Note: This article is Part 1 of 2 – covering two of the four blends in Thorne’s Daily Greens Plus. Part 1 covers the greens blend and the adaptogen blend. 

Greens drinks are trending – and have been for quite some time. In fact, greens drinks might be here to stay. Although many people make their own “green juice” by juicing fresh vegetables and fruits, busy lives often preclude such an involved process. Enter powdered greens. Available in many iterations, they vary widely in ingredient content, quality, and taste.

Promotion alert: The remainder of this blog is unapologetically naked promotion. Since I joined the Thorne team in 1997, there has been only a handful of products that have excited me as much as our new Daily Greens Plus. This is because many of its 28 ingredients are unique and all are included in amounts you can feel – no fairy dust here. And, unlike some greens products on the market, you will know when you study the label exactly how much of each ingredient is present – no so-called “proprietary blends.”

So, with that wind-up, let’s talk about these ingredients – from ashwagandha to zinc – and what makes them so special.

The Greens Blend

The kelp in Daily Greens Plus is grown sustainably at sea farms off the coast of Maine, providing a clean raw material that supports multiple local coastal communities in an environmentally conscious way. Kelp is nutrient-dense and low in calories. For example, a 2-ounce serving of fresh raw kelp is only 25 calories but contains almost 20 vitamins and minerals, including iodine, calcium, and vitamin B12, as well as omega-3 fatty acids.

In addition to being good for you, kelp is good for the environment, too. Because a large portion of carbon and nitrogen emissions winds up in the oceans, it makes the water more acidic and less habitable for sea life. Kelp forests can sequester as much as 20-times more carbon per acre than land forests can, creating a so-called “halo effect” for plant and animal life that thrives in them.

Read more about this amazing harvesting enterprise in this blog at Take 5 Daily – Kelp: A Seaweed Superfood with a Sustainable Mission.

The mango leaf extract in Daily Greens Plus supports mental and physical stamina and reaction time.* Ours is a patented mango leaf extract called Zynamite®, which is standardized to 60-percent mangoferrin. Zynamite has been the subject of nine clinical studies that show its benefits for cognitive support, mood, and physiological and psychological responses to stress in healthy adults.* Studies show improved accuracy, attention span, and long-term memory performance during cognitive tasks, with no adverse effect on mood.*1

Zynamite also supports the mind and body during and after physical exercise by decreasing lactic acid buildup in muscles, improving oxygen delivery to the brain during exertion, and supporting post-exertion muscle recovery.*2-4 These studies used Zynamite along with quercetin (also in Daily Greens Plus – more on that in Part 2).

Matcha is green tea that is ground into a fine powder and ingested whole – in a greens drink or suspended in water or milk. The tea plant, Camellia sinensis, is covered by shade for 3-4 weeks prior to harvesting, which increases the plant’s natural caffeine, theanine, and chlorophyll content. In addition, because the whole leaf powder is ingested, it provides a higher concentration of polyphenols like EGCG, compared to regular, steeped green tea. Matcha exhibits prebiotic, antioxidant, and thermogenic (fat burning/oxidation) effects.*

Daily Greens Plus contains 1,000 mg (1 gram) of matcha per scoop. Try substituting 1 teaspoon of Daily Greens Plus for 1 of 2 teaspoons of matcha in to your favorite iced matcha latte recipe.

Moringa (Moringa oleifera) has been used for centuries in the tropics for medicinal purposes and to improve nutrition. A growing body of evidence suggests that Moringa supports a balanced inflammatory response.* Research also confirms its potential for maintaining a healthy blood sugar level.*5 Daily Greens Plus contains 500 mg of Moringa per scoop.

Spinach powder is provided as patented Solarplast®. It’s made by a unique enzymatic process that breaks down the cell wall of organic spinach while preserving the integrity of the plant’s protoplasts and their potent antioxidant activity.

From the manufacturers of Solarplast: “Typical extraction processes decimate the cell wall, along with the protoplast’s lining, allowing the fragile nutrients and antioxidant ‘goodies’ to be exposed to the elements. This exposure renders them inactive and unable to provide benefits. Keeping the protoplast’s naturally occurring lipid coating intact ensures the valuable contents of the spinach’s cells are protected and bioavailable.”

Solarplast has 2.5-times higher total antioxidant capacity compared to regular spinach; 100 mg of Solarplast supplies approximately as much antioxidant support as 1 cup (30 grams) of raw spinach.

Spinach as Solarplast® Has Potent Antioxidant Capacity

 

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Source: Communication with Deerland Probiotics & Enzymes. Used with permission.

