Boosting NAD+: NMN or NR, They Are Different and Why You May Want Both
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, or NAD+, is a vital molecule that participates in various metabolic reactions that generate our cell’s energy. At a recent medical doctors’ conference, they asked for a show of hands of who in the audience were taking supplements to increase NAD+ levels, and about 80% of the audience’s hands went up. NAD+ levels have been proven to decrease with age, and although we can get some boast from our foods, supplementation is the best-documented way of increasing NAD+ levels. Until recently, there have been 2 schools of thought on what is the best way to increase levels of NAD+ in the body. The first camp were devotees of nicotinamide riboside (NR), while the other were fans of nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN). Both of these precursors have been shown to effectively increase NAD+ levels in the body when taken in supplement form. It seemed to be a choice, take one or the other. In actuality, each one works on different cell types…
“NR and NMN can be interchangeable — some of the time. When it comes to what type of cell you’re trying to raise NAD+ in, though, the story gets more complex. There are 200 different kinds of cells in the body, from stem to skin to immune cells, and some of them behave differently when it comes to the uptake and utilization of precursors. For example, it’s been shown that NMN cannot get into liver cells without first transitioning to NR, in a role reversal of what we explained above.”
Elysium Health now has a new product, Signal, which is NMN-based along with its own proprietary SIRT 3 activation complex. Elysium Health’s original product Basis, which I have been taking for some time, is an NR-based product that includes pterostilbene, a highly bio-available powerful polyphenol naturally produced by plants. During a recent Cleveland Clinic seminar I attended, it was presented that pterostilene had a multiplicative effect on the power of NR to affect sirtuins. One thing to keep in mind when taking any dietary supplement is the quality of the product. Elysium Health publishes ongoing lab tests on the quality of all their products. Not all NMN and NR products sold out there are the same. For myself, I have recently starting added SIGNAL to my daily BASIS supplementation.