Have you ever wondered how fantastic it would be to be able to accomplish everything you’ve set out to do for the day?
These days, as we face a never-ending pile of work we can often feel overwhelmed and frustrated at how unproductive we are despite our best efforts.
At the end of the day, with so many things left undone, we throw in the towel and acknowledge our defeat by the to-do list.
You may have the best habits and productivity tools, but if you feel like you need an additional boost to help you stay focus and amp up your productivity, green powders packed with nootropics could be just the thing you need.
What Are Green Powders And Nootropics?
Green powders are a dietary supplement bursting with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants which are important for a healthy body and mind.
If your current diet lacks fruits and vegetables, it may be one of the causes of your inability to concentrate. Food items such as green leafy vegetables, berries, and nuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, and antioxidants which have been found to support brain health and improved mental functioning (1).
Green powders act as nutritional insurance that fills any nutritional deficits in your diet — especially if you are not getting all the recommended daily micronutrients from fresh fruits and vegetables.
If you’re new to green powders, then check out what do super greens do? for a short but comprehensive introduction to green powders.
Green powders also often contain certain ingredients which are classified as ‘nootropics’.
Nootropics are supplements that have been found to help enhance mental performance, improve memory, boost concentration and focus among healthy individuals. They can exist naturally or be synthetically created.
Nootropic supplements can be found in your local supplement store or online and can be obtained without the prescription of a medical practitioner.
Common nootropics you might find in green powders include Rhodiola Rosea, Ashwagandha Root, Bacopa Monnieri, and Ginkgo Biloba.
Take a closer look and you might find that you like what science says about their benefits for your productivity, focus, and concentration!
Rhodiola Rosea
Rhodiola Rosea is a natural herb native to the arctic regions of Europe, Asia and Alaska.
It has been used as a medicinal plant for its adaptogenic properties which helps the body adapt to physical, chemical, and environmental stressors.
Research has found that Rhodiola Rosea supplements helped reduce feelings of burnout and increased feelings of happiness among individuals who were highly anxious and felt the symptoms of stress (2).
Rhodiola Rosea was also found to improve work performance on tasks that were physically and mentally demanding such as in physicians working night shits3.
The research on Rhodiola Rosea suggests that because of its adaptogenic properties it may help you to better cope in stressful situations by decreasing feelings of anxiety, stress and fatigue. This increases your body’s resistance to stress.
So perhaps Rhodiola Rosea could be helpful if your productivity and concentration levels are affected due to being constantly stressed out.
Ashwagandha Root
Ashwagandha Root is another traditional medicinal herb that is classified as an “adaptogen”.
Packed with antioxidants, it can be seen to be supportive for many body functions, especially those in the brain.
One study found that individuals who consume 300mg Ashwagandha Root Extract daily saw significant improvements on tasks involving memory, reaction time and attention span (4).
Another 60-day study of 64 people experiencing chronic stress found that those who consumed Ashwagandha supplement experienced a significant reduction in symptoms such as anxiety and insomnia (5).
While Ashwagandha Root is known for its ability to reduce stress and improve cognitive performances, it has other health benefits such as naturally elevating testosterone levels in men, lowering blood sugar levels among diabetics and reducing inflammation in the body.
Similar to Rhodiola Rosea, Ashwagandha’s ability to decrease stress and anxiety levels may help improve your productivity levels. In addition its ability to enhance cognitive performance may heighten your focus and concentration level to enable you to effectively tackle daily tasks.
Bacopa Monnieri
Bacopa Monnieri is a powerful herb and an adaptogen that helps increases your body’s capacity to handle stress.
Research attributes Bacopa Monnieri’s stress-reducing benefits to its anxiolytic properties, which ease the anxiety and stress levels of the user by reducing the levels of cortisol in your body (6).
As elevated levels of cortisol are closely linked to stress levels, by reducing cortisol levels, one should feel less stressed and (hopefully) happier.
For example a 12-week study found that consuming 300 mg Bacopa Monnieri daily led to a significant reduction in anxiety and depression symptoms in adults (7).
Additionally Bacopa Monnieri may also improve cognitive abilities.
Studies on Bacopa Monnieri have shown that 300 mg Bacopa Monnieri supplementation per day resulted in improved rates of learning, information processing speed, memory and attention span — all indicative of enhanced cognitive capabilities (8, 9).
The research conducted on Bacopa Monnieri supports the suggestion that it has the ability to help you to manage stress and anxiety, as well as enhance cognitive performance — all of which may be helpful to you should you need a boost in concentration, or just need to stay cool under pressure.
Gingko Biloba
Gingko Biloba is another popular nootropic famous for its high antioxidant content.
Gingko Biloba has many therapeutic properties such as reducing inflammation in the body, improving blood circulation and heart health, improving anxiety symptoms and boosting eye health.
Perhaps more importantly, research has found that supplementation of Gingko Biloba can improve one’s cognitive capabilities on tasks involving memory and visual recognition (10).
As with most health supplements, the benefits may take time too manifest. Even with optimal dosing of 120-240 mg Gingko supplementation per day, research suggests that it may take about 6 weeks for noticeable effects to surface.
Gingko Biloba should be another nootropic on your list if you find yourself in need of a little lift to help you out of your slump when tackling daily tasks.
Nootropic Supplements: Do they work?
