5 Best Athletic Greens Alternatives of 2024, According to a Dietitian

A Quick Look at 2024's Top AG1 Alternatives

• Best Overall: Live it Up Super Greens 
• Runner-Up: Vibrant Health Green Vibrance
• Third Pick: Bloom Greens

Between profits, branding, and social media presence, Athletic Greens' AG1 is one of the industry's front runners among green powder supplements. And as a registered dietitian, I believe that you should never settle for anything less than the best when choosing a new product to add to your health routine. To that end, I'm taking a critical look at AG1's pros, cons, and areas where other products excel in helping you make the right choice for your health needs, lifestyle, and budget.

By the end of this article, you may still feel confident that AG1 is right for you, and that's perfectly fine! Even though I believe Live it Up Super Greens offers the best value and real ingredients your body craves, my goal is to present alternatives to Athletic Greens AG1, give you fact-based information about each, and then let you make your own decision.

	Live it Up	Athletic Greens AG1
100% all natural
Made with organic vegetables
Wide variety of superfoods
Probiotics
Digestive enzymes
Local sourcing
Manufactured in the US
NSF Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) registered facilities
Third party tested
Sugar free
No stevia
Caffeine free
Non GMO
Nut free
Free shipping without any limitations or spend limit
Money-back guarantee
Live chat with a real person and responsive customer service
Cost per serving (for the subscription)	$1.33	$2.63

What is Athletic Greens AG1

Athletic Greens (also called AG1) is a greens powder containing a robust assortment of superfoods. It is a dietary supplement containing blends of dried, powdered superfoods. 

While every brand is different, common ingredients of greens powders include grasses, vegetables, leafy greens, fruits, herbs, blue-green algae, probiotics, prebiotics, and digestive enzymes.

Research indicates that a diet abundant in produce is best to help support gut health, balanced immune responses, and long-term wellness, and yet most Americans are falling short of the recommended daily intake of whole fruits and vegetables.

Fortunately, adding a high-quality greens supplement like AG1 or one of the alternatives below is an easy way to support your overall health and fill gaps in your nutrient intake.

Best Athletic Greens AG1 Alternatives

There are many factors that go into finding the best greens powder for your individual needs. Below, you'll find five Athletic Greens alternatives to consider in your pursuit to promote a healthy lifestyle.

1. Live it Up Super Greens

After researching dozens of greens supplements, Super Greens earns my top pick as the best alternative to Athletic Greens AG1. This product is formulated to help balance your digestion, immune response, and energy and has all the important features that make up a great greens powder.

Super Greens is packed with impressive superfoods, including grasses like barley grass and wheatgrass; many types of blue-green algae, including broken cell wall chlorella and spirulina; as well as lots of high-nutrient vegetables and herbs. Since there are around 20 superfoods (and not 75), you know you're getting a higher concentration of ingredients that are more likely to support your health.

If you're looking to aid your digestion, Super Greens contains 5 billion CFUs of probiotics with four different strains of beneficial bacteria, along with a digestive enzyme blend. One advantage is that it uses both papain from papaya and bromelain from pineapple. Both of these plant-based digestive enzymes have been shown to be particularly helpful in supporting the digestive tract.

Live it Up cares deeply about their product and customers; Super Greens is both rigorously tested and carefully manufactured. This product is made in the USA with non-GMO ingredients, is third-party tested, and is made in a GMP-Certified facility. Plus, it’s all-natural and doesn’t include any fillers or artificial ingredients.

Bonus: Live it Up’'s superfood blend is made with organic vegetables, so you can be sure you're leaving the pesticides and herbicides behind.

Plus, it's one of the tastiest greens powders I've tried: a nice minty flavor and smooth texture without being too grassy or gritty. It also mixes quite well with water and other liquids because it's ground so finely.

Bottom line
If you're looking for an excellent super greens powder and my top choice for an Athletic Greens alternative, Live it Up Super Greens is an exceptional investment in promoting your health.

Try it for yourself! Buy Your Super Greens Today

2. Vibrant Health Green Vibrance

Another good AG1 alternative is Green Vibrance, which advertises its greens powder to support gut health, nutrition, circulation, and immunity.

Green Vibrance's strength lies in its probiotics, topping all other greens powders with an epic 25 billion CFUs from 12 beneficial bacteria strains (at the time of manufacture). With so many probiotics, the company recommends storing the greens powder in the fridge or freezer to attempt to preserve most of them.

