When to Take Greens Powder: Morning, Night or With Food?

When to take greens powder is one of the most common questions people ask after they buy their first jar, and the honest answer is simpler than most labels make it sound.

Short answer: there is no time of day that research shows is best. Take it at the time you will remember every day, which for most people is with breakfast. Taking it with food is gentler if you have a sensitive stomach. If your powder contains cacao or green tea, have it earlier in the day.

Is there a best time to take greens powder?

No study has compared morning and evening greens powder and found a clear winner. A greens powder is a blend of dried plant foods, and like any food, it does not have a narrow window where it works and a window where it does not.

That means the best time is a practical question, not a scientific one. The time that matters is the one you can repeat. A jar taken every day at an ordinary time beats a jar taken at the perfect time three days a week.

When to take greens powder in the morning

Morning is the most popular choice, for three reasons:

• It is easy to remember. Breakfast is the most repeated meal of the day, so tying your scoop to it builds the habit quickly.
• It mixes into what you already drink. A glass of water, juice or a smoothie at breakfast is the obvious vehicle.
• It suits powders with cacao or tea. More on that below.

Should you take greens powder on an empty stomach?

You can, but you do not need to. Some people find a concentrated powder on an empty stomach a little heavy, especially first thing. If that is you, take it with or just after food. There is no reason to put up with discomfort for the sake of an empty stomach.

Can you take greens powder at night?

Yes. If evenings are when you have time, have it with dinner or stir it into a late snack. The one exception is a powder that contains cacao, matcha or green tea. These carry small amounts of caffeine, and cacao also carries theobromine, a related compound.

To put that in perspective, unsweetened cocoa powder contains around 230 mg of caffeine per 100 g.¹ Even if a whole 7 g scoop were cacao, that would be about 16 mg, a fraction of a cup of coffee. Most people will not notice it. If you are sensitive to caffeine, though, keep it to the morning.

Greens powder before or after training

As an Exercise Physiologist and former high-performance coach, I get asked this a lot. A greens powder is not a pre-workout and it is not a recovery drink, so timing it around training does not matter. Where training helps is as an anchor: if you train at the same time every day, a post-session glass is an easy habit to attach to it.

If you are having a protein shake after training anyway, you can add a scoop of greens to the same shaker.

How to make it stick: habit stacking

In coaching, the habits that stick are the ones attached to something you already do, in the same place, at the same time. A few ways to do that:

1. Put the jar next to the kettle or coffee machine. You will see it every morning.
2. Mix it while you wait for something else. Toast, coffee, the kids' lunches.
3. Pre-fill a shaker the night before if mornings are rushed, and add water when you are ready.
4. Keep a few serves in a small container in your training bag or desk drawer for days you are away from home.

How much greens powder should you take?

Follow the serve on your label, because powders differ a lot in strength and serve size. Ours is 7 g, or 3 slightly rounded teaspoons, once daily. Taking more than the label suggests does not make it work better, and it uses the jar up twice as fast.

For what to stir it into, see what to mix greens powder with.

What we make

Our daily superfood powder is a blend of eight superfoods: cacao, goji berry, green barley grass, spirulina, beetroot, acai berry, cracked cell chlorella and camu camu. One serve is 7 g (3 slightly rounded teaspoons), there are 30 serves in a 210 g jar, and it is vegan, dairy free and non-GMO. It is packed in Brendale, Queensland, and delivered anywhere in Australia.

Frequently asked questions

Can I take greens powder twice a day?

Stick to the serve on your label. If you prefer, you can split one serve across two drinks.

Can I take greens powder with coffee?

Yes. Some people stir it into an iced coffee or a smoothie with coffee in it. If your powder has cacao, that pairing tastes like a mocha.

Can I take greens powder with other supplements?

Most people do. If you take prescription medication, check with your doctor or pharmacist first, because some greens ingredients, such as chlorella, contain vitamin K, which matters if you take a blood thinner.

About the author

Grant Jenkins is a director of Propel Health Australia and an Accredited Exercise Physiologist. Our range is packed in a licensed facility in Brendale, Queensland. Every figure quoted for our product in this article is the figure on our printed label.

References

1. U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central: Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened (FDC ID 169593). fdc.nal.usda.gov

Disclaimer

This article is general information, not medical advice. Speak to your healthcare provider before starting any new supplement, especially if you are pregnant, taking medication or have a medical condition.