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Welcome to our Ancient Nutrition review!
It’s safe to say that Ancient Nutrition is up there as one of The Nutrition Insider’s favorite brands reviewed to date—not to mention one of our most entertaining interviews (we can’t say we’ve seen videos of employees riding friendly water buffalo at a regenerative farm in any other).
From 10 million trees planted to 500,000 pounds of eggshells composted to “saving the world with superfoods,” Ancient Nutrition definitely has some lofty goals.
But they aren’t just pipe dreams or empty promises—Ancient Nutrition consistently delivers when it comes to how their products transform human health and how they are protecting our increasingly fragile world as they create them.
As Ancient Nutrition states of their vision, “Our mission is to transform the health of every individual on the planet with history’s most powerful superfoods.”
And they are well on their way to doing so, with their broad range of environmental projects, sustainable practices, and top-tier nutritional products allowing them to score a rare A+ rating—only the second A+ brand rating in The Nutrition Insider history!
By far their most popular product, the Multi Collagen Protein boasts ten (yes, ten) different types of collagen, whereas most collagen powders out there utilize just one or two. Plus, it contains SBO probiotics and vitamin C, making this a three-in-one product.
It’s also one of our top choices for improving sagging skin!
If you’re in any way a part of the wellness world, you’ve undoubtedly heard of Jordan Rubin and Dr. Josh Axe.
Not only did Jordan Rubin found the whole-foods supplement company Garden of Life (another one of our most-trusted brands) because of his own personal health journey, but Dr. Axe adds to the credibility of the company as a well-known chiropractor and nutritionist whose website is dubbed the “Google of natural health.”
Jordan and Dr. Axe teamed up to start Ancient Nutrition after researching Ayurveda, traditional Chinese methods, and other Eastern health modalities.
Asking questions like “What did our ancestors eat?” led to the realization that our modern-day diets have wide nutritional gaps—and their goal is to fill those gaps and ultimately return us back to the health of our ancestors.
While Ancient Nutrition doesn’t have a decades-long history like some other supplement and wellness brands, its start in 2016 has paved a new gold-standard path for the industry,
One of the ways that Ancient Nutrition is disrupting this industry is by sourcing products through the farms they own—although the team primarily operates out of the greater Nashville, Tennessee area, just an hour-ish drive south will take you to one of their two impressively certified regenerative farms.
If you can imagine an idyllic farm full of happy livestock grazing, bees buzzing, and thousands of trees—in a town with an even more idyllic-sounding name—you’ve landed at Ancient Nutrition’s Center for Regenerative Agriculture in Summertown, TN.
We learned more about these paradisal farms from two team members, who even shared with us stories, pictures, and videos of the team literally getting their hands dirty planting trees—and even riding water buffalo (apparently they’re like big, friendly dogs).
Ancient Nutrition also operates a larger-scale farm in Koshknonog, Missouri, with 4,000 Certified Organic acres in the Ozarks, full of orchards, superfood-bearing trees, and livestock to regenerate the soil.
As we’ll get into later in this article, Ancient Nutrition walks the walk and talks the talk when it comes to manufacturing healthful, nourishing, and sustainable products—nothing is wasted and everything is beneficial.
Every brand we review is assessed according to the following universal criteria (we’ve included Ancient Nutrition’s individual grades here):
Taken together, these grades have earned Ancient Nutrition an overall grade of A+ (only the second A+ brand rating in The Nutrition Insider history).
These categories encompass dozens of factors, ranging from the mundane, like shipping and return policies, to the more exciting, like industry disruption and ingredient sourcing (well, exciting to us nutrition nerds, at least).
Now, we’ll start with the always-important issue of quality.
Grade: A+
The superior ingredient quality and sourcing of their impressive catalog combined with a lack of unhealthy additives overcame the slight issue of inability to fully mix the Bone Broth Protein Powder, leaving Ancient Nutrition with the highest grade possible for quality.
As many consumers would agree, quality is of utmost importance when choosing a supplement or food product—and Ancient Nutrition does not disappoint.
In this category, we used a fine-tooth comb to go through every aspect of quality—from packaging and labeling to ingredient formulation and sourcing to manufacturing processes and certifications.
It’s safe to say that Ancient Nutrition is doing things right, as they boast an impressive lineup of certifications on their products, including USDA Organic, Regenerative Organic Certified, CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers), Non-GMO Tested, Bee Better Certified, Savory Institute, and Certified Regenerative by AGW.
Some of the products our team sampled were the Vanilla and Chocolate Bone Broth Protein Powders and the SBO Probiotics Ultimate—all of which had easy-to-open yet durable packaging and aesthetically pleasing black, white, and gold branding.
