UPDATED JUNE 2020
It Works Greens
It Works Greens is a greens-based superfood powder. The following It Works Greens review will take a close look at this formula to determine its value and effectiveness. According to the manufacturer’s website, It Works Greens boasts the following benefits:
- Promote a healthy pH balance by alkalizing the body
- Natural Detoxify the body
- Support digestive health with probiotics
- Antioxidants to fight free radical activity
- Multiple servings of fruits and vegetables in every serving
PRODUCT PROFILE
Product Name: It Works Greens
Company Name: It Works
Website: www.myitworks.com
Product Description: Superfood Green Drink Powder with Probiotics
Price: $35 for a 1-month supply
Rating: 3.8 out of 10
SUPERFOODS
The entire It Works Greens formula is broken down into two “Proprietary Blend” sections. The first section contains a list of approximately 22 different ingredients for a total amount of 2,231 mg (2.2 grams), including green tea extract).
UPDATED OCTOBER 2016
Apparently It Works Greens changed the formula. Currently the label for both the “berry” and the “orange” have two sections… “Greens” and “Whole Foods”. The “Greens” section contains 1080 mg and the “Whole Foods” section contains 1475 mg for a total of approximately 2.5 grams of total nutrition per serving. Oddly, the label claims that each serving (2 level scoops) is 4 grams per serving, which begs the question… what is the other 1.5 grams?
The second section contains a list of another approximately 28 ingredients for a total amount of 330 mg.
There are a number of concerns we have with this formula.
The first major red flag is that the first two ingredients listed under the first proprietary blend section is Soy Lecithin and Soy Protein isolate. We were shocked to see that Soy Lecithin is not only in the product but it is the first ingredient listed. (Meaning the product contains more Soy Lecithin than any other ingredient.)
10/2016 – Soy Lecithin was removed from the new formula. (Or it was removed from the label.) Is this soy free?
Soy Lecithin is a food additive. It is primarily used as a cheap filler. Is it bad for you? Look, we could write pages and pages about the debate as to whether soy lecithin is healthy or unhealthy. There are a lot of academic articles that go back and forth regarding the side effects of soy and soy lecithin.
But more to the point, the total amount of nutrition in one serving of It Works Greens is 4 grams, which is among the lowest potent green drinks we have reviewed on this site. And the leading ingredient is cheap filler?! The same filler used in commercial food products such as Chips Ahoy and Oreo cookies for example. And what percentage of the total formula does this ingredient contribute? We have no idea but it’s the first ingredient listed which means it’s significant.
Another huge concern with It Works Greens is that it appears that there are over 40 total ingredients and the total potency of nutrition per serving is 4 grams. That means that most of the ingredients in the product are so low in terms of potency that they have very little health impact to the body. The only value is having the name of the ingredient on the label for marketing purposes.
Think about this… the second “proprietary blend” section contains 28 ingredients. The total amount of these ingredients combined is 330 mg per serving. That means that the average amount per serving of each of these ingredients is a paltry 12 mg!
10/2016:
Though the new formula has two sections labeled “Greens” and “Whole Foods” and the “Greens” is 1080 mg and the “Whole Foods” is 1475 mg, the same concern applies.
The It Works Greens website claims that there are “52 herbs and superfoods and 34 fruits and veggies” in each serving, including green tea. The total amount of these that appear on the label is a paltry 2.5 grams. We refer to this as “label stacking” -putting numerous ingredients in the formula in very small amounts so that they can appear on the label. The reality is that they are in such small amounts that they’ll have very little impact on the body.
Let’s use some good old-fashioned common sense here… Do you really think that 12 mg of broccoli is going to have any type of health impact on the body? Think about it like this… one gram is approximately .2 teaspoons. 12 milligrams is .012 of a gram. So the amount of broccoli you would be ingesting in each serving of It Works Greens would be like pinching off the smallest, tiniest leaf of a broccoli flower.
It Works Greens superfood section is dramatically underachieving because it uses a cheap food filler as the main ingredient and the overall potency of the ingredients is the lowest we’ve ever seen.
SUPERFOODS SCORE: 3.0
NUTRITIONAL PANEL
The nutritional panel of our reviews is devoted to the ingredients that are not directly categorized as superfoods, for instance, protein, probiotics, enzymes, antioxidants, etc.
It Works Greens does contain some herbs and antioxidants, but as mentioned above, the amount of these ingredients are so hopelessly low, that they really won’t have much impact on the body.
