Your Definitive Guide to NAD+ Boosters
NAD+ boosters have gained wild popularity over the past several years due to their science-backed potential to increase NAD+ concentrations in the body.
As a reminder, NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is an essential component needed by every cell in the body to carry out its normal functions.
NAD+ concentrations can wane due to multiple factors, including:
- Acute and chronic illness
- Chronic stress
- Environmental factors
- Aging
Reduced NAD+ concentrations are one of the hallmarks of aging. Reduced NAD+ concentrations lead to malfunctioning cells, which require a greater demand for NAD+ (1). The cyclical relationship between cell aging and low NAD+ concentrations can lead to chronic disease development and mental health challenges (1, 2).
With that information in mind, it is a relief to know that there are ways to replenish NAD+ concentrations. While you can boost NAD+ naturally through lifestyle choices, the most effective way to increase NAD+ concentrations is through NAD+ boosters.
NAD+ boosters are products that provide your body with the building blocks to replenish cellular NAD+ where it is needed most. They can either contain NAD+ in pure form or precursors of NAD, like tryptophan, nicotinic acid (pyridine-3-carboxylic acid), nicotinamide (nicotinic acid amide), nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), and nicotinamide riboside (NR) (3, 4).
It can be challenging to decide which NAD+ therapy is best for you. It can depend on your individual metabolism and biology, why you want to boost NAD+, your budget, and your personal preference.
This article provides you with an overview of NAD+ booster options to make an informed choice.
NAD+ IV Therapy
NAD+ intravenous (IV) therapy is a directed option for dramatically increasing NAD+ concentrations in the blood within a short period.
With this therapy, you must visit a NAD+ clinic or a NAD+ specialist with a general health clinic who can administer the IV. You cannot administer the NAD+ IV therapy on your own.
NAD+ IV therapy is often recommended for people who have had a history of substance abuse and addiction. However, it may also be recommended to people for whom other NAD+ boosting treatments have not been effective, people with chronic fatigue, and more (5).
NAD+ Lozenges or Sublingual Tablets
NAD+ Lozenges and sublingual tablets are non-invasive NAD+ booster that you can take without a medical professional being present.
They are placed in the mouth, generally under the tongue, where they dissolve. The barrier between the mouth and the blood under the tongue is unique in that the active ingredients are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream (6). Unlike oral supplements, which we discuss later, sublingual tablets do not need to go through the digestive system to get absorbed. Instead, they are absorbed directly into the bloodstream as they dissolve under the tongue.
NAD+ Patches
NAD+ patches are a unique NAD+ booster in that it allows for the slow release of NAD+ into the bloodstream over several hours or days.
NAD+ patches adhere to the skin like a sticker so that you can wear them on your arm or under your clothes. The NAD+ or NAD+ precursors in the patches use a medical technology called iontophoresis, where components are delivered to the blood through the skin using a voltage gradient (7).
Iontophoresis makes ever-so-slight changes to the electric field on a small area of your skin to increase your skin permeability. The NAD+ components or precursors are transported efficiently into your blood over several hours.
Iontophoresis is entirely safe, and it is a technology used with multiple medications.
NAD+ Oral Supplements
NAD+ oral supplements, or NAD+ supplements for short, are supplements in the form of pills, gel caps, or liquids that deliver NAD+ or NAD+ precursors orally. You take them as you would other supplements.
These tend to be the lowest cost options of all NAD+ boosters and therapies, but they also have the lowest bioavailability. This means that the amount of NAD+ the supplement has will unlikely all be delivered to your cells because of its journey to get to your intestines, where it is absorbed into the blood.
Main Takeaway: Choosing a NAD+ Booster
There are advantages and disadvantages to each of the NAD+ boosting therapies. The best NAD+ boosting option depends on various factors:
- Cost and budget
- Reason for taking NAD+
- History of NAD+ boosting use
The best way to know which NAD+ booster to choose is to speak to a NAD+ specialist. They will ask you questions about your medical history, and symptoms, and will be able to suggest options within your expectations to increase NAD+ concentrations in your body.
What to know more? Click here to read more about which NAD+ boosters are right for you.
References:
1. Chini, C. C., Tarragó, M. G., & Chini, E. N. (2017). NAD and the aging process: Role in life, death and everything in between. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, 455, 62–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mce.2016.11.003
2. Braidy, N., Grant, R., & Sachdev, P. S. (2018). Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and its related precursors for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 31(2), 160–166. https://doi.org/10.1097/yco.0000000000000394
3. Poljsak, B., & Milisav, I. (2018). Vitamin B3 forms as precursors to NAD+: Are they safe? Trends in Food Science & Technology, 79, 198–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2018.07.020
4. Reiten, O. K., Wilvang, M. A., Mitchell, S. J., Hu, Z., & Fang, E. F. (2021). Preclinical and clinical evidence of NAD+ precursors in health, disease, and ageing. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development, 199, 111567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mad.2021.111567
5. Radenkovic, D., Reason, & Verdin, E. (2020). Clinical Evidence for Targeting NAD Therapeutically. Pharmaceuticals, 13(9), 247. https://doi.org/10.3390/ph13090247
6. Mukherjee, A. (2019). Oral Pathology Biomarkers. Biomarkers in Toxicology, 963–978. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-814655-2.00054-2
7. Wang, Y., Thakur, R., Fan, Q., & Michniak, B. (2005). Transdermal iontophoresis: combination strategies to improve transdermal iontophoretic drug delivery. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 60(2), 179–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpb.2004.12.008