Thorne Daily Greens Review: A Nutrition Analysis

It's my job to stay up-to-date with the latest and greatest supplements and sources of green nutrition so I can provide informed recommendations to my clients.

That's why I was eager to try Thorne's Daily Greens Plus. This greens powder receives a lot of attention for its unique formula and purported benefits, so I wanted to put it to the test. I sampled the product and examined its claims and ingredients to determine if it is a viable choice or whether Live it Up Super Greens remains the better option.

I'll address the following:

• Is Thorne Greens Worth a Try?
• What Is Thorne Daily Greens Plus?
• Purported Health Benefits
• Ingredient Breakdown
• Quality and Testing
• Cost Analysis
• Taste Review
• Why I Recommend Live it Up Super Greens

Thorne Daily Greens Plus Quick Facts

• Key ingredients:
  28 powerhouse ingredients, including a greens, mushroom, adaptogen, and antioxidant blend
  7 fruits, algae, and greens like matcha, spirulina, moringa, and mango
  7 antioxidant-rich ingredients, such as lemon balm phytosome and pomegranate extract
  6 adaptogens, like ashwagandha and eleuthero extract
  5 mushroom varieties, including shiitake mushroom and reishi mushroom
  Monk fruit as a natural sweetener
• Flavor: One natural flavor (described as earthy with a hint of mint)
• Manufacturer health claims: Supports foundational nutrition, healthy stress response, energy production, and immune function
• Calories: 20 per serving (1 scoop)
• Price:
  $72 for a 30-day supply ($2.40 per serving)
  Subscribe and save 10% on repeat orders
  Subscribe and save 20% on three or more Thorne products
• Shipping: Free shipping on ground orders

Bottom Line: Is Thorne Greens Worth a Try?

Thorne's formula includes several key ingredients in its antioxidant, gut health, and mushroom blends that can support overall health, but none of them are organic. The blend only comes in one flavor, and without probiotics or enzymes, Thorne is less comprehensive for gut support than other greens powders.

Therefore, I'd rather continue recommending Live it Up Super Greens. It's made with organic vegetables and botanicals, includes probiotics and digestive enzymes, and comes in two flavors my clients actually enjoy—all at a meaningfully lower cost per serving.

Compared to Thorne, Live it Up has ✅Organic ingredients ✅Probiotics and digestive enzymes for gut support ✅A more affordable price

What Is Thorne Daily Greens Plus? 

The Thorne brand describes itself as a health technology company specializing in scientific wellness. In addition to offering a wide range of supplements, multivitamins, electrolytes, and protein powders, Thorne provides at-home health tests to assess your gut health, biological age, stress, and more.

While Thorne sells a variety of products, for this review, I'm focusing on the Daily Greens Plus, a greens powder containing 28 powerhouse ingredients in their most absorbable forms. 

The green blend is designed to provide foundational nutrition and contribute to your overall health, as it claims to support a healthy stress response, immune function, energy production, gut health, and detoxification.

Like many green supplements, Thorne recommends mixing the powder with 12 ounces of water, or your preferred beverage, on a daily basis. The vegan, soy-free, and gluten-free greens powder's macronutrient breakdown is the following:

• Total carbohydrates: 2 g
• Dietary fiber: <1 g
• Protein: 2 g

Did You Know?

Daily recommended values of vitamins and minerals are set at those levels for a reason. If you're taking any supplements, pay attention to which nutrients exceed 100% DV, especially in combination vitamins from your diet.

Thorne Daily Greens Purported Benefits

The Thorne formula claims to support a healthy mind and body in various ways. Let's take a closer look at some of the science behind these purported benefits.

Benefit #1: Foundational Nutrition

One of the formula's purported benefits is that it supports foundational nutrition. It includes a variety of nutrient-rich greens and mushrooms, such as spinach powder extract leaf, shiitake mushroom, spirulina, moringa, and kelp. These ingredients may help aid digestive health and immune function, which can contribute to a healthy lifestyle.

The nutrient-dense greens powder also claims to benefit healthy aging due to its inclusion of potent antioxidants, which help fight free radicals and oxidative stress. Studies have found a link between free radicals and aging, suggesting that these clinically studied ingredients may prevent oxidative damage and contribute to healthy aging.

