Could the fountain of youth be within our grasp? New advancements in science are empowering us to take charge of our aging process. Understanding the role of NAD+ in healthy aging is a key step in this journey. This blog post will explore what NAD+ is and why increasing and maintaining its levels through supplementation can be a proactive choice as we age.
Table of Contents:
What is NAD+?
NAD+ is a natural bodily molecule that supports healthy aging from within. NAD stands for Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide. Adequate levels of NAD+ are crucial for maintaining cell health, energy levels, and overall physiological function, making it a key molecule for promoting health and longevity. Exercise and intermittent fasting can boost NAD+ levels, even though NAD+ itself isn't directly obtainable from food. The body constantly uses NAD+ to support vital functions. NAD+ levels decrease as we age, and supplementation can improve quality of life and aging. We recommend Nuchido TIME+, a natural supplement that uses a precursor to NAD+ called NAM and a combination of other ingredients to restore NAD+ production.
What Does NAD+ Do?
This vital molecule is found in all living cells and plays a crucial role in:
Metabolism: Helps cells convert nutrients into energy (ATP).
DNA Repair: Facilitates repair of damaged DNA related to aging.
Cell Signaling: NAD+ enhances cell-to-cell communication (cellular communication)
Gene Expression: Regulates the activity of specific genes.
Sirtuin Activation: Regulates cellular health, inflammation, and stress resistance.
Mitochondrial Function: Healthy mitochondria = healthy energy production and reduces oxidative stress.
Antioxidant Defense: NAD+ regenerates antioxidants that protect cells from damage caused by free radicals.
Circadian Rhythm: NAD+ can regulate circadian rhythms, contributing to proper amounts of sleep.
How NAD+ Deficiency Affects Aging
Metabolism: The process where your body turns food into energy. It's like a series of chemical reactions inside your cells, helping you move, grow, and stay healthy.
Without proper NAD+ levels, metabolism is severely affected.
DNA Repair: DNA is like the instruction manual for building and running your cells. It’s the blueprint containing the code for building and running all the intricate machinery that keeps you alive. DNA repair is the process where your body fixes damage to your DNA, keeping your body healthy and functioning correctly. Every day, things like environmental factors, normal cell activities, and aging cause damage to your DNA. If left unrepaired, this damage can trigger problems like age-related diseases.
DNA repair systems are significantly impacted by deficits in NAD+.
Cell Signaling: How cells in your body communicate with each other to coordinate actions and responses. Cells send and receive chemical signals, like messages, to tell each other what to do, such as when to grow, move, or repair damage.
Without adequate NAD+ levels, cells will have a harder time communicating effectively and efficiently with each other.
Gene Expression: How your body reads the instructions in your DNA to make proteins, which do all the important jobs in your cells like DNA Repair and Sirtuin Activation.
Inadequate NAD+ levels may inhibit proper gene expression.
Sirtuin Activation: Sirtuin proteins are often associated with longevity and protecting cells from age-related decline. Activated by NAD+, sirtuins help repair damaged DNA, control inflammation, and improve how your cells produce energy.
Reduced NAD+ levels can contribute to less sirtuin activation.
Mitochondrial Function: Mitochondria are our cells' battery packs. To make energy (ATP), the mitochondria have to use NAD+ which must be converted into NADH. Without enough NAD+, mitochondria can't work efficiently, leading to lower energy levels, less effective cell function, and oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is a significant contributor to the damage seen in diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Interestingly, red light therapy can also help reduce oxidative stress and fight off free radicals in the body that contribute to aging.
Declining NAD+ levels of the mitochondria can contribute to disruptions in energy production, increases in oxidative stress, and potential cell death (2022).
Biological Age Decrease
According to a scientific study using Nuchido TIME+, participants who took Nuchido TIME+ for 28 days saw a 1.26 year decrease in their biological age (Henderson, 2024). Your chronological age is the amount of consecutive years you've been alive. Biological age reflects the health and condition of your cells and tissues. It can be higher or lower than your chronological age. Biological age is important because it can be a better predictor of your health and lifespan than just your chronological age.
How NAD+ Levels Change With Age
NAD+ levels decrease naturally by up to 50% every 20 years (Massudi, 2012). This is due to two processes:
Increased Bodily Consumption of NAD+: Aging contributes to more DNA damage and inflammation, increasing usage of NAD+.
Declined Activity of Salvage Pathway: This recycling pathway is the main source of NAD+ in the body. We discuss the salvage pathway more later on.
Decreases in NAD+ can be associated with several age-related processes, such as:
Decreased Cellular Energy Production: Low NAD+ impairs cell energy production.
Increased DNA Damage: Reduced NAD+ affects the efficiency of DNA Repair.
Mitochondrial Dysfunction: Low NAD+ = less energy for the body to use
Inflammation: Aging often accompanies chronic low-grade inflammation, which declining NAD+ levels can exacerbate.
