Kiala Super Greens is a green powder supplement sold by Kiala Nutrition, which is used to promote overall wellness. The brand suggests that their product can reduce bloating, boost energy and promote clear skin.
But does Kiala Greens contain ingredients shown in research studies to have these effects? Does the brand use any unhealthy ingredients? Does Kiala Greens cause side effects? And is it better or worse than Bloom Nutrition?
In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Kiala Greens to give our take on whether or not this supplement is likely to improve health.
We'll also discuss the risk of side effects, and compare Kiala Greens to Bloom Nutrition (another popular greens powder brand) to pick our winner.
Key takeaways:
- All active ingredients are nutritious and healthy
- Contains some inactive ingredients we consider unhealthy
- We do not currently recommend Kiala Greens
Ingredient Analysis
The active ingredients in the Tropical Splash flavor of Kiala Greens are shown above.
The Organic Greens Blend contains a number of research-backed, health-promoting ingredients.
Wheatgrass has medical uses according to a 2015 medical review, including the potential to prevent cancer and even to support cancer treatment.
Barley grass can support the body's natural detoxification processes, as we documented in our Complement Daily Greens reviews article.
Kale has higher than average nutrient and antioxidant contents, according to a 2012 medical review.
The total dose of this blend is 6 grams (g), which is significant, and which is higher than most green powders we've reviewed to date on Illuminate Health. This is a good thing because it means greater nutrition per serving.
Coconut water is rich in the electrolytes potassium, sodium and magnesium according to the USDA.
The Spectra Antioxidant blend has 31 ingredients, and a total dose of only 50 milligrams (mg).
This equates to around 1.5 mg per dose, which is far too low of a dose to have any substantive effect in our opinion.
To provide an illustrative example of how low a 1.5 mg fruit or vegetable dose is, consider the ingredient carrot which is included in this blend.
One single carrot provides a total dose of 50,000 mg according to the USDA.
This means that one single carrot contains over 30,000x the carrot dose as exists in this "Antioxidant" blend.
The inactive ingredients in Kiala Greens are shown below:
Citric acid can cause inflammatory reactions in some individuals, according to a medical review published in the Toxicology Reports journal.
Natural flavors is a broad categorical descriptor that may contain some chemical compounds that are unhealthy, as we documented in our Ghost Greens review article.
Sucralose is an artificial sweetener that has negative effects on insulin function according to a clinical trial published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Overall, we consider Kiala Greens to be more nutritious than the average green powder, and likely to support overall health.
However, we don't currently recommend this green powder due to the inclusion of the inactive ingredients highlighted above.
Does Kiala Greens Cause Side Effects?
Kiala Greens doesn't appear to have been studied in any clinical trials, which makes it challenging to say for certain whether or not it will cause side effects.
However, we can make an educated guess based on its stated ingredients.
Because Kiala Greens is primarily composed of various vegetable powders and some relatively common flavoring additives, we do not consider it likely to cause side effects in healthy adults.
Citric acid is the only ingredient we consider (minimally) likely to cause side effects, but as we documented in the Ingredient Analysis section, these effects appear to be rare.
At the time of updating this article, there doesn't appear to be any mention of side effects on the Kiala Nutrition website.
Kiala Greens vs. Bloom
Bloom is another green powder brand that's blown up on TikTok recently, so many consumers are curious about which is a better option.
As we detailed in our review of Bloom Nutrition, that brand has a significantly lower fruit and vegetable dose (~2.5 g) per serving than Kiala (~6 g).
However, Bloom has a better inactive ingredient profile in our opinion than Kiala Greens.
In terms of value, we would give Kiala Greens the edge.
In terms of formulation, we would give Bloom the edge.
The pricing is very similar per bottle. Both products retail for around $40, but Kiala packs more nutrition per serving.
Our Clean Green Powder Picks
Starwest Botanicals Organic Green Powder is our top overall green powder pick.
All of its ingredients are organic and nutrient-dense, and it contains ingredients like wheat grass and moringa leaf that the average consumer probably doesn't get in their diet.
Pique Japanese Sencha Green Tea is our top superfood green powder pick.
Green tea was documented in a medical review to support "anti-hypertensive effect, body weight control, antibacterial and antivirasic activity, solar ultraviolet protection, bone mineral density increase."
Both of the products recommended in this section are free of ingredients we consider to be unhealthy.
Kiala Greens Pros and Cons
Pros:
- High total greens dose
- Nutrient-rich
- Contains active ingredients that can support optimal health
- Contains natural electrolytes
- Good value
- Positive online reviews on Amazon
Cons:
- Contains citric acid
- Contains sucralose
- Contains flavoring agents
- Antioxidant Blend has relatively low average ingredient dose
- Worse formulation in our opinion than Bloom Nutrition
