I have been taking Athletic Greens’ vitamin, mineral, and probiotic drinks for the last two months. I heard about this product on Andrew Huberman’s podcast. He takes this drink because it has essential probiotics to keep our gut health and microbiome healthy, enhance the functioning of biological systems, improve short-term and long-term health, and contains various adaptogens, vitamins, and minerals to get all his foundational nutrition needs. Adaptogens are natural substances that help us deal with stress, while vitamins and minerals are essential micronutrients our bodies gain from our diets. Today, I thought I would cover what the product includes and why so many people love it.
Ingredients
The list of ingredients is quite comprehensive, but I will give an overview. This product is a multivitamin and multimineral, ensuring proper functioning of the nervous system and immune systems. It has probiotics and prebiotics that help maintain a healthy digestive system and improve the absorption of nutrients. It has a phytonutrient blend of nutrient-dense superfoods. There is also immune-supporting mushrooms, adaptogens (such as ashwagandha and reishi mushrooms), and a range of plant extract, herbs, and antioxidants.
For specific ingredients, some vitamins and minerals include Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitam BC, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B7, Magnesium, Copper, Zinc, Potassium, and calcium. Their dairy-free probiotics include Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum. There are also various herb root powders, like astragalus and burdock, and mushroom powders, such as reishi and shiitake mushroom powder. Some other ingredients that stood out to me were papaya fruit powder, beetroot powder, licorice root powder, organic spirulina, milk thistle seed extract, and coenzyme Q-10. Their product is cheap since it comes with many different ingredients that positively impact the body and buying these ingredients separately will be far more expensive. However, many people complain about the price. If you can afford it, it is a great investment into your health.
How have I been using it?
It is recommended to take AG1 30 minutes before eating in the morning, and I try to take it 30 minutes before, but sometimes I take it 10-15 minutes before eating. My most notable benefits were my increased energy levels and stress management. I love receiving all my foundational nutritional needs in one simple scoop daily. Even if some ingredients are in incorrect doses, there are not likely to negatively harm you in any way, and you are receiving some moderate benefits.
Different Perspectives
In an unsponsored review from Hybrid Callisthenics, he explains the almost immediate benefits gained from the product. He encourages people to experiment with the product for 1-2 months and pay close attention to any benefits they may have. You likely do not need this product if you feel no benefits after a few months. However, if you like the product but do not wish to continue paying for the product, you can eat better in our everyday life. This long-term investment in your health enables you to take control of your health and the food you eat. Making nutritious smoothies, drinking more water, and reducing consumption of processed foods are great starts. We can always improve our diets, whether it sources more organic and nutrient-dense foods, so I would encourage you to investigate and improve your diet in the ways you can.
In another unsponsored review, Taz Aldeek explains why people should avoid athletic greens. The first reason he provided is that it is a proprietary blend, meaning we do not know the exact quantities and amounts of the ingredients. This is important because benefits have been shown for ingredients in specific quantities. My argument against is that the company has been around for a long time, enabling them to optimise its product. Also, Andrew Huberman has been the Scientific Advisor for AG1 for a year now, and has many other experts in the field. The product has many certifications and has registered facilities and practices for manufacturing. The next argument is that probiotics are unnecessary daily unless you experience an issue impacting your gut microbiome. There was not much support for this, and given my condition is inflammatory. We live in an inflammatory environment and lifestyle, this could impact my gut daily and would require the taking of probiotics and prebiotics each day. The next argument concerns the costs, as many other vitamins, minerals, and green powders are available. While this is an adequate consideration, the benefits, the ingredients list, the experts working in this company, the various athletes and high performers taking the product, and the various certifications convince me otherwise. It would be great to see more specific research, but this becomes complicated due to the difficulty of nutritional studies and having specific quantities in the product. However, these reasons do not deter me from AG1, and I will continue taking the product.
Final Remarks on AG1
I recommend trying this product for at least 1-2 months to see how you feel. I will also encourage exploring the various perspectives on the product and figuring out if this is something you are willing to invest in. Even if you decide not to take the product, consider taking a multivitamin and eating more foods supporting your health and well-being. There is nothing wrong with improving your diet to contain things that help you flourish and thrive.
