What are the Benefits of NAD?
NAD+, the active form of niacin (vitamin B3), is an essential cofactor in every cell of the body. It plays a critical role in energy production, DNA repair, circadian rhythm, and more. Robust levels of NAD+ support health and longevity.
What are the benefits of NAD? Keep reading to learn more and how to boost your levels with lifestyle and liposomal NAD+ supplements. This article will cover:
- NAD benefits
- NAD and Aging
- How to Boost NAD+ Levels
NAD+ Benefits
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, NAD+, is the active cofactor your cells require for optimal energy and cellular function. NAD+ is concentrated in the mitochondria of cells, where it’s needed to turn calories from the food you eat into energy, as ATP. But that’s not its only important function: NAD+ is involved in:
- Sirtuin production (more on that below)
- Antioxidant protection
- DNA repair
- Sleep cycles and the circadian rhythm
- Cell communication and homeostasis (Source 1, 2)
Because of these processes within the cell, NAD+ becomes critical to organs and systems throughout the body. NAD+ benefits:
- Brain health and cognition
- Cardiovascular health
- Immune system health
- Chronic disease prevention (including metabolic disease and neurodegenerative diseases)
- Healthy aging and longevity (Source 1, 3, 4, 5)
As you can see, the tiny NAD+ molecule is critical for maintaining health and preventing disease, especially as we age.
“As you can see, the tiny NAD+ molecule is critical for maintaining health and preventing disease, especially as we age.”
NAD+ and Aging
High NAD+ levels mean a constant NAD+ supply for energy production. This is why kids have boundless energy. As we age, NAD+ levels decline because the body has a more challenge making it, recycling it back to the active form, and may use it more quickly. By the time you’re in midlife, your levels are less than half of what they were when you were young. (Source 6)
“High NAD+ levels mean a constant NAD+ supply for energy production. This is why kids have boundless energy.”
From this perspective, NAD+ may be the elusive fountain of youth.
As NAD+ levels decline, it affects sirtuins in the cells. Sirtuins are the gatekeepers of the genome and can turn genes on and off, especially ones related to aging and metabolism. Restoring NAD+ improves the functions of sirtuins, which means more anti-aging signaling within cells.
The good news is that NAD+ levels can be restored through a healthy lifestyle and NAD+ supplements, thus slowing – or even reversing – age-related risk factors and diseases. (Source 7)
“The good news is that NAD+ levels can be restored through a healthy lifestyle and NAD+ supplements, thus slowing – or even reversing – age-related risk factors and diseases.”
How to Improve NAD+ Levels
While we can’t slow aging, we can support NAD+ levels through lifestyle and supplementation. Here’s how:
Nutrition
NAD+ production requires optimal niacin (vitamin B3) in the diet. Niacin and other NAD+ precursors are found in milk, liver, poultry, fish, meat, tomato sauce, brown rice, peanuts, and sunflower seeds.
On the one hand, you want your cells to have good nutrition, but on the other hand, dietary practices like calorie restriction, intermittent fasting, and a ketogenic diet boost NAD+ levels in the body. Read more about these dietary strategies here.
Heat
Like the dietary strategies that place (good) stress on the body, practices like saunas and exercise that heat the body and increase metabolism may also improve NAD+ levels. Periods of increased body heat could be one reason that movement and saunas are associated with improved healthspan and lifespan.
NAD+ Supplements
Another way to boost NAD+ levels is to take NAD+ directly so your cells can quickly access this critical cofactor. Now, many NAD+ supplements don’t contain NAD+ at all; they contain precursors that your body must convert into active NAD+. The most common precursors in supplements are nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) and nicotinamide riboside (NR).
The problem with using precursors is that as you get older, your body isn’t so great at converting them to NAD+ anymore. In addition, they tend to be poorly absorbed and require a high dose.
To circumvent these issues and address concerns about the instability of NAD+ itself, Core Med Science designed a liposomal NAD+ supplement that’s highly absorbable, bioactive, and tolerable. It delivers NAD+ itself to cells in the body.
Core Med Science Liposomal NAD+ doesn’t contain precursors; it contains 100 mg of active NAD+ in a sunflower phospholipid liposome. A liposome is like a cell membrane around the NAD+ that protects it through the digestive tract, and the whole complex absorbs into the bloodstream. It’s the most efficient and effective way to take NAD+.
What are the benefits of NAD? It turns out that NAD+ has many benefits, from brain and heart health to anti-aging at the cellular level, but optimal NAD+ levels are necessary to reap all the benefits of this essential molecule. Ensure robust levels with a healthy lifestyle, and add an effective NAD+ supplement like Core Med Science Liposomal NAD+ for maximum benefits.
References:
1. Schultz, M. B., & Sinclair, D. A. (2016). Why NAD(+) Declines during Aging: It's Destroyed. Cell metabolism, 23(6), 965–966. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5088772/
2. Ramsey, K. M., Yoshino, J., Brace, C. S., Abrassart, D., Kobayashi, Y., Marcheva, B., Hong, H. K., Chong, J. L., Buhr, E. D., Lee, C., Takahashi, J. S., Imai, S., & Bass, J. (2009). Circadian clock feedback cycle through NAMPT-mediated NAD+ biosynthesis. Science (New York, N.Y.), 324(5927), 651–654. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2738420/
3. Matasic, D. S., Brenner, C., & London, B. (2018). Emerging potential benefits of modulating NAD+metabolism in cardiovascular disease. American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology, 314(4), H839–H852. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5966770/
4. Verdin E. (2015). NAD⁺ in aging, metabolism, and neurodegeneration. Science (New York, N.Y.), 350(6265), 1208–1213. Abstract: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26785480/
5. Savitz J. (2020). The kynurenine pathway: a finger in every pie. Molecular psychiatry, 25(1), 131–147. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6790159/
6. Massudi, H., Grant, R., Braidy, N., Guest, J., Farnsworth, B., & Guillemin, G. J. (2012). Age-associated changes in oxidative stress and NAD+ metabolism in human tissue. PloS one, 7(7), e42357. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3407129/
7. Covarrubias, A. J., Perrone, R., Grozio, A., & Verdin, E. (2021). NAD+ metabolism and its roles in cellular processes during ageing. Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology, 22(2), 119–141. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7963035/