When compared to Live it Up, Green Vibrance contains a wide variety of plants, from grasses and herbs to vegetables and fruit, as well as some adaptogens. Adaptogens are plants that may help the body respond well to environmental stress.

Green Vibrance is vegan, gluten-free, third-party tested, and non-GMO. Like Athletic Greens AG1, this greens powder adds isolated vitamins and minerals to aid their nutrition facts panel. Additionally, only about one-third of Green Vibrance's ingredients are organic.

And while they do not have the 75 ingredients that AG1 touts, it does have almost 50, so it is more concentrated than AG1 but not quite as dense as Live it Up Super Greens.

Bottom Line
Green Vibrance is a well-rounded greens powder with a competitive probiotic blend, though its use of synthetic vitamins and minerals makes it a bit more processed than all-natural options.

3. Bloom Greens & Superfoods

Bloom Greens & Superfoods presents its product as a greens powder that helps with maintaining regularity, energy, and digestion. Like AG1, Bloom's product has 2 grams of dietary fiber, a nutrient many greens powders fall short on. Bloom enhances its fiber content by adding chicory root fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), inulin, flaxseed, and apple fruit powder. Both FOS and inulin are prebiotic fibers, important food sources for the friendly bacteria in your gut.

Bloom includes a variety of superfoods, including grasses, leafy greens, and adaptogens, along with an attractive number of berries. These petite powerhouses are antioxidant-packed and have been linked with anti-inflammatory properties.

Additionally, Bloom Greens covers many taste needs by providing five flavors.

Bloom Greens & Superfoods contains probiotics, but unlike Live it Up Super Greens and Green Vibrance, we have no idea how many CFUs are included in the product. This means that there could be a helpful amount or just a sprinkling for show.

A final note on ingredients. While this greens powder uses chlorella powder, it does not specify if it is broken cell wall chlorella for best bioavailability. Additionally, be aware that Bloom contains green tea extract, which may impart some caffeine. While this may be a benefit for those seeking a pick-me-up with their greens supplement, it's likely unnecessary for most consumers.

Bottom line

While Bloom Greens & Superfoods may have some ingredient question marks, it does include a nice variety of superfoods and has many flavors to choose from, making it a good alternative to Athletic Greens AG1.

4. Amazing Grass Greens Blend

Amazing Grass Greens Blend is a no-nonsense greens powder that is promoted to support balance in your overall health, digestion, energy, and immunity. Amazing Grass Greens Blend is all organic, so you can enjoy this greens powder knowing it's pesticide-free. Plus, you know they've done their research because it contains cracked cell wall chlorella among their 20 ingredients.

Another benefit is that Amazing Grass has multiple flavors. If the Original is not to your liking, you could try Berry or Chocolate instead.

Unfortunately, there's no indication of how many CFUs of probiotics are included in the Amazing Grass formula. While we'd hope there's enough to promote digestive balance, there's just not enough information to confirm.

Additionally, while you can enjoy this Greens Blend without pesticides, the product is not third-party tested, so we can't be certain there aren't other contaminants. It also contains green tea leaf extract, so avoid taking it before bed due to the potential caffeine content.

But what truly disappoints is the added ingredient silica. When used in powders, silica often plays the role of a bulking and anti-caking agent.

Amazing Grass Greens Blend has fully organic superfood ingredients, elevating its status among greens powders. Though if you’re trying to avoid fillers, you may want to look elsewhere.

5. Live Conscious Beyond Greens

Beyond Greens by Live Conscious is a minimalistic superfood blend promoted to support your immune system, gut health, and energy levels. This superfood powder focuses its effort on herbs and adaptogens, including ingredients such as milk thistle, echinacea, chlorella, prebiotics, as well as a mushroom blend. These may work synergistically to help the body's immune system and response to stress, though more human studies are needed.

Beyond Greens has a very limited variety and diversity of superfoods, and only a few of them are technically greens. Specifically, there are no grasses, vegetables, or fruit to provide more well-rounded support to your overall health.

The biggest concern, though, is not that it is superfood-limited or that it has very few probiotics and no digestive enzymes, but rather the inclusion of additives and fillers. Compared to AG1 and Live it Up, Beyond Greens contains the filler xanthan gum and the colorant sodium copper chlorophyllin, both of which may cause side effects in some people. It also contains xylitol, a sugar alcohol that can create digestive distress and creates an unusual taste that some customers may dislike.

