Green superfoods: why and how to add them to your diet

Updated in April 2024.

Chlorella, moringa and spirulina are rich in nutrients and are often reached for as a source of everyday energy. Many local superfoods have similar properties. Broccoli acts as an antioxidant, nettle is traditionally used to calm inflammation. We will advise you on how to get everything into your body that the latest research suggests it deserves.

What are green superfoods?

There are foods that stand on a nutritional pedestal, because they contain almost everything your body needs. They are full of vitamins and minerals and contain plenty of antioxidants. Some superfoods are even associated with lower cholesterol or better blood-pressure regulation.

Green superfoods include spirulina, chlorella, moringa, cabbage, nettle and broccoli. Unfortunately, some are hard to digest for the ordinary eater, others are not very appealing to look at. Yet they contain such a load of beneficial substances that your body will thank you with health and beauty.

For those who miss them on the plate there are equally nutritious powdered forms, such as the blend of 7 green foods Upgraded Organic Greens, which we enriched with fibre and a pleasant orange flavour.

What do scientists say about the effects of green superfoods on the human body?

Local green superfoods

If you want to give your body a good dose of health, reach first of all for local green superfoods. You will find the most effective ones at the market or in your own garden; they include cabbage, broccoli, nettle and green barley.

Nettle

As children you certainly avoided it, because it stung unpleasantly. But common nettle is not a weed at all — it is a medicinal plant with many positive properties for the human body.

• It is rich in vitamins C, A, E and K, and contains calcium, magnesium, iron, silicon and phosphorus.
• Thanks to its flavonoid content it is associated with calming inflammatory processes and supporting the normal functioning of the immune system.
• It has a favourable effect on the stomach and digestion.
• Nettle tea is traditionally drunk to ease menstrual cramps and bloating.

Broccoli

Easily digestible broccoli is one of the most wholesome foods you can serve on a plate. It once grew as a weed in the Mediterranean region until the Italians bred it into a green and healthy delicacy.

• In terms of nutritional composition, broccoli contains 2x more vitamin C than an orange. Besides vitamin C you will also find vitamin A, K, calcium, potassium, magnesium and beta-carotenes in it.
• Because of its sulforaphane content it has been the subject of research into anti-cancer properties.
• It is associated with helping keep blood sugar low.
• Thanks to lutein, an effective antioxidant, it helps cells in the human body capture and neutralise free radicals

Cabbage

Red, white or fermented? It does not really matter — this truly local superfood contains plenty of vitamin C and K, but also calcium, potassium and iron. At the same time cabbage is rich in fibre and selenium. A complete vitamin and mineral bomb.

• Thanks to vitamin A it supports normal vision, the development of healthy cells and immunity.
• It has a favourable effect on the nervous system and brain activity.
• Per 100 grams it contains only 25 kcal, which makes it a popular part of a reduced-calorie diet.
• It supports the body’s own cleansing processes and the normal functioning of the gut microbiome.

Green barley

From barley we can make beer and bread, but also a perfect superfood with strong antioxidant properties. Green barley is in fact the young shoots of common barley.

You will not serve them on a plate; they are much more often consumed in powdered form. What are the properties of green barley?

• It contains a high proportion of vitamins A and C, which act as antioxidants and fight free radicals.
• You will also appreciate green barley for digestion. Thanks to insoluble fibre it feeds beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract. At the same time barley also contains soluble fibre, which slows down the absorption of sugar and is associated with keeping blood sugar and cholesterol low.
• The calcium in barley supports healthy development and strengthens bones.

Imported superfoods in powder form: moringa, spirulina, chlorella and what they do for human health

Spirulina is a blue-green single-celled alga, chlorella is a single-celled freshwater alga and moringa oleifera is a tree from northern India. Even though these plants have super properties from a health point of view, you will not serve them with a steak or fish. You can enjoy their beneficial properties in processed form – usually as a powder or tablet.

Moringa

The leaves of the moringa tree contain proteins, vitamins C, A, B2, B6 and E, many minerals, fibre and amino acids. It is exactly this combination of nutrients that makes moringa an almost perfect superfood.

• Moringa is associated with lower blood sugar and with cardiovascular health.
• It is associated with a favourable effect on cholesterol levels.
• It is linked with the condition of the skin, brain activity and the body’s own detoxification processes.

Spirulina

One of the world’s most popular food supplements comes from a single-celled microorganism – a cyanobacterium living in both fresh and salt water. It contains vitamins C, A, E, B2, B6, B3 and a large amount of protein.

• It is associated with the regulation of blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure.
• It acts as a strong antioxidant and is associated with immune function.
• It is associated with calming inflammation thanks to its essential fatty acid content.
• Per 100 g it has 290 kcal and contains 58 g of protein.

Chlorella

Although chlorella is a small single-celled organism, it has a cell wall that is very hard to digest and is taken only in the form of capsules or powders.

• Almost 50-60 % of chlorella is protein, containing nine essential amino acids. These are the basic building blocks of your cells.
• By taking chlorella you top up vitamin C and iron.
• With regular use it has been associated with lower cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood in people with high blood pressure.
• It works as a strong antioxidant thanks to its content of chlorophyll, beta-carotene, lycopene and lutein.

How to add green superfoods to your diet?

Eating a few leaves from a tree in India and a spoonful of single-celled algae is essentially impossible. The only green superfoods you can take in through an ordinary diet are those that grow in gardens and on trees. Teas are also a great choice, for example from the nettle mentioned above.

But there are also more practical and, for many of you, tastier ways of getting vitamins into your body, along with minerals and important plant enzymes from green superfoods.

At Powerlogy we created a new recipe for Upgraded Organic Greens based on modern scientific knowledge.

In one portion (10 g) you get:

• seven green superfoods in organic quality,
• plenty of prebiotic fibre,
• a generous dose of antioxidants and polyphenols
• and all of it without gluten or added sugar.

It is up to you whether you dissolve your green superfoods in two decilitres of water, add them to your breakfast porridge or to a smoothie. For those who want to give their body a dose of health regularly and over the long term, we recommend keeping Organic Greens permanently in stock.