How Green is Your Food?

The functional food market opens to superfoods

The journey of green foods is interestingly circular, or maybe spiral. The cereal grasses, algae and other plants became popular for their concentrated nutrition, especially by those struggling to consume the dietary reference intake (DRI) of fruits and vegetables. “People are looking for efficient and convenient ways to get good nutrition,” explained Lucy MacLoughlin, chief operating officer for Rhema Industries. “Green food supplements help to compensate for the fact that most of us don’t consume the DRI of fruits and vegetables.”

As with much of the natural products industry, green foods once consumed as stand-alone nutrient boosters have found a new home as ingredients in functional foods and beverages. “We believe there is a strong and loyal audience that prefers simple pill forms,” said Charlene Lee, director of marketing at Cyvex Nutrition, which recently entered the green foods market with alfalfa juice powder concentrate mainly targeting the supplement market. “That being said, there has been a profusion of functional beverages during the past several years, and consumers seem to be responding to it, so this could be quite a successful medium to provide the nutritive abundance of green grass such as alfalfa.”

In addition to alfalfa, other cereal grasses—young shoots that will eventually produce grains—include barley, wheat, rye, oat and kamut. The nutrient content of these grasses is tied to stage of growth, with the peak concentrations of phytonutrients, vitamins and amino acids coming at the jointing stage, the time when the internodal tissue begins to form stems that will produce grains. As the level of cellulose (plant fibers) rises, nutrient levels drop off sharply.

Research on cereal grasses in human health is sparse, but there have been positive results on specific maladies. Israeli researchers showed 100 cc/d of wheat grass juice for one month reduced disease activity and severity of rectal bleeding in ulcerative colitis patients.1 Wheat grass also demonstrated benefits for children suffering from thalassemia, a group of genetic blood diseases involving different forms of anemia. Study results revealed 100 mL/d wheat grass juice taken for one year cut blood transfusion necessity by 40 percent.2

The other main type of green food is microalgae, including spirulina, chlorella and Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA), Dunaliella and Haematococcus. These most primitive plants grow in aqueous solution and, due to their simple cellular structure and access to water and important aquatic compounds, more efficiently convert sunlight to sugars than do higher plants.

Microalgae have drawn more research attention than the cereal grasses, particularly in the area of immune health. In fact, trials on AFA have looked mostly at immunity, including its role on immune cell function. In a Canadian trial, AFA enhanced immune cell surveillance but not lymphocyte induction, indicating AFA helps the body respond to pathogenic threats without overstimulating the immune system.4 Other results suggested AFA can modulate immune reaction of macrophages and other monocytes, increasing levels of select cytokines including interleukin-1 beta.5

Chlorella also has its hat in the immune ring. In one study, chlorella supplementation (as Respondin™, from Ocean Nutrition Canada) significantly increased antibody response in middle-aged subjects, despite failing to increase overall immune response.6 However, in a follow-up in vitro study, the chlorella extract inhibited interleukin-5 (IL-5) production by mast cells, suggesting the compound has anti-allergic potential.7

Among the mounting evidence of immune benefits by green foods, spirulina has been touted by researchers as an immunomodulator, a regulator of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, and an anticarcinogen,8 as well as a modulator of serum histamine, inflammation reaction and total immunoglobulin E (IgE).9 Other research demonstrated 2 g/d spirulina (from Earthrise Nutritionals Inc.) reduced interleukin-4 (IL-4), modulating the Th profile and reducing the symptoms of IgE-mediated allergy.10 Some scientists have credited its effect on IgE to its protein C-phycocyanin (C-PC), which has been specifically found to suppress antigenspecific IgE antibodies, enhancing the mucosal immune system defenses and reducing allergic inflammation.11

An aspect of immune function is protecting against disease development and progression. Spirulina’s C-PC has demonstrated activity against parameters of cardiovascular disease (CVD), including inhibition of platelet aggregation and cholesterol absorption/ reabsorption, as well as reduction of serum and liver cholesterol concentrations.12,13 Chlorella also improves aspects of CVD, inhibiting dyslipidemia in animal trials14 and lowering systolic hypertension in human study.15 Spirulina also has protected brain health, limiting neurodegeneration associated with cerebral infarction, and neuroinflammation from dopamine neuronal injury, benefits credited to the green food’s antioxidant properties.16,17

Handling toxins is another aspect of protecting the body from disease and degeneration. Chlorella can curtail absorption of dioxin,18 one of the most potent animal carcinogens ever researched and the cause of kidney and liver problems, as well as birth defects and death. Doing its part, spirulina has shown the potential to protect against toxicity by cadmium,19 a widespread environmental toxin that is very dangerous to human cells. Both spirulina and chlorella have been found to chelate lead, which limits the metal’s deleterious effects on glands and vital organs.20,21

With their dense nutritional profile, as well as the growing body of research on numerous health benefits, green foods are steadily gaining favor in the functional market. “The market demand for green foods is increasing as more consumers discover how packed with nutrients these products are,” stated Bob Capelli, vice president of sales and marketing for Cyanotech. “Green foods are being used more in functional foods and beverages every year.” He added some favorable press has come out about, driving customers to try green foods. “For example, in September 2006, AARP magazine—the largest circulation magazine in the world—featured an anti-aging article that ranked spirulina as ‘the number one food that can add years to your life’,” he said, “and quoted leading anti-aging researcher Paula Bickford, Ph.D., University of South Florida Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair, on the subject of spirulina and other antioxidant-rich foods on brain health.”

