How to extend your life and stay healthy?
12.03.24
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Extend your life while maintaining your health. That is probably the dream of every person. No one wants to be plagued by diseases, and almost everyone would like to extend their stay on this beautiful planet as much as possible in an active state, fully aware, with a clear mind and a strong, healthy body.
We won't cover general lifestyle advice in this article. You will certainly find plenty of them. They are coming at us from all sides. This article is dedicated to one single miracle substance - the essence of life. A substance found in every living cell from bacteria to humans. That substance is NAD+.
NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is a coenzyme that is essential for maintaining a healthy life.
NAD+ is needed for chemical reactions that generate energy. It is also important for basic cellular processes such as DNA repair.
The problem with NAD+ is that its level decreases with age. However, scientists have found that NAD+ in cells can be increased using a nutrient called nicotinamide riboside. Preclinical studies have shown that this nutrient supports brain, heart and metabolic health. From yeast to worms to mice, all organisms have had their lives extended by increasing NAD+ thanks to nicotinamide riboside. In one study, aged mice given nicotinamide riboside had a 5% longer lifespan. For the average European, a 5% increase in lifespan can mean an extra four years of life. Systemic effects of NAD+ metabolism on cellular aging processes were published in 2022.
NAD+ and its function in cells
This coenzyme is important for the basic metabolism and energy supply of every living cell. It is necessary for maintaining the function of more than 300 proteins, including many vital ones.
One such group of proteins is, for example, sirtuins. These are proteins that regulate cell repair, their defenses and help them maintain their overall health. Low activity of sirtuins is associated with accelerated aging and risk of age-related problems. Preclinical studies have shown that strengthening the function of sirtuins rejuvenates cells, repairs damaged DNA and has many other positive effects. Sirtuins need a continuous supply of coenzyme NAD+ for their optimal functioning.
Nicotinamide riboside increases NAD+
The level of NAD+ production decreases significantly with age. A study of human skin samples from people across a wide age range found that NAD+ levels were significantly reduced in people aged 30-50 compared to infants from birth to one year of age. In study subjects over the age of 50, skin NAD+ levels were reduced by more than 87% compared to infants. This decrease in NAD+ leads to a deterioration in cell health. Sirtuins and other cellular protectors that depend on the level of NAD+ cannot function properly when its level is low. Sirtuins then cannot provide cells with the same level of defense as at a young age.
However, there is a way to increase NAD+ back to a higher level. Researchers have found that a form of vitamin B3 called nicotinamide riboside taken orally acts as a precursor to NAD+. Cells easily receive this vitamin and use it for increased production of NAD+, resulting in an increase in its total level.
Oral supplementation of nicotinamide riboside 250 mg daily titrated up to 1000 mg twice daily increases NAD+ levels 2- to 7-fold in humans.
Benefits of increased NAD+
Based on preclinical studies, it can be concluded that sufficiently high levels of NAD+ help in many areas:
1. genetic health.
Damaged DNA can cause rapid aging and chronic diseases. By promoting the activity of sirtuins and enzymes, NAD+ helps strengthen cellular defenses to prevent damage, or even to repair existing DNA damage. It also protects telomeres - caps at the ends of chromosomes that are associated with longevity.
2. energy metabolism.
NAD+ plays an important role in breaking down nutrients for cells to provide their energy. Without it, cells would not survive.
3. cell protection.
There are 2 things associated with every age-related disease: oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. Maintaining adequate levels of NAD+ combats both, inhibiting inflammation while aiding cellular antioxidant defenses.
4. stem cell health.
Healthy stem cells help maintain the function of young tissue and replace old, damaged cells with healthy, new ones. NAD+ and sirtuins have been found to improve stem cell health in animal model studies.
