Organic nutrition. Are you into it? Do you shop in the organic section of the grocery store? Do you buy into the idea that anything grown with pesticides is bad for your body?
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about this and am considering eating a more wholesome, organic range of food as it seems like there is an increasing amount of nastiness going into our food and we just don’t have that much control over it.
Because of this, I have been researching fully organic superfood powder products, one of which has particularly caught my attention.
Orgain Organic Superfoods describes itself as ‘All-in-one Super Nutrition Powder’ and looks like it might meet my requirements, but let’s look a little closer.
I tried over 40 brands: check out my list of top greens powders!)
Orgain Superfood First Impressions
Orgain Organic Superfoods is a blend of 50 organic superfoods and one billion probiotics in every serving.
It follows the usual formula of claiming to make meeting your nutritional needs easier by providing in one serving all the ‘super’ foods that pack a big nutritional punch, but I wonder if there is anything more to it, anything that sets it apart from the competition?
The website has a whole section on ‘nutritional powders’ and it is clear that their approach is to appeal to customers by selling the ‘convenience’ factor of superfoods powders. In advertising these products for people who may have ‘no time to cook’ I can already see the attraction, but why not just reach for any other superfood product?
Being certified as completely organic is definitely a bonus, as this is something that not all brands can claim. It must take quite a bit of research and effort to source suppliers for organic versions of every powdered ingredient, so this has me already giving the product the thumbs-up.
I’m going to look a bit more into the how, why, and what of the Orgain brand to see why I should be thinking of picking them as your number one Organic Superfood powder.
Other Greens powders I have reviewed you may be interested in:
Background on Orgain Inc
Orgain was founded by Andrew Abraham, M.D. who has a very personal story behind his brand and a compelling reason to make time for optimum nutrition in his life. Diagnosed with a rare form of cancer at age 17, he needed to drink nutrition shakes as prescribed by his doctor in order to regain some of his former health and strength.
He credits this regime with assisting his recovery and, after qualifying and practicing as a medical doctor for many years, decided to formulate and bring to market a superfoods blend so that others could benefit from his experience and expertise.
Having experienced weight loss after chemotherapy Abraham says that nutrition shakes helped him to get back on track, nutritionally, but that these were not the store-bought kind, packed full of synthetic ingredients, rather they were a blend made at home with his Mother. This experimenting turned into a marketable idea after Dr. Abraham realized that he was treating many patients who could benefit from just the nutritional boost that he himself had benefited from.
He says ‘clean nutrition changed my life after cancer almost took it’ and I have to say there are few arguments as compelling as a personal testimonial.
The range of products includes the usual: protein powders, nutritional blends, drinks, bars, and MCT oil. Most of the products in the Orgain range are certified as Organing, soy-free, non-GMO, and free from artificial ingredients.
So let’s look at what goes into this blend to make it so nutritionally rich and good for you.
Orgain Superfood Ingredients
Each serving of Orgain Organic Superfoods is 14g, and there are around 50 ingredients, with a calorie content of just 40 calories.
There is a good amount of dietary fiber (6g) and less than 1g of sugar in each serving.
Organic super grasses and nutrient blend:
- Organic amaranth, organic quinoa, organic buckwheat, organic millet, organic chia, organic wheat grass, organic barley grass, organic oat grass
Organic super sprout blend
- organic amaranth sprout, organic quinoa sprout, organic millet sprout, organic buckwheat sprout, organic garbanzo bean sprout, organic lentil sprout, organic adzuki sprout, organic flax sprout, organic sunflower sprout, organic pumpkin sprout, organic chia sprout, organic sesame sprout
Organic super veggies, super berries and superfoods blend
- organic apple, organic beet, organic carrot, organic spinach, organic broccoli, organic tomato, organic kale, organic cabbage, organic parsley leaf, organic brussels sprout, organic green bell pepper, organic cucumber, organic celery, organic garlic, organic ginger root, organic green onion, organic cauliflower, organic asparagus, organic strawberry, organic tart cherry, organic blackberry, organic blueberry, organic raspberry, organic cinnamon, organic cranberry, organic acai, organic pineapple, organic banana, organic mango, organic turmeric, organic acacia gum, organic natural flavor, probiotic (bacillus coagulans), natural flavor.
How Does Orgain Superfood Taste?
One reviewer says that the taste is similar to ‘Apple Jack cereal’, and this may be the ‘original’ blend, however, the alternative is a ‘berry’ flavor.
There is no declared flavor on the ingredients nor the packaging so I have to go with what they tell me!