Conditions Associated With NAD+ Deficiency
Nuchido TIME+ highlights how declining NAD+ levels are connected to the familiar signs of aging we encounter, like brain fog, sleep disruption, fatigue, decreased cognitive function, decreased skin elasticity, reduced athletic performance/mobility, reduced ability to recover from illness, and an overall faster aging process. Various conditions can be linked to or exacerbated by NAD+ deficiencies:
Parkinson's Disease | Alzheimer's Disease | Heart Failure | Ischemia |
Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury | Myocardial Infarction | Arrhythmia | Hypertension |
Psoriasis | Menopause | Kidney Disease | Sleep Disorders |
Impaired Immune System | Chronic Fatigue Syndrome | Long - Covid | Lymes Disease |
Type 2 Diabetes | Obesity | Sarcopenia | Muscular Dystrophy |
How to Increase NAD+ levels?
Unfortunately, taking straight-up NAD+ supplements isn’t very effective. Our bodies struggle to absorb it efficiently, so it doesn't raise NAD+ levels in cells as much as we'd like. Instead, “precursors” to NAD+ help build NAD+ in the body. NR, NMN, and NAM are three types of precursors that can improve NAD+ levels. Better Brain & Body recently partnered with Nuchido TIME+, which provides high-quality, science-backed NAD+ supplements. Nuchido uses the NAM precursor (Nicotinamide), a form of Niacin and Vitamin B3, in its Nuchido TIME+ supplement.
NAD Precursors:
NAD+ precursors like NAM, NMN, and NR are building blocks the body uses to produce NAD+, and there is quality scientific evidence to support their usage. Researchers have investigated daily supplementation with NAD+ precursors like NAM to maintain improved NAD+ levels.
How Does Nuchido’s TIME+ Supplement Work?
To maintain healthy NAD+ levels, our bodies have a recycling system called the NAD+ salvage pathway. This pathway recycles the NAD+ precursor NAM (Nuchido’s active ingredient) into fresh NAD+ that can be used by the cell and body. This recycling pathway is the main source of NAD+ in the body. However, NAM is not the only ingredient Nuchido TIME+ included in its formulation. Nuchido’s “whole systems approach” is a comprehensive strategy that combines ingredients like Sophora Japonica, Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA), Parsley Leaf, Green Tea Leaf Extract, and Nicotinamide (NAM). These ingredients work synergistically to restore the activity of the salvage pathway, addressing the root cause of NAD+ decline, and increasing NAD+ levels. Nuchido TIME+ is supported by human clinical trials which showed that in just 28 days Nuchido TIME+ increased NAD+, reactivated the salvage pathway, reduced inflammation, and lowered biological age (Nuchido, 2024). Click the ingredients link above to see each ingredient.
Purchase Nuchido TIME+
To support and maintain a healthy aging process using supplementation, you can purchase Nuchido’s TIME+ supplement and get 20% off using the code BBB20.
Other Ways To Increase NAD+ Levels
While our bodies can't directly obtain NAD+ from food, several precursor molecules like NAM and NR are found in food and convert in the body to NAD+. Foods high in niacin/vitamin B3 (NAM), like avocados, fish, peanuts, green veggies, and whole grains, can improve NAD+. Limiting processed foods, sugary drinks, and excessive carbohydrates can preserve NAD+ levels. Fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, or even the beverage kombucha can help improve NAD+.
Some research shows fasting or reducing calorie intake without malnutrition can increase NAD+. Resistance or weight training and aerobic training can also improve NAD+ (Roldan, 2019). Lastly, exercise like high-intensity interval training (HIIT), forces the body to produce more mitochondria, increasing NAD+ levels. HIIT may look like a short but difficult 5-15-minute biking, running, swimming, or other high-intensity exercise activity.
NAD+ Supplement Benefits
Improved Mood
Enhanced Energy Levels
Sharper Mental Acuity
Supports Metabolic Health
Reduces Skin Aging
Improves Cognitive Function
Slows Aging Process
Supports Exercise Performance in Older Adults
Reduces Cholesterol
May Reduce Cancer Risk
Please note that studies and research are ongoing to determine how exactly NAD+ works and the benefits associated with supplementation. Science is an ever-evolving field and may change as research is carried out. For example, increases in NAD+ may show a reduced cancer risk, but this finding has not been fully validated and requires more research. Please speak with Dr. Alicia Brown or your doctor about the potential benefits NAD+ may yield.
Treatment at Better Brain & Body
Better Brain & Body is a functional neurology clinic and human optimization center in south Charlotte. Our clinic combines a holistic brain-body approach with cutting-edge diagnostic testing equipment and state-of-the-art rehabilitation technologies and therapies to treat various conditions, optimize human health and performance, and enhance brain-to-body function. Please call us at 704-752-8100 or click the button below to schedule your complimentary 15-minute phone consultation with our lead doctor, Dr. Alicia Brown, to see if Nuchido TIME+ NAD supplementation or our brain-body-based approach to care is right for you.
Affiliate Disclosure:
Here at Better Brain & Body, we strive to provide honest and valuable information to our readers. As you navigate the content we create, it's important to be transparent about our relationships with the brands we mention. If you use the discount code BBB20, we may receive a commission from the retailer. While this can help support our work and allow us to keep creating content, our primary goal is to recommend products and services that we genuinely believe in and that align with our values.
Sources:
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Henderson, J.D., Quigley, S.N.Z., Chachra, S.S. et al. The use of a systems approach to increase NAD+ in human participants. npj Aging 10, 7 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41514-023-00134-0
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https://nuchido.com/blogs/news/nuchido-time-a-whole-system-approach-to-nad-restoration
https://nuchido.com/blogs/news/intermittent-fasting-ampk-and-nad
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