Good nutrition is essential for children's cognitive function, concentration, and the energy levels required for learning and play. I spend my days working hard to ensure that people across the country know and understand the importance of quality food for our kids and their futures.

Sadly, food insecurity affects one in five children in the U.S.—nearly 14 million kids. 

No Kid Hungry is the only national campaign working to end childhood hunger in the United States. We focus on three main areas: 

. And we don’t do it alone, our network of partners is powerful and dedicated. We work with organizations in all 50 states by providing grant funding, advocating for better policies, conducting research, and providing assistance and support to schools, state agencies, and local nonprofits.

One of our partners, Chris Kuchman, a food service director in California, said it best

“Unless some basic needs are being met for…[each] child, food, clothing, shelter, love, without those things, there’s no way they can learn.” 

We use many tools to ensure kids can have their basic needs met and thus focus on being in the classroom. One is school breakfast programs, which provide nutritious, balanced options at the start of the school day. While foods served in schools may resemble those in stores, they are actually specifically designed to meet rigorous dietary standards and contain added essential nutrients.

Having access to meals in school has a variety of benefits for kids. Those who eat a daily school breakfast consume more fruits and vegetables, dietary fiber, whole grains, dairy, and calcium than those who eat breakfast less frequently. Similarly, kids who eat school lunch every day have higher intakes of dairy and calcium compared to those who eat lunch less often.

School meals can also reduce the stigma that kids facing hunger experience by offering food to all of their classmates as a routine part of their school day. This can have a powerful effect on their social and emotional experiences.

Chronic absenteeism also decreases by an average of 6% when students have access to breakfast as part of the school day. Regular attendance is crucial for kids and teens—students who attend class consistently are 20% more likely to graduate from high school.

Our team at No Kid Hungry has done the research and knows the impact of programs like 

, grab and go meals, and second chance breakfast. That impact is also echoed directly from school leaders like Kimberly Martinez - a Pre-K teacher from a school in San Antonio, Texas that received support from No Kid Hungry.

“Breakfast in the classroom is very important in my classroom as well, because of the fact that kids come to school hungry from their homes at times, or sometimes that they didn't have dinner the night before. It helps them get stimulated, focused, ready to learn, ready to grow academically.” 

The power of nutrition in changing the trajectory of kids’ lives can’t be overstated.

The importance of quality nutrition for mental and physical wellbeing is a core value for AG1. Their continued partnership has been really meaningful, particularly as we all share a vision for the future, where all kids have access to healthy and nutritious meals year-round.

No Kid Hungry, 2024, website [https://bestpractices.nokidhungry.org/programs/school-breakfast].

Article Sources

The Power of Nutrition and School Meals for Kids

Learn more about No Kid Hungry, an incredible organization that AG1 partners with

If you’re concerned about artificial sweeteners and added sugar in your everyday products, we hear you. That’s why we formulate AG1 with flavors derived from plant-based sources 

To round out the taste of pineapple core and vanilla bean in AG1, we use a small amount of Stevia, in the form of a high quality extract sourced from the Stevia rebaudiana leaf. Unlike other products, which contain dextrose or erythritol, the Stevia in AG1 is a pure extract with no impact on blood sugar and, in fact, it has been used to help modulate the gut microbiome. As with every other ingredient in AG1, it has undergone extensive safety evaluation in accordance with strict standards.

We’re proud that you choose to start your days with us and we’ll continue to make sure that AG1 is a high-quality, foundational routine with ingredients and flavors you can feel great about.

Why is Stevia in AG1?

Exploring AG1's flavor profile and the way we extract stevia from its natural source

At 24, Laura Philipp had some cycling experience, having ridden 60 kilometres a day to get to and from high school, and some running experience from jogging with the family dog. But deciding to take on the challenge of triathlon training without being able to swim was fantastically ambitious. (“I knew how to, like, not drown, but I basically had to learn from scratch.”) Now 37, she’s the 2024 Ironman world champion and the cofounder of Kick-Ass Sports. We asked Philipp about how visualization, listening to her body and simply being prepared make her mornings run smoothly. “No matter how bad your previous day was, a new day is a chance to start over again.”

At her home outside of Heidelberg, Germany, Laura Philipp does as much as she can in the evening to start her day with a clean slate. That involves everything from making sure there’s no dishes in the sink to cutting fruit for her breakfast before she goes to bed.

