Athletic Greens’ AG1 is a greens complement hailed by many as an elixir of wellness.
Regardless of a slew of superstar endorsements and heaps of constructive consumer opinions, nonetheless, not everyone seems to be offered.
Some shrewd commentators have questioned its formulation, elements, and price ticket, main many to wonder if Athletics Greens is value it.
On this article, you’ll be taught what AG1 is, AG1’s elements, why it’s so closely hyped, whether or not it’s an excellent product for you or if an Athletic Greens various could be higher, and extra.
What Is AG1?
AG1 (previously known as Athletic Greens) is a sort of dietary complement generally known as a “greens complement.”
Greens dietary supplements sometimes include:
- Powdered types of greens like leafy greens, broccoli, and beets
- Fruit corresponding to blueberries, raspberries, and goji
- Different nutrient-dense elements like seaweed, probiotic blends, and plant-based digestive enzymes
AG1 greens complement incorporates 75 elements grouped into 5 classes:
- Nutritional vitamins and minerals
- A “Superfood Advanced” (containing numerous natural elements and plant-based compounds)
- A “Mushroom Advanced” (containing reishi mushroom powder and shiitake mushroom powder)
- Dairy-free probiotics
- Herb and plant extracts
The powder is vegetarian, vegan, and keto pleasant. It’s additionally free from GMOs, gluten, dairy, corn, egg, peanuts, lactose, sucrose, animal byproducts, herbicides or pesticides, synthetic colours, flavors, preservatives, or sweeteners.
Athletic Greens, AG1’s producer, claims taking AG1 day by day fills dietary gaps in your food regimen, promotes intestine well being, helps whole-body vitality, and boosts immune perform, vitality ranges, and recovery.
AG1 Elements
One serving (12 grams) of AG1 incorporates the next nutritional vitamins and minerals:
- Vitamin A: 62% of the Each day Worth (DV)
- Vitamin C: 467% DV
- Vitamin E: 553% DV
- Thiamine (vitamin B1): 250% DV
- Riboflavin (vitamin B2): 154% DV
- Niacin (vitamin B3): 125% DV
- Vitamin B6: 176% DV
- Folate: 170% DV
- Vitamin B12: 917% DV
- Biotin: 1,100% DV
- Pantothenic acid: 80% DV
- Calcium: 9% DV
- Phosphorus: 10% DV
- Magnesium: 6% DV
- Zinc: 136% DV
- Selenium: 36% DV
- Copper: 22% DV
- Manganese: 17% DV
- Chromium: 71% DV
- Sodium: 2% DV
- Potassium: 6% DV
For the remaining elements, Athletic Greens makes use of a “proprietary mix” or “advanced.”
What’s A Proprietary Mix?
A proprietary mix is a novel mixture of elements {that a} explicit complement producer makes use of.
Within the elements panel of a complement containing a proprietary mix, producers record the person elements of the combination however don’t disclose how a lot of every ingredient they embody.
Producers typically say they use proprietary blends to maintain rivals from replicating their formulation.
Many savvy customers doubt this reasoning.
Most see proprietary formulations as a method for producers to obfuscate what their dietary supplements include. Doing so permits them to underdose costly elements and pad out their formulations with low-cost, ineffective ones.
Whereas we are able to’t say for sure that Athletic Greens is responsible of this misdirection, there are causes to be suspicious.
The Downside with Athletic Greens’ Elements
Athletic Greens is a US-based firm, which suggests it should adhere to FDA laws. One such regulation stipulates that firms should record elements so as of “share of the Each day Worth” or by weight.
Since Athletic Greens doesn’t record the elements by share of Each day Worth, we are able to infer they record the elements by weight, beginning with probably the most considerable.
The primary ingredient on AG1’s elements record is spirulina, which suggests AG1 incorporates extra spirulina than another ingredient.
Spirulina is extremely nutritious and confers quite a few well being advantages, however it’s important to take 5-to-10 grams to get these results.
Assuming AG1 incorporates 5 grams, which is the minimal quantity it may include and nonetheless be helpful, nearly half of every serving is spirulina, vastly lowering the room for the opposite 40+ elements in every serving. If it incorporates greater than this, the doses of its different elements shall be even smaller.
Thus, both AG1 incorporates sufficient spirulina however skimps on the remaining, or it doesn’t include sufficient spirulina to spice up well being.
The next three elements listed are lecithin, alkaline pea protein isolate, and apple powder.
Lecithin might aid digestion in folks with digestive issues, and apple powder might have antioxidant results, however neither is especially potent health-wise. And whereas pea protein is an efficient complement, taking just some grams will do next-to-nothing to spice up well-being. But, these are a number of the most amply dosed elements in AG1.
Fifth on the record is inulin, a type of fiber.
We all know from the elements panel that every serving of AG1 incorporates a complete of two grams of fiber, which is a good indicator that AG1 incorporates round 2 grams of inulin.
Hypothetically, if AG1 additionally incorporates 2 grams of every ingredient previous inulin, then these 5 elements take up roughly 10 grams of every 12-gram serving. This leaves a meager 2 grams for the remaining elements.
Once you issue within the sweeteners, flavorings, and anti-caking brokers that make AG1 palatable however confer no well being advantages, it’s protected to imagine that a lot of AG1’s most interesting elements, like rhodiola rosea, ashwagandha, and bifidobacteria, are severely underdosed.