But it’s not all just pretty packaging—what’s inside is also of superior quality.
You could’ve probably guessed this already, but you won’t find any fillers, synthetics, or artificial ingredients in anything Ancient Nutrition.
They also rigorously test for pesticides, herbicides, and heavy metals, so you can know what you’re putting in your body is safe—and you can see some of the results, too, with Certificates of Analysis published for their collagen products.
Ancient Nutrition backs their ingredient formulation with science, promoting each supplement’s absorption by using fermentation, herb-combining, and other methods of boosting bioavailability to ensure you aren’t wasting your money.
The product sourcing also contributes to the A+ quality rating, as some of their ingredients come directly from their organic and regenerative farms, and their manufacturing processes aim to reduce plastic usage and food waste.
Although they have 145 products on their site, we heard from the Ancient Nutrition team that their most popular items are the Multi-Collagen Protein Powder, the Bone Broth Protein Powders, Organic SuperGreens, and the SBO (Soil-Based Organisms) Probiotics—let’s take a closer look at some of these products.
Ancient Nutrition is best known for their collagen protein powders, which include the famed Multi Collagen Powder and Multi Collagen Capsules, Collagen Peptides, and specialized products like collagen capsules for Beauty and Sleep or Joint + Mobility.
The Multi-Collagen Protein powder is currently the only collagen brand on the market using a proprietary fermented eggshell membrane backed by human clinical studies to support hair, joint, and skin health.
The fermented eggshell membrane provides nine out of the 10 different types of collagen seen in the Multi-Collagen powder and is the ingredient that allows Ancient Nutrition to claim their collagen supplement provides fast-acting results (reduced exercise-induced discomfort) as early as day one.
Another flagship product at Ancient Nutrition is their collection of tasty bone broth protein powders, with flavors ranging from the savory, like Turmeric and Tomato Basil, to the sweet with Chocolate and Vanilla.
Some of the powders are created from chicken bone broth, while others are based on pasture-raised and grass-fed beef bone broth, providing options for all taste buds and preferences.
Notably, Ancient Nutrition was the first to bring bone broth to the market in a concentrated protein powder form and is the only company to have a patent on their bone broth protein powder.
But that’s not stopping Jordan Rubin from encouraging other brands to follow suit—he reportedly wants as many people as possible to be able to experience this life-changing product.
Packed with type II collagen, which supports joint, cartilage, and gut health, Ancient Nutrition’s Bone Broth Protein is a savory, patented protein powder made from sustainably sourced, non-GMO, U.S.-farmed chickens.
This concentrated bone broth is three times as potent as homemade broth, with flavors including Vanilla, Chocolate, Salted Caramel, and Turmeric.
Ancient Nutrition is not all about collagen and bone broth—they also carry a wide variety of plant-based compounds, like the Organic SuperGreens powder, Multi-Mushroom Daily Immune Defense, and Organic Ashwagandha.
Plus, the Herbal Apple Cider Vinegar line is packed with superfoods grown on their own organic, regenerative farmland, making it a closed-loop production process from seed to bottle.
The foundation of Jordan’s start in the nutrition industry was soil-based probiotics.
Unlike your typical run-of-the-mill grocery store probiotic—of which there are now hundreds—SBO probiotics are soil-based organism probiotics, meaning they are made of highly resilient microbes that naturally occur in healthy soil and are designed to survive and thrive in your gut.
Not to mention, Ancient Nutrition’s SBO Probiotics also contain other gut-supporting ingredients like fermented turmeric, ginger root, and black pepper, as well as prebiotic compounds that act as fuel for the probiotics to thrive, and postbiotics—helpful metabolites that are created by probiotics.
Some of Ancient Nutrition’s digestive support supplements include the SBO Probiotics (with Ultimate, Gut Restore, Men’s and Women’s formulations), Digestive Enzymes, and Leaky Gut supplements.
Grade: A+
You can’t get much more transparent than Ancient Nutrition, including their sustainable production practices, closed-loop supply chain process with some products, and abundant educational material about collagen, probiotics, and beyond.
In this section, we look at a brand’s transparency when it comes to things like:
Some things that Ancient Nutrition is definitely doing right when it comes to transparency is their product accessibility, with each supplement page containing ample information about what each product does, detailed educational material about what it’s made with, and the expected benefits.
We also learned a lot more in our interview with Ancient Nutrition team members, who shared about their regenerative farms and how they sustainably manufacture their products, with some even being a closed-loop process from “seed to bottle” that wastes nothing.
Ancient Nutrition is also highly transparent about their sustainability practices, which include goals of making the jump from carbon neutral to carbon negative, transforming food waste into feed and seed, and focusing on the R.A.N.C.H. Project to support Regenerative Agriculture, Nutrition, and Climate Health—BTW, 1% of all proceeds go to this project.