Philipp is a huge believer in listening to her inner rhythms, working with them and not against them. (Videos on her YouTube channel cover topics like what it means to train with your menstrual cycle in mind.) And paying attention to her circadian rhythm means not setting an alarm and letting her body wake up naturally. (Just because she identifies as a morning person doesn’t mean she necessarily wants her day to start at 5 a.m., she says.)

“I feel like paying attention to treating your body well sets you up for a good day.”

Up around 7 or 8, she heads to her (clean-from-the-night-before) kitchen and drinks her AG1 in coconut water. Then she assembles the breakfast she’d prepped the evening before: oats with fruit, fresh nut butter she makes herself, cinnamon whey protein and yogurt. “From a metabolic standpoint, if I skip breakfast in the morning, I’m pretty sure that would set me up for a pretty bad day. I feel like paying attention to treating your body well sets you up for a good day.”

On an ideal morning, if their schedules align, she eats breakfast with her husband and trainer Philipp Seipp. “We can sit there together, have a conversation, have our dog there, and then just have this nice moment before we start.”

But while routines are crucial, so is flexibility, she says. A recent race in San Francisco taught her the importance of that when her pre-swim routine of a warm-up jog and strides couldn’t take place. “We had to start from a ferry and we had to enter it three hours before the race started,” she says. “All of the competitors were in a super-small room. And that was a big challenge, to still try to find some things to get me ready in a completely different environment and still perform well. That was really cool.”

This flexibility, she says, is key when it comes to eating, too, especially as someone who has to travel a lot. “It would probably be toxic in a way if you’re too connected or too strict about what you eat.” She keeps as many things as she can consistent, like travelling with a little rice cooker that lets her prep healthy foods (where she makes everything from oats to noodles and veggies).

Another recent key tweak to her routine has been to completely do the opposite of what she thought you were “supposed” to do before a race. “Often as an athlete you think you need to push yourself to be super pumped and ready,” she says. “I had to learn that for me personally, I really need to exhale more to give a signal to my nervous system, and that from a relaxed standpoint I can perform the best.” The tweak has made a big difference with her swim, she says, where it pays to be loose, not tight.

“You tell yourself, ‘I’m here, I’m strong and I can actually do this.’”

Pre-race, Philipp focuses on picturing herself succeeding: “You stand super tall just before the gun goes and try to visualize what you want to achieve on the day,” she says. “And you tell yourself, ‘I’m here, I’m strong and I can actually do this.’”

Visualize what you want — and keep standing tall

Morning People: Laura Philipp

Foundational Nutrition in a single, comprehensive daily health drink is what AG1 is known for, and a scoop of our powder offers a multivitamin, a multimineral, prebiotics, probiotics, superfoods and adaptogens. But there are a few vital nutrients that are best delivered in a separate form. So in addition to our AG1 powder, we make AG Omega3 softgels and concentrated AG Vitamin D3+K2 drops.

 are polyunsaturated fatty acids. EPA and DHA, found in fish oil, are the two types of omega-3s considered most beneficial to whole-body health. ALA is an omega-3 found in plants. Our bodies can convert some ALA into EPA and DHA, but not in sufficient amounts. We formulate our AG Omega3 fish-oil softgels as a separate product from AG1 to ensure we’re offering the highest-quality and most highly absorbable forms of EPA and DHA, while keeping AG1 simple to use, water soluble and vegan.

It’s vital to get EPA and DHA from food or supplement sources. U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends 450 to 500 mg of EPA and DHA per day, but the typical American diet contains fewer than 100 mg. Taking 

supplemental omega-3s in the form of EPA and DHA

 is important in closing the nutritional gap.

EPA and DHA support both heart and brain health. They aid in metabolic function, encourage normal arterial function and help maintain the structure and function of the brain. (As the majority of the brain is made up of fat, fatty acids are essential for cognitive health.) They also support cognitive performance. Because these systems are so vital to whole-body health, AG Omega3 delivers 2,000 mg of EPA and DHA in the most bioavailable form.

We sustainably source our fish oil from wild-caught, small fish, and it’s then molecularly distilled for purity and quality. A hit of lemon in the formulation for taste makes it easy to incorporate daily as part of your AG1 Foundational Nutrition plan. After all, one-and-done has an undeniable appeal, but good things come in threes.

The AG1 Experience: Omega3

AG1 is known for just one product — the namesake drink — but there are actually three. In addition to the AG1 you know, there’s the AG Vitamin D3+K2 drops and AG Omega3 softgels. They’re powerful on their own, but taken together, they make a three-part lineup of a simple daily protocol for Foundational Nutrition.

