Is Athletic Greens Worth It? I Tried It for One Month to Find Out (2024)

Key Takeaways

  • Athletic Greens (AG1) is a nutrient-rich powder supplement, popular with fitness influencers on TikTok.
  • The brand promises increased energy levels, improved gut health, and immune system support.
  • Though AG1 had some benefits and was easy to use, the results were not evident enough to justify the cost.

Athletic Greens provided Verywell with samples for this story.

Eating healthy has always been a challenge for me. I have historically been a picky eater—I still ate like a teenager long after being one and am known by loved ones as the queen of boxed macaroni and cheese. Though I’ve improved my eating habits in recent years, like most Americans, I still don’t eat enough vegetables or nutrient-rich foods.

But as I get older, I’m becoming more committed to taking better care of my body. Enter Athletic Greens, a nutritional powder supplement that claims to carry "comprehensive nutrition and gut health in one simple scoop."

What makes Athletic Greens powder, called AG1, such an attractive product is how nutrient-dense it is. The formula includes over 75 vitamins and minerals as well as prebiotics and probiotics. The full list of ingredients range from spirulina and apple powder to spinach leaf powder and pea protein. Even with so many ingredients, the product is vegetarian, vegan, paleo, and keto-friendly, has no GMOs, artificial flavors, sweeteners, or preservatives, and is gluten-free.

The brand promises:

  • Increased energy levels
  • Improved gut health and digestion
  • Immune system boost
  • Physical recovery for athletes

And according to TikTok, AG1 delivers. With 151.2 million #athleticgreens views and hordes of influencers touting the product, it has a large and loyal following who swear by its benefits.

So when I had the opportunity to try AG1 through work, I decided to give it a go myself.

As someone with some pretty poor eating habits, the nutritional value this product offers was a huge draw for me. I was eager to see if such a simple product might make up for the nutrients I’m missing in my daily diet. Because of the product name, I mistakenly thought that it could be a replacement for vegetables—it’s not. But it did reap some small benefits.

CDC: Only 1 in 10 Americans Eat Enough Produce

How I Incorporated AG1 Into My Lifestyle

I had Athletic Greens every day for a month. I tried to drink it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, as the brand suggests. I sometimes drank it straight (powder and water), but I often incorporated it into a smoothie with banana and fruit juice to improve the taste.

It comes with a scoop for the exact measurement of powder you need and a water bottle marking how much water you need to fill. You simply shake and drink. My package also came with a set of five individual packets that I could use when I was traveling or on the go.

Another great aspect of AG1 is that it is so easy to make. I was grateful for that because it wasn’t a chore or big disruption to my daily routine.

I Felt More Energized and Strong Against Illness

I don’t drink coffee, so I don’t have the caffeine hit in the morning that many people get from coffee or tea. But my daily AG1 drink helped improve my mood in the morning and sustain that energy throughout the day.

I also noticed the immune system benefits AG1 promises. I never felt sick during the month, even though I was around sick people, traveled around, and I usually get a cold or some illness when the seasons change. I can’t necessarily attribute this to the product, but I felt healthy and strong, so I would say I’m a believer when it comes to the immune system boost.

The positive effects were most noticeable to me after I took an international trip mid-experiment. I brought some travel packs with me, but I wasn’t as consistent in my intake while I was away. I felt a positive difference in energy levels when I came home and started my regular routine again.

What Didn't Work for Me

While there were some positive effects from drinking Athletic Greens, they weren’t game-changers.

The immune and energy boosts were only slightly observable, and I didn’t feel the difference in gut health that the brand promises. Some users say they felt less bloated and had better digestion, but I didn’t really experience that. For how expensive the product is ($88 for a 30-day subscription after shipping), I was expecting stronger effects and more noticeable results to justify the price moving forward.

I also didn’t love the taste. I actually expected worse, but even so, it has quite a strong medicinal taste that is a little bit bitter, in my opinion. It was definitely better after incorporating it with other ingredients in smoothie form, so I did that more often than not.

Is Athletic Greens Actually Worth It?

As someone looking to improve their eating habits, I’m glad I tried AG1. Whether imagined or not, I felt better knowing I consumed something healthy every day, and it certainly offset my guilt for some of the not-so-healthy food I put in my body.

But unfortunately, the effects weren’t as pronounced as I was hoping for. If I were to keep buying and using Athletic Greens at its current price, I’d want to see the results I hear about on TikTok.

The Final Verdict

Though I felt some modest benefits from drinking Athletic Greens, it wouldn’t be worth the price for me to continue. While it was some comfort knowing I was consuming at least one healthy thing every day, I ultimately think the better choice would be to invest in buying and consuming more nutritious foods on the whole. So instead, I’ll take my money to the grocery store or my local farmer’s market and try to regularly eat more real fruits and veggies (with a box of mac and cheese once in a while).

1 Source

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Only 1 in 10 adults get enough fruits or vegetables.

Is Athletic Greens Worth It? I Tried It for One Month to Find Out (1)

By Emma Brink
Emma Brink is a senior editor at Verywell Health.