It Works Greens also claims on their website that they have probiotics in the product. If it does, it’s not listed on the label.
Another weird label inconsistency is that the product claims to have 4 grams per serving but the combined ingredients (2,231 mg and 330 mg) add up to just over 2.5 grams. Where’s the other 1.5 grams?
Click Here to See the Supplement Facts, Nutrition Facts & Suggested Use
NUTRITIONAL PANEL SCORE: 3.0
UPDATED OCTOBER 2016
TASTE
Like many other reviews for It Works Greens say, it tastes pretty good. We tried the orange flavor and had no problem with taste or texture. But keep in mind that they use soy lecithin as a food filler, the same ingredient used in commercial cookies and thousands of other processed foods.
In addition, there are very little real superfoods in the product in any significant amount so it’s not like there’s a lot to try and overcome in terms of taste.
TASTE SCORE: 6.0
VALUE
Taking the quality and potencies of the ingredients and comparing them to the price of the product determine value. After reviewing dozens of dozens of products over the years, determining if a product delivers good value for the money becomes second nature.
It Works Greens is 4 grams per serving (apparently) and costs $35 for a 1-month supply. This breaks down to $1.16 per serving for 4 grams. In our opinion, this is not a very good value at all.
10/2016: It’s now $33 for a 1-month supply or $1.10 per serving.
Consider Green Vibrance… 12 grams of high-quality superfoods cost $1.67 per serving. You get 3-times the nutrition as It Works Greens for only $.50 more per serving.
Or consider Total Living Drink Greens, our #1 reviewed superfood drink. You get 10-times the total nutrition (40 grams per serving compared to 4 grams) than It Works Greens for just over $3.00 per serving.
VALUE SCORE: 3.0
IT WORKS GREENS SIDE EFFECTS
We get asked a lot about the side effects of green drinks. There shouldn’t be any side effects of It Works Greens unless you have an allergy to soy. They do use Non-GMO ingredients according to their website, but if you have allergies or sensitivities to soy, we would recommend avoiding this product altogether.
PROS & CONS
Pros:
- Tastes good
- Good amount of fruits and veggies
- Contains Magnesium and Potassium
Cons:
- Very low potent formula
- Uses Soy Lecithin, a common food filler, as its main ingredient
- The incredibly low amounts per serving of the nutrient rich superfoods, antioxidants and herbs make them almost useless
- Extremely overpriced for what you are getting.
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SUMMARY
We make sure our mission statement is to deliver fact-based and objective information about superfood drinks in order to educate the consumer so that they can choose the best product for their needs.
Sometimes, we need to be honest about a product that we don’t feel is a good value. This is the case with It Works Greens. It appears that the company is a multi-level marketing company and as is so often the case with these marketing models, because so much is paid to its distributors, the product quality suffers. That’s not to say that MLM’s are bad. They’re not. Beach Body is a multi-level-marketing company and makes a product called Shakeology which is one of the best green drinks in existence.
The bottom line is It Works Greens is a cheaper, lower-quality product that is overpriced for what you are ingesting. There are much better options with herbs and nutrient rich superfoods in our opinion. Make sure you do your research!
OVERALL RATING: 3.8 out of 10
Order It Works Greens
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Trevor has been writing about superfood greens drinks and general nutrition sine 1995 and since has reviewed 1000’s of products that help people live happy and healthier lives.
I love the comparisons, which really do seem non-biased! I’ve been searching for a more affordable way for my husband and I to pursue better health and have a few options out there. I would put one major note out there for ItWorks greens, though – In comparing it to some of the products you have scored highly, I was seriously unimpressed compared to ItWorks. I AM overweight, and deal with inflammation in some damaged joints. These greens were the first to offer a slight improvement in feeling fatigued (I didn’t feel like I was going to drop at 4pm – just sleepy) AND, most of all, I believe contributed to a significant reduction in joint pain: enough that I could start walking after dropping kids off at school. It doesn’t suit as a meal-replacement, though, and that’s what I’m looking for: a meal replacement with all of the green benefits. So I’m watching the reviews. Leaning toward Shakeology for now (again).
Thank you for what you do!!
I just wanted to let you know, the we do have a protein shake that comes in vanilla and chocolate, that would help with your search of a meal replacement. We can use ours for so many things, we even bake with it!
The protein shakes doesnt have enough nutritional value either to make it a meal replacement! It Works site even says that too!
