Mitogreens The Next Evolution Of Greens Supplements

Superfoods are nutrient-rich plant foods. They’re considered “super” because they’re packed with phytochemicals, vitamins and antioxidants. Eating plenty of these plant foods—herbs, spices, fruits, vegetables and whole grains—can help increase the body’s antioxidant capacity. Increasing antioxidant capacity can have a positive impact on health and aging.¹

Even short-term increases in a high fruit and vegetable diet can positively affect antioxidant defenses and decrease oxidative damage.² One study showed that daily consumption of fruits, vegetables and herbs significantly reduced the production of free radicals from both cells and their mitochondria.3

There are plenty of superfood greens products on the market today, but most are lacking when it comes to delivering efficient and effective antioxidants. Many greens products contain impurities and inactive filler ingredients, resulting in a low-quality greens supplement.

Enter NNB Nutrition’s answer to the greens market: the newly launched MitoGreens, a blend of 29 clean and potent superfood ingredients combined with the powerful antioxidant L-ergothioneine, which is also sold as MitoPrime by NNB and has been previously reviewed on Muscle Insider.

This review will take a closer look at the ingredients and benefits of MitoGreens and the super-antioxidant in MitoPrime, L-ergothioneine.

What Are Antioxidants?

Before getting to the detailed formulation behind MitoGreens, it’s important to understand exactly how antioxidants work and why they’re so important to health, longevity and immunity. Antioxidants can be man-made or natural compounds that scavenge free radicals from causing damage in the body via cellular oxidation. They can also remove damage caused to cells.

Free radicals are extremely unstable molecules formed via oxidation or disruption of their chemical bonds, making them free-floating reactive compounds also known as reactive oxygen species (ROS). Free radical production can come from natural metabolic processes in the body, but they can also come from environment exposure such as pollution, chemical exposure and sunlight. Excess exposure to free radicals can result in damage to lipids, proteins and even DNA. Although some free radical production is necessary, excessive damage can lead to negative health effects.

Antioxidants can come from many sources, including beta-carotene from orange, yellow and leafy green vegetables; lycopene from tomatoes and glutathione from avocados. Even the common nutrients vitamins C and E are considered good antioxidants. The strength of antioxidants and the free radical compounds they’re effective against varies. Thus, it can be beneficial to take in a wide range of superfood ingredients to help fight aging and keep the body healthy.

The MitoGreens Breakdown

MitoGreens delivers 29 plant-based superfood ingredients that each provide unique phytochemicals, antioxidant compounds and vitamins that can help support health, longevity and immunity.

Fruits & Berries

Fruits and berries have high ratings of oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC). Eating foods with high ORAC can increase antioxidant capacity. MitoGreens provides a blend of fruit and berry extracts including blueberry, acerola, bilberry, apple, camu-camu, raspberry, grape seed, elderberry, chokeberry, sweet cherry, blackberry and black currant.

Of these, blueberry is one of the most popular. Blueberries contain the antioxidant vitamin C and polyphenols, including the flavonoids anthocyanins. Anthocyanins can help protect the heart, reduce blood pressure, oxidize “bad” (LDL) cholesterol and reduce inflammation.⁴

Another commonly known superfood is grape seed extract, which contains proanthocyanin. This phytocompound has been shown to help with exercise fatigue, reduce cellular inflammation, improve lipid metabolism, improve intestinal flora, regulate metabolism and improve blood flow.⁵

The last fruit extract highlighted here is elderberry, best known for its immunity-boosting benefits from increasing the production of inflammatory cytokines. Elderberry extract, also known commercially as Sambucol, has shown to be effective in vitro and in human studies for its immunoprotective and immunostimulating properties against influenza.⁶

Vegetables

The MitoGreens vegetable blend includes plenty of cruciferous vegetables: broccoli, brussels sprouts, broccoli sprouts and kale. This group of fibre-rich veggies contain a group of antioxidant compounds known as glucosinolates. These have strong anti-inflammatory properties. Glucosinolates get converted to indoles and isothiocyanates, metabolites that can help eliminate and neutralize toxic compounds.⁷

These veggies are also rich in other antioxidants including vitamins C and E, carotenoids and the antioxidant enzymes catalase, superoxide dismutase and peroxidase. Intake of cruciferous vegetables can help prevent oxidative stress, induce detoxification enzymes, stimulate immune function, protect DNA from methylation and even help with hormone metabolism.⁷

Additionally, MitoGreens contains tomato concentrate, carrot concentrate and onion extract. Tomatoes are a good source of the antioxidant lycopene, which can protect the eyes and the skin, as well as vitamin E. Carrots are a source of carotenoids, including beta-carotene, and onion is a good source of quercetin and flavonoids.

Spices & Herbs

In addition to commonly used fruit and vegetable extracts, MitoGreens went one more step and added some effective herbs and spices. Herbs and spices have a long history in traditional medicine as well as in cooking and as preservatives. MitoGreens contains rosemary, curry extract, clove, garlic, oregano, mint and white pepper extract.

