Rheal Superfoods review: Rheal Superfoods' powders and energy bars are a healthy boost that won’t leave you bankrupt | The Sun

HEALTH is wealth, and when it comes to packing plenty of superfoods, sometimes it can be helpful to supplement.

That’s where Rheal — a superfood brand who says it's on a mission to encourage more people to live a healthier, happier life through the power of superfoods — comes in.

Although I had heard of Rheal before, several of my friends were clueless; this is a brand that’s expanding rapidly (it's one of the quickest-growing businesses in the UK) but it's not quite a household name yet.

The fact that it was loved by all five of the Dragons on Dragon’s Den back in 2021 definitely says something, though.

And, as I’m about to reveal, there's a good reason why Rheal was so popular among some of the UK’s most renowned multi-millionaire investors.

I tried a range of products to see what the fuss was about, and to give you the inside scoop on exactly what Rheal is about…

• Shop powders and energy bars at Rheal Superfoods – here

Pros

• A great selection of products 
• Great ingredients — nothing fake
• Affordable price point compared to other brands

Cons

• Some of the powders don’t taste great
• The bars do contain sugars

Rating: 4.5/5

Rheal Superfoods review

"Healthier habits are just a click away", according to Rheal.

Most read in Product Reviews

RAINING CHAMPION

Best compact umbrella UK 2023: We tested 11 small but mighty brollies

Lashing it down

I tried 13 of the best waterproof mascaras to carry you through autumn

RIGHT AS RAIN

Best umbrella UK 2023, tried and tested: we reviewed 16 of the best brollies

GREEN MACHINE

I’ve tried a lot of green powders and Athletic Greens is by far the tastiest

And it's not wrong; the Rheal website really is a haven of health.

The range of products is small, but I always believe in quality over quantity, so I assume that Rheal really does place a heavy emphasis on perfecting its small range of superfood powders and energy bars. 

You can take the quiz on the site to find products suited to your needs and lifestyle. However, for the purpose of this review, I tested some of the brand’s best selling products, including three of its Superfood Blend powders and the range of Energy Bars.

The products I tried were all ones that I felt suited my needs and lifestyle. I love anything that supports gut health and hormone health, so naturally I was attracted to products that were aimed at helping these areas.

Plus, I am a snacker, so the Energy Bars seemed like an obvious pick.

• Shop Superfood Powders at Rheal – here
• Shop Energy Bars at Rheal – here

READ MORE:

• Athletic Greens review
• Huel review
• Exante review
• Bulk Protein review
• Revive Collagen review
• Bala Bangles review
• Grenade Carb Killa review
• Mindful Chef review
• Lumen review
• Oura Ring review

What is Rheal?

You might be familiar with the brand Rheal; it was loved by all five of the Dragons on Dragon’s Den back in 2021.

Put simply, it's a superfood brand, which aims to support various aspects of health.

Rheal was founded by Charlotte Ali and Sean Ali. They met at University, and both suffered with health ailments; Charlotte discovered in 2012 that she has Coeliac disease, while Sean was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma — a type of cancer — in 2018, aged just 26 (he is now in remission). 

This inspired Charlotte and Sean to set out to make the power of superfoods accessible for everyone. The couple says: “Our blends contain the most nutrient dense ingredients on the planet, to give you what you need to thrive.”

Rheal also has a planet-friendly focus. With every order, Rheal plants a tree on your behalf with its charity partner, Ecologi. So far, it's planted over 80,000 trees across the world.

I am a sucker for a health-food brand, especially one that claims to be natural. In fact, over my many years as a journalist, I’ve tried and reviewed endless brands (some good, some not so good), so I was excited to get stuck into Rheal’s products.

For this review, I tried the range of Energy Bars, as well as three of the superfood powders: Balance Tonic for female health, Gut Feel for gut health and Clean Greens, which is aimed at overall wellness including energy and immunity. 

First impressions

When my order arrived, I loved the simple, earthy feel of the packaging. The box that my order came in was a dark green colour, while the products themselves are packaged in plain brown cardboard, with splashes of other colours thrown in. The powders themselves are either green or berry purple. 