Bottom line
If you’re looking for a superfood blend with mostly adaptogenic mushrooms and a few herbs, Beyond Greens will hit the spot. However, if you’re looking for a versatile greens powder to help fill dietary gaps, you may need to find a different alternative to Athletic Greens.

Try it for yourself! Buy Your Live it Up Super Greens Today

Is Athletic Greens AG1 Worth It?

As one of the most familiar greens powders on the market, AG1 is formulated to support gut health, immunity, energy, and your body’s natural defenses. This fruit and vegetable blend is third-party tested, non-GMO, and free of gluten, nuts, caffeine, and dairy.

Does this mean that AG1 is worth it? While we think some competitors give AG1 a run for its money—and yours—it certainly does tick many boxes when it comes to green powders. With over 40 whole food ingredients, including many of those listed above and adaptogenic mushrooms, AG1 takes a "more is better" approach to health by offering an extensive list of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Still, AG1 tailors much of its marketing toward high-performance athletes looking to meet a more intense demand for daily nutrients. While that may make the product's cost worth it for some customers, it may be unnecessarily expensive for those who could find the same results with a more affordable AG1 alternative.

Why Look for AG1 Alternatives

Your health and your preferences are very personal. For this reason, we can't look at greens powder as a one-size-fits-all. And, while AG1 may work well for many people, it's not for everyone. Let's take a look at why a lot of people have been asking for an Athletic Greens AG1 alternative.

Price

Simply put, AG1 is one of the highest-priced greens powders on the market.

Whether Athletic Greens hikes up their prices because of their popularity or if it has to do with its ingredients, nobody can say for sure, but at $99 for a single purchase or $79 for a monthly subscription, you're looking at a pretty steep buy-in and a considerable barrier to entry. This comes out to about $2.50 to $3.50 per serving, and that's without the shipping cost!

In comparison, Live it Up Super Greens, an excellent AG1 alternative, comes out to $1.30 to $2.00 per serving, depending on whether you choose a monthly subscription or a single purchase, with free shipping regardless of which you choose.

Not Made With Fully Organic Ingredients

If you're looking to boost your health with a greens powder, you'll want to look at all product features that will impact your well-being, including whether the product is organic. While relatively few greens powders are USDA-certified organic, there are many organic powders that use only produce grown in organic settings, and this quality is further strengthened by third-party testing.

With non-organic ingredients like some of those used in AG1, you run the risk of consuming pesticides and herbicides, chemicals that can have both short- and long-term health consequences.

And, since green powders are dehydrated and ground to a fine powder, you're getting a tremendous, concentrated amount of produce—and possibly pesticides—in one small scoop. Though Athletic Greens does include a few organic superfoods among their 75 total ingredients, other products contain only organic vegetables and superfoods, making them a better choice for those who prioritize organic ingredients.

Synthetic Vitamins

“Whole” vitamins and minerals are found in whole foods and naturally occur in fresh vegetables, fruits, and proteins. Synthetic vitamins and minerals are those that are isolated from whole foods into a singular compound. Often, these synthetic micronutrients are not absorbed into the body as readily as vitamins from whole foods.

Athletic Greens has added isolated vitamins to their greens powder to help make their nutrition facts more appealing. While this may seem innocuous (and for many people, it may be), it means their product uses fewer nutrients from whole foods than some alternatives, including Live it Up Super Greens and Bloom Greens & Superfoods, both of which rely solely on high-quality, nutrient-dense ingredients to deliver whole vitamins and minerals to your system.

Excessively High Nutrients

This brings me to my next point: excessively high micronutrients. Athletic Greens' nutrition facts panel may blow most other greens powders out of the water in terms of vitamin and mineral amounts, but from my perspective, this is not actually a benefit.

As a registered dietitian nutritionist, I look at someone's total daily food and dietary supplement consumption to understand if they are meeting or exceeding their recommended micronutrient intake.

If, throughout the day, you are consuming vitamins and minerals in amounts hundreds of percentage points higher than your Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA), you could be getting close to an unsafe level, especially for fat-soluble vitamins such as A, E, and K, which are stored in the body and accumulate over time rather than being excreted. For water-soluble vitamins such as C and the B-complex, any excess not absorbed by your body is primarily lost through urine, which nullifies the supercharged intake argument.

