia. Llewellyn, a fitness influencer, was inspired to create a line of female-focused nutritional supplements after embarking on a weight loss and wellness journey. Bloom Greens & Superfoods is known for its fruity flavors and convenient stick packs.
Key Features:
- Price: A 30-serving container usually costs \$34.99, or \$1.16 per serving. For subscribers, the price is \$31.49, or \$1.04 per serving.
- Taste: Boasts numerous fruit flavors, including Coconut, Mango, Citrus, and Strawberry Kiwi.
- Ingredients: Contains digestive enzymes, a fiber blend (only 2 grams), prebiotics, and several strains of probiotics. Includes adaptogens.
- Certifications: Non-GMO, free of gluten, dairy, and soy (but made in a factory that processes nuts and dairy). Third-party tested and GMP-certified.
- Drawbacks: Not fully organic. Unknown number of probiotics, vitamins, and minerals. Includes stevia and maltodextrin. May contain caffeine.
Ingredients Analysis:
Bloom Greens focuses on functional blends, breaking down its formula into several categories, all separated into different proprietary blends. The overall dosage of one serving is only 5.67 grams, which is among the lowest I’ve seen in a greens supplement.
Ingredients include a green superfood blend, digestive support, fruit and vegetable blend, antioxidant blend and adaptogenic blend.
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Health Claims:
The company claims Bloom Greens supports gut health, promotes energy, and soothes uncomfortable bloat.
Customer Reviews:
Many people truly enjoy how Bloom greens powder has eight (!) available flavors to choose from. However, many criticize Bloom’s overpowering sweetness.
Bottom Line: Many customers enjoy Bloom’s fruity flavors and convenient stick packs, though the stevia aftertaste and excessive sweetness can be off-putting to those looking for a more traditional greens powder. However, Bloom Greens & Superfoods is a budget greens powder that can boost your intake of antioxidants and greens but lacks the nutritional transparency to verify its full benefits.
Live it Up Super Greens: A Comprehensive and Transparent Formula
Live it Up’s mission is to support customers’ everyday nutrition with tasty, easy-to-drink supplement powders that make the world’s best superfoods more accessible. Haim Nigri’s inspiration to create Live it Up came while working in New York City in 2021.
Key Features:
- Price: A one-time purchase is \$59.99 for a 30-serving container, or \$1.99 per serving.
- Taste: Available in Wild Berry and Original (minty) flavors.
- Ingredients: Contains 20+ all-natural superfoods, plus vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and enzymes. Includes 3 grams of dietary fiber and multiple digestive enzymes.
- Certifications: Non-GMO and free from dairy, gluten, and soy. Made in the USA with globally sourced ingredients. Third-party tested to ensure it is not contaminated with impurities and produced in a GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) certified facility.
- Benefits: Designed to aid digestion, support a healthy immune system, and help balance energy levels. Contains at least 22 vitamins and minerals.
Ingredients Analysis:
Live it Up Super Greens includes 5 billion CFUs of dairy-free probiotics and three plant-based digestive enzymes to help break down food and aid digestive health. This product has a proprietary super greens complex with over 20+ all-natural ingredients, including organic chlorella and organic spirulina, hearty vegetables, leafy greens, seaweed, roots, herbs, and cereal grasses like organic wheatgrass and organic barley grass juice powder. Live it Up Super Greens contains at least 22 vitamins and minerals and 3 grams of fiber. These nutrients are not synthetically added but rather are naturally present in the superfood ingredients.
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Health Claims:
Live it Up Super Greens is designed to aid digestion, support a healthy immune system, and help balance energy levels.
Customer Reviews:
Customers report noticeably better gut health, less bloating, and more energy.
Bottom Line: With 20+ all-natural superfoods, plus vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and enzymes, Live it Up Super Greens offers affordable daily wellness support and transparent nutrients in each scoop. Unlike Bloom Greens and Kiala, it lists the vitamin and mineral content. Furthermore, Kiala completely lacks gut-supporting ingredients like fiber, probiotics, and digestive enzymes.
Comparing Key Features
To help make an informed decision, here’s a comparison of the key features of each greens powder:
| Feature | Kiala Greens | Bloom Greens & Superfoods | Live it Up Super Greens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per serving | \$1.67 | \$1.16 (subscriber: \$1.04) | \$1.99 |
| Taste | Sweet, fruity | Fruity | Wild Berry, Original (minty) |
| Ingredients | Powdered vegetables, herbal extracts | Digestive enzymes, fiber, probiotics | 20+ superfoods, vitamins, minerals |
| Gut Support | None | Digestive enzymes, fiber, probiotics | Probiotics, digestive enzymes, fiber |
| Sweetener | Sucralose | Stevia | Monk fruit |
| Transparency | Low | Low | High |
| Allergen Info | Contains coconut | May contain nuts and dairy | Dairy, gluten, and soy-free |
Considerations for Choosing a Greens Powder
When selecting a greens powder, several factors should be considered:
- Nutrient Density: Look for a product with a wide variety of nutrient-dense superfoods, including leafy greens, cereal grasses, seaweed, algae, fruits, and vegetables.
- Gut Support: Choose a greens powder that contains gut-supporting ingredients like fiber, probiotics, and digestive enzymes.
- Sweeteners: Consider the type of sweetener used in the product. Some people prefer natural sweeteners like monk fruit or stevia, while others may be sensitive to artificial sweeteners like sucralose.
- Allergens: Check the label for potential allergens, such as nuts, dairy, gluten, or soy.
- Transparency: Opt for a brand that provides clear information about the vitamin and mineral content of their product.
- Taste: Select a flavor that you enjoy, as this will make it more likely that you will stick with a daily greens powder routine.
- Price: Consider your budget and choose a product that offers good value for the price.
The Importance of a Healthy Diet
While greens powders can be a convenient way to supplement your diet, it’s important to remember that they are not a substitute for a healthy diet rich in whole fruits and vegetables. A balanced diet should be the foundation of any health and wellness plan, with greens powders used to bridge any nutritional gaps.