Side Effects
As with most superfoods and super greens powders if you are not used to including so much fiber in your diet there may be slight digestive side effects. Similarly, with probiotics, you may find that your system takes a while to get used to the ingredients you are including in your diet.
Does Orgain Superfood Actually Work?
As I noticed when I looked into the ingredients I am immediately a little disappointed by the number of blends used. Orgain has not been transparent about the exact ingredient amounts and therefore I can’t be sure of how much of each powerful plant ingredient I am benefitting from.
Take for example Amaranth – a grain which is fast gaining popularity as a nutritional powerhouse for various reasons. It is the first ingredient in the ‘Organic supergrasses and nutrient blend’ but I can’t be sure from the ingredients listing how much I am getting in a serving, and, bearing in mind a serving of Orgain Organic Superfoods is 14g, and there are around 50 ingredients, it can’t be that much.
Most of the nutritional information on an ingredient such as amaranth is based on the serving size being considerably larger than this daily minuscule dose, so it’s really hard to aggregate the data.
For example, Healthline says that in an average serving (246g) of cooked amaranth you get: 9.3g protein, 5.2g fat, 40% RDA Magnesium, 29% RDA Iron. But that is probably 100 times more than you are getting in your dose!
I know it’s not really representative to take a whole portion of something and extrapolate out, but this is an example of why I get frustrated by the use of proprietary blends in super greens products. I wish manufacturers would be transparent about the amounts of ingredients they are using so that I can decide for myself how effective I think they will be.
This being said, Orgain Organic Superfood does include many of the big nutritional hitters, such as grasses, veggies and fruits, sprouts, and of course the probiotics. This means they have definitely covered all angles of the superfoods spectrum and if you do take this every day you can be sure you get the ‘compound’ effect of a daily dose.
Orgain Superfood Customer Reviews
With an average of 4.4 out of 5 on Amazon, Orgain Organic Superfood is a big hit with the customers on Amazon. 68% of reviewers give it 5 stars. This is obviously a popular product among customers.
Some of the reviews are provided below in a range of negative and positive comments.
Keeps me full for hours5 stars
Super low in USDA levels for important vitaminsone star
Greens without alfalfa!4 stars
Money Back Guarantee / Returns Policy
There is a refund and replacement policy for lost and damaged goods outlined on the Orgain website.
Where to Buy Orgain Superfood?
You can buy Orgain online at the official store or from sellers on Amazon here.
Is It Worth the Price?
A 0.62lb (250g) canister is currently $24.99 on the Orgain website. This is 20 servings, so it represents fairly good value for money (although that is not quite one month’s supply – you would need to buy two canisters for a month and a bit, which makes it a more complicated purchase in my view).
You can subscribe and save, therefore receiving a new tub every 30 days for $19.99.
At less than a dollar a serving for the subscription model purchase, this is quite a cheap nutritional supplement product. I am impressed by both the quality of the product and the inclusion of probiotics in that price. However, the slight limiting factor is that we don’t know the dosage of the ingredients in each serving.
As I mentioned above, this lack of transparency does take away a little of the quality factor.
The Bottom Line
If you are like me and you are prepared to take a gamble on a new product because it is organic and you want to know more, this is a good mid-range product which delivers not only superfoods but probiotics too. The reviewers seem to be very keen, it is not too expensive and it has the full range of superfood ingredients (plus, as I said, probiotics. Bonus!).
However, the main grumble I have is about proprietary blends.
I do wish more superfood producers would put their money where their mouth is and break down the complete daily dose for me. They needn’t worry about competition – anyone who is seriously interested in finding out the blend will find a way if they want to!
I think it would really add to the integrity of a company that is already founded on pretty meaningful and positive values, to come clean about how much of each ingredient they are putting in their blend. That way I would have absolutely no complaints and would be able to give this product top marks.
If you can get past knowing individual ingredient amounts then Orgain Superfood is a budget-friendly greens powder that could give you your daily health boost. Personally, I would prefer fewer ingredients in more potent amounts to be sure I am getting the minimum effective dosage.
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.
I was (and still am) trying to figure out how much caffeine is in Orgain Collagen Superfoods… any idea?
Thanks for the review.i agree a better breakdown of ingredients would be nice. I like that orgain is ebt eligible so people who have had to quit working to focus on health can get it.
Great review Adam, I like your take on it. The label looks great and there’s lots of great things in it my biggest problem is with all those big powerhouses how is the vitamin content so low? It should be bursting with potassium and magnesium and really it’s only got vitamin c in some zinc because they added it. I’ve researched it and I can’t seem to find it anywhere on the internet other than the nutrition label. I may have to contact the company.
Anyway, thank you!