8 Greens Review: Benefits, Drawbacks, And Comparison

At first glance the brand 8Greens (8G) seems to have stolen the lead from all competitors – they have write-ups in Forbes, Good Morning America, People, Huffington Post, and Vogue.

They have testimonials from models, musicians, and actors. Just, wow! As green superfoods go, 8 Greens is certainly the product favored by celebrities (Gwyneth Paltrow!!!), so I just have to know more.

Let’s have a look at their story, and their products, and specifically focus on the road to production of the 8Green effervescent tablet.

I tried over 40 brands: check out my round-up of best super greens powders!).

What is 8 Greens?

Founder and developer Dawn Russell is certainly well-positioned.

She is married to an English aristocrat and is a ‘working mother who understands that life is busy and wonderful, but also stressful’. This gives her the benefit of having access to those in the upper end of society but also being accessible to the everyday folk she will rely on to buy her products.

She has friends and acquaintances in the fashion and skincare industries (Donna Karan, contacts at Estee Lauder and Sisley). It appears she developed the effervescent superfood tablets to help people (specifically Americans) to achieve optimal health through taking green powders in the easiest way possible.

She is also endorsed by supermodels.

I think this intriguing story needs a little more research so I take a look below at both the company, 8Greens (shortened to 8G), their products (often just referred to as 8G, or 8Greens), and some of the reviews (from real people, not models!).

8 Greens Background

We learn (through the press articles and their own background story on the site) that founder Dawn Russell formed the company when she was diagnosed with stage III lymphatic cancer at age 25.

This prompted a look at alternative medicine (in the US this is called both complementary and integrative medicine) and discovered an approach to health (‘solutions… the immense value of smart nutrition’) which she credits with improving her own health.

She then traveled the world to find out how to source specific ingredients in order to create a supplement that could be taken daily in the easy form, which would provide some of those health benefits.

In short, this green juice alternative blend was developed, which makes an easy-to-take tablet that dissolves in water containing the ‘most important greens’ that Russell considers to be lacking in most Americans’ diets.

Russell has also formed the Dawn Russell Foundation and has worked with Donna Karan in forming the Urban Zen health initiative. Both work with schools and hospitals to support alternative health and nutrition initiatives.

Furthermore, the website promotes the 8Green cookbook which has family-friendly recipes from celebrity friends and hotels. This strengthens the brand and adds ‘lifestyle’ weight to what is essentially an easy-to-take daily supplement.

This is certainly an impressive company with a deep and personal interest in health. So let’s get down to the bottom line about their main product.

8 Greens Ingredients

8 Greens are clear that they use just eight of the ‘most important’ (most powerful? most health-improving?) greens: spinach, wheatgrass, kale, blue-green algae, spirulina, aloe vera, chlorella, barley grass.

I agree. These are big-hitters in terms of ingredients to include in a Greens blend or supplement, ones that you would most definitely expect to find if you were taking a blend daily. So, how much am I getting of each?

Oh, you guessed it. They don’t tell you.

So, I go back to look at the web pages.

In all the blurb and marketing, they tell you the compelling reasons to take 8Greens, such as: ‘there is as much Vitamin B5 as 15 cups of broccoli’ (who needs 15 cups of broccoli?) and ‘as much Vitamin C as 6 oranges’.

This is all well and good, but what I REALLY don’t understand is why they can’t be clear on how much of each of the big-hitters goes into one serving (one tablet of effervescent powders).

We already know that many of these ingredients have proven health benefits, but the suggested daily dose is somewhere between 1-8g, and with a tablet being about 1g, there just cannot be enough of these powerful ingredients contained in each 8Greens tablet.

It is also marketed as being free from sugars (only 10 calories per serving) and free from gluten, dairy, and preservatives.

8 Greens Taste

Looking at the reviews I can already tell there is the usual mix of positive and negative responses to questions of taste – and this of course all comes down to personal taste!

Some dislike the taste of artificial sweeteners, some anticipate this as it masks the flavor of the greens.

‘They are absolutely delicious’ writes one reviewer.