AG Vitamin D3+K2 was formulated as a separate product from the familiar powder because supplemental vitamin D is most effective in oil form. (And as much as we like to keep it simple and streamlined, efficacy comes first.) It’s designed to take directly, dropped on your tongue, or to add to shaken AG1 in the morning.

The highly absorbable, concentrated liquid formula comes in a dropper bottle, an advantage of which is the ability to customize the dosage. This is important since age, lifestyle, location and the season can all affect how much vitamin D a given person needs to take. Each drop features 1000 IU of vitamin D3, as well as 100 mcg of K2, which acts synergistically to increase the benefits of immune, bone and cardiovascular health.

Not all vitamin D is created equal. Vitamin D3 is what the human body produces via exposure to sunlight, UVB absorption and a process called vitamin D synthesis. (Supplementing directly with D3 also means our bodies don’t have to convert it.) Vitamin D2 is another form of vitamin D, found in plants and mushrooms. It is considered less effective at raising vitamin D levels in the body, so D3 is a great choice.

Similarly, there are two forms of vitamin K: K1 and K2. K2 is found in animal sources and in fermented foods, and is more easily absorbed by our bodies. The D3 is paired with K2 for its synergistic benefits and superior bioavailability.

Vitamin D is such an important nutrient because it supports the immune system and bone health. While D helps facilitate calcium absorption, its companion, K, helps deliver it to teeth and bones. Vitamin K also supports heart health by contributing to artery function.

Vitamin D is famously elusive. Because our primary natural source is sunlight, this is especially true for anyone who lives far from the equator or who spends daylight hours indoors — which, it seems like, is most of us. Vitamin D levels as a health concern has entered the mainstream, and many general practitioners test their patients as part of an annual check-up. Much of the time, levels are low.

For supporting our body’s vital systems, vitamin D3 and its partner K2 are key players in AG1’s daily protocol for Foundational Nutrition. Drop it into your ‘1, and you’re done. AG1 recommends taking one to four drops daily or following the guidance of your health practitioner.

The AG1 Experience: D3+K2

A three-time European Champion, two-time 70.3 World Champion and winner of the World Championship, Sebastian Kienle clinched every title an IRONMAN can before retiring from the sport in December 2023. Now, he’s the co-founder of Kick-Ass Sports, a training program for triathletes, a podcaster and commentator, and devoted dad to his three-year-old son. 

He’s also become passionate about HYROX, a fitness race that combines eight kilometers of running with eight functional workout stations. We caught up with Kienle, at home in Germany, to talk about his morning hacks, the way fatherhood has changed how he views just about everything, and the lake he pictures when he’s trying to fall asleep.

“My morning routine is a bit more structured since the little one is going to the kindergarten at half past eight,” says Kienle, who quietly gets up at 7:15 (thanks to a vibrating alarm function on his wearable that doesn’t wake anyone else), for a 15-minute head start on the day. This is a substantially different routine than he used to have: “No waking up at four a.m. to get in four hours of training before everybody else wakes up. No superhero stuff here.”

“Morning means control to me,” he says. “When you wake up, you are in control of what you do. The longer the day goes on, the more outside things are taking control and you have to manage the chaos."

These days, his first step in the morning is his AG1, a habit since 2019, which he dilutes in extra water. “I have it with maybe 600 milliliters of water just to top off on liquids, and then I'll have my coffee. One of the things that I was really bad about in the past was sleepwalking to the coffee machine, and then realizing I actually didn't drink anything else until 11 or so.”

Next: Taking a look at the notebook he keeps beside the bed for pre-sleep brain offloads, and starting to tackle the list. Then Nino is up, and the chaos of life with a toddler begins — but with a helpful adult-to-kid ratio: “We live with my in-laws, so it's four against one. The little boy has no choice but to be on time. I would say compared to some of the normal people I know, I think our morning process is relatively relaxed.”

“They say as an athlete, you die twice”

Not surprisingly, a lot of things are more relaxed in retirement, including Kienle’s relationships to his friends and family, and a body he used to have to treat “like a raw egg.”

“Whenever I had an intense training week, I wasn't hanging out with friends, because you're always afraid of getting sick.” And being a present parent to a three-year-old is almost impossible for a high-performance athlete, he says. “I think there is no other way than to go away to a training camp,” he says. “You would constantly be in a bad mood [at home] because you're afraid of getting sick. And then you think of your kid as something that is putting you, in your career and performance, in danger.”

