Claiming to be Canada’s first and only research-proven superfood formula, I was keen to take a look at Genuine Health Greens+ Original supplement.
With just one serving of Greens+ Original you can consume over 23 plant-based essential nutrients that can nourish and protect your body, whilst increasing your energy levels, and much more.
Read on to see if this can this Canadian Greens supplement be the answer to boosting your nutritional intake or is the formula or serving size packing a decent superfood punch.
I tried over 40 brands: check out my best healthy greens supplement!)
Genuine Health Greens+ First Impressions
My overall first impression is it looks the part, a healthy green supplement that hints at what’s inside from the superfoods shown on the label.
This superfood supplement is available in both powder and capsule options in a few different sizes and flavors.
Although superfood capsules can be preferable to powders as you don’t need to contend with taste issues, I tend to dismiss greens in capsule form as you cannot get enough of the raw ingredients to have many benefits.
This means that my Genuine Health Greens review is focused only on the powder version.
Background on Genuine Health
Genuine Health has been in business for over 25 years when it launched its first product Greens+, which is still popular today, especially in Canada where they are based.
The founder Stewart Brown has a long history in the supplements and health industry having first opened his first store in the mid-1980s.
Genuine Health stocks a number of supplements from green foods, fermented proteins, gut health prebiotics and probiotics, collagen, pain relief, skincare, omega oils, multivitamins, and sports nutrition.
Their Greens+ superfood supplement is only available from the Canadian version of their official store.
Genuine Health Greens+ Ingredients
There are 23 whole foods in the Greens+ formula in each average-sized serving of 8.5 grams.
It was great to see that Genuine Health does not use a proprietary blend but fully discloses all the ingredients and their amounts on the label.
Lecithin (2,171mg), Spirulina (1,450mg), Apple fruit (1,033mg), Organic barley grass (734mg), Organic Alfalfa grass (383mg), Chlorella (Cracked cell) (383mg), Organic soy sprouts (383mg), Organic whole brown rice kernel (383mg), Royal Jelly (150mg), Bee pollen (150mg), Licorice root extract (116mg), Acerola berry juice (115mg), FOS (100mg), Siberian ginseng root extract (60mg), Milk thistle seed extract (60mg), Organic red beetroot (43mg), Atlantic dulse seaweed (33mg), Ginkgo biloba Leaf extract (20mg), Japanese green tea leaf extract (15mg), European bilberry extract (10mg), and Grape extract (5mg)
Eight bacterial cultures (100mg):
Lactobacillus helveticus (R0052), Lactobacillus rhamnosus (R0011),Lactobacillus casei (R0215), Lactobacillus plantarum (R1012),Lactobacillus salivarius (R0078), Bifidobacterium longum (R0175),Bifidobacterium bifidum (R0071),Bifidobacterium breve (R0070)
Although not shown on the label, the percentage of recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals according to Genuine Health:
Calcium (2%), Folic Acid (5%), Iron (25%), Magnesium (7%), Vitamin C (30%), Vitamin D (5%), and Vitamin A (60%)
Although there are a number of organic ingredients in the formula it is not considered to be an organic supplement.
The formula uses whole stevia rebandiana leaf to add a little sweetness to the taste.
The Greens+ formula is considered mostly vegetarian but would not be classified as vegan. This is because it contains probiotics (grown on dairy but removed from dairy, traces of milk may remain), bee pollen, and royal jelly.
Here is what the label looks like on the tub.
How Does Genuine Health Greens+ Taste?
On the official site, I was only shown the Natural Mixed Berry flavor for the powder. Selecting just “natural” shows the capsule version of the supplement. The Amazon page has other flavors such as Natural Orange, and Natural, all in the larger sized 510-gram tubs.
Most greens powders choose natural, or mixed berries, for taste. Sometimes, as I did with my own supplement, brands opt for mint for that fresh taste.
Others brands like popular Detox Organics promote the taste of chocolate, which I was a never a fan of.
Similar to many greens powder brands the taste appears to be a little, earthy. Like grass.
Any Side Effects?
It’s rare for greens supplements to cause unwanted side effects. Genuine Health does urge caution if you have nausea, fever, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, or severe abdominal pain from taking their supplement.
In some circumstances, it’s not a good idea to take this product, for example, if you have a gastrointestinal blockage, or if you have any symptoms of digestive upset.
There is bee pollen in the formula and so anyone allergic should be wary and may wish to avoid taking this supplement.
Does Genuine Health Greens+ Work?
The original greens+ blend of 23 plant-based ingredients and energizing botanicals, including organic wheatgrass, Atlantic dulse, spirulina, chlorella, beetroot, bilberry, milk thistle, plus adaptogenic herbs licorice root and Siberian ginseng extracts.