Generally speaking, nootropic supplements work and they are sufficiently supported by scientific research.
If you look on the internet for reviews of popular nootropic supplement brands you will definitely come across negative reviews stating that the product doesn’t work.
This could be due to the brand (and dosage), or simply because the nootropic isn’t effective for the reviewer — keep in mind that everyone is different, what works for one person may not work for you.
That being said, aside from individual physical differences, there is one thing (within our control) that likely could affect the cognitive benefits of nootropics — the dosage.
Just as research papers on nootropics have found noticeable benefits in these foods, these findings are only achieved when a certain amount of said ingredient is used.
So if your supplement does not provide you with the amount that is stated in the research papers, it is unlikely that you will be able to see any noticeable benefits of consuming these nootropics.
Let’s illustrate this point with some examples.
Product 1: Gaia Herbs, Rhodiola Rosea, 120 Veggie Liquid Phyto-Caps
This is a Rhodiola supplement that promises to help your body adapt to stress.
One serving (capsule) of Gaia Herbs’ Rhodiola contains 120mg Rhodiola Root Extract and it suggests that two capsules should be consumed daily.
That amounts to 240mg Rhodiola per day — but is this amount optimal?
According to Examine.com, an independent educational organization that analyzes nutrition and supplements, for fatigue and anti-stress effects of Rhodiola to be experienced, supplements should be consumed in the 288-680mg dosage range.
The daily dosage of 240mg per day by Gaia Herb’s Rhodiola falls below the minimum recommendation of 288mg.
This might result in you not seeing results despite consuming the supplement over a period of time.
Product 2: Paradise Herbs, Bacopa, 60 Vegetarian Capsules
This is a relatively popular Bacopa supplement. One serving (capsule) of Paradise Herbs’ Bacopa contains 250mg Bacopa Monnieri and suggested consumption is 1 capsule per day.
The recommended amount for Bacopa by Examine.com is 300mg per day.
Once again, should you be following the dosage recommendation on the product label you would be shortchanging yourself of the benefits of this powerhouse herb.
The point here is not to disregard the dosage recommended by the company but to recognise that that not all supplements will provide sufficient amounts of the ingredients for you to reap the benefits of the individual superfoods.
Hence you should always check the product labels and research on the ingredients to see what science has to say about each.
Granted, this may mean putting in more work than you expect to, but it is well worth it knowing that you are choosing a product that offers you the right amount of powerful plant ingredients to support your health.
So many nootropics… endless pill-popping?
So far we’ve touched on four of the more popular herbs-as-nootropics in the market, you will no doubt encounter other supplements marketed as nootropics.
If you are someone who is really concerned about brain health and who really wants to maximize the benefits of supplementation, you might find yourself looking at all the different varieties of supplements branded as nootropics that claim to help boost focus and aid productivity.
However there’s a problem. Let’s say you found five different individual nootropic supplements for focus, productivity, and brain health — how many pills would you need to take in a day, especially going on the above dosages of two or more capsules a day?
Add these to your daily vitamins, minerals and other supplements and you’ll be taking handfuls of pills per day.
If supplements are supposed to make consuming these individual ingredients convenient, then this doesn’t seem to make sense.
This is why SuperGreen Tonik can also be taken for a daily dose of nootropics.
SuperGreen Tonik: A supplement for your brain and more
SuperGreen Tonik nootropic greens supplement that not only contains the aforementioned brain foods (Rhodiola Rosea, Ashwagandha Root, Gingko Biloba, and Bacopa Monnieri), its brain-supporting blend also includes other nootropics such as L-Theanine and L-Tyrosine which are also effective in aiding brain function and mental sharpness.
These six nootropic ingredients have been selected for their brain-boosting properties and the amounts of each ingredient are carefully considered with reference to existing research.
The result? The ultimate “brain blend” comprising 6 powerful ingredients each included in the optimal amounts to support brain health, aid cognitive functioning and improve focus:
- Ashwagandha Root Extract (500mg)
- Bacopa Monnieri (300mg)
- Rhodiola Rosea (300mg)
- L-Theanine (250mg)
- Ginkgo Biloba (240mg)
- L-Tyrosine (200mg)
In total, at a powerful 1,800mg per serving, this is a higher dose of these nootropics than many dedicated supplements in the market.
Saving you the trouble of sourcing different nootropic supplements and consuming individual products — six proven nootropics make up the “brain blend” in SuperGreen Tonik.
Check out our article “Are super greens ‘Brain Food’?” where we dive deeper into the details of brain foods and whether super greens can be classified as such.
But wait, that is not all.
SuperGreen Tonik contains ten other ingredients that make up the “greens blend” and “immunity blend” which aim to strengthen your body’s immune system and assists your body in maintaining pH levels to support natural detox thus achieving optimum health.
That’s why we think of SuperGreen Tonik as limitless.
Whether you need help meeting your daily vitamin and mineral intake, an additional boost to your brain health and productivity, strengthening your immune system, or you’re simply looking to detox your body — SuperGreen Tonik has you covered.
Picking the right supplement is the key to achieving that boost in your productivity, focus and concentration that you are seeking to help you overcome life’s daily challenges.
Choose SuperGreen Tonik if you’re looking for a supplement that offers nootropic ingredients in the right amount to support your body and mind, along with an array of other health benefits.
