It has to be said that whilst searching for the perfect super greens blend I have not very frequently come across a blend which is completely organic. Neither have I found very many formulations that don’t include artificial sweeteners or flavors in their blend.
So here’s a find: Garden of Life Perfect Food, Super Green Formula. This long-winded title is a mainstay of the Greens powders market and it piqued my interest for a variety of reasons.
The ‘legacy’ product from Garden of Life, it claims to have ‘more greens per serving than other green food supplement formulas’.
It also comes in a version which is wholly organic and which contains no sweeteners, so if you're keen to find out more about the new Garden Of Life Perfect Food check out my review.
Garden Of Life Perfect Food First Impressions
Taking a look at the website I can see that Perfect Food comes in a few different varieties (caplets, powder, and organic formula). Garden of Life Perfect Food super green formula is a blend of greens, fruits, and veggies, which includes probiotics and is packed with the antioxidant power of plants and grasses. But what more can I find out?
The branding and logo for Garden of Life bring to mind a wholesome, natural family brand that cares about nature and the environment. You could almost say it is a little old-school looking. Browsing around I find that Garden of Life has been around for almost 20 years, which puts them back at the start of the whole greens powders trend.
There is a lot of information on the vision and mission of the company, detailed product information about their formulas, and even a section called ‘meet the gardeners’ which, being a keen gardener myself I thought would be about people who grow the produce! But alas, this is their term for people who work at the Garden of Life!! My mistake.
Background on Garden of Life
Creating specifically greens blends for well over a decade, Garden of Life is a brand that has gathered certifications aplenty and says that it goes out of its way to give back. If you care about social responsibility and the environment, this might be a brand for you.
Claiming to be the ‘number 1 brand in the natural products industry’, Garden of Life is backed by celebrities and medics and has become a household name in the whole foods and wellness arenas.
Basing their formulas on the theories of whole foods, slow foods, and ‘clean’ foods, they use terms like ‘traceability’ and work with partners such as the Informed-Choice Lab who work with athletes and supplement makers to ensure there is transparency in testing and labeling of products.
This is very interesting and it’s the first time I’ve come across a company that works in this way. Certainly, their Certified B-Corp status (a certification that acknowledges the highest standards of social and environmental behaviors in businesses) gives Garden of Life a whole new level of respect from the perspective of a customer.
But who is behind the brand, and why should we be interested in what they are doing?
Founded in 2000 by Jordan Rubin, who – like many in the whole foods arena – credits his recovery from chronic illness to a healthy diet full of whole foods and free from hidden nasties. Claiming that eating raw and organic foods cured his Crohn’s disease, Rubin is now an advocate for all things earthy: organic, probiotic, fat-soluble, fermented.
You get the picture.
Garden of Life has a large range of products from vitamins and minerals to greens blends to weight-loss aids.
Rubin is the author of ‘The Maker’s Diet’ which advocates a ‘primal’ form of eating, rich in fats and with digestive enzymes, probiotics, and as much raw food as possible.
But on with the review of Perfect Food Super Green Formula.
Perfect Food Super Green Ingredients
The powder formula of Perfect Food Super Green has the following ingredients listed:
- Perfect Green Juice Blend (5000mg)
- Barley Grass Juice*, Alfalfa Grass Juice*, Wheat Grass Juice*, Oat Grass Juice*
- Perfect Protein-Mineral Blend (3300mg)
- Spirulina*, Rice Bran Solubles, Chlorella, Calcified Red Algae (Lithothamnion), Kelp
- Proten-Zyme® Whole Food Matrix 1200mg)
- Barley Grass*, Oat Grass*, Wheat Grass*, Alfalfa Grass*, Flax Seed Sprout*, Amaranth Sprout), Chia Seed Sprout*, Garbanzo Bean Sprout, Sesame Seed Sprout*, Quinoa Sprout, Buckwheat Sprout*, Millet Sprout, Sunflower Seed Sprout, Adzuki Bean Sprout, Pumpkin Seed Sprout*, Lentil Sprout
- Acerola Cherry Extract (Fruit) 300mg)
- Perfect Veggie Blend 200mg)
- Alfalfa (Sprout), Beet* (Root), Carrot* (Root), Broccoli* (Flower & Stem), Tomato* (Fruit), Cucumber* (Gourd), Kale* (Leaf), Spinach* (Leaf), Parsley* (Leaf), Green Cabbage* (Leaf), Celery* (Stalk), Cauliflower* (Flower & Stem), Bell Pepper* (Fruit), Asparagus* (Flower & Stem), Brussels Sprout* (Leaf), Onion* (Bulb), Garlic* (Bulb), Ginger* (Root)
- Probiotic Blend (1 Billion CFU) 7mg)
- Lactobacillus plantarum, Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium lactis, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium breve, Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus salivarius, Lactobacillus acidophilus
The caplets formulation has less of each blend as it is concentrated down in order to fit into the capsule. I’m looking at the powders here, but I just wanted to flag up that if you have an issue with drinking greens blends you also have an alternative form with this brand.
Firstly I can see from the ingredients that, disappointingly, Garden of Life has chosen to use a proprietary form for listing their contents. This means that, despite having a considerable amount of ingredients, they haven’t been transparent about the amounts of each individual ingredient in the formula.
