Effects of greens+: a randomized, controlled trial.

Greens+ is a popular natural health product marketed as energy-enhancing; however, no objective data substantiate this claim. The study objective was to determine if ingestion of greens+ 1. increases vitality, energy, and perception of well-being; 2. increases overall mental health and general health, and 3. decreases the incidence of colds and flus in an otherwise healthy female population. A total of 105 women were enrolled in this 12-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial; 63 (60%) completed the treatment protocol. Both treatment and placebo groups showed a significant time trend effect, scoring better on all outcome measures as the trial progressed. Compared with the placebo group, the greens+ group scored marginally higher on vitality, the primary outcome measure (p=0.055), and significantly higher on energy (a secondary outcome measure, p=0.018). Findings were based on repeated measures analysis of variance; baseline scores were used as covariates. Although a trend toward greater improvement in the greens+ group was noted in the other secondary outcome measures, this trend did not reach statistical significance. Overall, our findings were positive but not conclusive that greens+ increases vitality and energy. These results provide justification for further study of the effects of greens+.