Retirement came with its challenges, too. “They say as an athlete, you die twice,” says Kienle. “You invest so much in the sport, and your life is the sport. There’s nothing else. And when you stop, it’s super, super tough, because all the drive, all the meaning in your life is just gone. And you don’t realize until you retire that being in a very fit body that can do almost everything is something you’re just used to. But when there is no goal, then it’s very tough to just keep up the same level of exercising.”

These days, he’s relishing the new challenges that HYROX offers him after 20 years of triathlons. “You always live in the belief that you can do better next year, you can do better next session, you can do better next rep. You always try to be a little bit better,” he says. “And at one point, you realize, oh, you're not getting better anymore. You're actually fighting not to get worse. With this new sport, especially since it's a little bit more on the strength side, you see progress again. And that's something that feels great.”

Kienle loves, too, how the training is different with HYROX – especially after the hours-long workouts demanded by triathlons. Now, even quick 20-minute workouts are beneficial, and he will often do one right before bed to put his body into an exhausted state. He says “I need to be physically tired to actually fall asleep.”

Another sleep habit Kienle relies on is progressive muscle relaxation, while imagining a beautiful lake. The lake he pictures is in Québec’s Mont Tremblant. “I still have a picture of that in my head. I once sat there for a very long time after a race. So that calms me down and helps me fall asleep.”

Take advantage of the control available at the start of the day

When life changes, set new goals to keep up your momentum

Rituals for relaxing at the end of the day will help sleep (and sleep helps everything)

Morning People: Sebastian Kienle

The last several years have brought enormous highs, and some crushing lows, to Norwegian triathlete Gustav Iden. In 2019, he became the youngest Ironman World Champion, and followed up by winning the 2021 Ironman 70.3 World Championships, and the 2022 Ironman World Championships. Then, he experienced what he’s described as a “brutal and humbling” 2024 World Championship race that he wasn’t able to finish. Now, the 28-year-old athlete is looking to take back control. We talked to Iden about his morning routine, his guiding motto, and how manta rays changed his perspective.

“Now I have to take the steering wheel”

Iden’s life motto is “Winning is a choice,” but he clarifies that the choice isn’t made on race day. By then, he says, there’s not too much you can do. Instead, it refers to how he lives and trains day-to-day. “That’s why I want as good routines as possible. I feel like the last few years I've been kind of just floating along,” he says. “Floating along is very good when the boat is floating in the right direction, but lately I've been feeling like the boat has been drifting in the wrong direction. And now I have to take the steering wheel.”

The plan: Getting back to basics, starting with his morning routine.

“Morning, for me, is the opportunity to start things right. It’s a new morning every day. My whole day gets a bit worse if I don’t have a good morning. I wouldn’t say [I feel] pressure to get the morning right, but I definitely do feel like the morning is a very important part of my day. That’s why I tend to trust my routines in the morning.”

Iden steps on the scale first thing, to give him a quick read on his body and its needs. A sudden drop in weight is a good indicator that his hydration is low, while a downward trend means he needs to take a look at his nutrition.

Next step: He gets the coffee machine going, has some yogurt and shakes up his AG1. “I’m super efficient in the morning,” he says. “I do like long mornings, but not before a training session.” He doesn’t allow for any deviations in his pre-training morning routine, either: “Then I'm just going to be late,” he says. “And I hate being late.”

To make his mornings as smooth as possible, Iden commits to going to sleep at the same time every day, which means consuming caffeine only in the mornings, and keeping his phone in the bathroom overnight, not the bedroom. This has a “stacking” effect with another good habit: “It makes me brush my teeth for longer, because I know once I'm finished, phone time is over.”

One big, unavoidable disturbance in Iden’s routine is changing time zones, which are impossible for an elite triathlete to avoid. He tries to mitigate the impact on both his body and schedule as much as he can, by making the time shift more gradual and less dramatic. On the recent race in Kona, he says “We went to Flagstaff first, because it’s only three hours from Arizona to Hawaii.” “So that's quite manageable.”

“I'm hoping my identity will shift a bit from only sports to the whole aspect of life”

Iden has also been deeply examining how his emotional state is connected to his physical one. “When I win, I’m smiling, and when I lose, I'm crying,” he says. “Sports really is my life and my identity. So much of how I feel in day-to-day life is tied to how I'm performing in training, and it's not the healthiest way to go about it, especially if you go from disappointment to disappointment, like I've done this year. I'm trying to still allow myself happiness when I'm not performing well. I'm hoping that my identity will shift a bit from only sports to the whole aspect of life.”

