You have most likely spotted Athletic Greens advertised online or on Amazon. It’s one of the most popular green superfood drinks on the market. Also, it’s celebrity-endorsed.
I’m a Certified Sports Nutritionist with over 30 years of experience in sports nutrition supplements. I also have an extensive background in the retail supplement business. I can help you decide if Athletic Greens is a good greens drink for you.
Athletic Greens comes in a 30 day supply of single-serving packets. You can also buy a 30-day supply in a resealable pouch. It’s popular and used by several health influencers and professionals. Yet, it’s not a value conscious product
Athletic Greens contains 21 vitamins and minerals. There are also 4 prop blends. These consist of raw superfoods, nutrient-dense herbs, and mushrooms with digestive enzymes. Plus, there’s probiotics. In all, Athletic Greens provides 75 nutrients.
In our Athletic Greens review, we’ll look at a complete nutrient breakdown. Also, we’ll look at what this product has to offer. In addition, we’ll see whether it’s hype or an effective solution. Finally, we’ll look at alternatives that may make more sense for your lifestyle.
Let’s get started!
Athletic Greens is a greens superfood powder. The prop blends include Raw Superfood Complex, and Natural Extracts, Herbs, and Antioxidants. There’s also Enzyme & Super Mushrooms and Probiotics. Athletic Greens claims to provide significant health benefits. These include:
- Increased Energy
- Improved Cognitive Health & Function
- Improved Physical Health
- Enhanced Immune System Health & Function
- Fat Loss Support
- Elevated Mood
Athletic Greens is keto friendly, paleo friendly, and vegan. It’s designed for weightlifters, athletes and active individuals. In addition, anyone interested in better health can benefit from this product.
As noted, Athletic Greens is a popular superfood supplement. It has a comprehensive formula and numerous celebrity-athlete endorsements. It also has quite a few good reviews supporting the effectiveness of the product.
The downside to this greens superfood powder is that it uses prop blends. As noted, there are 4 blends. They contain impressive ingredients. The problem is, there’s no way to know how much of each ingredient we’re getting. The Probiotic Blend is fully disclosed with 7.5 billion CFU but still contains two ingredients. The dosing of each is undisclosed.
Also, if you’re a bodybuilder, weightlifter or athlete, you’ll be disappointed in the protein content. As we will see, there are 2 grams per serving. Sure, you can add a protein powder as desired. Yet, with the value range of this product, you shouldn’t have to. Besides, you will see that other choices may have more protein per serving.
The other major downside is cost. This is not an affordable product. Are you a budget-conscious consumer? Then Athletic Greens may not be the best choice for you. In that case, our Alternatives section will provide several value-minded options.
One of the features of Athletic Greens is its vitamin/mineral complex. There are 21 total vitamins and minerals, and they are fully disclosed. For the most part, they are all well-dosed. These are the micronutrients your body needs to function. You can think of these as a health insurance policy. No matter what other compounds Athletic Greens has, this is the nutritional foundation.
Along with this nutrient complex, Athletic Greens features a “No Compromise” formula that means the formula does not contain any artificial ingredients. It’s also a low-sugar and low-allergen product. Combined with the vitamins and minerals, this sets up the rest of the formula. It’s a good foundation built on a solid micronutrient profile and clean formula. Let’s look at the rest of the formula.
This is a 7388mg organic superfood blend containing 23 total nutrients. These include spirulina, lecithin, apple powder, inulin, wheatgrass, alfalfa, chlorella, barley leaf, papaya, and pineapple concentrate, bilberry fruit, and beetroot. There’s also rosehip, carrot root, spinach leaf, cocoa bean polyphenol extract, grapeseed, green tea leaf, licorice root, goji extract, ginger, slippery elm bark, and kelp.
All 23 compounds are nutrient-dense and excellent for overall good health. However, as noted above, this is a prop blend. There’s no way of knowing what the doses of individual ingredients are. You have to look at the total strength and the number of ingredients. Chances are most of these are not effectively dosed.
This is a 2732mg complex that supplies 17 nutrients plus stevia. These include pea protein isolate, citrus bioflavonoids, globe artichoke, citric acid, and rhodiola rosea. There’s also eleutherococcus, gotu kola, rosemary, milk thistle seed, alpha-lipoic acid, ashwagandha root, and dandelion root. Finally, there’s hawthorn root, beta-glucans, and policosanol. CoQ-10, stevia, and vitamin K2.
As noted, Athletic Greens only provides 2g of pea protein per serving. As nutrient-dense as this product is, it could be better with more protein. As far as the nutrients, some of these, such as rhodiola rosea, support focus. Others, such as ashwagandha, act as an adaptogen. This helps the body deal with stress. Of course, the same questions about dosing apply here. It’s a prop blend, and chances are, it’s underdosed.
This is a 154mg digestive enzyme and mushroom complex. It includes astragalus root, bromelain, burdock root, reishi mushroom, and shiitake mushroom. The mushrooms included here is one of the things that sets Athletic Greens apart. Mushrooms support immune system health and combat fatigue.