The antioxidant blend, however, relies on synthetic compounds like Nicotinamide Riboside Hydrogen Malate and Trans-Resveratrol rather than whole-food sources like berries, algae, or leafy greens. For a formula built around "foundational nutrition," I'd rather see those antioxidants sourced from real produce, as natural nutrients may be better absorbed by the body than their synthetic counterparts.

Benefit #2: Stress

The powder's adaptogen blend may encourage a healthy stress response. The blend includes adaptogens, such as ashwagandha extract and ginger root, which can help balance stress response and adrenal function.

However, the blend only contains 225 mg of ashwagandha, less than the recommended dosage. Studies suggest taking 300 to 600 mg of the adaptogen daily to achieve optimal results. Similarly, research has shown that consuming several grams of ginger a day can benefit your stress levels, but this product only includes 250 mg.

Therefore, it is unclear how impactful these ingredients are in managing stress.

Benefit #3: Energy

The greens powder claims to enhance energy production, physical endurance, and cognitive performance and includes several ingredients that may support this claim. For instance, it contains both zinc and biotin, which help break down food and convert it into energy, alongside natural sources of iron and B vitamins from ingredients like spinach and spirulina, which help support physical endurance.

Did You Know?

Consuming foods rich in nutrients, such as B vitamins, iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium, can help support cellular health and energy production.

As for cognitive performance, the antioxidant blend may positively contribute to cognitive function through ingredients like pomegranate, glutathione, and trans-resveratrol, which help mitigate oxidative stress.

Benefit #4: Immune Support

When assessing a supplement's immune function support, I typically look for immune-supporting nutrients, such as vitamins A, C, D, and E, as well as minerals like zinc, magnesium, and selenium. The good news is that the powder contains vitamin D and zinc.

Thorne's blend also includes ingredients naturally rich in these nutrients, such as spinach, moringa, watermelon seed, mushrooms, and kelp.

Thorne Daily Greens Ingredients Breakdown

The Thorne formula features a diverse blend of powerhouse ingredients, including greens, mushrooms, adaptogens, and antioxidants. Let's take a closer look.

Greens Blend

The greens blend includes nutrient-dense greens like matcha and spinach, which are excellent sources of vitamins and antioxidants. It also features the following ingredients:

• Spirulina and kelp are rich in iron, protein, and potassium and may support a healthy immune response.
• Moringa powder is packed with vitamins that may support immune function and include antioxidant properties.
• Watermelon powder seeds contain powerful minerals like potassium, iron, and magnesium, which can aid immunity.
• Mango extract leaf features plant compounds that may support immune health and help with inflammation.

Mushroom Blend

Mushrooms play a significant role in the formula, as the blend features five varieties. These fungi are rich in B vitamins, antioxidants, and prebiotics, which may help support immune function and gut health. The mushroom blend contains:

• Lion's mane mushroom
• Chaga mushroom
• Maitake mushroom
• Reishi mushroom
• Shiitake mushrooms

Adaptogen Blend

The formula also includes green nutrition with adaptogens. Adaptogens are plant-based substances that may help you manage stress and anxiety. For example, lemon balm may help promote relaxation, while ashwagandha may help reduce stress and anxiety.

The adaptogen blend includes the following:

• Ginger extract
• Ashwagandha root
• Lemon Balm Phytosome
• Rhodiola extract
• Spearmint
• Eleuthero extract

These adaptogens may support stress management, but many of them are in small amounts, so it's difficult to know how much this blend can help you cope with stress.

Antioxidant Blend

Finally, the powder contains antioxidants, which can help combat free radicals and support gut health and detoxification. The antioxidant blend has the following ingredients:

• Glutathione
• Nicotinamide Riboside Hydrogen Malate
• Pomegranate extract
• Quercetin Phytosome
• Trans-Resveratrol
• Coenzyme Q10 Phytosome
• Betaine Anhydrous

You may not be familiar with some of these ingredients because they're synthetic versions of vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, and other types of enzymes. While we prefer to see these ingredients sourced from natural, whole foods like berries, algae, nuts, or leafy greens, there's nothing wrong with them in their current forms.

Thorne Daily Greens Quality and Testing

Thorne states that it adheres to strict standards for purity and sustainability, as its Daily Greens supplement is produced in facilities that undergo third-party certification tests conducted by the NSF and Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). Like Live it Up, Thorn performs audits to ensure compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).

These third-party certifications confirm that the final product does not contain unsafe levels of microorganisms, pesticides, or heavy metals. However, none of Thorne’s ingredients are organic.