Curry is a common spice used to make curries and spice meats. It contains an active ingredient known as curcumin. This compound can help fight inflammation.⁸ Another common spice ingredient is garlic. Garlic contains bioactive sulfur-containing compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and cardio-protective benefits.⁹

Clove extract contains a rich source of phenolic compounds including eugenol, eugenol acetate and gallic acid. It has both antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.¹⁰ Rosemary provides the polyphenolic compounds rosmarinic and carnosic acid, which have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. Rosemary extract has also been linked to positive anti-aging effects on brain health, memory and mood.¹¹

Quercetin & Green Tea Extract

Quercetin can be considered a super-antioxidant. It’s present in many foods, including kale, apples, broccoli, cherries and berries. The antioxidant effects of quercetin are well-studied for healthy outcomes and prevention. Quercetin is highly soluble and bioavailable. Its mechanism of action includes regulation of another antioxidant—glutathione—and regulation of enzymatic activity and ROS activity, maintaining oxidative balance in the body.¹²

Quercetin is also an all-natural zinc ionophore. Ionophores are substances that transport compounds across the cell wall barrier into the centre of the cell. Quercetin can help transport zinc into the cells, where it can perform its function, including stopping viral reproduction. A few trials have shown that quercetin combined with vitamin C and other immunity-boosting ingredients can have positive antiviral effects, reducing symptoms and negative outcomes.¹³

Another common all-natural zinc ionophore is green tea’s active ingredient, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG).¹⁴ Green tea consumption and green tea extract has been shown to significantly increase plasma antioxidant capacity, including levels of the antioxidant glutathione.¹⁵ Additionally, green tea extract can reduce absorption of the highly oxidative mineral iron. Green tea is also a metabolic support, helping increase thermogenesis, fat oxidation and improving insulin sensitivity.¹⁶

The Super Antioxidant L-Ergothioneine

In addition to the antioxidants and the potent phytochemicals provided by the 29 ingredients in MitoGreens, it also contains the super-antioxidant L-ergothioneine in the form of MitoPrime.

L-ergothioneine can be found naturally but not readily synthesized in the body and is acquired exclusively through diet. It can be obtained from mushrooms, black beans, red meat, oats and rye. Low levels of this thiol amino compound are considered a risk factor for age-related disorders.¹⁷ Supplementing with L-ergothioneine may have beneficial effects on aging and immunity.

L-ergothioneine is extremely resistant to oxidation, unlike the super-antioxidant glutathione, which is rapidly oxidized. L-ergothioneine can scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS), reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and even reactive chlorine species (RCS), protecting cells from damage.¹⁸ L-ergothioneine is also concentrated and can move throughout the body to where high rates of oxidation occur. It can therefore help protect against mitochondrial DNA damage, protein oxidation, cytokine inflammatory response and lipid peroxidation.¹⁹

L-ergothioneine is also considered a senolytic that destroys, removes and prevents the accumulation of senescent cells, turning back the progression of age-related conditions and clearing out damaged and dying cells to help rejuvenate.

Benefits of L-Ergothioneine

Performance Versus Other Antioxidants

L-ergothioneine can be considered not just a strong antioxidant, but even more effective than other common antioxidants including glutathione, vitamin C and CoQ10. One study showed that L-ergothioneine was 3000 percent more effective than glutathione at eliminating oxidants and decreased lipid peroxidation 200 percent.²⁰ It also remains active longer than glutathione—5400 percent longer.

In another study, compared with CoQ10, ergothioneine was 270 percent better at limiting lipid peroxidation when cells were exposed to a toxin.²¹ An in vitro study showed that mushroom-derived ergothioneine outperformed vitamin C and glutathione in its scavenging ability against reactive species.²²

Aging Prevention

L-ergothioneine’s potent antioxidant abilities result in positive outcomes when it comes to aging. L-ergothioneine can reduce inflammatory stress and blood cell oxidation, protect against cardiometabolic disease, protect skin cells against UV radiation and protect the eyes against oxidative damage.

L-ergothioneine can also provide neuroprotection. It can accumulate in the brain and provide protection to brain cells, prevent neuroinflammation and promote neurogenesis. In fact, low levels of L-ergothioneine have been linked to neurological disorders and neurogenerative diseases of aging.²³

Immune Support

Immune support is probably one of the most talked-about topics these days. L-ergothioneine has been identified for its ability to benefit immune function. One research paper outlined the benefits of L-ergothioneine, including its ability to reduce inflammation, scavenge free radicals, mitigate respiratory distress, protect endothelial cells, and protect the lungs and liver.²⁴

MitoGreens: One Powerful Superfood Greens Supplement

NNB Nutrition has combined the super-antioxidant power of MitoPrime with the 29 potent superfood ingredients in MitoGreens. It delivers a high ORAC, is non-GMO and gluten-free and, at only 100 milligrams per serving, has very good applications in many supplements including greens powders, RTDs, gummies or capsules.

This formula will support healthy aging, cognitive and immune function and can have use within sports nutrition, antioxidants, wellness and energy categories. Companies such as the UK’s Naughty Boy Lifestyle are even combining MitoGreens with creatine to further maximize sports performance.

For more information on NNB Nutrition, MitoGreens and MitoPrime, visit www.nnbnutrition.com.

References:

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