Nicotinamide riboside helps achieve longevity
Scientists have found in preclinical studies that the NAD+-boosting nicotinamide riboside is able to improve overall health, including the health of the brain, heart and blood vessels. For example, in rodent studies, nicotinamide riboside:
1. helps to reverse cognitive deficits and improve memory in models of Alzheimer's disease,
2. helps prevent the development of heart failure, and
3. improves metabolism and helps prevent weight gain.
A number of preclinical models have shown that increased NAD+ levels using nicotinamide riboside can increase lifespan. Yeast co-grown with nicotinamide riboside had an extended lifespan, and in worms the lifespan was extended by at least 10%. Administration of nicotinamide riboside to mice, which were the human equivalent of 70 years old, extended their lives by about 5%. A 5% increase in human life expectancy can mean gaining almost four extra years of life, based on today's average human life expectancy in the EU, which is around 80 years.
Clinical studies
Based on the results of animal studies showing increased NAD+, researchers began conducting clinical trials with nicotinamide riboside to see if the same or similar results would be achieved in humans. Here is a sample of human trials:
• A double-blind phase 1 clinical trial in patients with newly diagnosed Parkinson's disease received 1,000 mg or placebo for 30 days. Participants who received nicotinamide riboside showed an increase in NAD+ levels in the brain and a slight improvement in clinical symptoms.
• In a double-blind, crossover study, elderly men received 1,000 mg of nicotinamide riboside daily for 21 days. After 21 days, increased NAD+ levels were recorded in the muscles of the intervention group participants. Nicotinamide riboside also reduced levels of circulating inflammatory cytokines.
• In a clinical trial of 30 participants with clinically stable heart failure and reduced ejection fraction, a dose of 1,000 mg of nicotinamide riboside twice daily was well tolerated and resulted in an increase in blood NAD+ levels to approximately twice baseline and a decrease in white blood cell counts, markers of systemic inflammation.
• In a double-blind, crossover study, 12 young and 12 elderly subjects were randomized to receive nicotinamide riboside or placebo. Blood and urine samples were collected two hours before and after supplementation. Muscle fatigue and strength were assessed. Supplementation with nicotinamide riboside showed increased NAD+ levels. Interestingly, supplementation improved physical performance only in older subjects. The conclusion from this finding suggests that declining NAD+ levels due to age can be replenished by nicotinamide riboside supplementation, resulting in improved exercise performance.
NAD+ strengthens cognitive functions
A study of the impact of NAD+ has shown that it can have a significant impact on the prevention of vascular dementia. It is a condition where there is damage to the brain vessels and insufficient supply of the brain with nutrients and oxygen, which the brain needs to effectively carry out thought processes. Researchers have found that NAD+ improves cognitive function and dampens nerve inflammation. NAD+ supplementation can help with problems with insufficient blood flow to the brain.
NAD+ works great together with resveratrol
Resveratrol is a polyphenol found in red wine and various plants. Its benefits are well documented. They help prevent age-related diseases and slow down the aging process.
Resveratrol activates sirtuins in cells, thus extending their life. Because sirtuins require NAD+ levels to be high enough, the benefits of resveratrol cannot be maximized without also ensuring sufficient NAD+ levels.
Together, resveratrol and nicotinamide riboside can have a synergistic effect: 1+1=3.
Try NAD+ Cell Regenerator and Resveratrol, which, in addition to nicotinamide riboside and resveratrol, also contains bio-quercetin and bio-fisetin.
Summary
NAD+ is a key compound in every living cell.
It is involved in supplying the energy that all cells need to thrive. It is also required for cellular regulators such as sirtuins to help protect cells from rapid aging.
NAD+ levels decline dramatically with age, contributing to accelerated aging.
Nicotinamide riboside is a precursor of NAD+. When taken orally, it rapidly increases cellular NAD+ levels.
In preclinical studies, nicotinamide riboside has been linked to improved organ function and longer life.
Sources:
Life Extension Retail Magazine, Sept./Oct. 2023, 56-62
The Journal of Neuroinflammation 2021 Sept 16; 18 (1): 207
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