How To Boost NAD Levels To Fight Inflammation, Improve Recovery, and Slow Aging

NAD's Importance in Biology00:00

NAD co-enzymes are critical for converting fuel, building stuff, and repairing stuff. NAD levels decline with age. Many people take NAD boosting supplements. It was initially Dr. Charles Brenner's technology that turned into the nicotinamide riboside and NAD boosting industry. They published a paper in 2020 with a shocking result. NAD plays a role in exercise recovery. Sports trainers and athletic programs swear by it. The Patriots took Niagen for many years. You can't just supplement with NAD directly; you have to take a precursor.

Introduction to Dr. Charles Brenner01:00

Dr. Charles Brenner is a professor and chair in the department of diabetes and cancer metabolism at City of Hope. He is well known for discovering the NAD precursor nicotinamide riboside (NR), which has been made into a supplement. He is evidence-based.

NAD Levels Decline with Age?

NAD levels do decline with age. Leading theories: diseases, lifestyle changes. Dr. Brenner is not comfortable accepting every premise from Instagram. There is no evidence that human blood NAD declines with age. Human tissue NAD pools decline or are disturbed with age. Not every human system's NAD declines.

Human blood NAD data shows three types:

• Normal people (male and female): 20 micromolar NAD+ on a volumetric basis.
• Supplementers: maybe twice that.
• People with mitochondrial disease: lower.

In collaboration with University of Helsinki, people with mitochondrial disease (thought to have muscle mitochondrial myopathy) have low blood NAD. Generally, normal people and older people do not have low blood NAD. Alcoholics have disturbed NAD in liver. People with noise-induced hearing loss likely have damaged cochlear NAD.