His experience in Hawaii this year is an example of how that is, indeed, starting to change. When he returned to his Airbnb with his friends after the race, they took surfboards out on the ocean in the middle of the night. “There were stars over us, and manta rays below us, and it was just the most beautiful night ever,” he says. “Two years ago, I would never have even considered doing something that would give me happiness after a disappointing race. But instead, I had one of the best evenings I’ve ever had.”

When you find yourself drifting in the wrong direction, turn the boat around

Set yourself up for success in the morning by establishing an evening routine

Let yourself enjoy life, even when you lose

Morning People: Gustav Iden

The exact contents of your AG1 Welcome Kit will depend on your subscription, but you can expect to find these five elements in every box.

Consider this your official AG1 user manual. You’ll find the answers to any questions about the product here, plus lots of other details about your new subscription.

What you came for: your 30-day supply of AG1, which is vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free.

This wide-mouth, BPA/BPS-free shaker makes it easy to drink your AG1 on the go, whether you’re mixing from a pouch or a travel pack. Yes, it’s plastic — but it’s Tritan plastic, which is known for its durability and safety. (Plus, it’s dishwasher safe. We do recommend using the top rack and hand-washing the lid.) It’s 16 ounces and has a medical-grade, stainless steel, leak-resistant lid.

The scoop is your reusable daily AG1 measurement (and the inspiration for the title of our blog!). The scoop is metal, coated with stainless steel and meant to keep: A scoop comes with the Welcome Kit, but you won’t find another in your next shipment.

Decant AG1 from the pouch to this airtight, stainless-steel container and keep it refrigerated to ensure that the powder stays fresh and food-safe, as the formula contains whole-food ingredients. (But don’t worry: Before the pouch is opened, the airtight seal does the job.)

Over the last several years, the AG1 Welcome Kit has undergone a series of changes to become more sustainable. In addition to being designed for curbside recyclability, the box is now made completely of post-consumer recycled content from FSC-certified sources. We’ve also reduced plastic wherever possible, including ditching cellophane wrapping, plastic bags and plastic filler.

The AG1 Experience: The Welcome Kit

I’m Brazilian American and the daughter of an immigrant. I spent a lot of my childhood in Rio. I grew up with a very health-conscious dad. I’ve been handed celery juice since the age of 3, probably. I’ve always really believed in the power of food. I know that the quality of our food is changing, and that’s where a supplement like AG1 comes into play for me. I started taking it three years ago.

I’ve been a runner since I was 13 or 14. I don’t remember why I first went for a run, but I remember the little three-mile loop around the neighborhood, and coming back and just feeling so good, and so in my body. I’d never had that experience before.

I didn’t consider myself to be good at running. I often found myself at the back of the pack. But, I was always curious about the sport and the discipline, and I would ask my coaches why they were programming workouts the way they were. I would stay with the personal trainer after a session and ask her questions. I was very inquisitive about what went into the sport, and how to show up while doing it. Through most of my 20s, I considered myself a bad-day runner: I would go for a run when I didn’t know what else to do. But beyond that, I didn’t really have much of a health habit.

I’m a college dropout. I got into hospitality and had a knack for it right away. I’d always loved making food, and it felt natural to be a host. I was in the hospitality industry for the majority of my 20s. I tried everything from fine dining to club life, and I found my home in high-volume bartending. I even participated in bartending competitions. I used to have a mantra when I was in hospitality that holds true now: “I want to provide environments where people feel most like themselves.” I would host events that felt true to me, like putting on like Latin parties, playing Brazilian music.

I had a string of bad days: a death in the family, a breakup. And I found myself going for a run every day. Then I started to just remind myself how good I felt when I was doing that, and I started to pursue that more. I noticed how I felt connected to my posture and form, and I wanted to fuel my body better. I decided to sign up for my first marathon, the Chicago Marathon, in 2021. I was looking for things that would support my journey, so I started taking AG1.

What I realized I love about running is that while my body will continue to change as it ages, my running goals can change as well. It might not always be my goal to go this distance this fast; it might be how far I can go or how consistent I can be. I was hooked.

"I think it just shows that finding something that you love, and finding something that makes you feel so new and connected, drives everything else." 

Some friends of mine started a nonprofit called Grocery Run Club during the pandemic, and their initiative is to provide food and necessities to communities throughout Chicago. You’d do a grocery run, and then you’d do a run-club run. They asked me to lead the run club, which really intimidated me, since I hadn’t been part of run culture in that way since high school. The runners would ask me about which shoes they should wear, how they should warm up or what they should do about an injury. I decided to pursue run coaching, which was a huge contrast to my life as a bartender.

