What is NAD+?
NAD stands for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. It is an essential coenzyme found in all living cells, meaning you cannot live without it. Also known as the “fountain of youth”, it is referred to as an anti-aging molecule because of the very important role it plays in promoting health and prolonging lifespan.
The therapeutic opportunity for this powerful molecule is becoming increasingly popular. Studies have shown that it can help battle many effects of aging and chronic conditions on the human body and brain.
How does NAD+ work in the body?
NAD+ works as a transporting, moving electrons from one molecule to another within cells to carry out reactions and processes. With its molecular counterpart, NADH, this vital molecule plays a role in metabolic reactions that produce your cell’s energy. When NAD+ levels decline, our cells generate less energy and cellular function declines. NAD+ also plays a role in regulating your circadian rhythm, your body’s sleep/wake cycle.
As you age, exposed to with chronic stress, disease or suffer from neurodegenerative issues, your body’s NAD+ levels substantially decline.
of NAD+ Therapy
People often describe feeling like a mental fog has been lifted after undergoing NAD+ therapy. This overall improvement in mental sharpness helps guests feel better day to day and contributes to their overall feelings of wellness. Furthermore, one of the most noticeable side effects of getting old is a decline in cognitive function. Forgetting things, lack of concentration, and general mental fogginess are some of the more specific outcomes.
A simple NAD+ IV infusion can help activate your brain’s neuron function by helping cells regenerate and protect them against damage. This results in increased mental cognition, including better mental clarity, higher concentration, and enhanced memory function.
This overall boost in brain function can also help guests overcome other types of mental struggles. IV therapy can help you battle against common conditions like depression, anxiety, and mood disorders.
Whether you’re fighting chronic fatigue due to illness or just feeling the effects of getting older, NAD+ can make you feel more energetic and put a spring back in your step again. A coenzyme infusion administered intravenously helps provide energy to your body’s cells on a molecular level.
Besides improving your overall energy, NAD+ also contributes to a healthy metabolism. A smoothly functioning metabolism is an important part of dealing with weight management and blood sugar issues.
It is well known that ATP levels are depleted in muscles while exercising. However, until recently we didn’t know how NAD+ was implicated in this process.
A study done in 2010 showed that intense exercise decreases NAD+. When the study participants took an antioxidant supplement containing pycgnogenol (which stimulates NAD+ production and protects it from turning into the inactive, oxidized form of the molecule), NAD+ levels increased, exercise performance was enhanced, and “time to fatigue” also improved. This is exciting news for those looking to better their exercise endurance!
At the end of the day, health and energy production are intimately related. If your mitochondria aren’t functioning or they are producing too little energy, you are going to experience symptoms. When the problem becomes too severe it turns into illness.
The link between NAD+, energy production, and chronic illness really couldn’t be clearer. Low NAD+ results in low ATP levels. Low ATP levels quickly depletes your cell’s energy reserves. Left unchecked, and this can lead to cell death.
How all of this shows up in your body depends on which cells are being affected. If nerve cells are affected, the lack of energy may manifest itself as depression, anxiety, fatigue and lack of focus. In severe cases where the nerve cells are dramatically impacted or even die, neurodegenerative illness like Parkinson’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis may manifest themselves. In the worst cases—like mass cellular death—this may lead not only transient symptoms such as tremors, spasms, tingling, numbness and blurred vision, but to permanent, irreversible disability.
Perhaps the most exciting and controversial use medicine has found for NAD+ so far is in the treatment of drug and alcohol dependency. Despite the controversy, the basic science is sound, and the early results are extraordinary. Patients are reporting total recovery from addiction within 7-14 days with no subsequent craving for their substance of choice and few withdrawal symptoms.