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Is Athletic Greens Worth It? I Tried It for One Month to Find Out (2024)

FAQs

Is Athletic Greens Worth It? I Tried It for One Month to Find Out? ›

While there were some positive effects from drinking Athletic Greens, they weren't game-changers. The immune and energy boosts were only slightly observable, and I didn't feel the difference in gut health that the brand promises.

How long does it take to see results from AG1? ›

Take AG1 every day, which is the most important step in ensuring you reap the maximum benefits from AG1. Consistency matters. In most cases, it may take up to 90 days for the benefits to begin to compound.

Do Athletic Greens really work? ›

Is Athletic Greens actually helpful? There are currently no published studies on whether the AG1 greens powder actually works. However, the formula contains various vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and probiotics with real health benefits.

Are things like Athletic Greens worth it? ›

Is Athletic Greens worth it? Everyone has varying health goals. If you feel your diet is very lacking in micronutrients and you have no intolerances to a wide variety of vegetables and plants, then taking Athletic Greens AG1 may be a good green powder supplement for you and worth the high cost.

Is AG1 really worth it? ›

While AG1 does provide some important nutrients that are found in fruits and vegetables, there's currently not enough evidence to show that consuming powdered forms of produce offers the same health benefits as eating whole foods.

Can AG1 cause weight gain? ›

Incorporating AG1 Greens into a balanced diet and exercise regime can enhance weight loss efforts by providing essential nutrients that support metabolism, reduce appetite, and improve overall energy utilization.

Does AG1 help balance hormones? ›

90 Days: Optimize Health

Improved recovery after exercise, alertness, feeling restored, improved metabolism, improvement in signs of aging, and feeling healthier and well. As the body is supported with a balanced gut and a variety of nutrients, longer-term benefits can occur like hormone health and immune balance.

What are the negative side effects of AG1? ›

What Are the Negative Side Effects of AG1? Although AG1 is designed to improve gut health, some may experience diarrhea, bloating, and stomach discomfort when taking ingredients such as chlorella and inulin. Other ingredients, like green tea extract, may also cause allergic reactions.

Will Athletic Greens make me feel better? ›

Reported benefits of Athletic Greens AG1 include support in energy, immunity and gut health, hormonal and neural support, and healthy aging, according to the company.

Does Athletic Greens help hair growth? ›

Athletic Greens (AG1) is a good general-use supplement. That said, it lacks many of the ingredients that are included in the MDhair Regrowth Supplements needed for healthier hair regrowth, including the key plant-based DHT blockers and Vitamins D.

Is there a cheaper alternative to AG1? ›

Best affordable AG1 alternative

Garden of Life is, generally speaking, among the most affordable (and available) supplement brands. This is probably because it's owned by the absolutely massive Nestle, where as many greens powder supplement makers are much smaller operations.

Why are Athletic Greens so expensive? ›

Why is Athletic Greens so expensive? A likely reason for the price being so much higher than the market average is the more than 75 ingredients in Athletic Greens, along with the extensive testing to ensure ingredients are high-quality. This includes third-party testing certifications through NSF For Sport.

Is AG1 better than a multivitamin? ›

AG1's biggest selling point is that it's a solid multivitamin; but unfortunately, it won't cover all your needs. AG1 contains low levels of important micronutrients like calcium and magnesium, which most of us fail to get enough of (8, 9). It's also completely void of vitamin D, iron, and omega-3's.

Do I need a probiotic if I take AG1? ›

One daily serving of AG1 eliminates the need for other supplements such as a multivitamin, probiotics, greens and superfood powders, vitamin B complex, and vitamin C tablets.

How much caffeine is in AG1? ›

The supplement provides different herbs, spices, green powders, and digestive enzymes. One of the things that makes this supplement stand out over the rest is that it contains 95 mg of caffeine, which is the same as one cup of black coffee.

Does AG1 make you gassy? ›

Everything else in AG1 is of questionable benefit at best. Inulin is a source of dietary fibre, and fibres are good overall, but inulin can give you gas especially if you have IBS. Coenzyme Q10, which our body naturally produces, may have cardiovascular benefits when taken as a supplement, but the jury is still out.

How long does it take to see results from drinking greens? ›

However, within a few weeks you should see differences in your energy levels along with the other great benefits that come along with the Greens Powder.

How long does it take for greens to start working? ›

How long does it take for greens to start working? You will start to notice the first signs of benefits within a few days of consumption. The fiber content acts quickly to help with debloating and bowel regularity. The micronutrients will also work to increase natural energy and mental clarity.

Does AG1 help with fat loss? ›

AG1 may indirectly help with weight loss due to its ability to reduce inflammation, but AG1 is not a weight loss product. No significant research suggests that taking AG1 alone will help you lose weight.

How does AG1 make you feel? ›

In a single-arm study that assessed the self-perceived efficacy of AG1 in a group of 35 healthy adults ages 25-48 over 3 months, 97% of participants felt more energy and noticed less gas and bloating at 1 month. At 3 months, 94% of participants felt more calm, and 97% felt digestion improved.

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