Athletic Greens: Truth or Trend?

Is Athletic Greens Worth $80 in Nutrition?

• Ingredients and Claims|
• Research on AG1|
• Pitfalls of Taking AG1|
• Can AG1 Replace All Supplements?|
• Should You Try It?|

If you listen to just about any podcast these days, you’ve likely heard your favorite podcaster talking about Athletic Greens, or AG1, a popular greens powder. The claims are pretty comprehensive—using the product daily will replace all your supplements and fill the nutritional gaps in your diet.

But how true are these claims? Can you really clear out your supplement cabinet and replace it with a monthly subscription to Athletic Greens?My colleague Dr. Scott and I reviewed the research and have put together our assessment of the product and its efficacy. Based on the available research, we’ll separate the truth from the hype, and by the end, you should be able to decide whether or not Athletic Greens AG1 is right for you.

Athletic Greens Ingredients and Claims

Athletic Greens (AG1) is a nutrient-dense greens powder supplement whose makers claim is the one supplement you should be taking every day. They claim that with this product, you can replace your daily multivitamin, antioxidants, superfood complex, probiotics, and additional B vitamins.

Its purpose is to help you supplement your diet to cover all your foundational nutrition needs, supporting daily performance and long-term health. According to their website: “It lays the foundation for digestive regularity, focus, immune defense, lasting energy, and helps maintain physical health” [1]. They claim that you should start feeling a difference between 30 and 90 days [1].

The suggested serving is once daily, first thing in the morning, as a dietary supplement. It is suggested that you take it on an empty stomach and mix it in a shaker with 8-10 ounces of cold water until dissolved before drinking [1].

Ingredients:

Macronutrients per serving [1]:

• Calories: 50
• Total carbs: 6 g
• Dietary fiber: 2 g
• Total sugars: <1 g
• Protein: 2 g

If you’ve ever had a greens powder before—especially one that contains spirulina—you might be wondering what it tastes like. The website says it has a subtle sweetness that includes pineapple and vanilla bean flavoring and is sweetened with stevia [1]. If you’re sensitive to the aftertaste of stevia, you might try a travel pack first or find a friend who will let you try it before investing in a whole jar—it’s expensive at around $80 for a one-month supply.

What’s the Available Research on AG1?

That being said, they underwent a small randomized controlled trial (unpublished) in which those who took AG1 for 30 days had 2.9 times more healthy bacteria (L. acidophilus and B. bifidum) in their stool [2].

They also performed a small observational study (unpublished) in which people who took AG1 for 90 days reported better digestion, energy, calmness, and food cravings [2].

Beyond that, they have three in vitro (petri dish) studies in which AG1 was placed in a simulated gut. This research showed that AG1 was easier to absorb than a multivitamin tablet [3]. It also slightly altered simulated gut microbiota, and demonstrated prebiotic effects such as gas and SCFA production [4, 5]. 

Unfortunately, these simulations don’t reflect what would happen in an actual human gut.

There’s no other research that supports the efficacy of the products or any of the website claims.

Potential Pitfalls of Taking Athletic Greens

Generally speaking, athletic greens seem like a pretty good product. AG1 is dairy-free, gluten-free, GMO-free, keto, and paleo-friendly, which makes it suitable for most diets, but if you’re particularly sensitive to FODMAPs, pay attention to how your gut feels after consuming this product. 

Those three ingredients are:

• Inulin fiber
• Artichoke
• Broccoli powder

These three ingredients notwithstanding, the list of whole-food sourced ingredients is relatively comprehensive, including a mushroom complex, antioxidant fruits and vegetables, probiotics, herbs, and micronutrients.

Importantly though, because there’s no independent research on AG1, and the FDA doesn’t regulate supplement ingredients, you’re mostly relying on the company’s claims regarding what’s actually in the jar. That being said, AG1’s website says the company doesn’t compromise when it comes to product formulation and quality [1].

The product is manufactured in a facility registered with the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration, which ensures that therapeutic products are safe and suitable for their intended use in Australia), compliant with GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) standards, and recognized by NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) International [1]. These organizations make sure all products are 100% traceable for analysis and microbiology testing [1].

NSF International, which upholds some of the strictest industry standards, has registered AG1 as NSF Certified for Sport (1). AG1 has regular independent inspections of their facility and undergoes toxicological reviews to verify products and label claims, and to prevent unsafe levels of contaminants [1].