The design of the products is a lot like that of the Rheal website, which is primarily white and green, oozing that fresh feeling. 

On the site, as I mentioned, you can take a quiz to discover the products best suited to you.

You can even create your own Rheal Bundle, where you’re able to mix and match your favourite Rheal products every month. This subscription model allows you to save money on products. 

The energy bars I ordered came in a Variety Box, which was filled with three of each of the Energy Bar flavours: Banana Bread, Blueberry Muffin, Hazelnut Cacao and Peanut Butter.

The packets are nice and clear with the words ‘Rheal Energy’ stamped across them. The bars themselves just look healthy; they’re like a rectangular jumble of fruit and nuts and other healthy looking things.

They’re not coated in chocolate or anything like that, as so many ‘healthy’ bars often are. 

So far, so good.

• Energy Bar Variety Box, £26 from Rheal Superfoods – buy here

Performance

Like with any product, you’d need to use Rheal Superfoods for a good while to really notice any results.

The powders I tried do take time to really kick in and have an effect on the body; good things take time, after all. 

On the Rheal website, there’s a short timeline about the effects you can feel if you take the Rheal Balance Tonic (aimed at aiding female hormones) over several months.

The site says that in week 1, 'stress feels less overwhelming and your new healthy habit is motivating a positive mindset'.

The positive mindset part is certainly true; as I mixed this powder with water I felt like I was doing my body the world of good.

By month three to six, Rheal claims that: ‘Female health issues are easier to manage and happen less often. Brain fog clears, sleep improves and your body feels like it is working with you, not against you.’

• Balance Tonic, £25 from Rheal Superfoods – buy here

The Rheal Energy Bars however, which contain 68mg of natural caffeine, from the Brazilian superfood, Guarana, definitely gave me an instant boost.

Much like my morning coffee, these had an instant effect. Calorie-wise, each bar contains around 200 calories, so they make a decent mid-morning snack.

I would avoid having these in the late afternoon or evening, as the caffeine may keep you awake. They’re called Energy Bars after all, and it’s unlikely you’d want this in the evening unless you have a training session, or if you work late into the night.

It’s worth nothing that each bar also contains six to seven grams of fibre, so they help keep things moving down there. And this was something I definitely, ahem… noticed. 

How does Rheal taste?

Rheal literally tastes real.

That’s because it’s made with natural ingredients, as opposed to a bunch of fake ingredients.

The Rheal Energy Bars were a firm favourite of mine — I felt healthy just eating them. The four flavours are Banana Bread, Blueberry Muffin, Hazelnut Cacao and Peanut Butter and surprisingly, the Banana Bread flavour was my absolute favourite. 

The bars taste gooey and chewy without sticking in your teeth, and they’re sweet without being sickly. 

I’ll be honest: The Rheal Clean Greens powder tasted awful. And although I knew it was doing me the world of good thanks to the list of ingredients (Baobab Powder, Barley Grass Powder, Chlorella Powder, Moringa Powder, Pineapple Powder, Wheatgrass Powder, Spirulina Powder), it really wasn’t kind to my taste buds. 

However, once I mixed it into a smoothie, it was completely palatable. 

The berry taste of the Balance Tonic powder was perfectly good alone, and the Gut Feel powder also tasted pretty nice, which I’ll put down to the freeze-dried apple and baobab, which help to add some natural sweetness.

Either way, I would mix all of these into smoothies, or even mix them with yoghurt or porridge and fruit; not only to add an extra kick, but also to disguise any powder tastes that you might dislike.

• Shop Superfood Powders at Rheal – here

What's in Rheal?

There’s a real mix of flavours and ingredients in Rheal products, but there’s no doubt that every product is filled with goodness. 

The Energy Bars, which are gluten free and plant based, do contain a fair bit of sugar; the Blueberry Muffin flavour, for example, contains 8.4g.

However, it also contains a very impressive 7g of fibre, which helps to stop the sugar high you might otherwise experience.

The sugar isn’t necessarily from fruit, as you may think; instead it comes from date syrup, brown rice syrup and coconut sugar, which despite being natural sugars, are ultimately still sugar. Usually I would try and swerve all these BUT the bar is an energy bar, aimed at giving you energy, so the sugar and the natural caffeine will do just that.

