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

Athletic Greens (AG1) is one of the industry's front runners among green powder supplements. But just because it’s the most well-known doesn’t necessarily mean it’s best for you.

As a registered dietitian nutritionist, I know that the dietary supplements you take directly impact your health, so choosing the right ones is essential. To that end, I'm taking a critical look at Athletic Greens' pros, cons, and areas where other products excel to help you make the right choice for your individual needs.

By the end of this article, you may still feel confident that Athletic Greens is right for you, or you may discover another green powder that better fits your health goals and budget. Though I believe Live it Up Super Greens offers the best value and real ingredients your body craves, my goal is to present AG1 alternatives, 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
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 robust greens powder containing a large assortment of over 75 superfoods. This dietary supplement contains blends of dried, powdered superfoods, and a handful of organic greens.

While every brand is different, Athletic Greens contains ingredients that are ubiquitous across many greens powders, including nutritional grasses, vegetables, leafy greens, fruits, herbs, blue-green algae, prebiotics, probiotics, and digestive enzymes.

Eating a diet rich in produce is best to help support gut health, balanced immune responses, and long-term wellness, and yet most Americans fail to reach the recommended daily intake of whole fruits and vegetables.

Fortunately, enjoying quality greens powders like AG1 or one of the alternatives below is an easy way to support your overall health and bridge nutritional gaps in your diet.

Best Athletic Greens AG1 Alternatives

Finding the best greens powder for your individual needs means looking for key elements in each product. Check out these five Athletic Greens alternatives that may help in your quest toward a healthier you.

1. Live it Up Super Greens

After extensive research on greens powders, Super Greens earns my top pick as the best alternative to Athletic Greens. This product is formulated to help support your gut health, immune response, and energy levels and has all the distinct characteristics that make up a great greens powder.

Super Greens is brimming with impressive proprietary blends of superfoods, including grasses like barley grass, alfalfa grass, and wheatgrass; blue-green algae like broken cell wall chlorella and spirulina; as well as high-nutrient plants like moringa, dulse, roots, and herbs. Since there are around 20 superfoods (and not 75), you're getting a higher concentration of ingredients in effective doses 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 that combines three plant-based enzymes. Super Greens strategically includes 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.

Super Greens is both rigorously tested and carefully manufactured, showing Live it Up’s commitment to safety. This product is made in the USA with non-GMO ingredients, is third-party tested, and is made in a GMP-Certified facility. Plus, Super Greens is all-natural and doesn’t include any fillers, added sugar, or artificial ingredients.

Bonus: Live it Up Super Greens 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, with two great flavors. Original has a nice minty flavor and smooth texture without being too grassy or gritty. And Wild Berries adds a citrus berry zing. Both flavors mix well with water and other liquids because they are so finely ground.

Bottom line: If you're looking for a top-notch greens powder, my number one choice for an Athletic Greens alternative is Live it Up Super Greens, an exceptional investment in your health.

Try it for yourself! Buy Your Super Greens Today

2. Vibrant Health Green Vibrance

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

The powerhouse behind Vibrant Health greens' product is its probiotics, surpassing all other greens powders with an astonishing 25 billion CFUs from 12 beneficial bacteria strains (at the time of manufacture) along with 6 digestive enzymes. With so many probiotics and digestive enzymes, 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 Super Greens, Green Vibrance contains a wide variety of plants, including grasses like wheatgrass, along with herbs, vegetables, fruit, and some adaptogens. Adaptogens are plants that may help the body respond well to environmental stress.

Vibrant Health Green Vibrance is vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, third-party tested, and non-GMO. Like AG1, this greens powder adds isolated vitamins and minerals. Additionally, only about one-third of Green Vibrance's ingredients are organic.

And while they do not have the 75 ingredients that Athletic Greens 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: Vibrant Health Green Vibrance is a versatile greens powder with an ambitious amount of probiotics and digestive enzymes, 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 to relieve bloat, promote energy, and support gut health. Bloom's product has 2 grams of dietary fiber, a nutrient many greens powders fall short on. Like Athletic Greens, Bloom boosts its fiber content by adding inulin, and apple fruit powder. Inulin is a prebiotic fiber, an important food source for the friendly bacteria in your gut. Note that Live it Up Super Greens contains 3 grams of fiber naturally without an added fiber blend.

Bloom includes a variety of superfoods, including a vegetable blend with alfalfa grass, wheat-grass, and green tea leaf; adaptogens; and an attractive number of berries, such as tart cherry and elderberry. These petite fruits are antioxidant-packed and have been linked with anti-inflammatory properties.

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

Bloom Greens & Superfoods contains probiotics, but unlike Live it Up Super Greens powder and Green Vibrance, Bloom does not disclose how many CFUs are included in the product. This means that there could be enough to be impactful 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, Bloom contains green tea extract in some of their flavors, which may impart some caffeine. This may be a benefit for those seeking a pick-me-up with their greens powders, or something to consider if you’re trying to avoid caffeine.

Bottom line: While we may not know if Bloom Greens & Superfoods contains an effective dose of probiotics, it does include a nice variety of superfoods and has many flavors to choose from, making it a good AG1 alternative.

4. Amazing Grass Greens Blend

Amazing Grass Greens Blend is one of the best Athletic Greens alternatives because it is a no-nonsense greens powder advertised to help maintain overall health and wellness. One big perk of Amazing Grass Greens Blend is that almost all of its ingredients are organic. 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 Greens has three flavors. If the Original is not to your liking, you could try Berry or Chocolate instead.

