Alpha Lion Superhuman Greens - Anabolic Apple š
As someone who tries to stay healthy, I regularly use greens supplements to make sure Iām getting enough micronutrients from a variety of sources.
While I obviously never fall for marketing hype, Alpha Lionās product page does promise that ā1 scoop of Superhuman Greens ensures your body will be primed to run like the Terminatorā. Andā¦. without even looking at the label and micronutrients, I decided to take the plunge in an attempt to look / function like Arnold.
The Product Summary
š Product: Alpha Lion Superhuman Greens
š„ Type: Greens & Health
š Flavour: Anabolic Apple (Granny Smith Apple)
š° Price: Ā£35.99
āļø Weight: 345g
š„ Servings: 30 servings
The TLDR
Really liked the formula, which is absolutely jam packed with 10g of greens / good stuff from 40+ different sources. Definitely palatable, but the flavour is average overall, and I feel the āappleā flavour could have been more pronounced. Have heard good things about the other flavours, so would be minded to try this in Pineapple or Mango instead.
The Macros
š„ 24 Calories
šŖ 1g Protein
š¬ 5g Carbs (1g sugar)
š¢ļø 0g Fat (0g saturated)
The Reasons to Take This
Regular readers of the blog will probably be tired of this question now, but do you really need me to remind you that veg = health?
For those who want / need the reminder - hereās what the product was designed to do, straight from the (Alpha) Lionās mouth:
Strong Maintain Immune System
Improve Digestive System and Nutrient Absorption
Detoxification for Liver Support
Natural Energy Production
Gut Health
The Formula
As the name suggests, this is a product that is packed with greens, but also includes fruits, enzymes, and probiotics. Aside from the usual suspects like kale and celery that youāre probably not getting enough of, Alpha Lion has also packed in some unusual ingredients that youāre definitely not getting. Iāve attached the ingredients summary that Alpha Lion provides on their product page (I didnāt even have to put in the emojis!)
š„6000 mg Grass and Greens blend
š„¬2000 mg Carotenoid-Rich Vegetable blend
š1000 mg Fruits + Vegetable blend
š±500 mg Sprouts + Sea Vegetable blend
š„¦500 mg Cruciferous Vegetable blend
šŖ680 mg Probiotics & Enzymes blend
Basically, the company has tried to put together a blend of vegetables, fruits, superfoods, and enzymes to support overall health. Like all good greens supplements, the blend is designed to help maintain a strong immune system and aid in digestion / improve gut health.
Unlike most greens supplements though, Alpha Lion has included 6 grams of detoxifying and antioxidant ingredients including spirulina, spinach and chlorella. These will help fight free radicals - unstable atoms that can damage cells, causing illness and aging. (and yāall wonder why mums are so adamant about us eating vegā¦.). As an added benefit, this provides some support for your liver (which is responsible detoxifying your body), and is helpful for those who drink too much / take illicit substances designed to enhance performance š.
Alpha Lion also state that this product helps with natural energy production. Iām a bit sceptical - especially because the company doesnāt actually tell us which ingredients specifically help with this - but I wouldnāt be surprised if vegetables help with energy production.
I really liked some of the funky additions in this product. Donāt know about you, but I canāt remember the last time I had sea vegetables, citrus peels, and alfalfa grass (wtf is this?!) all in one go. Overall, itās loaded with all the stuff you know is good for you, but donāt know why.