I loved being multifaceted. I had always felt like I was in many worlds at once. Like, I go to Brazil, and I’m not Brazilian enough; and I go to America, and I’m not fully assimilating here, either. I wanted to show myself that it was possible to bartend until 5 a.m. and then run 18 miles. I look back and wonder how I did it. I think it just shows that finding something that you love, and finding something that makes you feel so 

I saw that when I was pursuing running it changed everything else. Like, I stopped drinking, or I wasn’t drinking as much, and I saw that the people I was hanging out with were changing. I no longer wanted to hang out and grab a beer or check out this new restaurant. I was like, “I’m going to go to this new trail.” Those were the things I was doing for fun. I was seeing myself make progress, and I was seeing myself do things well. I had also gotten my coaching certification by then, so I was able to give educated advice.

I started coaching a few friends, and I just saw things start to spiral. I was struggling with holding these two worlds. Then I was invited to take a cycling class with a friend. The instructor said, “When you ask for change, you ask for discomfort.” And that just shook me. I knew that, and I knew that I was asking for change, but I didn’t know whether I was ready for discomfort. I worked that night and just felt uncomfortable preparing for my shift. I felt like I just wasn’t supposed to be there. The unfortunate reality of being a woman in hospitality is that you’re often taken advantage of. That night, somebody reached across the bar and grabbed my arm. That happened all the time, and I used to have a good, quick comeback for it. That time I just didn’t have anything. I walked off the job.

I look back and wish I could have done it a little bit more gracefully, but I knew that it was the change that I needed. I was thankful to myself for having savings, and I knew I wanted to spend the next few months thinking through what I actually wanted.

I started having more people ask me, “Are you coaching?” Like, “I want to run. Can you train me?” And after enough people asked, I eventually said yes. I started with two athletes, and then five, and by the summer, I had 13. By marathon time, I had 30. Within the last two years, I’ve been able to work with more than 100 athletes.

"I knew that I was asking for change, but I didn’t know whether I was ready for discomfort."

I have lost friends who I thought were close to me because of pursuing things that are scary and daunting and really personal, but I’ve also attracted some of the most incredible connections and friends and athletes. Something that’s really foundational to my business is making a very relational connection. I really want you to find a connection to the sport. I want you to know which paces make you feel good, which workouts make you feel good and which techniques you can use in the middle of your long run when you’re feeling defeated.

Every morning I wake up and I brush and floss my teeth, and then I drink my AG1 right away. I’ll often walk my dog after that, and then eat a piece of toast and most likely head out the door for a run. When I’m traveling, I’m always bringing AG1 with me. If I happen to forget my packs, I feel the difference. I feel like I’m missing that

. Being a creature of routine, I gravitate toward that. I also take the AG D3+K2 drops, and I often up my dose during the winter.

The name of my business is Inner Lane. It refers to being on the track, where the best place to run is the inside. When running on the street, it’s running closest to the traffic in a way that can protect the other runner. It also refers to living in alignment. I host free weekly track sessions every Thursday morning for people in the community. I always bring coffee and snacks, and I've passed out AG1 packets. In the last month, I’ve been able to hire four new coaches, and I hope to continue. I really try to lead by example, because at the end of the day the coaching really doesn’t feel like it’s about running. It’s about having somebody who believes in you and somebody who’s there to support you. Running is the conduit that we use to make those connections.

The Journey: Marina Holter

AG1 community members tell us how making a change in their lives redirected their personal journeys toward health ownership. Marina Holter is a Chicago-based running coach and the founder of Inner Lane.

Fights oxidative stress and helps protect cellular health with antioxidants

Replenishes nutrients that support metabolic health

A microalgae that delivers outsize nutrition, spirulina leads the lineup of superfoods in AG1. But what

 spirulina? Recognized for its vibrant and electric blue-green color, spirulina is a rich source of vitamins, minerals and fatty acids. So nutritionally dense, spirulina has been used as a supplement by astronauts while in space. It’s a billions-year-old food with an astrophysical pedigree.

In health circles, spirulina is a celebrated add-in to smoothies and juices, while the diehards might dust it on salads. And what does spirulina taste like? It’s surprisingly appealing: earthy, salty and oceanic (but still an acquired taste for some). In the body, it acts as an antioxidant, binding with free radicals to fight oxidative stress, and helping to protect the cells and support the immune system.