Unfortunately, Amazing Grass does not state how many CFUs of probiotics are included in their Greens Blend. While we'd hope there's enough to support gut health, there's just not enough information to confirm.

Note that this greens supplement contains green tea leaf extract, so avoid taking it before bed if you are sensitive to caffeine.

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.

Bottom line: Amazing Grass Greens Blend has almost all organic superfood ingredients, elevating its status among greens powders. However, 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 greens supplement with mostly adaptogenic mushrooms and a few herbs, Beyond Greens is the right product for you. However, if you’re looking for a versatile greens powder to help fill dietary gaps, you may need to find different Athletic Greens alternatives.

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

Is AG1 Worth It?

Let’s look at the details: AG1 is formulated to support gut health, immunity, energy, and your body’s natural defenses. This vegan greens powder is third-party tested, non-GMO, and free of gluten, nuts, and dairy.

So does this make Athletic Greens worth it? While we think some competitors give AG1 a run for its money, this greens supplement certainly does deliver on many fronts. With over 40 whole foods within its 75 total ingredients, AG1 takes a "more is better" approach to health by offering an extensive list of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Still, AG1 may be best used by 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 more affordable Athletic Greens alternatives.

Why Look for AG1 Alternatives

Your health is personal. For this reason, we can't look at greens powder as a one-size-fits-all. And, while AG1 may be the right choice for many people, it's not for everyone. Let's break down why a lot of people have been looking for the best Athletic Greens alternatives.

Price

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

While we can’t be entirely sure why AG1’s cost is so high, it’s hard to deny that $99 for a single purchase or $79 for a monthly subscription is a considerable barrier to purchase. This comes out to $2.63 to $3.30 per serving, and that's without the shipping cost!

In comparison, Live it Up Super Greens, comes out to $1.33 to $1.99 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

Boosting your health with a greens powder supplement means looking at all the product features that may impact your well-being, including whether the product is organic. While relatively few greens powders are USDA-certified organic, there are many greens powders that use only produce grown in organic settings, making for a high-quality product. When greens powders are also third-party tested, the quality and safety are further strengthened.

With non-organic ingredients like those used in Athletic Greens, 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 concentrated amount of produce—and possibly pesticides—in one small scoop. Athletic Greens does include a few organic superfoods among their 75 total ingredients, though other products on the market contain only organic vegetables, making them a better choice for those who prioritize organic ingredients.

Synthetic Vitamins

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

AG1 has added isolated vitamins to their greens powder to help boost its nutrient content. Other Athletic Greens alternatives, including Live it Up Super Greens and Bloom Greens & Superfoods, 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' supplement facts panel may greatly surpass other greens powders in terms of vitamin and mineral amounts, but from my perspective, this may not be a benefit for everyone.

While adding extra micronutrients may seem harmless (and for many people, it may be), more is not always better. 

Athletic Greens has well above 100, 200, and even 500% of your recommended daily value for most of its vitamins and minerals per serving. 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.

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 numerous 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 processing that breaks down the cell wall. This way we are able to absorb all the nutrition this superfood has to offer. 

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 and benefits.

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 ingredients, you risk diluting them and reducing the overall effectiveness and potential health benefits.

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 greens powder for your individual needs, here are a few important characteristics to consider.

Consider organic

While it's essential to get enough vegetables, fruit, and other plants for a healthy diet, there is growing evidence that pesticides can have lasting negative health effects.

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

Look for Diverse Superfoods

Sometimes we end up in a rut, eating the same vegetables and fruits every day—or missing out on them completely. When that happens, a good greens powder can work like dietary supplements to help fill nutritional gaps and maintain overall health. If the product you choose has minimal ingredients, it may not actually provide the health benefits or essential nutrients you need.

To maximize your odds of results, choose a greens powder that has several of these antioxidant-rich groups: grasses such as barley grass, vegetables, leafy greens, fruit, herbs, roots, and blue-green algae. For additional benefits, consider a mushroom blend and fiber blend.

Inclusion of digestion-supporting ingredients

A great feature in most 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 gut health impact, a greens powder should offer at least a few billion CFUs of probiotic blend per serving.

Additionally, look for a greens powder with a digestive enzyme blend that includes enzymes like 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 adding unnecessary amounts of synthetic vitamins or niche compounds. By doing so, they may be reducing the amount of each superfood per serving, potentially impacting the product’s overall health benefits. 

If you're ever in doubt about a product, remember that the goal is quality over quantity. The best greens powders will have a wide variety of superfoods and between about 20 and 30 total ingredients.

Avoid additives and fillers

The best greens powder avoids 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 are simply fillers rather than health-promoting superfoods.

Avoid added sugar or artificial sweeteners

Sugar-free is the way to go when searching for the best greens powder. When looking to boost your diet with nutrients and greens, the last thing you want is added sugars, much less 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 with a naturally sweet taste, is generally considered safe. Stevia leaf extract is as well, though it may have the potential to lower concentrations of beneficial gut bacteria or create digestive upset for some people.

Safety and Quality

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

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate what is in your supplement, so without these certifications, there's no telling what else may be present (or what might be missing) from your greens powder.

Final Thoughts

What you eat plays a fundamental role in your health. If you're looking for a greens powder to support a healthy diet and lifestyle, know that you’re taking an incredible step toward caring for your body by supporting your nutrition.

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

It’s made with a cultivated array of superfoods paired with an effective blend of probiotics and digestive enzymes. Live it Up cares 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.

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