This is an athlete-based formula, although anyone that wants better health can use it. As such, including ingredients that combat stress and slow fatigue makes a lot of sense. Also, including digestive enzymes such as bromelain help the entire formula. This means it will digest and absorb better. Still, this is also under dosed. There may be some benefits, but there’d be more using effective dosages.
This is a 38mg complex consisting of lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidobacterium bifidum. This complex provides 7.2 billion CFU. This complex supports a healthy gut. This is one blend in Athletic Greens that dosed well.
As noted, the bottom line with Athletic Greens is the use of prop blends. Take a look at the total dosage of each blend. It’s not hard to see that several nutrients will be ineffectively dosed.
For example, Athletic Greens does have good ingredients. That does not make them effective. Let’s use pea protein as an example. We touched on this aspect above. The pea protein is part of the 2732mg Extracts & Herbs blend. Why only provide 2g when any quality protein powder supplies at least 20g? Not to mention, any athlete would rather see more protein in a product like this. Upping the protein content to 20g would make it a complete product.
Other nutrients, such as reishi mushroom, should be as high as 1.5g to be effective. It’s in a 154mg blend. Of that 154mg, who knows how much of it is reishi mushroom. It goes without saying, it’s underdosed. (Ganoderma lucidum mushroom for the treatment of cardiovascular risk factors – PubMed (nih.gov))
You may have decided that you want to use a nutrient-dense, superfood powder. But, perhaps you feel Athletic Greens is not the choice for you. You may want to find something a little more value-conscious. You may also want to find one with more effective dosing. Here are some alternatives to Athletic Greens you can consider.
This product is like Athletic Greens. The biggest difference is that it contains fewer vitamins and minerals. There’s 10 total compared to the 21 in Athletic Greens. Garden of Life Raw Organic has 4 prop blends, also like Athletic Greens. Here, it’s a 2.4g organic fruits and vegetables, and a 1g sprout blend. There’s also 30mgs of probiotics, and a 3.5g green juice blend.
Garden of Life has 66 total nutrients. Plus, it’s a much better choice for the value-conscious individual. Still, like Athletic Greens, it uses prop blends. That means you will still have the problem of underdosed ingredients.
Here is a greens superfood powder that features full disclosure labeling. Vibrant Health Green Vibrance has 16 vitamins and minerals. Also, there are 10 nutrient complexes, all clearly dosed. There are cereal grasses, plant-based micro-nutrients, antioxidants, immune support, and adaptogens. There’s also skeletal support, fiber, liver support, enzymes, and probiotics.
As an example, Green Vibrance has 25 billion CFU probiotics. That’s quite a bit more than what’s in Athletic Greens. Also, Green Vibrance features 84 total nutrients. There are no artificial ingredients. Plus, Green Vibrance is more value-conscious than Athletic Greens.
Vibrant Health Maximum Vibrance is a good choice if you want an extensive greens superfood powder. This product advertises that it contains every known nutrient. One look at the label, and that’s not hard to believe. There are 24 total vitamins and minerals. There’s also 13 nutrient complexes.
Additionally, it’s all fully disclosed. The number of nutrients sets this formula apart. Another thing that sets this formula apart is the protein. There’s 20g from a blend of pea, brown rice, and spirulina. That’s 10x the protein Athletic Greens contains, and it’s a superior source.
There’s one blend this product has that Green Vibrance doesn’t have. It’s a 12-ingredient super fruits complex. Also, there are no artificial ingredients of any kind. This formula is less value-minded than Green Vibrance. Still, it is still a superior value to Athletic Greens.
This is an alternative to Athletic Greens that’s more protein-oriented. It’s designed for the serious bodybuilder, weight lifter, or athlete. It provides 21g from pea, brown rice, and chia seed protein per serving. It also includes 50 organic superfoods. However, it’s all in a prop blend with no dosing listed. There’s not even a total for the whole blend such as Athletic Greens uses. That means that these extra nutrients may be insignificantly dosed.
Still, this is a protein powder. Any athlete or active individual needs more protein than Athletic Greens provides. Orgain Organic Protein is a complete protein high in the BCAAs. It’s also a medium digesting protein which fits the needs of many athletes. Finally, it’s a low sugar formula, but there’s 21g total carbs. This product is all-natural and certified organic. Also, it’s much more value-conscious than Athletic Greens.
Athletic Greens is undoubtedly a popular choice for a greens superfood powder. With 21 micronutrients and several nutrient blends featuring 75 total ingredients, it’s hard to go wrong. As noted, it also has several celebrity-athlete endorsements.
Yet it’s not value-minded, and it does use prop blends. It’s underdosed in at least some of its nutrients. Also, it’s very low in protein. This is a powdered nutrient formula meant for weightlifters and athletes. It should have 10x the protein this product offers.
There’s several other choices that offer more. They offer better dosing and more nutrients. In some cases, they offer more protein. Not to mention, they’re a better value. Still, if you want to give Athletic Greens a try, you can choose a 30 serving pouch or individual packets.
The single-serving packets are great for anyone on the go. All you need is your packet, a shaker, and your beverage of choice. Or, you can mix it up at home with your blender. You can make a great smoothie using Athletic Greens as your base. Give Athletic Greens a shot if it fits your needs.