Does AG1 Really Replace Those Other Nutrition Supplements?

Before addressing the supplement question, I think it’s worth highlighting that no supplement will fix an unhealthy diet. Eating well should be at the top of your list of health priorities, whether you choose to venture into supplements or not. 

If you eat a diet rich in whole foods and take a daily vitamin and probiotic, you’re likely getting the nutrients you need without the additional cost of an expensive greens powder like this one. That being said, if you’re traveling or have a schedule where access to healthy food might be unpredictable, a product like Athletic Greens could be a good stopgap from time to time.

For example, you can’t compare this product to a bottle of B complex or a high-quality multivitamin like MultiSelect by Moss to determine whether you’re getting the same nutritional value from each because the actual dosing isn’t shared on the AG1 label.

Furthermore, they list two strains of probiotics in the ingredients without any CFUs, so it’s probably not advisable to abandon your probiotic supplement either. Everyone’s gut health and microbiome are different, but when it comes to replacing supplements with a single product like this, you’re simply not comparing apples to apples.

Also, there’s notably no vitamin D in the product at all. If you live in an area where sunshine is in short supply or have other medical reasons to avoid the sun, you’ll likely need to keep at least one other supplement in the cabinet with AG1.

The final comment I’ll make on the ingredients is regarding the vitamin A and Vitamin B12 listed on the label. These vitamins can be sourced in a number of ways—vitamin A can be retinol or beta-carotene—but there’s no specificity anywhere on the label or website.

 Vitamin B12 often comes in the form of methylcobalamin or cyanocobalamin. Some people tolerate methylcobalamin better, but again, no specificity on the label or website. It might also be the case that these vitamins are listed because they’re present in some of the greens listed on the label. It’s really hard to know exactly what you’re getting here. Just something to consider.  

Industry-Funded Research (Proceed with Skepticism)

What we do know from other clinical research looking at some of the ingredients inside the jar, is that there’s potential for benefit.

Unfortunately, the research we found is (again) industry-funded by makers of similar products, which weakens the credibility of the results—but there are some interesting findings nonetheless. 

For example, systematic reviews of clinical trials have found that greens powders and liquid concentrates of leafy greens and fruits high in antioxidants may improve antioxidant levels, reduce oxidative stress, promote heart health, and improve metabolic health [6, 7].

An older but larger randomized controlled trial found that a greens mix product showed a trend toward increasing vitality and energy, but was unable to draw a definitive line [8]. 

Other randomized controlled trials, though not as large, have found that greens supplements improve blood pressure, reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, and may improve energy levels and sexual function [9, 10, 11, 12, 13]. 

The most similar product research we looked at was for Juice Plus+®, in terms of ingredients. Their findings (also industry-funded and not objective) included improvements to immune health and antioxidant benefits, which could add some support to the claims AG1 makes about its product [11].

Should You Try Athletic Greens?

Based on the label and customer reviews, we don’t think it would hurt to try this product, but the idea that it can replace all your other supplements is likely a bit of a stretch. Even if the health benefits are slightly exaggerated by the research claims (which we can neither confirm nor disconfirm because of the lack of independent studies), customer reviews seem to show that people like the product. If you’re starting at zero and add this product to your daily routine, chances are decent you’ll experience some improvement in your overall health and wellness.

There are no artificial sweeteners in the product, although if you’re sensitive to the aftertaste of stevia, you might not like AG1. There seems to be a good profile of micronutrients and nutritional value in the product, even if you don’t have access to the potencies. The product is suitable for most special diets, but again, if you’re particularly sensitive to FODMAPs, pay attention to how your gut feels after consuming this product.

Because of the lack of specificity on the AG1 label, we don’t recommend discontinuing your probiotic supplement in favor of this product. And if you need vitamin D3, this product doesn’t contain any, so keep taking that, too.

Always talk to your healthcare provider before starting a new supplement, especially if you’re taking prescription medication or have dangerous allergies. If you’d like additional guidance on how to optimize your health and wellness, reach out to our clinic. We’d love to help!

The Ruscio Institute has developed a range of high-quality formulations to help our patients and audience. If you’re interested in learning more about these products, please click here. Note that there are many other options available, and we encourage you to research which products may be right for you.