Ingredients
What Is Inulin?
Inulin is a soluble, fermentable fiber - a fructan - found naturally in chicory root, onions, garlic, leeks, Jerusalem artichoke and bananas. On supplement and
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Gut & Digestive Wellness
Prebiotics
Can You Get Prebiotics From Food?
Yes. Everyday foods supply fermentable fibers that function as prebiotics, including onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus, bananas, oats, barley, apples and legumes
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Fiber
Soluble vs. Insoluble Fiber: What's the Difference?
Soluble fiber dissolves in water and forms a gel-like material; it is found in oats, beans, apples and citrus. Insoluble fiber does not dissolve and adds bulk;
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Prebiotics
What Are Synbiotics?
A synbiotic is a product or food combination that contains both live probiotic microorganisms and prebiotic fibers - ingredients designed to add microbes and fe
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Prebiotics
Prebiotic Foods vs. Supplements: What's the Difference?
Prebiotic foods - onions, garlic, bananas, oats, legumes - supply fermentable fibers together with vitamins, minerals and other plant compounds. Prebiotic suppl
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Prebiotics
What Is a Prebiotic Powder?
A prebiotic powder is a powdered supplement whose main ingredients are fibers that serve as food for gut microorganisms, such as inulin, fructooligosaccharides
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Prebiotics
Prebiotics vs. Probiotics: What's the Difference?
Probiotics are live microorganisms - bacteria or yeasts - found in fermented foods and some supplements. Prebiotics are non-living compounds, usually fibers, th
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Prebiotics
What Are Prebiotics? A Simple Guide
Prebiotics are types of fiber and other compounds that your body does not digest but that serve as food for the microorganisms living in your gut. They occur na
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Ingredients
What Are Digestive Enzymes?
Digestive enzymes are proteins that help break down food components: amylase for starches, lipase for fats, protease for proteins, lactase for lactose and cellu
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Ingredients
Chlorella vs. Spirulina
Chlorella is a freshwater green alga; spirulina is a blue-green alga (a cyanobacterium called Arthrospira). Both are dried and sold as dark green powders in gre
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What Does 'Superfood' Actually Mean?
'Superfood' is a marketing term, not a scientific or regulatory category. No official body defines it, and no food earns the label by meeting fixed criteria. It
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Label Reading
How to Read a Greens Powder Ingredient Label
Start with the serving size and servings per container, then work through the ingredient list: check whether each ingredient has a stated amount or is grouped i
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Greens Powder vs. Multivitamin
Greens powders and multivitamins are different categories of supplement. A greens powder is a blend of dried plant ingredients, sometimes with fibers, probiotic
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Greens Powder vs. Whole Foods
Whole foods provide fiber variety, volume, satiety and nutrients in natural proportions; greens powders provide convenience, long shelf life and specific dried
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Can Greens Powder Replace Vegetables?
No. No supplement is an equivalent replacement for a varied diet of whole vegetables and fruits. Whole vegetables provide water, volume, a broad mix of fibers a
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Greens Powders
What Is a Greens Powder?
A greens powder is a powdered dietary supplement made from dried and powdered vegetables, grasses, algae and other plant ingredients, often with added fibers, p
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Ingredients
What Is Green Tea Extract?
Green tea extract is a concentrated preparation of compounds from green tea leaves (*Camellia sinensis*), typically including catechins such as EGCG and, in mos
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What Is Guarana?
Guarana is a climbing plant native to the Amazon basin whose seeds contain naturally occurring caffeine - typically at a higher concentration than coffee beans.
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How to Read an Energy Supplement Label
Work through an energy supplement label in order: caffeine per serving, servings per container, serving size, stimulant ingredients (including caffeine-containi
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Hidden Sources of Caffeine
Beyond coffee, caffeine hides in black and green tea, chocolate, guarana, yerba mate, green tea extracts in supplements, some soft drinks, and certain medicatio
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Caffeine
When Should You Stop Drinking Caffeine Before Bed?
Research generally suggests avoiding caffeine in the hours before bedtime, with many studies and sleep organizations pointing to the afternoon-to-early-evening
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Caffeine
How Long Does Caffeine Stay in Your System?
Caffeine's average half-life in healthy adults is about 5 hours, meaning roughly half the caffeine from a cup of coffee is still in your system five hours later
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Caffeine
Coffee vs. Energy Supplements: How to Compare Caffeine
Compare caffeine sources by seven factors: caffeine per serving, serving size, servings per container, ingredient sources of caffeine, additional ingredients, s
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Caffeine
What Does 50-60 mg of Caffeine Mean?
Fifty to sixty milligrams of caffeine is roughly half the amount in an 8-ounce cup of brewed coffee, and a bit more than a cup of black tea. It is a moderate am
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How Much Caffeine Is in Coffee, Tea and Common Energy Products?
An 8-ounce cup of brewed coffee contains roughly 80-100 mg of caffeine. Black tea has about 47 mg per 8 oz, green tea about 28 mg, a 1-oz espresso shot about 63
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Ingredients
What Is Matured Hop Extract?
Matured hop extract is a preparation made from the flowers of the hop plant (Humulus lupulus) that has gone through a maturation process after extraction, durin
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What Are Botanical Extracts?
A botanical extract is a concentrated preparation made by drawing compounds out of plant material with a solvent such as water or ethanol, then concentrating th
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How to Read a Stimulant-Free Supplement Label
Verify a stimulant-free claim by reading the ingredient list in full: check the serving size, look for caffeine and caffeine-containing botanicals (guarana, gre
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Decaf vs. Caffeine-Free vs. Stimulant-Free
Decaf means most naturally occurring caffeine has been removed from coffee or tea, though trace amounts remain. Caffeine-free means the product contains no caff
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Caffeine-Free vs. Stimulant-Free
Caffeine-free means the product contains no caffeine. Stimulant-free means it contains no stimulant ingredients - caffeine being the main one on supplement labe
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What Does Stimulant-Free Mean?
Stimulant-free means a product is formulated without stimulant ingredients - substances like caffeine that increase activity in the nervous system. But the phra
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Label Reading
How to Read an Aloe Supplement Label
Read an aloe supplement label in order: identify the plant part (inner leaf gel, latex or whole leaf), note processing terms (stabilized, decolorized, filtered)
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Processing
Aloe Vera Juice vs. Gel vs. Powder
Aloe vera juice is a liquid product; aloe gel refers to the inner-leaf material itself (also sold as topical products); aloe powder is a dried, concentrated for
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Processing
How Aloe Vera Goes From Plant to Powder
Aloe powder is made by harvesting leaves, separating the inner gel (or processing whole leaf), stabilizing the gel, concentrating it, and drying it - commonly b
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Aloe Vera Gel vs. Aloe Latex vs. Whole Leaf
The aloe leaf contains three distinct materials: inner-leaf gel (the clear jelly, source of acemannan), latex (a bitter yellow substance under the skin, contain
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What Is Acemannan?
Acemannan is a long-chain polysaccharide - a complex sugar molecule - found in the inner gel of Aloe vera leaves. It is the component most often referenced in a
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