‘Doesn’t taste too bad but you can really taste the saccharin aftertaste’ writes another.

One of the celebrity endorsers says that the taste of kale is a good thing as you know it’s the real thing.

Side Effects

Some reviewers report not being able to take the tablets because it is sweetened with artificial sweetener and this is found to exacerbate conditions such as IBS. Amongst the Greens side effects, this is far and away from the most often reported.

I would advise anyone looking to take any supplement to look carefully at the ingredients and to avoid if you know it is likely to have an undesired response.

8 Greens Actually Work?

If you have read any of my other reviews you will know by now that I’m not a fan of the proprietary blend. I don’t feel it’s honest to not be transparent about ingredients, and furthermore, it makes it hard to say how effective your product can be.

If I just go off testimonials and reviews I can see that people who take the product experience anything from improved energy to a diminishing of poor health conditions (apart from IBS – which is to do with the inclusion of sorbitol).

Related: How long for greens powders to work?

8 Greens Reviews

On the website, there are testimonials from actors, musicians, models, and executives of skincare brands.

You name a type of celebrity, the brand seems to have caught them in their net of marketing and they are on board. But I want to know what the real punters think.

Looking at Amazon there are 243 reviews, 68% of which give 5 stars. 8% give 1 star.

A sample of the reviews is as follows:

Ah, me. I was so hoping to be able to take these once per day. It has, unexpected by me, sorbitol in it in lieu of sugar. Sorbitol wreaks havoc on people with bowel/stomach issues. It doesn't taste bad at all and I would have loved to take the tablet, but I can't risk it. I have IBS.” – 1 star

As the same as most people, I don’t eat enough vegetables. A friend of mine got recommended 8Greens from a nurse while she was in the hospital for her surgery. I read about it and wanted to give it a try. I’m on my 2nd bottle and like the product. It seems to act as a body cleanser also. Since it has B12, I take mine in the morning after breakfast. It gives me energy throughout the day. This product is worth every penny. – 5 stars

Great concept but unfortunately contains an artificial sweetener sucralose. – 1 star

I’ve avoided quoting any of the reviews from their own site as they all look like 5-star reviews at first glance!

Money Back Guarantee / Returns Policy

Buried deep in the FAQ section I discover that you are entitled to your money back if you return goods within 30 days of purchase.

This is only if you buy directly through the 8Greens website.

Where to Buy 8 Greens?

You can buy directly from Official website, Amazon.com and from various retail outlets such as Sephora.

8 Greens Price: Is It Worth It?

I don’t think so. As an effervescent tablet, you are already compromising the amount of each ingredient in order to include a ‘fizzing’ and dissolvable element.

I don’t believe that the product is potent enough, nor are the portion sizes large enough to justify the cost, but for some, the convenience (and telling themselves they are getting the benefits quoted on the site) will be enough.

The website has a subscription arrangement where you can have 1 carton delivered every 2 months (6 tubes – 60 tablets) for $75 USD (saving you $9 and with free shipping).

This is still an expensive product, and as I have already stated it is a small serving.

8 Greens Verdict

‘Five years of testing, five scientists, four manufacturers, and 264 prototypes later, 8Greens has arrived’. The website and marketing give the impression of a very strong recognizable brand image.

The write-ups and press are enviable, the founder is well-connected. 8 Greens relies on its ease of use and the testimonials speak to this. There may well be science behind the product and there was certainly a long road to product testing, but somehow, despite all the noise, I’m not exactly convinced.

I really want to like 8Greens.

The effervescent tablet is a proven easy-to-take formula, and it would be great if this really worked.

But for me, it all comes down to the integrity of the product in terms of the transparency of ingredients. When a manufacturer claims to be so strong on the story and the research of their product and yet doesn’t tell me what (in exactly what measures) goes into their blend, I’m just not that happy.

So for me, 8 Greens goes a long way, but not quite hitting the mark as the perfect superfood blend product for me. I just don't think it delivers the necessary punch and is more of a fizz than a wow!

LifeHacker Guy Greens Recommendation

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