Can NAD+ (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide) Restore Youth?

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NAD+ Review

Over the past few years, the anti-aging community has been abuzz about a unique chemical compound called Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide, or NAD+ for short.

In one landmark study, Harvard researchers were able to use NAD+ to make the cells of 2 year old mice look like the cells of 6 month old mice.

Is NAD+ really the secret cure for aging? Can you take NAD+ supplements to reverse the effects of aging on your body and mind? Let’s find out today in our NAD+ review.

What is NAD+?

NAD+ is the shortened name of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. It’s a chemical compound used by every cell in your body.

In fact, NAD+ is found in every living mammal.

Researchers have found that NAD+ levels are directly related to aging: as we age, levels of NAD+ decline, so there’s an inverse relationship between aging and NAD+ levels. This is what Niagen has been known for and associated with increasing NAD+ in the body to produce better anti-aging environments.

Interestingly enough, NAD+ levels decline in everybody as they age. Regardless of your personal health, diet, or physical fitness, your NAD+ levels will decline as you age.

The idea behind NAD+ is that we can artificially raise these levels and trick the body’s cells into thinking we’re younger. If you’re experiencing fatigue, lack of motivation, and age-related physical or mental decline, then NAD+ supplementation has been proposed as a cure.

Chemically speaking, there’s a difference between NAD+ and other forms of NAD. NAD is a coenzyme found in all living cells, and NAD+ is the oxidized form of NAD. There are also compounds like NADH, the reduced form of NAD, NA, NAM, NR, and NAD – all of which act as precursors or building blocks for NAD+.

How Does NAD+ Reverse the Effects of Aging?

Generally speaking, NAD+ enables the transfer of energy from the foods we eat to our cells. When our cells need to perform essential functions, they ask our blood for energy in the form of glucose and fatty acids. NAD+ helps get that glucose where it needs to go, giving us better physical and mental energy.

NAD+ has been linked with a number of powerful biological processes.

These processes reverse the effects of aging by making your cells look – and act – younger:

— Promote Sirtuin Gene Activation (using SIRT1 and SIRT3)

— Enhance The Growth And Efficiency Of Mitochondria, Which Boosts Physical And Mental Energy Throughout The Body

— Optimize Metabolism

— Enhance Cognitive Health And Reverse The Effects Of Aging On The Brain

— Promote Insulin Sensitivity And Encourage Healthy Blood Sugar Levels

— Repair DNA

Together, these benefits reverse the effects of aging in every cell of the body. As we age, levels of NAD+ decrease. This makes it difficult for cells to process the energy they need – their mitochondrial function is severely impaired.

Mitochondrial depletion in every cell of the body is one of the major reasons behind the physical symptoms of aging. Declining NAD+ and mitochondrial function leads to neurodegeneration, vascular inflammation, increased fat storage, increased fat production, insulin resistance, fatigue, and loss of muscle strength.

Scientific Evidence for NAD+

Scientific evidence has been mounting in support of NAD+. More and more studies are being done every year on this exciting new compound. In 2003, there were 474 studies published on niacinamide. In 2013, there were 1,713.

Here are some of the notable studies which have been performed on NAD+ thus far:

2015 Study Shows Nicotinamide Could Prevent Arsenic-Induced Skin Cancer

A 2015 study published in PLoS One measured the effects of nicotinamide on repairing arsenic and ultraviolet radiation-damaged skin. In developing countries, arsenic contamination of water leads to a higher risk of arsenic-induced skin cancer. Nicotinamide “reduced both types of photolesions…likely by enhancing DNA repair.” Researchers concluded the study by stating that “Nicotinamide is a nontoxic, inexpensive agent with potential for chemoprevention of arsenic induced skin cancer.”

2013 Harvard Study Turns 2 Year Old Mice into 6 Month Old Mice

Perhaps the most exciting study on NAD+ came out in 2013, when Harvard researchers “discovered a cause of aging in mammals that may be reversible.” Researchers were able to inject an NAD+ molecule into 2 year old mice. After just one week, researchers examined the tissue of the 2 year old mice and found that it closely resembled the tissue of six month old mice. Researchers concluded that “this would be like a 60-year-old converting to a 20-year-old.”

2013 Study Shows NAD+ Can Synchronize Our Bodily Cycles

One team of researchers published a study in 2013 which showed that NAD+ could be used to synchronize mitochondrial function with circadian regulation. In other words, NAD+ could optimize energy production and synchronize our body’s light and dark (waking and sleeping) cycles. This is theorized to provide a more sustained release of energy throughout the day.

2015 and Onward – Early Human Clinical Trials for NAD+ Are Promising

Human clinical trials on NAD+ are currently underway around the globe. These clinical trials are being led by the same Harvard Researchers that produced the 2013 study listed above, as well as teams from the University of New South Wales and other institutions around the world. A recent report by Australia’s ABC claimed that the early human trials were showing “promising results” although the full impact would not be measurable for several more years.