So, from one single serving, I don’t know how much spirulina, for example, I am even getting as a daily dose?
How Does Perfect food super green Taste?
As I mention above there are a couple of formulations so be careful which you pick if you are looking to try the Garden of Life Perfect Food Super Green Formula. There is one that contains some sweetener in the form of Stevia, but the Raw Organic blend has NO flavor. The formulas on their own Garden of Life website also include a Berry flavor.
Some reviewers (especially some vloggers I found) claim that the formulas with no sweetener are virtually unpalatable but this will, of course, depend on whether you are used to drinking raw, unflavoured greens drinks.
Side Effects
As with other products that contain plant-based enzymes and probiotics you may experience a little digestive discomfort if this is your first time taking the product. After a short while, this should settle.
Does Perfect food super green Actually Work?
Though high in antioxidants and greens content, we can’t know exactly how much of each individual ingredient we are getting and instead need to do the work in cross-checking the ingredients with the nutrition listing.
Take for example some of the grasses. Looking on Examine.com I can’t find a recommended dose for Barley grass, Oat grass, Wheatgrass or Alfalfa. But it does have information about Spirulina and states that there are beneficial effects at between 1-8g daily.
However, Perfect Food Super Green’s ingredients listing doesn’t tell us whether we are getting that much in the 330mg ‘Perfect Protein-Mineral blend’, we just have to trust that the manufacturers think it is an important and beneficial ingredient.
At the very least we hope there are equal amounts of ingredients, but if we look at the one case of Acerola Cherry we are given the individual dose, which is 300mg. I have looked at Web MD for the science-backed research on this ingredient which is high in antioxidants and Vitamin C.
According to WebMD the daily dose of around 200mg is considered to be safe and effective. So there is enough of this ingredient included in the blend, however, the other ingredients don’t receive this same transparency. I’m confused about this and I wonder why they have given it this ‘special treatment’.
So, in summary, it’s hard for me to tell what the effects and therefore the efficacy of this product would be. I can look at the nutritional content and compare, say, the protein dose with another product, or the Iron or Magnesium content if I feel I am missing that in my diet. But I can’t fully calculate what the benefits will be.
Perfect food super green Customer Reviews
On Amazon.com I found a range of customer reviews, from the glowing to the not-so-happy, but with 78% of reviewers giving either 4 or 5 stars, versus only 15% giving 1-2 stars, it’s quite clear that there are fans out there.
I include a selection of reviews below:
Great for adding to your green smoothies5 stars
This is the best, IMO5 stars
Not sure1 star
Money Back Guarantee / Returns Policy
I was unable to find any guarantee or returns policy, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have one, it just wasn’t immediately apparent to me.
Where to Buy Garden of Life Perfect food?
You can buy Perfect Food on the Garden of Life product pages on their website or on Amazon.com
Is It Worth the Price?
Currently, Perfect Food Super Green Formula costs $23.19 for 4.94oz (14 servings), $43.19 for 10.58oz (30 servings), and $74.39 for 21.16oz (60 servings).
Clearly the more you buy, the more you save.
I have to say that I like the product for its integrity, sourcing, transparency (to a certain extent) and what it stands for. Garden of Life as a brand seems to be robust, does what it says it will do to deliver you the best of the breed. But in terms of what they are then telling us on the label, it’s a little disappointing.
I would’ve liked to see the company going that extra mile in terms of giving me some transparency on the ingredients listing. I want all the benefits of the powerful plant ingredients, sprouts, and all, and I don’t want to have to go comparing nutritional labels with the next in line to find out if I’m getting everything I need.
The Bottom Line
When I’m making buying decisions, whether it’s for myself or for my family, I have to think about value for money. Sometimes this sees me reaching for a ‘premium’ product because I believe that will give me the best on offer.
Sometimes I can settle for a ‘value’ product because I know that the company has integrity, the ingredients or product is basic and it will serve its purpose.
When it comes to a super greens blend, I am happy to pay a little bit more for the peace of mind that goes with knowing what goes into the blend. I have to say, I don’t think Garden of Life has gone far enough on this one for me.
So, despite the fact that I think I would probably actually reach for the Raw and Organic variety and maybe add it into a smoothie or two when it comes to taking a blend every day, I just want to know more.
So I’ll continue my search for a super greens blend that is transparent about the ingredients and the amounts within the formula.
LifeHacker Guy Greens Recommendation
Some Call This An "Extreme" Step...
Most super greens supplements are disappointing.
I learned this the hard way. After creating this blog in 2018, I spent months buying and testing all the most popular brands.
I wasn’t happy with the results so I did something you might call "extreme"....
In 2019 I created my own brand that ticks every single box of what I look for in a super greens product:
- No hidden ingredient amounts - we have full disclosure labelling, so you know EXACTLY whats inside
- Ingredient amounts that make a difference - we include the minimum effective amounts supported by research, and most of the time, MORE
- Ingredients that help immunity, boost mental clarity and shake off brain fog - making for a much more productive and happy lifestyle
No more worrying about ineffective ingredients or too low dosages. I finally have a product I KNOW does the job it’s made to do.
I use it every day and, after years of battling Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), I now have my energy (and my life!) back.
The good news? I made my brand available to the public so you can see and feel the difference for yourself.