How to Get Your Vegetables Easily

What are these mysterious green powders, you ask? Well, quite simply green powders are vegetables, fruits, micro-algaes, wild grasses and other supplements that come in a powder form. You can buy them as individual powders such as spirulina or barley grass powder or you can buy them as combination powders that include a little bit of vegetable, fruit, micro-algae and other supplements all mixed together. Usually all of the different green powders are sold in the same section of your local health food store.

All green powders contain chlorophyll, the substance that makes plants green. Chlorophyll helps to purify the body, counteracts inflammation and rejuvenates all body systems. While not a substitute for eating whole vegetables, green powders do serve as an easy way to easily get two to three servings of greens per day.

Chlorophyll also helps to alkalize the body, which means that it counteracts body acidity, helping to restore balance. Caffeine, sugar, meat, alcohol and stress cause our bodies to become very acidic. Signs of over acidity include achiness, fatigue, headaches and unfocused thinking. Green foods alkalize the body and help relieve these symptoms.

The benefits from green powder are numerous. It can help to relieve headaches and body aches. It also serves as a great way to clean the body out, which is especially helpful if you suffer from constipation when you travel. Green powder also brings the body back into balance after a night of excess drinking and eating - and can be a great hangover remedy.

When used regularly, green powders can help your skin clear up and develop a nice healthy glow. Over time hair becomes shiny and healthier and you gain the ability to think more clearly and focus on tasks at hand. It also helps reduce your sugar cravings. Not bad for some powdered vegetables, eh?

Just for the record, I do believe that it is ideal to eat several servings of dark leafy greens per day and not have any need for powdered vegetables in your diet. But if you aren't eating your daily greens, then green powder may be a good start.

I've been using green powders with my clients for a long time now and there a couple of problems with them. First is taste. Green powders have a strong vegetable taste that takes time to get used to. Second, there are some studies that do not recommend mixing micro-algae's and vegetables together because they cause each other to ferment. Also, there is some evidence that micro-algae's may not be good for the brain in old age.

As a result, I recommend using single ingredient vegetable or grass powders such as barley or wheat grass or mixed vegetable powders. The powder I use and recommend is called Core Greens. It tastes better than any other powder I've tried and contains only vegetables.

I usually start my morning off by putting a scoop of green powder in water, juice, or a shake. Usually your green powder container will come with a scoop. For some people, the taste of the green powder is too strong in just water. If you find that you can't drink it alone, mix the powder in a shake or with about four ounces of juice and some water. You'll need to keep mixing or shaking your drink as the powder will tend to settle. You can also put some green powder in a water bottle and take it with you to work. Just try to drink it within two hours.

If I am traveling, I buy green powder packets and packets of Emergen-C (powdered vitamin C) and mix the two together in a water bottle on the plane. This combination works wonders for relieving jet lag and fatigue.