Organifi Green Shake Review: Does it work?

Intro: What is it?

Organifi Green Shake is a juice powder made to detoxify and improve overall health. It contains superfoods intended to produce all natural health benefits.

The intended benefits include increased immune function, reduced stress, clearer skin, an increase in mental clarity, and it’s intended to be provided all in one convenient source.  It’s available in just one flavor, and they claim results will be noticeable. Does this brand really have a full nutritional profile? What do other customers have to say? You can discover the truth about Organifi Green Shake in this comprehensive review.

Organifi Green Shake Ingredients

Here’s the full ingredient listing:

The noteworthy ingredients are:

Wheat Grass: Extract of the wheat plant that has several claimed health benefits.  No long term studies have been performed, and it can potentially cause nausea and constipation.  It’s not well studied and it hasn’t been proven to promote all the positive health claims made.

Horseradish: Extracts of this plant are used as food and as hand cleansers.  It’s used as a protein source due to its range of amino acids.  Also, according to Web MD there:

“isn’t enough information to know…if it’s safe (sic) in medicinal amounts”

Examine.com also mentions:

“supplemental dosages are too low to acquire adequate nutrition “

“genotoxic damage and may promote cancer formation”

Even in small amounts this ingredient can lead to organ failure and even cancer. It’s considered a potentially harmful toxin known to produce damaging effects in some.

Spirulina: Blue green algae used as a nutrient and protein source. Medline Plus mentions that when reviewing all the claimed benefits there:

“isn’t enough scientific evidence”

The US National Institute of Health also mentioned there’s not enough clinical evidence to show this ingredient is both safe and effective.  It’s possible for it to be contaminated, and some studies have shown it can have high levels of lead. This has been linked to organ failure, rapid heart rate, shock, and death.

Depending on how this ingredient is processed and sourced from, the potential for toxic effects can be high.

Chlorella: Algae found in fresh water that is taken as a source for macro and micronutrients. Possible side effects can include gas, nausea, stomach cramp, diarrhea, and asthmatic symptoms.  A clinical study published in Pub Med showed it could lead to:

“Chronic Neuroinflammation and Progressive Neurodegeneration”

This effect can potentially lead to Parkinson’s and other related symptoms.  It’s not recommended to take this ingredient if you have a weakened immune system, since it can have inflammatory effects.

It’s known to produce side effects early on when supplementing according to Web MD.

Macronutrients and Calories

Each serving provides just 25 calories. None of it comes from fat. Some fat is important in order for the body to replenish itself, and it’s also a healthy energy source.

There’s also only 3% calcium, 11% Iron, and 1% Sodium is provided, it’s missing several other key minerals and vitamins which means:

• This requires further supplementation through whole foods to make up for the lack of nutrients. It’s important to make up for these vital nutrients in order to support the body.
• Since this brand does have added protein and fiber, it may produce hunger satiating effects. This can make it harder to get the rest of the required nutrition since your stomach may be potentially too full to handle more food.

Organifi Green Shake’s Quality of Protein

The total 2 grams of protein is provided both by Chlorella and Spirulina.

Both of these ingredients can be potentially toxic.

• Chlorella has been linked to dangerous inflammation in the brain, as well as a weakened immune system and indigestion.
• Spirulina is low in the amino acids methionine, cysteine, and lysine. Therefore extra supplementation is required to get the full amino acid profile. Also, it is lacking in clinical studies to prove whether it’s both safe and effective.
• Some studies have shown that Spirulina can cause organ failure as well as blood toxicity.

The Price and Quality of Organifi Green Shake

The company sells direct a 30 serving bottle for $57.95.

It’s recommended to get up to 2 servings a day, and each container has 30 servings. Therefore the daily cost is:

$57.95/15= $3.86 for a full daily dose.

It’s also advised to refrigerate after opening and to use it within 90 days of first use.  This brand is incredibly low on protein and micronutrients.  It also includes many potentially harmful and unproven ingredients. Therefore, the overall quality suffers and it’s sold at a high price.

Lack of Overall Nutrition

Organifi Green Juice only provides small amounts of calcium, iron, sodium, and protein.

Another problem with the protein is that it comes from Spirulina, which is not high in all the essential amino acids.

Also, there’s no addition of vitamins A, B, C, D, E, or K.

It’s lacking the micronutrients Copper, Selenium, Iodine, Manganese, Folate, Zinc, and much more.

You’re forced to get your nutrition through other sources, which will raise the overall price of using this product.  This also means that the ingredients added are in low amounts, since some of the ingredients should provide more nutrients.

For example, one small beet provides 5% vitamin B-6, and 6% vitamin C.  There’s neither of these inside this green juice.

One tablespoon of Spirulina is known to provide 11% Iron, 3% Magnesium, and 4 grams of protein. One full serving of Organifi Green Juice has 11% Iron, no magnesium, and 2 grams of protein. Therefore the protein is split in half with only a tablespoon, and somehow the Iron content is exactly the same.

