8 Greens Review

8 Greens Ingredients

Vitamin C 400mg - 500% is probably more vitamin C than you really need in a supplement like this, however it will have a positive impact on energy levels for most people. [1] And vitamin c deficiency is relatively common in US. 

Vitamin B6 3mg 200% and Vitamin B12 9mg 360% - B vitamins are another energy boosting vitamin [2] pair. Very few people are deficient in these however, and they make it into most energy drinks, however it's still a reasonable vitamin to fortify. 

Pantothenic Acid 15mg 250% - Otherwise known as b5 helps you process food and turn it into energy more efficiently. All good here. 

Potassium 90mg 45% - Potassium is good for our heart, blood flow, our bowels and a host of other things, generally it's a relatively uncommon deficiency, so 60% is a good amount as most people get enough or close to enough. 

Zinc 6mg 60% - Zinc is actually quite a common deficiency in the US, and it's incredibly important, even a mild or sub clinical deficiency (which applies to up to half of the US population) can cause hormone imbalance. [3] It doesn't seem that taking zinc over 100% gives many extra benefits so 8Greens dosage is probably enough to top up your diet. 

Proprietary Greens Blend 667mg 

We don't really like proprietary blends as it's quite often used to hide that supplement companies aren't actually including enough of the more expensive ingredients for them to be effective. However, with 8 greens none of these ingredients will be in large enough doses to get their most prominent benefits. But, that's not the point of 8 Greens, the point is to top up an already healthy diet to improve your health benefits, or to cover you on a day in which you otherwise would've done a lot worse, so we'll give it a bit of a pass here. 

Spinach is known to be rich in antioxidants and vitamins, whilst this is true, it's often overblown a little bit. For example people commonly state it's a good source of calcium and you'd need to eat 2lbs of spinach to cover your calcium intake. However, there are a lot of other benefits and it's a solid inclusion. 

Wheatgrass can be quite good, it's great for inflammation and antioxidants but there's no way that there's enough of it in this blend to get the most out of it's benefits as it would be more than is available in the whole 667mg on offer. We do like that it's organic wheatgrass powder, which is a common thing for less high quality greens powders to skimp on. 

Kale contains a few essentials like beta carotene and we'd love to know exactly how much of it is in 8 greens... 

Blue green algae is one of those things that people only really get if they take a supplement, there could be enough in here to get the most out of it, although with the other ingredients it's like a little underdoed. Whilst there are some weight loss claims around this, they're generally overblown however, stress and immune system benefits are less so and it is generally considered that blue green algae is beneficial for human health. [4] 

Chlorella is excellent as ingredients go, again, not likely to be in the ideal dose as would be ideal, but it's a good source of omega 3 fatty acids and lutein, it's another type of algae commonly used in omega supplements. [5] 

Aloe Vera - The claims that 8 greens make about aloe vera are partially reasonable, in that it does settle the stomach. However, it's claims about Aloe Vera's healing benefits only apply if it's used on your skin. There are a lot of claims around Aloe Vera in the supplements industry, and unfortunately these aren't always well backed. 

Spirulina extract is good for regulating blood sugar, but the claims that 8 greens make about weight loss are tenuous, even in a much higher dose than is possible in 8 greens it's a relatively minor benefit. 

Barley Grass tends to be mostly beneficial for the fact it's covered in enzymes that are good for the body, but it does depend on the source, which we can't confirm. 

All in all 8 greens has a lot of decent ingredients, the problem we keep coming back to is that they can't possibly be in high enough volumes to be at their most effective. But, that's not the point of 8 greens. If you want better nutrition get a proper greens powder, ideally one with a transparent formula so you know you're getting the right amount, not 90% of the cheapest ingredient (one again we'll mention Super Green Tonik). If you want a backup then grab 8greens.