Thank you for this. My wife & I love the ItWorks Greens. I feel like they’re so expensive & then see the price for Shakeology. And I pay $79 for the ItWorks Greens, not $34 & it’s Still cheaper than the Shakeology. Hope you find what you’re looking for.
I tried a sample of the greens for 2 days and i felt like 80% better then usual….. I got so much done in home and didnt ache. Now i bought 2 packets of grrens from the health food store… And m not impressed…… So im confused!
“IT WORKS” DOESN’T WORK! I have ordered one through my friend…stay away from this company. Sent me one so badly damaged. Very unprofessional way of packing it with invoice so crumpled as if a baby had played with it and a plastic bag is the only way it came in. Not boxed but their IT WORKS plastic bag is what they use to ship. Came on a hot day and prod. was badly damaged. The scooper is so small. Makes you wonder how much vits you really are getting. It’s laughable. Very, very tiny scooper. I told them to get the damaged product and replace it with a new one. Now remember I got this from a friend. The rep on the phone said I can easily do the return online without any issues and that they would send another one after 10 days and their investigation. Really? Okay, so I’ve got pictures so fine but they don’t even want you to get a replacement? So that woman really got to me and so I followed what she said…guess what? You do the return, you have to pay for it! I got signed up for a 3 mo deal. To cancel, online shows you will pay $50! I was never told this. I was told if I bought one tub only I would have to pay $50 to sign up as a customer for one tub vs getting 3 months worth, that it would be cheaper and after that you can cancel. But I was never told that if you get out of it sooner, unhappy, you would have to pay $50 to cancel. Wow. So because they didn’t want to cooperate, I put a dispute on it. I’ve hear of members canceling their own memberships and were given a hard time. I’ve heard of people getting sick. Pls. do your research as this one has royal jelly and another ingredient also that acts like some aspirin and some other ones that can be very harmful for you overtime. Be careful. Plus, I HIGHLY DOUBT that this thing works….not everything is stated as far as how much you are actually getting from each ingredient. They just throw numbers, a combined mg but no breakdown. I’ve seen many good ones out there that have a full breakdown of how much you are actually getting. Yes, this one is made of soy lecithin..by far, the most that is in it. Cheap stuff and dangerous overtime. You owe it to yourselves to have a better and much higher of a quality of green drink. No wonder the owner got wealthy! The only way you can order is through the 3 month deal and they won’t let you off the hook easily. Or you order 1 tub at their price but you have to pay $50. Very catchy, isn’t it? So basically, regardless of anything, they can always take an extra $50 from your account. Smart guy. Check his educational background please! Yes, the one who started all this. Watch your thyroid…overtime, with cheap ingredients, it will destroy your thyroid. Just do yourselves a favor and stay away from this company. They have a wrap for your belly that claims to reduce your belly fat in just 45 mins! Come on now. Bogus claim! y friend who is in this business has always been an MLM fan so I can understand her excitement. But many jump from one biz to another and get excited over bonuses not studying the company’s history and products well.
I am truly sorry that you are not satisfied. I absolutely love the greens. I was able to get rid of my heartburn, headaches and allergies by using this product. I have a real problem with texture of foods so I do not eat any fruits and veggies, so this product has helped me get some nutritional items since I’m getting 8 plus servings in just 1 serving. I have also been able to wean off of caffeine since this product does help with my energy level. The scoop is small, because that’s what the serving size is. You wouldn’t take more servings if it was an over the counter suppliment would you?
As far as the membership thing goes, your friend should have told you all the different options of signing up. (If she was your friend, she would have been wanting to help you health wise, and not be worried about money wise). Sounds like you were signed up for the loyal customer term. That does entail 3 consecutive months of ordering at least one product. We suggest 3 months because most items, being prescriptions or over the counter, does take about 3 months to work fully, even though you can see results before hand. Each person and body is different. but we do have the membership way, which you pay a one time fee of $50. But we also have an option that you can pay retail and just do a one time order.
As far as the CEO of the company, he used to be a tracher. He know what he’s doing. He has doctors behind him (Dr. Don something, I would have to look it up ). We are FDA regulated. These products are safe to use, but we always say to consult with your physician first.
As far as the wraps that you mentioned, well they are our biggest seller. They sell because they work. But we do not claim that they reduce belly fat. We claim that they will help tighten tone and firm the area that is being wrapped.