So either there’s insignificant amounts of each ingredient added, or it’s processed in a way that reduces its nutritional content.  It’s mentioned to take this product within 90 days of opening, and to refrigerate it immediately after as well. They fail to mention how much more this degrades the product.

Proposition 65 Risks

California’s who buy this brand can read a warning which reads:

“This product may contain a chemical known to the state of CA to cause cancer, or birth defects or other reproductive harm”

The manufacturers never provide any information as to why this is so. They fail to mention which of the ingredients may cause this issue.

It’s important to limit the intake of these types of ingredients, especially when you don’t know the exact quantities added.

It’s possible that this may be due to the added Spirulina and Chlorella, both of which have been shown to produce toxic effects .This can include organ failure and difficulty breathing. Without an explanation from the company there’s no way to determine the total possible risk.

Business of Organifi Green Juice

The company name is confusing to find, since they have different names depending on the label. One label mentions they are Organifi, LLC, another label claims they are Fitlife TV, LLC.  They can be found below:

Phone Number: (760) 487- 8587

Address: 800 The Mark Lane

San Diego, California 92101

Email: [email protected]

Not much information exists about this company online:

• Their CEO Drew Canole claims to have started a workout regimen and daily juice plan to get rid of weight. This brand does not mention that exercise is required for benefits.
• There were a few customer opinions which mentioned that the company enrolls people into a monthly shipping program against their will. They do offer monthly shipping as a way to lock down credit card users into monthly plans.

Customer Opinions of Organifi Green Juice

There are around 400 different reviews available on Amazon.com; here are the most common opinions:

“does not taste great”

“I found the taste to be repulsive”

“I get a lot of painful gas”

“didn’t notice any benefits. Not for me.”

The most common concern was over the lack of any noticeable changes.  There are also complaints about the high price for the small quantity provided.

Some customers did report side effects as well from indigestion, gas, bloating, and diarrhea.

Conclusion

Some important points to consider:

• Many of the ingredients have yet to be proven to be safe or effective: Additives like wheat grass, Chlorella, Spirulina, and Horseradish are lacking key clinical studies to support their use. Many of the health claims made by the company are not only without clinical evidence, but some of them can lead to side effects. This can include serious issues such as organ damage, immune system damage, and neural inflammation. In fact, the company is required to list a warning label to inform Californians that this brand may lead to birth defects and cancer.
• Customers have complained about the price and taste: The most common concern from customers is that it’s incredibly pricy for what you’re getting. There’s also been a complaint about the taste, which some say has an artificial and gritty flavor. Customers also mentioned that the ingredients can be bought on their own for much cheaper. There are hundreds of unsatisfied customers online.
• It’s low in protein, micronutrients, and overall nutrition: The amino acid profile in Spirulina is notoriously low, and this brand does not make up for it with other ingredients. There are very small amounts of only 3 micronutrients. There’s no form of Selenium, Copper, Iodine, vitamin A, B, C, D, K, or E. Much more is missing from this product. There’s also only 2 grams of protein provided. This requires extra supplementation via whole foods, which raises the overall price of having to take Organifi Green Juice. Also, since there are 4 grams of fiber and 2 grams of protein, this may cause satiety, which is not what you want if you’re missing key vitamins and minerals .This will require you to get your vitamins through other means in order to avoid any side effects.
• The company fails to provide clinical studies or proof: It’s often mentioned that the ingredients provided are “shown to” produce effects, or that others have used these ingredients to promote health benefits. Nowhere does the company provide any evidence to back up any of their claims. They do add 3 testimonials, but there are still hundreds of negative reviews which claim there’s no benefit to this product. The reason there’s no clinical studies provided is because many of the additives have yet to be tested. Some of them have no proof to suggest they’re safe in long term or daily use either.
• There’s a warning for a potential contamination leading to cancer: California residents given this product can read a label which mentions that there’s ingredients added which may promote cancer. The company fails to give notice as to why this is so, and how much of this potential carcinogen is added. According to Proposition 65, Organifi Green Juice has ingredients which may produce genetic defects, and other toxic side effects. Without knowing the exacts amounts of the ingredient which may cause this effect, it’s unknown what the total risk factor is. For some people even small quantities is enough to cause a negative impact. Therefore it’s important to watch out for this since it’s a serious potential threat.

Due to the lack of clinical studies, the high rate of negative customer’s reviews, and the tiny portions of micronutrients, vitamins, and protein, this brand fails to provide a full nutritional source. This requires you to supplement elsewhere to get most of your nutritional needs.

The company never lists any studies to show proof that the ingredients added are useful. There’s also a potential concern over genetic defects and cancer due to a potential contaminant. It’s also incredibly pricy considering there’s only milligram strengths of several ingredients.