Why Do You Recommend Nicotinamide Riboside?

 

There is no doubt that NAD levels decline under a many circumstances including chronic conditions like aging and inflammation, as well as episodic metabolic disturbances, like overeating, alcohol consumption, sun exposure, sleep disruption, viral infection, postpartum, and more.

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There is also no doubt that your cells need adequate NAD levels in order to manage their affairs, including mission-critical functions like DNA repair.

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Would it be okay if your cells were inadequately powered for just an hour or a day or a week? It's hard to say. You can't go without oxygen even for four minutes. And the accumulation of problems at the cellular level may be the very definition of aging, even if one particular episode doesn't kill you, or even cause noticeable harm. So NR is the only supplement for which I do not miss a day (I am roughly 60 years old.)

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Whether humans will benefit as much as mice do remains to be seen, but the human studies are certainly showing effect.

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Right now, NR seems to be the best NAD precursor, because it is available to every cell type of cell, it has the best safety profile, and it works even when other NAD precursors are blocked.

 

In the future, improved pharmaceutical-grade NAD precursors will likely become available, such as NRH. But for right now, NR is state of the art.

 

The studies agree. Here is what one study said:

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NR is the main precursor of NAD+ in the central nervous system and the preferred precursor in mitochondria...NR is also the preferred precursor for supplementing NAD+ levels in animal models of heart failure and was shown to reduce cholesterol in obese mice. It has also been shown to exert a certain ameliorating effect on alcohol-induced liver disease and depressive behaviour and improve diabetic lesions and hepatic steatosis in mice with high-fat diet-induced obesity. NR can also ameliorate angiotensin Ⅱ-induced cerebral small vessel disease in mice and prevent noise-induced hearing loss. Similar to NMN, NR can also improve female fertility. NR is the only precursor that can prevent axon degeneration as well as the oxidative stress and organ damage caused by sepsis. Moreover, NR has been shown to exert a certain degree of therapeutic effect in the pathological progress of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, aging, cerebral apoplexy, and hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. Numerous studies have shown that NR can increase the lifespan of all species tested so far, including mice...

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Clinical studies on the short-term and long-term administration of NR have demonstrated the superior bioavailability and safety of NR. It is considered safe even when administered at a dose of 2000 mg a day for 12 weeks, and no adverse symptoms, such as nausea and vomiting, or undesirable skin flushing have been reported. Supplementation of NR neither inhibits NAD+-dependent enzymes nor causes side effects such as liver damage. A study indicated that with an increase in the NR level in tissues following NR administration, the activity of the enzyme sirtuin is significantly increased compared with NAM administration. Compared with other precursors, NR is gradually becoming a preferred candidate precursor because of its high bioavailability, safety, and ability to increase NAD+ levels. It offers many potential health benefits in diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and metabolic diseases. In summary, NR is a more effective precursor for synthesising NAD+ and increasing the activity of NAD+-dependent enzymes than NA and NAM... (emphasis added)

-- Aging and Disease, December 1, 2021

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READ MORE: What Is NAD and Why Should You Care?