They also have an easy-to-find policy page, which allows for a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee, even with opened products.
One downside is that while the “About” page does talk about Jordan Rubin and Dr. Josh Axe’s founding journey, we don’t get much more in terms of who the other high-ranking team members are and what they do at Ancient Nutrition.
Grade: A+
With almost 150 products, Ancient Nutrition’s catalog is not brief, but their modern and clean website makes it easy to navigate.
We grade brands in this category based on how easy and intuitive they make the e-commerce experience, as well as the depth and accessibility of beginner-friendly content resources.
In addition to each product page being chock-full of helpful information for those interested in the “why” behind each supplement, Ancient Nutrition also has a blog full of recipes and educational articles to support both beginners and advanced knowledge-seekers.
Ancient Nutrition’s e-commerce setup makes it easy to quickly find, learn about, and purchase products—despite having 145 options in six categories—thanks to simple drop-down menus with helpful sub-categories.
Once you’ve found what you want, checking out is a breeze.
Grade: A+
For their friendly and fast customer service response, wide array of contact options, and generous refund policy, we awarded Ancient Nutrition an A+.
You can have the best product in the world, but if there isn’t high-quality customer service to go along with it, brand loyalty can still be abysmal.
Fortunately, that is not the case with Ancient Nutrition.
With customer service options via email, text, live chat, and phone (all we’re missing are telegrams and carrier pigeons), Ancient Nutrition has their channels wide open to help customers.
We got helpful and friendly email responses within 40 minutes, a phone call answered within a minute, and both the text and live chat responses came within minutes—what more could you want?
We also award brands points in this category based on their shipping and return policies—boring, we know, but it’s still important stuff.
Ancient Nutrition offers free shipping on orders over $49 (which is easy to get to, as we’ll see in the “Value” section) that ship in 3-10 business days; an order under $49 will slap on a flat rate of $6.95 for shipping.
You also have the option to get 2-day expedited shipping for $19.95—but it has the caveat of an additional 1-2 business days of “processing,” which could land you in the same range as the flat-rate or free shipping window.
Their refund policy is reasonable, which allows for a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee, even with opened products.
In addition to direct purchases from Ancient Nutrition, the products are also available from Hi-Health, which has free 2-day shipping on all orders, as well as an unconditional 30-day money-back guarantee.
Overall, the prompt and professional customer service options led us to award Ancient Nutrition with, again, an A+ rating.
Grade: A
Like many of the brands we review, it’s not a question of whether or not the products are expensive, but rather, if they’re worth it. In this case, we think Ancient Nutrition proves their worth.
There’s not much of a question of whether or not Ancient Nutrition’s products are pricey.
At $52.95 for a 20-serving container of Bone Broth Protein powder, for example, the brand charges a premium for their products—but there’s no disputing that the products are also of premium value.
Made of high-quality ingredients with no fillers or artificial anything, it’s easy to see why Ancient Nutrition puts the price tag that they do.
Plus, even though their collagen powders are a bit more expensive than competitors, they also give you more bang for your buck.
Most collagen powders are just that—collagen—but Ancient Nutrition makes it a three-in-one product, adding in clinically studied SBO probiotics and clinically studied vitamin C.
We even heard anecdotes that some customers budget part of their Social Security check each month to make sure they can get Ancient Nutrition’s collagen powder—it’s that valuable.
While we won’t get into all six categories of Ancient Nutrition offerings, here’s a quick look at how they stand up to a few competitors for collagen, probiotics, and greens powders.
Product | Ancient Nutrition | Competitor |
Collagen | Multi-Collagen Powder: $52.95 for 16oz ($3.30 per oz) | Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides: $47.00 for 20oz ($2.35 per oz) |
Probiotics | SBO Probiotics Ultimate: $49.95 for 30 servings ($1.66 per serving) | Ritual Synbiotic: $50.40 for 30 servings ($1.68 per serving) |
Greens Powder | Organic SuperGreens: $39.95 for 25 servings ($1.60 per serving) | Organifi Green Juice: $49.95 for 30 servings ($2.66 per serving) |
However, despite the higher price of collagen, our team agreed that the higher quality is worth it—the ten types of collagen present in the Multi-Collagen Protein make it a clear winner that you can’t find elsewhere.
Plus, the soil-based probiotic price is almost identical to a competitor, and Ancient Nutrition’s greens powder is a better value with more than double the amount of superfood ingredients.
Grade: A+
This might be the easiest A+ we’ve ever awarded—from their commitment to the environment to raising the bar with collagen products and “saving the world with superfoods,” Ancient Nutrition is leading the pack when it comes to brand value.
