NAD+: A Vital Molecule to Your Health

NAD+ (Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is a molecular substance which has been popularly known as a cofactor to help produce ATP or energy in the mitochondria of a cell. In recent years, more research has been done to see how NAD has anti-aging effects, repairing DNA damage, and can help in mitochondrial dysfunction leading to inflammation and chronic illnesses like long-covid, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and more.

NAD+ tends to decline from birth. By the time that you’re 20 years old, you have half of the NAD+ that you had as a baby, and every 20 years, NAD+ will continue to half. So lets say you have 100% at birth, at 20 years of age, you now have 50%, and at 40 years of age you’ll have 25%, and at 60 years of age, you’ll have 12.5%, and so on and so forth. And as we age and our production of NAD+ goes down, unfortunately, our need for it goes up because as our cells age, they experience more DNA damage, and therefore need more efforts of DNA repair.

NAD+ helps with anti-aging because it acts to activate molecules that are called sirtuins. Sirtuins, in turn, activate anti-oxidant pathways, as well as regulating metabolism and the circadian clock to help regulate sleep, and deter premature aging and chronic illnesses.

In perimenopausal and menopausal women, they can benefit from NAD+ because reduced estrogen levels have a negative effect on mitochondrial function. NAD+ acting to deter mitochondrial dysfunction can lead to increased energy, reduced brain fog, and better sleep.

Some studies have also shown NAD+ to rejuvenate intestinal, neural and muscle stem cells, which can promote healing of those tissues. There are other studies showing that NAD+ can be beneficial with polyneuropathies and other nerve conditions, and I often will prescribe NAD+ for older patients who are getting platelet-rich plasma injections, to promote their own stem cells and growth factors for better healing results.s.