Never get Alzheimer’s Disease: The NAD Breakthrough
In a Nutshell
Alzheimer's disease stems from NAD depletion disrupting brain energy metabolism, not just amyloid plaques, as evidenced by cognitively normal people with plaques who maintain high NAD levels, and mouse models where boosting NAD via NAMPT activators like P7C3A20 prevents/reverses cognitive deficits, amyloid/tau buildup, neuroinflammation, and blood-brain barrier dysfunction. Human data confirms NAD imbalances in Alzheimer's, with parallels to animal findings. Boost NAD naturally through exercise, fasting/ketogenic diets (via AMPK-NAMPT activation), precursors like NMN/NR (600-900mg daily), and reducers of consumption like quercetin/apigenin, plus personalized options like Lyso-DHA and low-dose lithium orotate.
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This new paper changed the way I think about Alzheimer's disease and gave hope for preventing it in myself, my family, and the field of Alzheimer's research. For decades, Alzheimer's has been treated as a problem of amyloid plaques in the brain, with attempts to scrape them away failing. 99.6% of Alzheimer's drugs have failed, flushing tens of billions of dollars down the toilet because we've been barking up the wrong tree. Alzheimer's is a problem of energy metabolism and energy trafficking in the brain. Fixing the energy problem could prevent or even reverse Alzheimer's.
Our results, our data challenge the long-held view that Alzheimer's disease is intrinsically irreversible. The amyloid plaques are not sufficient to cause dementia. We open up a radically different new therapeutic window.
For more details, full references, and related content, check the bestselling Science Stay Curious Metabolism newsletter linked below.
Five main chapters:
- NAD, the brain's metabolic lynchpin, and why it matters in Alzheimer's.
- The amyloid Alzheimer's paradox: some people stay sharp despite Alzheimer's pathology.
- Lab breakthrough: boosting NAD prevents or reverses Alzheimer's in animal models.
- Human data: evidence these mechanisms apply to us.
- Action steps: natural ways to support NAD for brain health.
NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is a vital compound in every cell, playing foundational roles in energy metabolism. It functions as an electron carrier, shuttling electrons through glycolysis (carb burning), beta oxidation (fat burning), TCA cycle, oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria. Energy production relies on NAD; without it, cells don't function, mitochondria fail, energy collapses.
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