I always like to acknowledge the serving size compared to the number of ingredients in the formula as too many in a small serving means ingredients will have to be underdosed.
With Greens+, they fully reveal all the ingredient weights in their formula which means we can assess if sufficient amounts are contained in each serving.
A large part of the formula is dedicated to the Lecithin (mostly soy), Spirulina, Apple fruit, and Organic barley grass – in total 5,388mg out of the 8.5-gram serving, of which Lecithin is the predominant ingredient by weight (2,171mg).
Considering the main ingredient is Lecithin it makes sense to find out more about this fatty acid that is naturally found in the tissues of your body.
Lecithin has a host of benefits from improving health heath, lowering cholesterol, improving digestion, hydrating skin, and because it contains choline may help fight dementia (Healthline). Although the evidence that supports that Lecithin may help to boost memory and dementia is lacking.
In terms of dosage,
The appropriate dose of lecithin depends on several factors such as the user’s age, health, and several other conditions. At this time there is not enough scientific information to determine an appropriate range of doses for lecithin.WebMD
The science on Spirulina (1,450mg) is a little clearer and we can see that this is a good dosage, and more than many greens supplements on the market.
The recommended daily dosage of Spirulina is from 1-8 grams per day, so this is within this range.
Prebiotics and Probiotics
The Greens+ formula contains prebiotics in the form of fructooligosaccharides (F.O.S) and eight bacterial cultures.
The fact that is overlooked in many multi-ingredient formulas is that probiotics in particular are fairly unstable and so may not be as effective when mixed with many other ingredients. This questions the efficacy of having them in such powders and so it may make more sense to consume these separately.
Genuine Health Greens+ Customer Reviews
There are a number of reviews and ratings of Greens+ Original on the product page of the official website. Likewise, on the Amazon page, there are reviews from around 21 customers at the time of publishing this review.
Here are some reviews from both Amazon and the official website.
It's only been a few weeks and I already feel better. I have no problem drinking this with a few ounces of water.5 stars – Amazon
I've been taking the original greens + for just over one month. I shake up 3 tsp. in 1 cup of water first thing in the morning. The taste is just, earthy. Like grass. I think that people who complain about the taste need to get over it.5 stars – official website
When I bought some a few weeks ago I actually thought it was more of a multivitamin. Anyway, I started taking it by putting it into my smoothies (yogurt, ice, frozen fruit, protein powder, greens plus) and man my energy levels are way up!5 stars – Official website
Money Back Guarantee / Returns Policy
Genuine Health does provide a 60-days money-back policy at their discretion, so this is not necessarily guaranteed. This only applies to orders placed directly from the official website and proof of purchase in the form of the original receipt is required.
You may need to return your order in the original packaging back to the company too at your own expense.
Where to buy Genuine Health Greens+
You can buy Greens+ Original Superfood directly from the official site and through Amazon.
I could not find the Greens+ supplement in their USA version of the store though, so if you’re based in the US you would need to order through Amazon. Be forewarned though as the shipping cost is very high, over $30 when I was looking.
Is It Worth the Price?
Price-wise Greens+ is very budget-friendly and they make it super affordable for Canadian shoppers at least.
Each 283-gram tub costs around $27-30 USD ($36.99 Canadian dollars), but you do need to factor in shipping costs within Canada will add another $12-15 Canadian dollars depending on how quickly you want delivery.
The total cost of $40 Canadian dollars ($30 USD) is then approximately $1.2 Canadian dollars ($1 USD) per serving / per day.
One serving per day is 8.5 grams, so if you purchase the more expensive 510-gram tub (available on Amazon) then this will last 60-days.
Spend over $75 Canadian dollars or $99 USD in the official store and you can benefit from free shipping.
My Verdict
There is a good choice of ingredients in Genuine Health's Original Greens superfood supplement, a few not often seen in other similar products, for what is a very reasonable price.
I have concerns over many of the ingredient amounts as only a few are in the right dosages. This means this supplement will certainly lack the power of other greens brands on the market.
When buying any supplement, and this definitely goes for greens brands too, I never recommend making your buying decision on price. It always comes down to the ingredients and ultimately the serving size.
Greens+ from Genuine Health is better than many of the greens powders around, as is testament to the amount of time this has been on the market, but for me lacks the potent superfood punch.
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.
Hi. Thank you for this review.
I am in Canada and looking for something that will pack the superfood punch? What do you recommend that is available to me in Canada.
Hey Lisa,
I would suggest looking for a brand that has a transparent label and contains science-backed serving amounts. This is the reason why I developed my own brand that you can check out here.
These ship to Canada without any issues.
Adam