More studies need to be done on NAD+ to determine the full impact of this new chemical. With hundreds of active studies currently taking place around the world, there will surely be plenty of new and exciting NAD+ information to digest in the near future.

NAD+ Supplements

Ever since NAD+ exploded onto the scene with that Harvard study in 2013, there have been NAD+ supplements appearing online and in health food stores.

You can order NAD+ supplements on Amazon, for example. Supplement manufacturers claim that taking just one or two pills per day can reverse the effects of aging.

Most of these supplements, however, are little more than a flashy name: they add the term “NAD+” to the packaging and people buy the supplement thinking it’s a cure for aging.

In reality, many of these supplements are absurdly under-dosed. Most legitimately contain NAD+, but they have such low amounts of NAD+ that it won’t make any noticeable difference on your body.

How Much NAD+ Should You Take?

Before buying an NAD+ supplement online, be sure to check the dosage per serving. Most NAD+ pills appear to have a formula containing less than 100 mg of NAD+. In reality, you want at least 1000 mg (1 gram) or more in order to see any benefits.

Alternatively, use vitamin B3: there’s a form of vitamin B3 that acts as a precursor to NAD+. Specifically, the type of vitamin B3 called nicotinamide riboside has been found to increase NAD+ levels.

The Food and Nutrition Board recommends a daily intake of 14 to 18 milligrams for niacinamide and niacin, with the upper intake level being 35 mg per day.

However, that upper intake level is routinely exceeded when taking niacinamide for various conditions. When taken to prevent age-related eye disease, patients take up to 500 mg by mouth. When taken to prevent clogged arteries, patients take 3,000 to 4,000 mg by mouth.

And when taken to prevent heart disease, patients take anywhere from 0.125 to 12 grams of niacin by mouth daily for up to five years.

Many people follow these general guidelines when deciding how much NAD+ to take. Most of the benefits from niacin supplementation occur after doses of at least one gram.

Always talk to your doctor before taking an NAD+ supplement.

Conclusion: Who Should Take NAD+?

The field of study around NAD+ is still very new. Many studies have been performed already, and most of those studies have been overwhelmingly supportive of NAD+ and its health benefits.

Unfortunately, the NAD+ supplements you see on the market today don’t typically provide the benefits.

NAD+ could legitimately be the cure for aging: more research needs to be done, and more research is being done. Unless you can find an NAD+ supplement which offers a dosage higher than 1 gram, then the NAD+ supplements you see on store shelves or on Amazon aren’t worth your time or money.

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13 COMMENTS

  1. There are a couple of places in the above article where info on niacinamide is suddenly given, in a discussion that is otherwise about nicotinamide. Despite the similarity in these two words, niacinamide and nicotinamide are NOT the same thing. Makes me wonder about the validity of the stats, and which substance they are actually referring to!

  2. Every product i find online is not NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) but nicotinamide riboside ; not the same thing from what i’m reading.

    can someone point me in the right direction?

    • This article is not accurate! nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide is not nad+ its nad, nad is either oxidized (nad+) or reduced (NADH). The point is to increase nad+ in your body. nicotinamide riboside is converted in your body to nad+. You can not take nad+ orally directly because it gets destroyed before it reaches the cells. (I do not know what kind was used in the mice study) The recommended dose of nicotinamide riboside is 500mg not 1g. I have not tried it my self but the science is sound i believe, I ordered 250mg x 60 supply from ebay, look at the dosage if you want to find it. I do not know if you can take nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and get both nad+ and NADH, but i have only find max 25mg of this for sale.

  3. PLEASE take Bee Pollen (make sure you get it from a quality Bee Keeper -( stay away from Bee Pollen from the Health Food Stores)
    start slow with 1 teaspoon a day – increase slowly until you get up to 3 tablespoons a day 1 at breakfast 1 at lunch 1 at mid afternoon. (make sure you are not allergic to bee stings)
    You will not only feel stronger, healther & you will look younger at all cellular levels !!
    If you were on a Island and only had clean water & Bee pollen – you could live the rest of your life super healthy!!. Trust me Mother Nature knows what she is doing by giving us our little buddies the bees gifts to us. Bee healthy Bee

  4. My wife has Bulbar Palsy, ALS. Trying to find quality producer/supplier to get the best benefit NAD+.

    • My name is Jeanne’. I own a IV NAD+ Clinic in Florida and I have been working with NAD supplementation for the past 6 years. The best “most bio-available” source of NAD+ is an intravenous product that we get from Archway Apothecary in Louisiana. Due to bio-availability and absorption I highly recommend NR from chromodex for any oral supplementation. Hope this information helps.

      • I’ve done the NAD IV therapy and it didn’t help one bit. WAY over priced as all they do is use a 750 mg bag of Normal Saline ( 0.9 sodium chloride) (around $25-40) and like 1 gram of NAD powder diluted (maybe $50 at the most).

        They don’t measure NAD levels before hand or after (and yes there is a way to measure NAD levels via blood draw) nor do they check platelet catecholamines/neurotransmitters.

