Can you hack aging with NAD supplements?
Go down into the aisle of supplement in your local pharmacy and you will probably spot bottles of NAD pills (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide), powders or liquids that promise to slow down aging.
The global market for these products reached $ 535.53 million in 2022. But do NAD supplements really work?
“I am asked questions about NAD supplements occasionally by patients,” said Dr. Nicholas Dragolesa, a general practitioner based in London who is interested in the longevity and functional health of my longevity center in the United Kingdom. “My answer is generally that there is not enough medical evidence to support take it.”
[ Related: Does drinking collagen actually do anything? ]
What is Nad and why the media threshing?
Nad is a molecule that your body makes from nutrients in your diet such as tryptophan and niacin. It is involved in hundreds of different processes in the body – from metabolism, from brain health to repair DNA, which makes it critical for global human health, explains Daniel Craighead, assistant professor at the Kinesiology School of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
“Nad levels tend to get down when they get older,” he says. “Consequently, thought is that if we can restore NAD through food supplements, we can be able to reverse many signs and symptoms of aging.”
[ Related: Is there any truth to anti-aging schemes? ]
What do studies show?
In 2023, Craighead and his colleagues reviewed research on the oral precursors of NAD and their effects on healthy aging and chronic age -related diseases. (Rather than Nad himself, many supplements contain Nad precursors such as the riboside of Nicotinamide and the nicotinamide mononucleotide, which are more stable and are converted to NAD by the body).
Laboratory studies in cells and mice have shown promising results, supporting theory that NAD promotes healthy aging and helping DNA repair. But human studies paint a more mixed table.
“So far, most studies in people are relatively short and durable from weeks to months and carried out in small groups of only a dozen people,” said Craighead. “These human studies have shown that NAD + precursors are safe and increase NAD + levels, but significant health improvements have generally not been observed.”
The best proof we have is that these NAD precursors can reduce inflammation, adds Craighead. For example, a study published in 2019 revealed that three weeks of riboside supplementation in nicotinamide reduced blood markers of inflammation from 50% to 70% in older men. Chronic inflammation is a characteristic of aging and age -related diseases, making it a promising result.
Another review, published in 2024, noted potential advantages for age -related and neurological conditions such as Parkinson and Alzheimer’s disease, but has warned that other clinical trials should be carried out. One of the studies included in the journal has shown that ribosid supplements of oral nicotinamide increased cerebral NAD levels and modified brain metabolism in people with Parkinson’s disease. Supplements have also reduced inflammatory cytokines – proteins that act as messengers in the immune system – in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid (a liquid that surrounds and protects the brain and spinal cord) of the participants. In another 2004 study, patients with Alzheimer’s disease who have taken NAD supplements have shown improvements in cognitive functions, such as verbal control and abstract reasoning.
What do doctors say?
Some clinicians report anecdotal advantages. “My patients see enormous energy improvements when I start them on daily NAD injections at low dose,” said Dr. Heather Hinshelwood, co-owner and chief of fraum Health Medicine, a supplier of repairing, chiropractic and proactive wellness care on Hilton Head island in South Carolina. “I have patients with dementia who are starting to have better cognition than their spouses,” she adds.
But many experts remain cautious. “There is no high -quality evidence that NAD supplementation has an advantage for health,” said Dr. David S. Seres, professor of medicine at the Institute of Human Nutrition at Columbia University Medical Center in New York. “Without solid evidence from well -made randomized trials, we recommend that we do not take food supplements.”
Are they safe?
So far, human studies indicate that NAD supplements are generally safe. But Dr. Seres warns that safety assumptions based on low evidence can be dangerous.
Take vitamin E and selenium: the first research has shown that men with prostate cancer had low levels of vitamin E and selenium. But a clinical trial involving 35,000 men later noted that men who took vitamin E were more likely to develop prostate cancer compared to men on site.
“You cannot assume that the supplements are effective or safe depending on the type of evidence used to make complaints such as” supports energy “or” supports healthy aging “, explains Seres.
[ Related: 7 things you can do to actually prevent wrinkles ]
End
For the moment, NAD supplements are not a proven tool for healthy aging. “Longer studies with more participants are necessary,” says Craighead.
If you always want to try to take Nad, simply note that not all supplements contain what their labels claim. An analysis of 2024 revealed that many mononucleotide nicotinamide products (NMN) contained much less active ingredient than announced, Craighead says: “Thus consumers can waste money on supplements that do not contain NMN.”
This story is part of Popular Science’s Ask Nothing series, where we answer your most bizarre and burning questions from the ordinary to the wall. Do you have something you always wanted to know? Ask us.
More offers, reviews and purchasing guides
