Understanding how we raise the bar when it comes to research and why clinical outcomes really matter
Since we launched AG1 in 2010, we’ve consistently upgraded our formula, guided by the latest scientific research. Now, we’re building on our history of continuous improvement and helping to raise the standard for the supplement category. Clinical research is a pivotal part of where we’ve been and where we’re going, particularly as we release our upgraded formula, AG1 Next Gen.
Over the past 15 years, we’ve heard from millions of customers about how AG1 has impacted their health and lives—but we are setting new standards in supplement research and working to explore *how* the formula works and to ensure the benefits people experience are measurable.
At the heart of AG1 is our Research, Nutrition, and Innovation team—a world-class group of clinicians, scientists, and researchers with expertise in academic and clinical nutrition, physiology, metabolism, microbiology, food science, and more. This team as a whole plays a central role in shaping the scientific foundation of our product. This includes ingredient scoping and validation, formulation feasibility, identifying evidence gaps to be explored through preclinical and clinical research to deepen our understanding of health outcomes, education, and product development to deliver meaningful innovation.
Being part of the scientific community is an important part of our mission, and the team contributes by publishing reviews, thought leadership pieces, and original research in collaboration with academic partners. As part of our broader mission, we are committed to scientific rigor, sharing the results of AG1’s studies in peer-reviewed journals to ensure our methodologies and findings can benefit the wider health and nutrition field.
Over the past few years, we’ve invested millions of dollars in research and development and will continue to do so. In addition to preclinical and observational studies, we have conducted a series of Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trials (RCTs) with third party research organizations and academic collaborators to both validate our product and drive science forward.
Widely accepted as the gold-standard in clinical trials, RCTs provide the strongest evidence for a causal link between intervention (the product) and outcome while minimizing bias. RCT methods include:
The supplement aisle is more crowded than ever. But how can you tell which products were actually studied in humans? Clinical outcomes. Clinical outcomes measure the impact of consuming a product or ingredients in the human body. They tell us how something actually performs in real people, not just in theory.
AG1 Next Gen was studied across multiple gold-standard clinical trials. The replication of results in multiple studies highlights its effectiveness across different lifestyles and diets. Among other results, AG1 Next Gen is clinically shown to close common nutrient gaps and support gut health. (1-4) Here, some details on the trials themselves.
In addition to our Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials, we’ve established a robust strategy with pre-clinical evidence, like in-vitro trials, to get a better understanding of how AG1 works. Our in-house team of scientists partnered with ProDigest to conduct studies on the effects of AG1 on the gut using a SHIME (Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem) model. This is the industry-leading method for replicating the gut environment. It consists of a series of interconnected sections, called bioreactors, which mimic the physiological and biological conditions of the human gut, including the stomach, small intestine, and different colon regions
Since certain biological processes are extremely difficult to examine in humans without invasive procedures, the SHIME model provides a controlled, highly reliable, and repeatable environment to assess the effects of AG1 on the gut microbiome before progressing to human trials.
The SHIME is one of the few gut models that mimics the entire gastrointestinal tract incorporating stomach, small intestine and different colon regions. Using models like SHIME is particularly important for understanding the mechanisms of action.
Just like the trials themselves, the clinical research lifecycle is also rigorous, and it can be lengthy.
We’re proud to share that four clinical trials – rigorously designed, randomized, placebo-controlled trials – on the AG1 Next Gen formula have been completed. This is a major milestone in our scientific journey and one that underscores our long-standing commitment to evidence-based innovation.
Learn more about how the trials were conducted and what we’ve shared since they were completed on our Research page.
In addition to the key findings that have already been shared, we are committed to advancing scientific research through a level of integrity that goes beyond the basic requirements for publication. The next phase of the publishing process starts with submitting abstracts – another word for summaries – to annual conferences. Once accepted, these submissions may be chosen for poster or an oral presentation. Abstracts are typically published post-symposium and the timing can vary depending on the scientific meeting.
We’ve recently had abstracts accepted at several national scientific conferences, including:
We feel strongly that good scientific research is hypothesis-driven and follows a hierarchy of scientific rigor. We’re proud to be part of the scientific community and are passionate about collaborating with experts across the foundational health spectrum, leading universities and institutions, and third-party clinical research centers to fuel scientific discovery and innovation and further validate the beneficial effects of our products.
Since AG1 was founded, our unwavering mission of empowering health has never changed, nor has our intention of being an industry leader in quality standards and research. Why? Because we believe it’s what the customer deserves and because leading by example is the only option.
Learn more about our research methods, study designs, and more here.
RCTs on finished products are rare in the industry, as they’re expensive and time consuming. With our newest formulation, AG1 Next Gen, we invested further and doubled down on our investment in research: AG1 Next Gen is rooted in clinical evidence with four gold-standard clinical trials.
It is considered best practice within the scientific community for full abstracts to remain under embargo until they are formally presented at the conferences. As they are published, we will update our Research page. In parallel, AG1 is preparing full manuscripts containing more data from all four trials, which will be submitted to peer-reviewed journals over the coming months for publication.
The process of undertaking a trial, analyzing the results, and publishing them can take years. But we know it’s worth the wait, because we’re committed to advancing science—not just for the sake of innovation, but to contribute meaningfully to advancing the science of nutrition and the microbiome forward.