Spirulina has significant antioxidant effects from its naturally occurring superoxide dismutase (SOD) content, which supports healthy aging.* Although SOD is in spirulina, it’s also an antioxidant naturally produced in our bodies – along with glutathione. The spirulina in Daily Greens Plus is thoroughly tested to assure the absence of toxic elements.

Last, but not least, watermelon seed powder is a powerhouse of nutrients – providing B vitamins, protein, healthy fats, and minerals (including magnesium, copper, zinc, and potassium). In fact, watermelon seed is higher in mineral content than pumpkin or sunflower seed. Daily Greens Plus contains 500 mg of watermelon seed powder in one serving.

The Adaptogen Blend

Adaptogens are natural substances, often from botanical sources, that help the body adapt to stress by maintaining the balance of hormone levels and neurotransmitters.*

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is included in Daily Greens Plus as NooGandha® – a patented extract formulated to accentuate the particular withanolides that have nootropic and cognitive benefits.* A double-blind study found 225 mg and 400 mg of NooGandha balanced cortisol levels and reduced anxious feelings, perceived stress, and food cravings.*6 In another study, acute dosing of NooGandha in healthy volunteers resulted in improved sustained attention and short-term working memory.*7

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) enhances mood and a sense of well-being.* Much of the research and use of lemon balm focuses on its potential to decrease anxious feelings.*8 It’s provided in Daily Greens Plus as Relissa™, a phytosome format designed for optimal absorption.

Rhodiola helps balance brain neurotransmitters – serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.* Research shows Rhodiola can enhance mental focus, which has been observed in studies of medical school students burning the midnight oil.*9 Rhodiola also supports physical endurance and exercise performance.*

Eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus) – sometimes called Siberian ginseng because it has similar benefits in the body as ginseng – helps balance adrenal hormones that support resistance to stress.* As an adrenal adaptogen, eleuthero is a good complement to Rhodiola, a brain adaptogen.*

Stay tuned

This blog covered just 11 of the 28 ingredients in Daily Greens Plus. Read Part 2 – the mushroom and antioxidant/mitochondrial support blends – which tells the rest of the story.

References

  1. Wightman EL, Jackson PA, Forster J, et al. Acute effects of a polyphenol-rich leaf extract of Mangifera indica l. (Zynamite) on cognitive function in healthy adults: a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study. Nutrients 2020;12(8):2194. doi: 10.3390/nu12082194. 
  2. Gelabert-Rebato M, Wiebe JC, Martin-Rincon M, et al. Mangifera indica L. leaf Extract (Zynamite®) in combination with luteolin or quercetin enhances VO2peak and peak power output and preserves skeletal muscle function during ischemia-reperfusion in humans. Front Physiol 2018;9(740).
  3. Martin-Rincon M, Gelabert-Rebato M, Galvan-Alvarez V, et al. Supplementation with a mango leaf extract (Zynamite®) in combination with quercetin attenuates muscle damage and pain and accelerates recovery after strenuous damaging exercise. Nutrients 2020;12(3):614. doi: 10.3390/nu12030614. 
  4. Gelabert-Rebato M, Martin-Rincon M, Galvan-Alvarez V, et al. A single dose of the mango leaf extract Zynamite® in combination with quercetin enhances peak power output during repeated sprint exercise in men and women. Nutrients 2019;11(11):2592. doi: 10.3390/nu11112592. 
  5. Vergara-Jimenez M, Almatrafi MM, Fernandez ML. Bioactive components in Moringa oleifera leaves . . . . Antioxidants (Basel) 2017;6(4):91. doi: 10.3390/antiox6040091.
  6. Remenapp A, Coyle K, Orange T, et al. Efficacy of Withania somnifera supplementation on adult's cognition and mood. J Ayurveda Integr Med 2021;13(2):100510. doi:10.1016/j.jaim.2021.08.003
  7. Xing D, Yoo C, Rasmussen CJ, et al. Acute ashwagandha supplementation improves cognitive function. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2020; 17(59): https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-020-00382-5 [Accessed July 12, 2022]
  8. Ghazizadeh J, Sadigh-Eteghad S, Marx W, et al. The effects of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) . . . : A systematic review and meta-analysis. Phytother Res 2021;35(12):6690-6705. doi: 10.1002/ptr.7252. 
  9. Spasov AA, Wikman GK, Mandrikov VB, et al. A double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study of the stimulating and adaptogenic effect of Rhodiola rosea SHR-5 extract on the fatigue of students caused by stress during an examination period with a repeated low-dose regimen. Phytomedicine 2000;7(2):85-89. doi: 10.1016/S0944-7113(00)80078-1.