Boost Your NAD+ Levels with NMN
If you’ve spent any time on this site, you may know that you need Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN) to boost NAD+ in your body, and why this is so important as you age.
NMN is derived from niacin, a B vitamin, and may increase both health and longevity. It is a precursor to NAD+, a compound that plays a fundamental role in the production of metabolism, expression of genes, and production of energy.
When NMN levels increase in your body, the biosynthesis of NAD+ is enhanced, leading to improvements in:
- physical endurance
- muscle strength
- neurological function
- heart health
- blood sugar regulation
- body weight
- gene expression
The problem with trying to boost NAD+ is that this molecule has difficulty passing through the cells’ plasma membrane. To circumvent this issue, the way to boost our levels of NAD+ is by supplementing with an NAD+ precursor that will then create NAD+ inside your cells.
In this instance “precursor” is a compound that participates in a chemical reaction that produces another compound. Two common NAD+ precursors are NR (nicotinamide riboside) and NMN. Sublingual forms of NMN offer more bioavailabilty and stability in the bloodstream.
Two studies published in 2018, one in January [1] and the other in April [2], showed that when taken orally, NAD+ precursors like NMN and NR are poorly absorbed into the bloodstream, which is necessary to then enter cells. Instead, these precursors are digested in the stomach and processed by the liver, thereby not making it inside the cells where it is needed to make NAD+.
As a result, orally taken NR and NMN are not effectively delivered to tissues, and consequently are no more effective at increasing NAD+ than common niacin, a form of vitamin B3 that has little effect on NAD+.
The good news? Sublingual delivery can bypass the digestive system and deliver NAD+ or NMN directly to the bloodstream.
References:
- https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01js956j498/1/Liu_princeton_0181D_12390.pdf
- Liu L., et al. Cell. Metab. 2018 May 1;27(5):1067-1080.e5. L.