Spirulina is a whole-food ingredient included in AG1 for its supply of phytonutrients. Phytonutrients are active compounds that work together to help balance the body and support its interconnected systems: Metabolism, stress response and immune function are all counted among spirulina’s benefits. Most people don’t consume sufficient amounts of phytonutrients in their diet, and spirulina is one of the most nutrient-dense plants on the planet, making it an important ingredient to consider when it comes to supplementation.

The spirulina found in AG1 is a microalgae (Arthrospira platensis) grown in a quality-controlled farm to prevent contamination and development of microcystins and other toxins.

We source the spirulina for AG1 from carefully selected farms, where it’s grown in mineral-rich waters, to ensure it maintains its phytonutrient content while preventing an overgrowth of toxins.

It’s a crown jewel of superfoods, potent and dense. It delivers an array of nutrients elusive in even the healthiest modern diets. It’s beloved by the wellness world and the space program alike, and it’s one of AG1’s most powerful players.

Ingredient Spotlight: Spirulina

I’m originally from Milwaukee. I used to be a teacher and a school leader. I moved to Chicago, made my way back to Milwaukee and then went out to New York. I moved here in 2019, six months before the pandemic started. I had a group of friends here who I knew from college, but when the pandemic hit, everybody’s world became super small. It became even smaller when I was suddenly laid off from my job in the fall of 2021.

I suddenly found myself with a bunch of free time. The only thing to do to get out of the house was run, so that became my life for the next few months. I started going to a different running group or club in New York every day. I think I was just looking for a way to have a positive routine, not a destructive one. Running became the anchor in my life. I had something to look forward to every day, and I could see and feel that I was in a more positive and hopeful mental space after running.

I live in Brooklyn, and there was a running club that met Tuesday mornings called Goldfinger Track Club. I started running with them. GFTC’s founder, Jerry Francois, took me under his wing and was the first person to show me how to actually train for a race. On Wednesday nights there was a group that met on the Lower East Side called Bridgerunners, which was just a great way to see New York. We were on our feet running across the city, visiting different art installations. The founder, Mike Saes, would lead us on tours of quintessential New York landmarks, restaurants and bars. He would begin each run by saying, “Expect the unexpected,” which became a phrase that stuck with me as I continued to try to build a life here.

Each day of the week, I was able to learn from and build new relationships with folks across the running community in New York City. I formed so many new friendships with people who were also training for half-marathons and marathons. I had run a few marathons back when I lived in Chicago, but never 

 anybody. I always trained on my own. I suffered through it and eventually injured my hip. This was a very different experience, where I was forming a new coalition of people who were accountability partners.

Running became the anchor in my life. I had something to look forward to every day, and I could see and feel that I was in a more positive and hopeful mental space after running.

I also met my partner, Sashah. She’s a hugely positive influence in my life. She's a Nike running coach and a fitness instructor at Barry’s. We found running at similar times. We went to Paris last year to run the marathon. Just having somebody that I wake up to every morning, who’s also kicking ass in that way makes me think “OK, I’ve got to get my stuff together."

These groups opened up a vast community of amazing people who are now friends and even family. I think that anytime you’re in a situation with other people, doing a pretty hard thing, when you’re in a crucible moment with someone, just suffering through stuff, there’s a connection. Then you add to that things like signing up for a race together, setting milestones that you can work toward and check in with each other on. Like, “Oh, you’re doing the Chicago Marathon? So am I. Let's do a track workout together, or let's do this long run together. I haven’t run 20 miles. Can you do that with me?” I met some of my best friends because we were training together at the same track. We were sweating in 90-degree heat in July. It’s this whole new ecosystem, sharing your own experience with one another.

It’s also a genuinely positive space, where if somebody else just crushes their marathon goal, that’s almost better than me achieving my own. When Sashah and I were in Paris in 2024, we had a little competition of who can run a faster race. In Chicago in 2023, I finally broke three hours, and she had a not-so-great race. We celebrated a “household personal record.” But then fast-forward to Paris, and she had had a great two-month training block and was really ready to crush it. We were running together, and I could just tell that she had something in the tank that I didn’t. I saw her run away from me, and I was having a crappy race. I was like, “Go for it.” I had some hip issue going on, and then at mile 18, I thought she should probably have finished, so I was texting her, “Hey, did you finish?” And she said she got a 2:57. She finally broke three hours. I started tearing up and was crying as I was finishing the race.