Athletic Greens has well above 100, 200, and even 500% of your RDA for most of its vitamins and minerals. If your individual health needs require you to be aware of high-dose nutrients or if you are already taking high-dose supplements, this greens powder may not be for you.

Don't let impressive labels or outrageous percentages fool you; remember that the quantity of nutrients means relatively little if your body can't absorb or use them for real results.

Low Bioavailability

With such a steep price point, it's assumed that most ingredients in Athletic Greens are of the highest bioavailability, meaning they can be digested and used by the body well. While it seems they do add many easily absorbed superfoods, the type of chlorella they include may be unusable by the body.

Chlorella is a blue-green algae with a plethora of health benefits, but it has strong fibrous cell walls that cannot be broken down during digestion. In order for chlorella to be useful to our body, it must undergo a process of disintegration, or cell wall breakdown, since the cellulose shell of the chlorella cell nucleus is normally indigestible.

This is why in many greens powders, including Amazing Grass Greens Blend and Live it Up Super Greens, you'll find broken or cracked cell wall chlorella. Always look for this type to ensure full digestion.

Remember that the quality of ingredients and micronutrients matters and makes a difference in how our bodies process what we consume.

Too Many Ingredients

While 75 vitamins, minerals, and superfoods may sound amazing, when you pack too many ingredients into a small scoop, you're left with only a small amount of each. By including so many different ingredients, you risk diluting all the important ingredients and reducing the overall effective doses and health benefits offered by your product.

Even when a company offsets these reduced doses with synthetic vitamins and minerals, it still means you’re getting less of the other potential benefits offered by individual superfoods. No matter how much second-hand vitamin C you pack into a powder, it doesn’t offer nearly the same potential benefits as getting that same amount of vitamin C from organic kale, for instance.

Additionally, overly complex ingredient lists are more likely to trigger known or unknown food sensitivities. If you have a history of such sensitivities, choosing a greens superfood powder with a smaller, more curated list of ingredients may be better in the long run.

What Makes an Excellent Green Supplement?

As you work toward finding the best super greens powders for your individual needs, here are a few key features to consider.

Consider organic

While it's certainly important to get enough vegetables, fruit, and other plants for optimal health, there is growing evidence that pesticides present in conventionally grown produce can have lasting negative health effects.

Green powders are amazing because they provide so many superfoods in just one scoop, but you may want to consider a product with organic ingredients to avoid a concentrated dose of chemicals.

Look for diverse superfoods

Sometimes, life can make it difficult to eat your daily recommended intake of fruits and vegetables. When that happens, a greens supplement can help fill nutritional gaps and maintain overall health. If the product you choose has minimal ingredients, however, it may not actually provide the health benefits you need.

To maximize your odds of results, choose a super greens powder that has several of these antioxidant-rich groups: grasses, vegetables, leafy greens, fruit, herbs, roots, and blue-green algae.

Inclusion of digestion-supporting ingredients

A great feature in many greens powders is the inclusion of probiotics and digestive enzymes, which are proven to aid your digestive health.

In order to truly make a positive impact, however, a greens powder should offer at least a few billion CFUs of probiotic blend per serving.

When looking at a product's digestive enzyme blend, it's a bonus to find a greens powder that includes those from papaya (papain) and pineapple (bromelain), both of which help break down food to facilitate digestion.

Avoid excessive amounts of ingredients

Many companies try to attract customers by stuffing their ingredient lists with unnecessary amounts of synthetic vitamins or niche compounds. By doing so, they may make their labels more impressive but reduce the amount of each superfood overall. Often, the worst offenders provide such low concentrations that you enjoy fewer health benefits than you could with another product.

If you're ever in doubt about a product, remember that the goal is quality over quantity. Look for a greens powder with a wide variety of superfoods and between about 20 and 30 total ingredients.

Avoid additives and fillers

The best super green powders avoid additives such as bulking and anti-caking agents, colorants, emulsifiers, and preservatives. Look for a product without guar gum, xanthan gum, silicon dioxide (silica), and other ingredients that provide filler rather than adding to your health.

Avoid added sugar or artificial sweeteners

When looking to boost your diet with nutrients and greens, the last thing you want is an added side of sugar, much less load your gut with artificial sweeteners (such as sucralose) and sugar alcohols (such as erythritol or xylitol), as both may negatively affect your gut health.