We are not a weight loss company. We are health and wellness, and we aide in your journey of working out and eating right. We do not claim that all you have to do is use this stuff and you will be skinny. We aim to get you healthy, so then you are able to lose weight with some exercise and or diet.
Our company has helped many people become happier, healthier and honestly, wealthier. People with thyroid problems use our products to help them. Our items have help so many. I wish I could send you all their info so you could see.
So again, I am sorry that this has not worked for you, mainly because your upset over some packaging issues. But should you ever want more information on what we can do, I would love to be able to answer your questions since it seems like you were not told all the right informatuon. I do hope that you would give us another try.
You do know that the only time that the FDA gets involved in when a company has problems with labeling, making claims that can’t be backed up, and when there are adverse reactions. The FDA doesn’t regulate supplement companies at all.
I showed my doctor today and she told me its very dangerous and stay away so she and you saved me!
what portion is dangerous?? Because my PMD said its awesome to take and I showed an herbalist and she stated its one of the best ingredient lists she has ever seen
The Greens are now new and improved and no longer contain any fillers, no soy!
I work in a clinic as a medical assistant. When I heard about itworks I looked into the ingredients. A fellow family friend said her arthritis flared up with greens and I was curious why. And it contains an algae that causes your immune system to become active. Greens wakes me up and working next to coworker who is soo prone to colds and she never gets me sick. Greens has helped my immune system.
Well it’s wise for her to say that because you may end up seeing her less if you don’t take it.
Correction *if you do take it you may end up seeing her less.
Well if it’s so bad why did you order it in the first place?
I LOVE the ItWorks greens. I’ve tried everything to give me energy and wouldn’t give me the jitters. The greens have done exactly that. They make me feel 100% better!! I apologize that some cause a bad name to the company, but if you haven’t tried more than one product more than one time, why judge? It’s not magic. It’s a process. Yes, their wraps do tone in 45 mins. This company is awesome and is helping others daily.
Sounds like you need what I’m using.
Just wanted you to know also that after 2 years of consistently taking ItWorks greens, my thyroid is “waking up” as the doctor put it! I’ve never had to keep lowering my dose like this on over 15 years. You better believe ItWorks is the real deal and very healthy‼️
I have horrible stomach issues and the greens have really helped calm and relax my belly! No more heartburn or nausea!
I love the It Works Greens and what people need to remember is everyone’s body is different. I’ve had customers say the product didn’t work for them but they never used it for a whole month. I have horrible allergies all year long and haven’t had to open my medicine cabinet because of the greens. I’m a stay at home mom of 4 and it definitely gives me a natural energy to continue with my day without feeling drained. Supplements are supposed to be an addition to a healthy diet not replace your diet. Be honest are you really eating your daily servings of fruit and vegetables?? Do you turn to coffee and/or energy drinks for energy? I’ve helped so many people with their digestion just from them using the Greens consistently and they have tried many different pills powders and liquids. Nothing could compare. I say don’t knock it until you tried it or if your doctor says No.
have you ever tested Green Foods- Organic Foods Green Fusion and what are the results
I heard that itWorks recently changed the ingredients in their greens to now be soy free. Since your main issue with the product seemed to be the amount of soy lecithin, would you consider doing another review now that this is no longer listed as an ingredient?
It seems to still have Soy lecithin as the second ingredient still. At least from a Canadian page.
I just checked my jar – the Canadian product does still have Soy as the second ingredient – I searched out reviews today since I am GAINING weight since I started using this product and feeling “off” Wish I would have researched more before buying from a friend.
I used the greens faithfully for 8 months, and gained 18 pounds. I even went to have my thyroid checked to see if that was the cause. Doctor suggested eliminating the greens for a week. Lost 5.5 pounds the first week without them, and no other changes were made. In two weeks, I’ve lost a total of 8.2 pounds. I’m guessing my metabolism doesn’t agree with this product.
Canada doesn’t have the new formula
I second that. I would love to see where it rates now that it has changed
Hey, it did have a main ‘issue’ with the soy lecithin, but if there is no soy lecithin, then whats the extra 1.5 in the serving? If you actually read the page, then would would figure out. My mom ordered this but it does not help as much as other products, and when people like you say things like this, it often gives me a feeling that YOU work for the co.
I just received my first order of ITWorks Greens and the ingredients are different now. It is “soy free, non-GMO, Dairy/Lactose free, Vegan.” I think another review on this product is due. I can’t say how effective it is yet other than the energy boost did it’s job for me without feeling jittery or crashing.