        These NAD IV therapy clinics are spin offs of the William Hitt clinic in Tijuana Mexico. William Hitt was a fraud to say the least:

        “California attorney Jenelle C Prins, who has investigated Hitt, reports that “William Hitt does not have any undergraduate or medical degrees. In 1987 he was sued by the State of Texas, Case No 87 27882, for fraudulent practices. In sworn documents filed with the court, he admitted that he had no degrees of any type (except for one from what Hitt called ‘a paper mill’, known as Walden College).” Prins reports that the University of Colorado, where Hitt once claimed to have been awarded an MD in 1952, “has no record of him”.

        And what of that Nobel Prize? Hitt claims to have won the Nobel Peace Prize while a member of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. This is false, she says.

        The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War corresponded with me and stated that Hitt had never been a member. Hitt has recently changed his story to say he was a member of the Mexican delegation to the International Physicians et al, but I checked this claim as well and it is also false.”

        Hitt claims to have won a “prestigious Eli Lily Award and several other awards. “I called Eli Lily and spoke with a woman there who researched Hitt’s claim,” says Prins. “First, Eli Lilly does not give out a prize. They do, however, provide grants, but no grant was ever awarded to Hitt.”

        “We learnt of his falsity when one of my clients returned from treatment for Hepatitis C in Mexico,” says Prins. “When she went to her regular doctor to check her viral load, her levels were higher than when she went to Mexico.” Prins says that in this and several other cases, “Hitt doctored test results”…”

        The James Randi Educational Foundation

        I would be very skeptical about going to these NAD IV therapy clinics as they charge $1000 to 1300 a DAY and they want you to do it for 10-15 days!!! All this and NO data or double blind trials to support anything they are doing.

      • “California attorney Jenelle C Prins, who has investigated Hitt, reports that “William Hitt does not have any undergraduate or medical degrees. In 1987 he was sued by the State of Texas, Case No 87 27882, for fraudulent practices. In sworn documents filed with the court, he admitted that he had no degrees of any type (except for one from what Hitt called ‘a paper mill’, known as Walden College).” Prins reports that the University of Colorado, where Hitt once claimed to have been awarded an MD in 1952, “has no record of him”.

        And what of that Nobel Prize? Hitt claims to have won the Nobel Peace Prize while a member of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. This is false, she says.

        The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War corresponded with me and stated that Hitt had never been a member. Hitt has recently changed his story to say he was a member of the Mexican delegation to the International Physicians et al, but I checked this claim as well and it is also false.”

        Hitt claims to have won a “prestigious Eli Lily Award and several other awards. “I called Eli Lily and spoke with a woman there who researched Hitt’s claim,” says Prins. “First, Eli Lilly does not give out a prize. They do, however, provide grants, but no grant was ever awarded to Hitt.”

        “We learnt of his falsity when one of my clients returned from treatment for Hepatitis C in Mexico,” says Prins. “When she went to her regular doctor to check her viral load, her levels were higher than when she went to Mexico.” Prins says that in this and several other cases, “Hitt doctored test results”…”

        The James Randi Educational Foundation

        I would be very skeptical about going to this clinic. I went to one in Indianapolis and they charge $1000-1300 a day. All you are getting is a $25 bag of sodium chloride 0.9% and maybe $30 worth of NAD. No double blind trials or studies done. No NAD levels or neurotransmitter measured.

  5. Life Extension has NAD+ 100 mil but it has nicotinamide riboside with it.
    Would that be enough to do what your saying it should do?
    I am 60 yrs old and looking to go well over 100 baring external threats.

    • Mike, try Elysium Basis, it is $50 per month if you take the recurring shipment. I have been on it for about 4 weeks and I honestly feel much more energetic, do not have hunger pains and find myself eating less. I am 62 years old but have always had the energy and stamina of a younger person. I seem to go to bed earlier the last few weeks and wake up feeling refreshed. I can’t wait for the results to keep on happening. Two Elysium Basis pills, taken in the morning provide 500 mg. There is a noticeable difference in my energy and I feel better overall. By the way, I have Type2 mild case of diabetes and there is evidence that Metformin is beneficial to anti-aging. Also ibuprofen also has a positive effect as it reduces inflammation.

      • Bill, research the side effects of Metformin and ibuprofen. There are other nutriceutical options that avoid those side effects and avoid potential negative interactions with foods and supplements. Diabetes runs rampant in my family (actually, as well as most common cellular inflammation-related chronic diseases) and I know diabetes is a locomotive on a track aimed directly at me. I’m working to avoid fueling that locomotive. Lots of supplements including herbals in addition to high-GOOD-fat/low-carb diet “can” reduce or eliminate the need for Metformin only without the side effects and future risks. Also, per inflammation, I’ve found Zyflamend to be exceptionally good, especially teamed with several other particularly good antioxidants. Also, I’ve recently substituted white willow bark for aspirin, with good results.

  6. I have been using niacinamide supplements along with a good diet and normal dietary supplements and have found it has greatly improved my energy and ability to train and improve my athletic performance. I highly recommend it to others.

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