In this broad category, we assess a brand’s industry-disrupting product innovations, philanthropic or activism efforts, sustainability standards, and any other attributes or achievements that improve the state of the industry.
Notably, their two regenerative farms were the first in America in to be Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC), which goes even beyond “organic,” meaning that these farms meet the highest standards for soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness.
Their three-pillar plan to heal the planet, feed the world, and transform health is also commendable, with action items like planting one million superfood-bearing trees or plants, composting 500,000 pounds of eggshells, and diverting 150,000 pounds of food waste from landfills, to name a few.
They also have non-environmental philanthropic efforts, like supporting the non-profit organization Mully Children’s Family, which helps to end poverty, hunger, homelessness, and human trafficking, all while planting trees to fight climate change (okay, so there’s still a bit of environmentalism there).
Ancient Nutrition is also disrupting the collagen industry, with its high-quality collagen powders containing ten types of the protein, and the patented Bone Broth Protein powders that allow consumers to get all the benefits of bone broth without the hassle.
Last but certainly not least, Ancient Nutrition’s commitment to improving public health can’t be questioned—they even recently entered a scientific research partnership with Rodale Health to advance these efforts and collect data about the impact of regenerative agriculture, as healthy farming leads to healthy humans.
Overall, Ancient Nutrition walks the walk and talks the talk when it comes to innovation, education, and commitment to health and sustainability, awarding them an easy A+.
Our team sampled a few of their best-selling products, including:
The Bone Broth Protein powders had a bit of trouble completely mixing and dissolving in water, as the bottom of the cup had some “gelatinous” qualities to the residue.
However, this means you can be sure that there is actually bone broth in there—as one team member put it, “You can definitely tell that is an animal product in there.”
Better results were seen upon blending the Bone Broth Protein powder, so that would be our recommendation.
The SBO Probiotics were also well-received, with a bit of an earthy flavor (they do come from soil, after all) but no off-putting aftertaste that some supplements can provide.
Although a minor detail, we also love the branding of Ancient Nutrition products, with the sleek black, gold, and white labels.
Overall, although we just tried a few products, we had a positive experience with Ancient Nutrition, factoring in taste, nutritional value, and variety.
Yes, all Ancient Nutrition products are rigorously tested for purity and contaminants.
Whenever possible, they use clinically studied ingredients, which means the ingredient or product is:
– Supported by proven research,
– Backed by peer-reviewed studies, and
– Tested for efficacy, safety, and transparency
Collagen powders—as with all dietary supplements—are never regulated or approved by the FDA; therefore, Ancient Nutrition collagen is not FDA-approved.
However, Ancient Nutrition’s manufacturing processes are current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP)-certified, which meets the FDA’s standards for supplement manufacturing standards.
Some Ancient Nutrition products are made at one of their regenerative farms in Missouri, while other products are sourced from elsewhere in the United States.
Ancient Nutrition’s Multi Collagen Protein has a proprietary fermented eggshell membrane ingredient that has been clinically studied, with results being seen in as little as one day (for reduced exercise-induced discomfort)†.
Collagen is linked to support for digestive, joint, cartilage, and skin health†.
†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.
Yes, Dr. Axe is a co-founder and co-owner of Ancient Nutrition, along with Jordan Rubin.
No, Nestle does not own Ancient Nutrition, although Jordan Rubin sold Garden of Life to Nestle in 2017.
Ancient Nutrition was co-founded in 2016 by Jordan Rubin and Dr. Josh Axe.
Yes, Jordan Rubin is a co-founder and co-owner of Ancient Nutrition, along with Dr. Josh Axe.
Jordan Rubin is also the CEO of Ancient Nutrition.
All of the Ancient Nutrition Bone Broth Protein powders can be mixed into water or any hot or cold liquid of your choosing.
The sweet flavors, like Vanilla and Chocolate, do well when mixed into coffee, smoothies, or baked goods, while the savory flavors (Tomato Basil, Turmeric, Chicken Soup, etc.) could be mixed into soups, stews, sauces, or broths.
Ancient Nutrition is undoubtedly a premium brand that backs up their more expensive products with the highest quality ingredients, excellent customer service, and an unbeatable commitment to sustainability, regenerative agriculture, and environmental protection.
With industry-disrupting products like Bone Broth Protein and ten-type collagen powders, Ancient Nutrition is committed to improving the health of both humans and the planet.
As Ancient Nutrition received an overall ranking of A+, which is only the second rating of this caliber in The Nutrition Insider history, it’s safe to say that Ancient Nutrition is going places and we’re excited to see what lofty goals they come up with—and achieve—next.
†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.