I can’t believe the negative responses about the It Works products. I have used several of them in the past year, and I’m here to tell you, I am very impressed with them. I take the greens every morning. My energy level has doubled. My stomach doesn’t hurt anymore and I haven’t had a cold all year. My Dr. even takes these greens every morning. I have researched the product and I trust it’s ingredients. The formula has been changed, It is Soy Free, Dairy/Lactose Free, Vegan and Non-GMO. It contains no artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners. Get your facts right. As far as the Wraps, I lost inches and pounds after my second wrap. It’s not a miracle worker. You have to do something too. The Wraps do work. I was very impressed with my results. All in all, I have lost 20 pounds in the past year and have kept it off~
Well I can say everyone will have good and bad to say about any product. If it works for you it is because you are consistent and doing the steps needed. I drink my greens and fight an autoimmune disorder and thyroid issues….guess what as a CUSTOMER I saw the difference and after 30 days I kept on…2 years later I have tried to stop it and within 1 week I noticed the impact on my body, my digestion and energy. So it has helped me tremendously and haven’t had any bouts of eye inflammation 😉 and will continue on their products and if you take them annually the company actually pays you back $200 plus another 10% monthly so it is way less than $79 for big 3 month container and $33 for smaller container. I share with my whole family and husband no longer has acid reflux and daughter cleared up on skin issues. I love the greens, probiotic and vitamins and the wraps do work…1 is not a miracle but try 5 months and I saw a huge plus and 70 lbs less and have not gained it back. Lifestyle is a choice and products are a choice. Respect everyone’s opinion and smile….Life goes on.
I am not a Distributor as I love sharing my testimony and have seen many follow through their journey lately and that is exciting.
*I have an autoimmune disease as well, “Graves Disease” and am at my wits end with all the meds I have to take….what is the autoimmune disease you have?
I know there is no such thing as a “Miracle” but if “It Works” can help I would like to try it….looking forward to your reply
Has anyone that has fibroids been helped by It Works. greens.
I’d like to know when this supposed ingredient change happened. I just got some, and I have to assume they’re still selling old stock because soy lecithin is the #1 ingredient.
There was lawsuit in Ca. because of higher levels of lead in ITWorks greens. Has this been removed or reduced since the 2014 suit? I realize that CA. has prop 65, and I live in another state, but I want to know for my own health.
Hi Rhonda,
There were many green drinks impacted by prop 65. We will do some checking and see if we can answer your question. Thank you.
Please do a review on Markus Rothkranz Greens. I’ll venture to say it’s superior to anything you’ve seen or tried.
Hi Cathy,
It looks like a very good product. The website does not show the potency of each ingredient. We will put this on our list to review. Thanks for the suggestion.
I am surprised at the negative review. Two years ago I stopped the it works greens, because I became pregnant, and also stopped working at it works. I decided to focus on my main job instead. I was so sick those two years, it was a nightmare. I had to go to the ER several times, chronic yeast infections, I took the diflucon pill like 6 times in one year, seriously. It was bad. My oldest daughter had been on the greens with me, and same thing. The past 2 years she was off the greens, and caught every bug, she was always sick. Same with my husband, he had been on them too, and was getting random colds, always tired. One day I was thinking about what had changed. Why were we so sick all the time. At first I blamed it on her starting school. Then I was like okay it is our diet. Then I just thought about the greens and I was like I am getting back on them….all of us. We started back in September 2016, and we have had minimal sickness, and this winter has been the worst winter, the sickest season I have seen in a long time. Still going around, but so far, we have all stayed healthy. Sure, there were a few sniffles and my daughter had a high fever one night and she tested for the flu, but she was not sick. She also uses greens every day instead of claritin, During seasonal allergies, I just up her does by an extra 1/2 scoop. This is what everyone is talking about, you might still contract some illness from someone, but you are down, maybe a day vs weeks? I have not had any yeast infections since I started back on greens. that by itself is a testimony! This is just my experience, and I just wanted to share, because it has worked amazing for me and my family.
All I want to know is How To Order “IT WORKS GREEN” and I prefer the packets instead of the canister.
Please reply to me at: gedexc@yahoo.com
Since staring the greens on the go I have had diarrhea everyday. I stopped for a few days and no diarrhea. Started taking them again and diarrhea once more. Quite embarrassing as I was shopping and only made it to a washroom in the nick of time. What should I do?