Thorne Daily Greens Cost Analysis

The Thorne powder is somewhat pricey when compared to similar products on the market. The supplement costs $70 for a 30-day supply. Consider these other pricing factors:

• It costs $2.40 per serving before subscription discounts.
• You can save 10% if you subscribe, reducing the cost to $64.80 ($2.16 per serving) for a 30-day supply
• You can save up to 20% when you subscribe to three or more Thorne products
• 60-day satisfaction guarantee on all orders
• Free ground shipping

In comparison, Live it Up Super Greens is a much more wallet-friendly option. It costs just $59.99 ($1.66 per serving), but if you subscribe, the price is reduced to $39.99 ($1.33 per serving). Plus, you receive free shipping and a 30-day money-back guarantee on every order.

Thorne Daily Greens Taste Review

As a dietitian, I try to recommend supplements that are not only nutritious but also tasty with good consistency. After all, if they taste good and dissolve well, my clients are more likely to incorporate them into their daily routines.

Unlike many other supplements, the Thorne formula does not come in different flavors, which was a point of contention for some. The single natural flavor is sweetened with monk fruit extract and is described as very earthy with a bit of sweet mint, which was my experience as well.

One reviewer said they struggled to find a liquid to mix with the blend that "covers up the terrible taste," while another described the flavor as "icky sweet mint and mushroom."

However, some reviewers were pleased with the natural taste, with one noting it tasted like "a mix of matcha and chai tea with a hint of mint." Another person described the flavor as "soft with a slight hint of sweetness."

As for consistency, many reviewers, like me, described having trouble getting the powder to dissolve. One commenter said it did not blend very smoothly and another explained seeing a "significant amount of sediment" even after running it through the blender.

Personally, I prefer Live it Up Super Greens' flavors and consistency, as do many reviewers. For instance, one left a review saying, "Great taste. Love the slight mint taste. Actually enjoy drinking my greens powder—nice change." Another said, "The powder dissolves easily in any drink or smoothie."

Why I Recommend Live it Up Super Greens

I applaud Thorne Daily Greens Plus for bringing a unique formula to the table. It's not every day that I see a green supplement with a mushroom blend and so many antioxidants. I also appreciate how the brand's supplement facts include all the ingredient amounts. That said, for a price of over $2 per serving, I would have liked to see more than one flavor, better gut health support, and organic ingredients.

While Thorne's product may provide nutritional value, I believe Live it Up Super Greens offers a more robust formula that may better fill superfood gaps in your diet. It’s made with all-natural, antioxidant-rich ingredients and organic vegetables, 5 billion CFU of probiotics, and digestive enzymes. Plus, Super Greens comes in two delicious flavors that blend smoothly.

Thorne Greens Frequently Asked Questions

For more information, please refer to our FAQs below.

What are the benefits of drinking Greens Plus?

Thorne Daily Green Plus claims to offer a variety of health benefits associated with overall health and detoxification support. The nutritious greens powder is designed to provide foundational nutrition, support physical endurance and recovery, aid immune response, and even contribute to healthy aging.

And though I appreciate many of the ingredients in the powder, Thorne lacks organic ingredients, probiotics, and digestive enzymes. Instead, I recommend Live it Up Super Greens to my clients for energy, digestive support, immune function, and overall nutrition.

How long does it take for Daily Greens to work?

There is no set amount of time that it takes for this supplement to begin benefiting your body. That said, if you start incorporating greens powders into your daily routine, you may begin to notice a positive difference within just a few weeks. It's essential to remain consistent so that your body can continue to benefit from all the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.

When should I drink Daily Greens?

You can drink greens powder whenever you'd like, but I recommend drinking it first thing in the morning to help you hydrate after waking up. This can also help establish a daily routine and set you up for a healthy day ahead. Furthermore, some believe drinking green juice on an empty stomach allows your body to better absorb the nutrients.

Does Greens Plus have caffeine?

Yes, this product contains 35 mg of caffeine per serving due to the inclusion of the matcha. In comparison, the average cup of coffee contains 95 mg of caffeine, so this isn't considered a large amount unless you're especially sensitive to the effects of caffeine.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice or individualized nutrition counseling. Please consult a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to supplements or medications. Any product or brand mentions are for general information and don’t guarantee results.

About Rachel Gargano, MS, RD, CBS | Chief Registered Dietitian at Live it Up

Rachel is a registered dietitian based in Contra Costa County, California, with over 15 years experience.

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