Sharing in that experience of somebody working so hard — when you see it, you see somebody putting in the work, you see somebody spending so much time and energy working toward this goal — and they get it, that’s just so awesome. Seeing your friends do awesome things is a really cool part of the space and the sport. You don’t need to be a professional athlete to be a part of it, and you don't need to be a professional athlete to work toward something that you didn't think you could do.

Other than therapy, running is probably the best tool in my toolbox in terms of keeping my internal balance.

The education industry can be stressful at times, and running has definitely become an outlet for me. Even if the day is wild, I know I’m going to set aside time to go out and run. Even if it's rainy, even if it’s crappy out, I know I need to do that. So other than therapy, running is probably the best tool in my toolbox in terms of keeping my internal balance when it comes to mental and physical health.

I drink AG1 every day, and I’ve noticed a huge difference. I make an effort to eat fruits and vegetables and maintain a healthy diet, but I know I’m not always getting all the nutrients I need and I know AG1 helps me close those gaps. I like having the daily start of all the great stuff that’s in AG1. I almost have a craving for it in the morning now, because it’s really something that my body has benefited from. Also just training for marathons and working out and having that be a part of the “pre-covery” and recovery has been another tool in the toolbox that I use to stay healthy during a training block. In weeks 12, 14 and 15 leading up into a marathon where the mileage is high and you’re starting to really feel the toll, AG1 has really come in huge. I don’t even really think about it anymore. It’s just part of my routine.

That sub-three-hour marathon was the biggest goal I’d had in the last couple of years, and once I achieved it, it was a little bit like, “What’s next?” I took my foot off the gas a little bit with training. But that time did qualify me for the Boston Marathon, so I’m running that in April, for the first and probably only time. One of my best friends that I run with, Vito Lentini, is coaching me. I’m really excited to go on that journey with him and have him as a resource and in my corner. I think I’m also trying to give myself a little more grace as I go through this training block. Am I in the shape that I want to be right now? No, but I’m leaning into the process of starting from scratch again, and I’m looking forward to trying to build myself back up to where I once was and maybe even further.

Honestly, as a kid, running was always punishment. It was what the coach made us do in hockey when we screwed up on the ice: We took our skates off and ran around the rink. So I hated it for most of my life. But it has become an outlet, a positive use of all of that energy, the angst, the things that frustrate me, the things that I’m looking forward to, if I need time to think. It came into my life when I needed it, and I learned through others that running didn’t have to suck.

 The Journey: Thomas Llaurado

AG1 community members tell us how making a change in their lives redirected their personal journeys toward health ownership. Thomas Llaurado is an education consultant who lives in New York.

AG1’s mission is to empower health ownership.

Health ownership: the connection between self-determination and self-care. It’s pursued both in the most serious forms of personal optimization and in looking for, and maybe finding, some balance in a busy life. It’s also in the momentum of a daily routine — and in the magic of a daily ritual. Doing what you can to “own” your health is the most powerful action you can take.

Owning your health starts with knowing your health.

The Scoop is AG1’s new home to explain — and celebrate — everything that goes into every scoop: the people, the science, the testing and beyond. We’ll share stories about how the scoop powers mornings around the world. We’ll explain the why and how of AG1’s industry-leading testing and certifications. We’ll feature community members including professional athletes, scientific thought leaders and customers just getting started on their AG1 journeys: regular people doing epic things.

The mission of AG1 is also the mission of The Scoop. We’re constantly, relentlessly raising the standard and sharing ideas about how to achieve even more, how to create better habits and how to build on your best wellness practices.

AG1 is a research-backed daily health drink that supports a foundation of nutrients and gut health. It started as Ultimate Greens Daily, then became Athletic Greens and has been AG1 since 2021. The obsession has always been the same: bringing you the highest-quality, safest, most effective product. That’s it.
The flagship product improves and iterates in line with new research, but it’s always been one thing: a green powder (that isn’t a “greens powder,” but more on that later), that packs a multivitamin, probiotics (a 

more on that later), adaptogens, antioxidants and superfoods into a single, powerful, deep-green scoop.

The mission of AG1 is to provide a daily foundational opportunity for health ownership. And the mission of The Scoop is the same. We want to empower you with the best possible inputs, for your best possible health.

We’re so happy you’re here with us. We want to feel great, together. We want to hear what you think — 

! Make The Scoop, like AG1, an unmissable and truly foundational part of your routine.

Welcome to The Scoop

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Information on the AG1 site is provided for informational purposes only. It is not meant to substitute for medical advice from your physician or other medical professional. You should not use the information contained herein for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication. Carefully read all product documentation. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, promptly contact your regular health care provider.

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