This can be a very conservative estimate, too. Realistically, the primary 4 elements doubtless account for greater than 10 grams per serving, leaving even much less room for the remaining elements.
In different phrases, AG1 boasts a protracted and spectacular record of elements, a lot of which improve well-being when consumed in giant sufficient doses. These compounds make Athletic Greens’ elements record look compelling.
Nonetheless, shut inspection reveals that it’s nearly not possible for AG1 to include efficient doses of most, if not all, of those elements, elevating questions on AG1’s total efficacy.
Why Do So Many “Specialists” Endorse AG1?
Many notable podcasters and social media influencers endorse AG1 as a top-tier greens complement. In line with them, it’s uniquely able to optimizing your well being and plugging any dietary gaps in your food regimen.
This raises the query: why achieve this many “specialists” promote a suboptimal product?
Two doubtless causes.
First, Athletic Greens are nearly actually paying influencers handsomely to cosign AG1.
For instance, Athletic Greens pays associates a 30% fee per sale. Some main podcasts that suggest AG1 get round 1 million downloads per episode. If simply 0.001% of their listeners purchased AG1, these podcasters would make about $30,000 per episode in commissions.
In the event that they broadcast weekly, yearly earnings may surpass $1.5 million. In different phrases, they’ve a big monetary incentive to again AG1, no matter how good it’s.
Second, most of those individuals are specialists of their area, however few, if any, are registered dietitians or specialists in vitamin. As such, they in all probability haven’t researched AG1 themselves and as a substitute parrot Athletic Greens’ advertising materials.
Why Are AG1 Evaluations So Constructive?
Most AG1 opinions on-line are constructive, with many customers reporting a lift in well-being inside days of constant use.
Given AG1’s obvious dosing points, these opinions are puzzling.
One idea for why folks overview AG1 so favorably is the placebo effect: consuming a day by day inexperienced drink touted for its well being advantages would possibly make you are feeling subjectively more healthy, even when it doesn’t really enhance your well-being.
Moreover, there’s a excessive probability that individuals are falling sufferer to the bandwagon effect. That’s, slightly than acknowledging {that a} dear buy didn’t ship, some would possibly say it did merely to “slot in.”
Furthermore, committing to taking an upmarket greens complement would possibly encourage you to make different wholesome way of life selections. As an illustration, you would possibly suppose twice earlier than consuming junk meals, skipping the health club, or sacrificing sleep whereas taking AG1, for concern doing these items will undermine the advantages of consuming your greens complement.
Or, maybe investing in an costly complement is only one of a group of recent behaviors somebody has adopted, corresponding to sleeping extra, understanding, and consuming more healthy, and so they’re giving AG1 an excessive amount of credit score.
If that’s the case, it’s extra doubtless that these constructive habits, not the complement, are enhancing your well-being.
What’s the Greatest Athletic Greens Various?
There are various alternate options to Athletic Greens’ AG1 accessible.
Fashionable selections embody Superb Grass Greens Mix, Bloom Greens & Superfoods, and Vibrant Well being Inexperienced Vibrance.
Nonetheless, like AG1, these merchandise typically include proprietary blends or bear a hefty price ticket.
In case you’re searching for a fairly priced greens complement containing scientifically confirmed elements that’s . . .
- Clear about doses
- Made with pure elements
- Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free
- Third-party examined for purity and efficiency
. . . and incorporates no synthetic sweeteners, flavors, meals dyes, or different chemical junk, attempt Genesis.
Genesis is Legion’s all-natural greens complement that incorporates clinically efficient doses of 5 elements for higher vitality ranges, temper, libido, cardiovascular well being, and immunity.
In case you aren’t positive if Genesis is best for you or if one other complement would possibly higher suit your price range, circumstances, and objectives, then take the Legion Supplement Finder Quiz. In lower than a minute, it’ll let you know precisely what dietary supplements are best for you. Click here to check it out.
Conclusion
Whereas AG1’s ingredient record initially appears to be like spectacular, nearer inspection reveals a lot of its elements are poorly dosed.
Maybe the one upside is that it boasts a commendable quantity of nutritional vitamins and minerals, although a easy (and far inexpensive) multivitamin would supply comparable advantages at a a lot decrease value.
Why is that this lackluster product so widespread?
A mix of clever advertising, paid promotions, and the momentum of crowds. Bear in mind, too, that Athletic Greens has been round fairly a very long time and there are various individuals who would purchase no matter they launched (just like Herbalife).
In case you’re severe about your well being, don’t purchase AG1. Purchase a more practical greens complement with higher, property dosed elements.
+ Scientific References
- Stremmel, Wolfgang, et al. “Phosphatidylcholine (Lecithin) and the Mucus Layer: Evidence of Therapeutic Efficacy in Ulcerative Colitis?” Digestive Diseases (Basel, Switzerland), vol. 28, no. 3, 2010, pp. 490–496, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20926877/, https://doi.org/10.1159/000320407. Accessed 14 May 2023.
- Wolfe, Kelly L., and Rui Hai Liu. “Apple Peels as a Value-Added Food Ingredient.” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, vol. 51, no. 6, 19 Feb. 2003, pp. 1676–1683, https://doi.org/10.1021/jf025916z. Accessed 25 Jan. 2022.
- Bindra, Sunali, et al. “Bandwagon Effect Revisited: A Systematic Review to Develop Future Research Agenda.” Journal of Business Research, vol. 143, Apr. 2022, pp. 305–317, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.01.085.