The Banana Bread flavour (my personal favourite) contains organic freeze-dried banana powder, banana pieces, cacao nibs and chia seeds, which added a little crunch.

The powders contain a mix of superfoods blended together. The Balance Tonic, aimed at female health, also contains 500mg of KSM-66 Ashwagandha (a shrub often used for stress).

This is the highest grade of Ashwagandha available and it's claimed to help mental and sexual health.

Other ingredients include Wild Blueberry, Hibiscus, Baobab and Maca Root.

The Balance Tonic has also been made with the support of Dr Faiza Khalid, a doctor in functional medicine, so I knew I was supporting my body with a decent product.

The Gut Feel powder contains five gut-friendly superfoods, which is pretty impressive and of course, should go a long way to supporting the gut (AKA the second brain).

Inside Gut Feels, you’ll find Baobab Powder, Apple Powder, Barley Grass Powder, 600mg of Actazin Kiwi Fruit Powder and a zingy Ginger Powder. 

Kiwi Fruit Powder has supposedly been clinically proven to support digestion and healthier gut bacteria, so that’s a positive. 

There really are no hidden nasties in any of the powders and having tried many, many health powders only to discover that their delicious taste is due to sugar and myriad unpronounceable ingredients, I'll admit I'm impressed with the contents of Rheal’s superfood powders. 

• Balance Tonic, £25 from Rheal Superfoods – buy here
• Gut Feels Powder, £25 from Rheal Superfoods – buy here
• Clean Greens Powder, £25 from Rheal Superfoods – buy here

Where can I buy Rheal Superfoods?

You can buy Rheal products via the brand's website, where orders over £30 receive free delivery. 

The Variety Box of Energy Bars that I enjoyed cost £26 for 12 bars, or you can buy 12 bars of any specific flavour for £26. 

If you subscribe to receive bars on a regular basis, the cost of each multipack goes down to £22.10.

The superfood powders each cost around £25 and they each contain 30 servings, so you’re getting a month's worth of powder.

As with the bars, you get a discount on products if you sign up or a monthly subscription.

Other places where you can buy Rheal include Holland & Barrett, Amazon and even Selfridges. 

Rheal Superfoods alternatives

As soon as I opened the Rheal Energy Bars, I was reminded of Nakd Bars, which are similar in the sense that they contain fruit and nuts all squished and cold-pressed together. 

When it comes to powders, there’s a huge market. Athletic Greens (aka, AG1) is one of the leading greens powders on the market right now (read our Athletic Greens review here).

There are several other cheaper options too such as Free Soul’s FS Greens powder.

As for other superfood powders that, like Rheal, aren’t filled with junk ingredients, there aren’t many. Aussie brand Nutra Organics seems to do a nice range, as does Fem21, which is aimed at female health.

The verdict: Does Rheal work?

If you need a healthy boost that won’t leave you bankrupt (as many of these healthy foods often do), then I would definitely recommend Rheal. 

I am really glad to see that its superfood powders aren’t packed with sugars and fake ingredients, and instead rely on a core group of ingredients that contribute to wellness in a positive way.

Plus, it’s great that you can choose a superfood powder that supports a specific area of your health; for example, female health can be boosted with the Balance Tonic, and the mix of powders has been specially formulated to help women. 

The Energy Bars, despite containing the sugars that I mentioned, are great for that little boost, plus they’re a nice way to get some fibre, which so many of us are lacking. (It’s recommended that we get about 30g of fibre every day and these bars really do contribute a good amount).

READ MORE SUN STORIES

Exact date millions of Brits will get £300 cost of living payment revealed

Love Island’s Ekin-Su wows in jaw-dropping dress at The Sun’s Who Cares Wins

I really like the site generally as it’s clean and crisp and the products are presented well. Overall, Rheal is a handy addition to everyone’s life, and even if your diet is already immaculate, there’s no harm in adding some extra goodness!

• Shop Superfood Powders at Rheal – here
• Shop Energy Bars at Rheal – here

Source: Read Full Article