NAD+ has become one of the most talked-about compounds in longevity, energy, and healthy-aging medicine.
But before talking about NAD+ therapy, there's a more important question
What does NAD+ actually do?
NAD+ stands for
nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. It's a molecule naturally found in your cells and is involved in some very important processes throughout the body.
Simply put:
your cells need NAD+ to function.
One of NAD+'s major roles is helping your cells turn nutrients from food into usable energy.
Inside your mitochondria (the structures responsible for much of your cellular energy production) NAD+ helps transfer electrons through the reactions that ultimately produce ATP.
ATP is essentially the energy currency your cells use to do their jobs.
This is one reason NAD+ has become so closely associated with conversations about
energy, metabolism, recovery, and aging.
NAD+ is also involved in cellular signaling.
It's used by enzymes involved in
DNA repair, cellular stress responses, inflammation, metabolism, and mitochondrial function.
You may have heard of proteins called
sirtuins. These enzymes use NAD+ and are involved in regulating several cellular processes associated with metabolism and aging.
Another NAD+-dependent enzyme, PARP, plays an important role in responding to DNA damage.
So when we're talking about NAD+, we're really talking about a molecule involved in multiple systems that help cells function and respond to stress.
NAD+ metabolism appears to change as we age.
That's one reason researchers have become interested in whether supporting NAD+ metabolism could influence different aspects of aging, metabolic health, mitochondrial function, and cellular repair.
There are several ways people attempt to influence NAD+.
Some use nutritional precursors such as
nicotinamide riboside (NR) or NMN, which the body can use in pathways that produce NAD+.
Others use NAD+ itself through oral or liposomal products, injections, or IV therapy.
These approaches aren't necessarily interchangeable, which is why understanding
how NAD+ is being delivered and what you're trying to accomplish matters.
For me, NAD+ isn't interesting because it's popular.
It's interesting because of the benefits.
Energy production, mitochondrial function, metabolism, cellular signaling, and DNA repair are fundamental processes happening inside us every day.
That doesn't mean everyone needs NAD+ therapy.
It means there's a good reason scientists and clinicians continue to be interested in this molecule.
That's how I like to approach these conversations.
Before asking whether something is the newest longevity treatment, let's first understand
what it does inside the body and why it matters.
Once you understand the what/why, the conversation becomes much more useful.
- Dr. C