Lee reported Cyvex has noticed the mainstream market does not quite understand the benefits green foods can provide. “This [education gap] tells us that there is a huge opportunity to provide high quality and viable green foods,” she concluded.

Allen Levine, sales director, Pines International agreed on the role of media and education in green foods awareness. “The growth seems to be driven by more advertising as well as books targeting the enduse consumer,” he said. “As awareness of the products rises, so too does the demand.”

Similarly, Kazie Uyama, founder and president of C’est Si Bon, stated, “People know now about the importance of green leafy vegetables.” She noted, however, it is very difficult to get adequate green food nutrients in everyday meals, so innovative green foods products may be the substitute in today’s fast paced society.

Innovation is growing in the greens category, with traditional supplemental and powdered drink mixes making room for alternative food and beverage applications. “[Green foods’] inclusion in meal replacements and protein powders … helps to boost the nutritional value of these products and differentiate them from the multitude of soy- or whey-based powders on the market,” MacLoughlin said. “In addition to food drinks, capsules and tablets, we see green ingredients used in food bars, sports nutrition products and cleansing and energy formulas.” Capelli echoed some of these same observations, stating: “We’re seeing spirulina added to energy bars, pasta, crackers, green tea and even beer in Asia.”

Capelli further stated an important consideration for formulators looking for green foods is quality and safety assurances, including GRAS (generally recognized as safe) designation. “[Some] suppliers do not have sufficiently safe, hygienic processes to qualify for GRAS status,” he reasoned. Uyama agreed, saying: “There are so many green foods, but good quality products are limited.”

The trick, according to Mitchell May, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Synergy Production Labs, is delivering green foods in a form that is functional biologically, and in such a way that the products blend well, and can go into a food bar or other functional food. He pointed to technology as the answer. “We use extremely lowtemperature processing—our greens are freeze-dried or we do special CO2 cold temperature process and cold milling,” he said, noting this technology preserves enzymatic activity and freshness. “If enzymes are deactivated, it automatically reveals the material has been oxidized or exposed to too much temperature, turning the material bitter and making it generally insoluble with a very diminished nutrient profile.” He advised spray-dried or heat treated green food ingredients have bitterness to them, are not soluble and may have carriers added.

Another reason to formulate with quality, fresh and hygienicallyproduced green food ingredients, according to Capelli, is that inferior products can have very bad tastes and odors that will negatively impact the finished functional food, even if the green ingredient is used at low inclusion levels.

“If there is one stigma about green foods in the marketplace, it would be taste,” Lee said, adding manufacturing technology can offer solutions to these issues. “Food technology and natural flavorings can be used … while still delivering the potent mix of nutrients,” she said.

“When formulating with green materials, you need flavors that mask the seaweed taste of commonly used algae and the grass-like taste of other green ingredients,” MacLoughlin agreed. “Additionally, a smooth mouthfeel and homogenous mix may require specific manufacturing processes such as milling and screening, and/or the use of suspension agents.”

The earlier answer to the taste and odor concern is in the quality process used to make the green food ingredients. “If material was not made at low temperatures, you will impart that bitter taste from beginning,” May reasoned. “If the first step is done right, the secondary step process has better chance to be successful.” To this end, he advised as with any fresh type food, the more careful you are with green ingredients, the better you can retain its factors, functions and phytonutrients. Therefore, green food raw materials should be packaged in a manner to protect from oxygen, such as vacuum-packed in oxygen barrier bags. “In our opinion, these materials are best packaged in glass, because plastic bottles leach oxygen into them,” he said, noting glass with a hermetic seal is the only way to protect against oxygen and other conditions.

Among the factors that can degrade the nutrients in green foods are heat, oxygen, ultraviolet radiation and moisture. “There are no safety concerns if they are exposed, but they will certainly lose some of their key benefits as the nutrient levels drop,” Capelli confirmed.

As with taste, color is another concern in using green foods in functional products. Chlorophyll puts the green in green foods, which also contain numerous other colorful phytonutrients, including carotenoids and anthocyanins. “At molecular level, all the phyto-pigments are in kale, parsley, wheatgrass, but you can’t see with the naked eye, because the green predominates,” May explained. He said numerous vegetables are actually chlorophyll-containing green foods, but other pigments overwhelm the green pigment: “There is actually chlorophyll in carrots, but its beta-carotene is so orange you can’t see the green.”

The green color imparted by traditional green foods may unsettle many consumers, but formulators have the ability to overcome this challenge. May suggested using other fruits or vegetables rich in purple or red pigments, such as tomatoes or blueberries. “In a nutritional bar, you have a lot of ability to disguise these things, due the normal, accepted color of bars,” he noted, adding cans or other opaque containers can hide the green color on the shelf. “However, ssome people love the color and want to see the green; you must consider your consumer base.”

While taste and color top the list of green food concerns, organic and kosher certified ingredients are also in high demand. “The most common concerns are that the products be certified organic,” Levine said, also highlighting the demand that a green ingredient’s heavy metal profile meet the California standards. “I would say there is concern about heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, PCB and any other chemical residue or toxin in the green products.” Uyama agreed. She recommended green food ingredients be tested by a reputable third-party analytical lab.

Whatever the challenges, green foods have a great opportunity to provide the functional food and beverage market a profile of dense nutrition, including vitamins, proteins, minerals and antioxidant phytonutrients researched for numerous healthy benefits.

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