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4 Surprising Benefits Of Nicotinamide Riboside

Nicotinamide riboside is a compound that most people are very unlikely to have heard of. However, not only is it a variation of a much more common compound that everyone will know (no, that compound isn’t nicotine, despite the name), but it is also something that can benefit the human body in a great many ways. Unfortunately, with so many people not knowing what it is or does, it is currently being highly underutilised.

That is why we decided to produce the following article detailing precisely what nicotinamide riboside is, the benefits it offers, and how it produces them. This should give everyone all the information they need to decide whether or not to use it themselves.

Table of Contents

What Is Nicotinamide Riboside & How Does It Work?

Nicotinamide riboside (NR) is a special form of vitamin B3 (niacin). While it is capable of offering many of the same health benefits as regular vitamin B3, what sets it apart is how quickly the body is able to convert it into nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺). A coenzyme that is essential for DNA repair, energy production, and cell survival, boosting NAD⁺ levels enables nicotinamide riboside to offer a huge range of potential health benefits.

Various dosages of nicotinamide riboside have been used in clinical trials, with different dosages producing varying benefits and degrees of efficacy. The is currently no agreed-upon optimal daily dosage of nicotinamide riboside, but many studies suggest that around 1,300 mg per day is the most beneficial. This dosage includes what you achieve from both supplements and the food in your diet.

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Supports Healthy Aging

NAD⁺ activates sirtuins, which are enzymes linked to DNA repair, improved stress resistance, and better metabolic function, all of which are associated with longevity. By increasing the NAD⁺ levels in your system, nicotinamide riboside prevents the effects of aging from feeling as severe, enabling you to feel younger and retain many more of your motor skills and physical abilities as you age (1).

The higher NAD⁺ levels that nicotinamide riboside produces help damaged mitochondria repair themselves or be replaced, while NAD⁺ is needed by PARP enzymes, which fix DNA damage caused by aging, UV light, and toxins, in order for them to work properly. Nicotinamide riboside supplements are, therefore, capable of improving tissue health and endurance, which will stop the body from breaking down and enable it to age much more slowly.

This means you will end up looking and feeling younger, both inside and out, while recovering from illnesses faster and avoiding certain injuries (2). This is especially true if you combine it with some of the tips you can find here.

Enhances Cardiovascular Function

The heart’s cells rely on the mitochondria for continuous ATP production. NAD⁺ is a crucial coenzyme in mitochondrial energy pathways, so the increased NAD⁺ levels that nicotinamide riboside produces can improve cardiac energy efficiency, allowing the heart to work more effectively, especially when under stress or in aging hearts.

Higher NAD⁺ levels also activate sirtuins, which are enzymes that protect the heart’s cells from oxidative stress and damage, inflammation, and fibrosis. This helps maintain healthy heart tissue and prevents damage, and may slow age-related decline. Modulating inflammatory signalling can also help to prevent excessive scar tissue from forming in the heart, which is a common cause of stiffening, heart disease, and heart failure with age.

Some animal studies also suggest that nicotinamide riboside can reduce the tissue damage caused by a temporary loss of blood flow, such as during a heart attack, and protect against heart ischemia by improving mitochondrial repair and reducing oxidative damage when blood flow returns.

It may even improve endothelial function (the ability of the blood vessels to relax and dilate) through NAD⁺-driven nitric oxide production, which could potentially lower blood pressure and improve circulation (3).

Protects The Brain & Nerves

As we touched on above, NAD⁺ is essential for mitochondrial ATP production to occur, which is vital for the brain. This is because it promotes cellular energy in neurons, which are known to have high energy demands that must be met to support functions like thinking, memory, and learning, and slow age-related cognitive decline. It also supports nerve cell energy needs, which may help in conditions involving peripheral neuropathy.

NAD⁺’s activation of sirtuins and other protective enzymes also reduces oxidative stress and damage, inflammation, and protein misfolding in the brain. This protects against neurodegeneration and the development of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, dementia, and other age-related brain disorders, as well as the reduced energy production that occurs with aging. It also slows mental decline and helps maintain focus, memory, and processing speed.

The DNA repair that nicotinamide riboside produces will then encourage the regeneration of neurons and promote stability in the brain cells, which can help to reverse some damage that has already been caused. The improved mitochondrial function and reduced inflammation then promote the brain’s ability to form new connections, which is vital for maintaining neuroplasticity and learning and recovery after an injury (4).

Check out our article on Betaine Anhydrous here

Boosts Metabolic Health

Nicotinamide riboside can even help boost your metabolism, as NAD⁺ is critical for the electron transport chain, which produces ATP from proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Higher NAD⁺ levels can make the mitochondria more efficient at extracting energy from nutrients, activate sirtuins and AMPK that encourage the breakdown of stored fats for energy and improve lipid profiles, and enable cells to more easily switch between burning carbs and fats depending on their availability.

This promotes metabolic flexibility, which is important for endurance, fasting, and weight control. It then also enhances glycolysis and the TCA cycle, which helps to regulate blood sugar by improving insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism and uptake in muscle and liver cells.

The NAD⁺ drop that naturally occurs with age is one of the big reasons many people experience a slow metabolism and increased risk of insulin resistance and weight gain. Nicotinamide riboside supplementation can therefore help you avoid this and restore youthful metabolic efficiency (5).