Monk fruit, a plant-derived non-caloric sweetener, is generally considered safe. Stevia is as well, though it may have the potential to lower concentrations of beneficial gut bacteria.

Safety and Quality

Consider purchasing a greens supplement from a company that pays attention to the safety and quality of its products. Look for third-party testing and powders being produced in a certified GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) facility.

Without these certifications, there's no telling what else may be present (or what might be missing) from your greens powder.

Final Thoughts

Taking care of your health is important. If you're looking for a super greens powder to support your diet, you're already taking an incredible step toward caring for your body by supporting your nutrition.

After researching many products, it's clear that Live it Up is an exceptional greens powder and an excellent Athletic Greens alternative.

It is made with a balanced and cultivated array of superfoods without over-packing its ingredient list. They care about safety with third-party testing and production in a GMP-certified facility in the USA. Bonus: it's quite tasty. Support your body’s nutrition and give Live it Up Super Greens a try!

FAQs

For more information on Athletic Greens, see the below frequently asked questions.

Is there a more affordable version of Athletic Greens?

While Athletic Greens does not have another product that is more economical, there are many other excellent greens powders without the high price tag. These include Live it Up, Green Vibrance, Bloom Greens & Superfoods, and Amazing Grass Greens Blend.

Is Athletic Greens AG1 as good as they say?

Athletic Greens contains 75 vitamins, minerals, and superfoods. It's advertised as supporting gut health, immunity, energy, and recovery. While no studies have been done to prove these claims, AG1 contains some ingredients that may help with these benefits.

Are Athletic Greens AG1 unhealthy?

AG1 contains a superfood blend of grasses, vegetables, fruit, adaptogens, herbs, probiotics, and digestive enzymes. Getting more plants in your diet has been shown to benefit your health, so taking a greens powder every day is a great way to support your overall wellness.

What does Athletic Greens AG1 taste like?

Athletic Greens AG1 customers have said the greens powder tastes slightly sweet and grassy. Some report a pineapple and vanilla flavor. Keep in mind that everyone experiences taste differently, and what may taste great to one person may not be reviewed as positively by the next.

Does AG1 work?

Many Athletic Greens customers report that AG1 is convenient, helps support regularity, and helps with their energy. Other customers have not found benefit or enjoy it but feel it's too expensive to keep in their daily routine.

References

• https://drinkag1.com/en
• https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/division-information/media-tools/adults-fruits-vegetables.html
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23524622/
• https://vibranthealth.com/products/green-vibrance
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6240259/
• https://health.clevelandclinic.org/inulin-benefits/
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7551956/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16988647/
• https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2016.00148/full
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916522033500?via%3Dihub
• https://ods.od.nih.gov/HealthInformation/nutrientrecommendations.aspx#:~:text=Recommended%20Dietary%20Allowance%20(RDA)%3A,nutritionally%20adequate%20diets%20for%20individuals.
• https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.930883/full
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9028423/#:~:text=Results%20showed%20that%20stevia%20might,RhlR%20receptor%20proteins%20of%20P.

Live it Up’s Quarterly Women in Healthcare Scholarship

Healthcare plays a part in the lives of individuals and communities on a daily basis. Workers of this field are frontline warriors in the battle against disease, providers of comfort during times of illness, and advocates for healthier living. Live it Up is offering a $500 quarterly scholarship to female students pursuing degrees in healthcare, aiming to support and empower those overcoming historical barriers in education and leadership within the field. The next deadline to apply is May 1, and winners will be announced on May 31.

APPLY TODAY

Scholarship Details:

• Amount: $500
• Deadline: May 1
• Announcement: May 31

Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for this scholarship, please carefully review the following eligibility criteria. Ensure you meet these requirements prior to submitting your application.

• Women pursuing a degree in the healthcare field (public health, medicine, healthcare administration, nursing, etc.)
• All high school seniors, undergraduate and graduate students can apply
• Applicant must be a current U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident

How to Apply

You can apply for this scholarship on the Bold.org scholarship platform. Follow the directions and submit your application for the Women in Healthcare Scholarship, along with a short essay answering the following prompts:

• Why have you chosen to pursue a degree in healthcare?
• How do you hope to make a positive impact as a woman in the healthcare field?