On the negatives side, Iām not sure 500mg (or half a gram) of vegetables (Kale, Broccoli, Cabbage, Celery) and sprouts & sea vegetables (Adzuki Sprouts, Amaranth Sprouts, Quinoa, Dulse Leaf, Laminaria Kelp) is really enough to do much of anything, but I will say that at 10g of greens / fruits per serving, this packs more of the healthy stuff into a single scoop than most other greens products out there
Itās also a little strange to see enzymes like protease (which breaks down protein) in a greens product - seeing as there is barely any protein in here, but I imagine this is to aid in the digestion of other foods,
Full ingredients list below:
1) Superhuman Grass & Greens Blend (6g)
Grass Blend (Wheat Grass, Barley Grass, Alfalfa Grass), Parsley, Blue-Green Algae (Spirulina), Spinach, Chlorella
2) Superhuman Carotenoid-Rich Vegetable Blend (2g)
Aloe Leaf, Peppermint Leaf, Green Matcha Leaf, Parsley Leaf, Spearmint Leaf, Dulse Leaf
3) Superhuman Fruit & Vegetable Blend (1g)
Beet Root, Raspberry, Cranberry Juice, Strawberry, Carrot, Blueberry Fruit, Pomegranate Juice, Acai Juice, Blackberry, Black Currant, Cherry, Acerola, Bilberry Fruit, Banana, Apple, Pineapple, Pineapple, Orange Peel, Mango, Papaya, Peach, Pear, Tomato, Lemon Peel
4) Superhuman Sprouts & Sea Vegetable (500mg)
Adzuki Sprouts, Amaranth Sprouts, Quinoa, Dulse Leaf, Laminaria Kelp
5) Superhuman Cruciferous Vegetable Blend (500mg)
Kale, Broccoli, Cabbage, Celery
6) Superhuman Enzyme Blend (180mg)
Acid Protease, Cellulase, Lipase, alpha-Amylase, Hemicellulase, Pectinase
7) Superhuman Probiotic Blend (500mg)
L. acidophilus, L. rhamnosus, B. lactis, B. breve - (4 Billion CFU)
8) Superhuman Absorption Blend ( 50mg)
AstraGinĀ® (Astragalus membranaceus (root), Panax notoginseng (root))
Other ingredients: Citric Acid, N&A Flavours, Sucralose, Silicon Dioxide
The Mixability
In case youāve never tried these, greens products will never mix as well as other powders, simply because it has a number of non-water soluble ingredients.
Alphalionās greens mixed about as well as I expected, which is to say not fantastic when compared to say a protein powder, but in line with other similar products. Check out the zoomed in version of mocktail pic I took, you can see that the unmixed powder clings to the side of the glass. I will say though, this doesnāt really have a noticeable impact on the texture of the drink.
Check out the side of the glass - quite a bit of sediment!
The Taste
I tend to find that greens products go one of 2 ways - either the taste is kept ānaturalā without any flavourings (like Gaspariās greens), or they try and completely mask the earthy taste of the ingredients with a more palatable flavour (like Glaxonās greens product, which I really liked)
Alpha Lion has tried to make this taste like green apples, but not particularly successfully. Itās not that the product tastes bad, but itās that the apple flavour isnāt really pronounced enough to mask the taste of the base ingredients. As a result, this ends up tasting like a mix of apples and vegetable extract (if you can imagine this?ā¦). Iām sure those of you accustomed to the taste of āunmaskedā greens supplements will have no issues with this, but I personally would have preferred more of the apple flavour.
Overall definitely not bad, but certainly not great either.
The Flavour Longevity & Versatility
While the taste certainly wasnāt bad, I have to admit that I was a little relieved when I finished the tub. This does taste better than broccoli, but I donāt think I could drink this every single day for months on end.
I only really used this with water, but I can imagine this would taste pretty good if you blended this with a few other fruits & vegetables. But, that does defeat the purpose, because if youāre blending a ton of veg everyday, odds are you donāt need a greens supplement.
The Pricing
A quick google search revealed that a few retailers are currently selling this for Ā£36 in the UK. At 30 servings per tub, this is fairly good value - particularly when you consider that Alpha Lion have packed in 10g of āgood stuffā in every serving.
Whether or not this is āworth itā is actually quite hard to say. If youāre looking for the most bang for your buck, then you probably wonāt find much better in terms of quantity of āgreensā. However, if youāre after something that tastes great and will still add a lot of healthy stuff to your diet, then you may find a more suitable supplement elsewhere.
I certainly think it would be much more expensive to try and get the equivalent fruit / veg separately, so from that perspective Iād be very happy paying for this. (Though as per usual, I got this from a wholesaler, and did not pay full retail for this).
The Verdict
Though not the best tasting greens supplement Iāve had, I did enjoy this overall, and would be quite happy to recommend this to anyone looking for a heavy duty greens supplement.
I really liked the formula and how much theyāve managed to pack into 1 scoop, and itās very reassuring to know that Iām getting a good dose of anti-oxidants, etc. in every serving. While the apple flavour wasnāt my favourite, I have heard good things about the Mango, and Iād be minded to try that at some point.