We answer some of the most commonly asked questions in Macro Greens Powder Reviews.
One of the big drawbacks of Macro Greens is the
use of proprietary blends in the ingredients. Although some of the ingredients
are listed with amounts, most of them are hidden in blends that only show the
total amount of ingredients and not how much of each ingredient is included.
This means we don’t really know if the ingredients are properly dosed or what
ratios have been used in the blends.
It seems super unnecessary to hide this
information unless you’re got something to hide. Plenty of greens powders are
able to show clearly and transparently exactly what they contain, so why can’t
Macro Greens do the same?
Nevertheless, we’ve done our best to evaluate
the ingredients based on what we know. Here’s the breakdown of ingredients in
Macro Greens:
Nutrient-Rich Superfood Blend
This is the only blend in Macro Greens that
isn’t proprietary. It contains some really great ingredients, but not always at
the most effective doses…if they can’t get the transparent blend right, this
really doesn’t bode well for the proprietary blends.
Barley Grass (1250mg) - Barley grass contains
heaps of beneficial vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It offers a host of
health benefits including improvements to digestion and bone health, and
reduces the risk of heart disease and strokes. Cereal grasses like barley are
not often included in greens powders and we’re impressed that Macro Greens has
chosen to include some and at a decent dose too.
Spirulina Powder (300mg) - Like cereal grasses,
spriulina is a great ingredient for a greens powder. Spirulina is an effective
anti-inflammatory and has been shown to reduce cholesterol when consumed at the
correct dosage. Unfortunately, the dose of spirulina included in Macro Greens
is far too low. Studies show that at least 1g of spirulina per day is necessary
to enjoy its full benefits. There are greens powders available that have up to
2g of spirulina, which makes Macro Greens 300mg dose look a little pitiful.
Chlorella (100mg) - Chlorella is an interesting
ingredient that is certainly very healthy. It contains omega-3 fatty acids (in
small amounts), vitamin C, and a variety of carotenoids. It is associated with
healthy eyes, liver support, better digestion, and a reduction in period symptoms.
However, most studies show that a minimum daily dose of 1g per day is required
to experience any of its health benefits. Some studies suggest up to 5-10g per
day is needed. Since Macro Greens contains just 100mg, we can’t see how this is
going to do much of anything.
Spinach Leaf (83mg) - Spinach is another great
ingredient and we’ve included it on our list of best ingredients for greens
powders. But 83g of spinach powder is something of a bad joke. There are greens
powder products available that contain 1000mg and even more per serving. Macro
Greens have really got it wrong on this one.
Policosinol (2 mg) - This is a bit of a weird one. Some people suggest policosinol might
be good against cholesterol and heart disease but there is no solid scientific
evidence to support these claims and no one has any idea how much you would
need to take for it to do anything. Including it in Macro Greens seems
pointless.
Probiotics (Proprietary) Blend
It’s nice to see probiotics being included in a
greens powder as they can be very beneficial to people suffering from various
gut issues. Macro Greens uses a proprietary blend so we don’t know how much of
each strain of probiotic has been included, but 18 billion units are actually
quite a lot.
There aren’t many greens powders that outdo it;
Green Vibrance, which contains 25 billion, is probably one of the few greens
powders that contains more probiotics. Although we would like to know more
about how many of each strain of probiotic is in here, this is one of the more
positive aspects of this greens powder.
Antioxidants (Proprietary) Blend
Although the antioxidant blend is proprietary,
Macro Greens have chosen to share some dosage information with us. The overall
weight of the blend is 1.5g and within that are the following ingredients that
we know the dose of:
Milk Thistle Seed Extract (35mg) - Thought to
support the liver, there is some evidence supporting this claim. Milk thistle
is anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective, but at just 35mg it’s not likely to do much. Recommended doses,
while not entirely proven, are in the region of 200mg.
Green Tea Leaf Extract (30mg) - Green tea
extract has many associated health benefits, including lowering blood sugar
levels, improving liver function, aiding weight loss, and providing
antioxidants. However, recommended doses normally range from 200mg to 500mg,
which means the 30mg you’ll get from a serving of Macro Greens is worthless.
Grape Seed Extract (30mg) - Often included in
low-quality health supplements, the health benefits of grape seed extract are
not proven. Seeing grape seed extract on an ingredients list is usually cause
for suspicion, at rightly so here, since Marco Greens is not a great greens
powder.
Adaptogens (Proprietary) Blend
Adaptogens help the body to deal with stress.
This includes things that stress the body that are contained in unhealthy
foods, alcohol, tobacco, and so on. The Macro Greens adaptogens blend is almost
3g per serving, making it by far the largest blend in this greens powder. While
we can’t say for sure, there is a good chance that some of the ingredients are
included at decent doses and you probably experience some benefits from this
blend.
Fibre
Blend, Supporting Herbs Blend, and
Enzymes Blend
These last three blends account for 1.9g of
ingredients and are focused on digestion, blood sugar control, and immune
system support. While there are definitely a few dud ingredients in the mix,
there are a few that will do you some good as well. Again, we wish we knew how
much of everything is in there, but you will likely get some health benefits
from these blends, though better blends exist in other green powder products.