Green powders in Prague: A global health trend comes to Vinohrady

While we all know we should be eating a balanced diet every day – the recommended 5-8 servings of fruits and veggies, plus antioxidants and healthy fats – the truth is that, for many of us, getting all the required nutrients in the fast-paced world we live in doesn’t always come easy.

In the Czech Republic, poor nutrition has even played a role in reduced life expectancy: new research by General University Hospital (VFN) and the 1st Medical Faculty of Charles University revealed that life expectancy for women is down by 0.7 years and for men by a whole year. Experts blame Covid for giving rise to behaviors that can lead to chronic circulatory diseases as well as diets high in sugars and fats, giving way to a rise in obesity in both children and adults.

Aneta Urbaskova, a spokesperson for Australian premium nutritional products Nuzest, believes that those who are looking to get healthy face another challenge.

Nuzest’s bestselling Good Green Vitality is among the wildly popular “green powders” trend that is gaining fans around the world, including celebrities who love to hawk them on social media. Nutrient-packed blends that can be added to water, juices and smoothies, the powders aren’t meant to replace a healthy diet, but to complement it.

Originally founded by Australian entrepreneur Trevor Bolland, who was seeking a nutritional product to help his daughter Monique, who had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 22, the Czech arm of Nuzest has been on the market for five years.

“It’s a great supplement for improving daily energy and vitality, supporting the nervous, immune, adrenal, brain and cardiovascular systems, and feed the gut with over 8 billion friendly bacteria and soluble fibers,” says Urbaskova who notes that the products are also vegan and environmentally-friendly. "Our pea protein is grown and manufactured in Europe within the principles of the circular economy."

Good Green Vitality packs 77 nutrients that include not just greens, fruits, and vegetables, but also plant extracts, and gut-friendly probiotics.

The ingredients list includes bioflavonoids, black currant, milk thistle, resveratrol, rose hips, ginseng, green tea, coenzyme Q10, hawthorn, grape seed, turmeric, spirulina, seaweed, flax, chlorella, ginger, licorice, spinach, seaweed, shiitake, and more.

Good Green Vitality is constantly under development and is science-backed as all Nuzest's products. Hundreds of scientific peer-reviewed studies are behind the product's ingredients list. It is formulated so that the ingredients, forms of ingredients, and quantities complement each other. 

For Urbaskova and her brother, the product played a role in their personal lives as well.

“When my father got sick with cancer in 2015, we as a family really dove into all possible cures, looking at documentaries on how to eat for health, learning as much as we could.”

During their research, the siblings discovered the importance of good nutrition. It made the family realize the important connection between diet and health.

When Urbaskova’s father unfortunately died in 2016, it pushed her to quit her job and look for something else that felt more purposeful and fulfilling – and the quality and uniqueness of Nuzest products (nothing similar was available in the Czech market at the time) encouraged her to start a local distribution point for it.

Her brother joined her during that time, and together, they have continued growing the company in both the Czech and Slovakian markets.

“As the brand was just starting to grow in Europe, I actually got to meet the founder and the doctors behind the product at a conference for distributors in Sydney, and since that time, we have met multiple times,” Urbaskova says. “We attended Prague’s Evolution Festival several times, where we always get great feedback on our products, so it seemed like the right timing.”

Due to the products’ increasing popularity, Urbaskova and her brother Stepan Toman are happy to report that customers can now find Good Green Vitality and other top supplements from Nuzest such as Clean Lean Protein, and Kids Good Stuff in the GoFresh health food store in Vinohrady or order them online.

Given the rise in vegan and plant-based diets, the need for added protein has also become critical for many.

Clean Lean Protein is a complete vegan protein that’s just as powerful as whey. Additionally, it’s easy to digest and absorb. The measured digestibility of Clean Lean Protein is 98 percent meaning that 98 percent of protein is really digested in our bodies. Not only do you get a quick and tasty amount of protein in a glass, but you also get all nine essential amino acids needed for body growth and repair. 

Kids Good Stuff provides what’s been missing in nutritional powders: a super tasty quality smoothie mix that provides children with a balanced mix of protein, vitamins and minerals. Kids Good Stuff contains more than 55 ingredients (including 23 vitamins and minerals, probiotics and prebiotics, protein, and other ingredients such as beta-glucans, lutein and dandelion extract).

Eating a variety of whole, fresh foods is still the ideal way to get all the nutrients you need. But in today’s hectic world, we don’t always eat as well as we should, so adding a highly concentrated powder containing extracts from fruits and vegetables, vitamins and minerals in their natural form, probiotics, proteins, plant enzymes, herbs, phytochemicals and fiber to your diet can make a world of difference. 

“Our products provide almost all your daily nutrients of vitamins, mineral extracts, and vegetables and fruits in one single spoon or sachet,” Urbaskova says. “They're meant for people who would like to have a more balanced nutritional approach as well as those who find it difficult to get in all the nutrients they need due to lifestyle.”