The Benefits of Adding NIAGEN to Your Diet

Niagen is a compound also known as nicotinamide riboside (NR) or Vitamin B3. Once inside your body, Niagen is converted into another nutrient-like substance known as Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide, or NAD+. This compound can be found inside every living cell of your body and is absolutely essential for overall health. You see, NAD+ is involved in many different processes inside the human body, all of which require energy to perform. And that is one of the most important functions of NAD+! This compound actually works inside the energy producing center of each cell to aid in the conversion of foods and beverages into useable energy. This process, known as cellular metabolism, is also vital to the communication between the cell nucleus and mitochondria.

With age, it is common for the production of NAD+ to slow, limiting the youthful levels of this vital compound you may have once had.1 However, if you are suffering from low NAD+ levels for any reason, cellular metabolism (energy) and communication could become impaired, leading to mitochondrial dysfunction and an increased risk for many health problems including fatigue, irregular mood, neurological degeneration, nervous system damage, muscle weakness, and even genetic defects.2,3

But there is good news! Researchers have found that Niagen supplementation may help to boost your levels of this vital nutrient and help to restore NAD+ to more productive levels.4

How Does Niagen Work?

Niagen is an important and highly valuable pre-cursor to NAD+ - the anti-aging compound credited with numerous health benefits. While this compound is found in many natural foods including milk, it is only available in trace amounts. Once inside the body, Niagen is converted into a unique form of this compound, more commonly known as Vitamin B3, nicotinamide, or nicotinic acid. Niagen has been shown to be one of the most effective ways to increase overall production of NAD+.5

Niagen is a bioavailable precursor to NAD+, the essential life-giving compound needed for cellular energy and communication. Without it you can suffer from reduced cellular energy and a reduction in communication between the cells in your body. While age-related NAD+ decline is very common, there is hope for people who want to boost their NAD+ levels with Niagen. In a landmark study on short-term Niagen use, Niagen supplementation was able to replenish NAD+ levels and reverse many aspects of aging. It also displayed beneficial effects on measures of overall health.6

What Are the Benefits of Adding Niagen to My Diet?

Beyond aiding in proper electron transfer between cells, here are just 5 of the most notable health benefits of NAD+’s most valuable pre-cursor niagan:

1. Muscle Strength. As we age, it is very common for muscle density and muscle strength to deteriorate.7 However, administration of NAD+’s pre-cursor Niagen has been shown to restore muscle mass in study participants. In one study, Niagen was shown to preserve NAD+ levels in muscles and boost exercise capacity in older animal subjects. This helped to maintain muscle mass and function.8

Another study revealed that Niagen was able to help restore damaged mitochondria inside muscle cells, to reduce muscle weakness and other problems.9

2. Risk of Diabetes. In animal studies, Niagen supplementation was shown to not only reduce weight gain in subjects, but it was also reported to improve glucose tolerance and lower associated liver damage.10 In mice with type 2 diabetes, Niagen was reported to significantly reduce blood sugar levels and help protect against diabetic nerve problems.11

3. Brain Health. Your brain is filled with teeny-tiny nerve cells that work by activating pathways including that of SIRT3 and PGC1a. Niagen has been shown in clinical trials to help protect the brain by supporting proper NAD+ metabolism.12 Also known to delay axonal degeneration (nerve fiber breakdown), Niagen may help to slow the progression of age-related memory loss – for up to 3 months!13

4. Liver Protection. Oral Niagen supplementation has been shown to naturally boost levels of NAD+ in the body, which offers protection to your liver.14 In another study, Niagen was shown to reduce the accumulation of fat in subjects while also lowering oxidative stress and reducing inflammation. Additionally, Niagen was able to boost insulin sensitivity in the liver of animal subjects.15

5. Longevity. One of the most impressive and exciting health benefits of Niagen has got to be its ability to increase the amount of available NAD+ in your body and help to re-program dysfunctional cells. In a study using mammal subjects, this combined effect was shown to suggest an ability to boost longevity.16 Niagen has been shown in one clinical trial to induce a mitochondrial unfolded protein response (and prohibitin protein synthesis), rejuvenating stem cells in older mice.17

Talk to Your Doctor About Niagen, Today!

There are many benefits of maintaining youthful levels of NAD+ as you age. So, talk to your doctor about adding the power of Niagen supplements to your diet or everyday health regimen for these 5 benefits of NAD+!

References:

1. Shin-ichiro Imai, Leonard Guarente. NAD+ and Sirtuins in Aging and Disease Shin-ichiro Imai1 and Leonard Guarente. Trends Cell Biol. 2014 Aug; 24(8): 464–471.

2. Jou SH, Chiu NY. Mitochondrial dysfunction and psychiatric disorders. Chang Gung Med J. 2009 Jul-Aug;32(4):370-9.

3. M. Flint Beal. Mitochondrial dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) – Bioenergetics. Volume 1366, Issues 1–2, 10 August 1998, Pages 211-223.

4. Garth L. Nicolson, PhD. Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Chronic Disease: Treatment With Natural Supplements. Integr Med (Encinitas). 2014 Aug; 13(4): 35–43.

5. Trammel, SA. Nicotinamide riboside is uniquely and orally bioavailable in mice and humans. Nat Commun. 2016.

6. Ana P. Gomes, Nathan L. Price. Declining NAD+ Induces a Pseudohypoxic State Disrupting Nuclear-Mitochondrial Communication during Aging. Cell. 2013 Dec 19; 155(7): 1624–1638.

7. Geoffrey Goldspink. Age-Related Loss of Muscle Mass and Strength. J Aging Res. 2012; 2012: 158279.

8. Frederick DW, Loro E. Loss of NAD Homeostasis Leads to Progressive and Reversible Degeneration of Skeletal Muscle. Cell Metab. 2016 Aug 9;24(2):269-82.

9. Sarika Srivastava. Emerging therapeutic roles for NAD+ metabolism in mitochondrial and age-related disorders. Clin Transl Med. 2016; 5: 25.

10. Samuel A.J. Trammell, Benjamin J. Weidemann. Nicotinamide Riboside Opposes Type 2 Diabetes and Neuropathy in Mice. Sci Rep. 2016; 6: 26933.

11. Lee HJ, Hong YS. Nicotinamide Riboside Ameliorates Hepatic Metaflammation by Modulating NLRP3 Inflammasome in a Rodent Model of Type 2 Diabetes. J Med Food. 2015 Nov;18(11):1207-13.

12. Brenner C. Boosting NAD to spare hearing. Cell Metab. 2014 Dec 2;20(6):926-7.

13. Bing Gong, Yong Pan. Nicotinamide riboside restores cognition through an upregulation of proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator 1α regulated β-secretase 1 degradation and mitochondrial gene expression in Alzheimer’s mouse models. Neurobiol Aging. 2013 Jun; 34(6): 1581–1588.

14. Zhou CC, Yang X. Hepatic NAD(+) deficiency as a therapeutic target for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in ageing. Br J Pharmacol. 2016 Aug;173(15):2352-68.

15. Zhou CC, Yang X. Hepatic NAD(+) deficiency as a therapeutic target for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in ageing. Br J Pharmacol. 2016 Aug;173(15):2352-68.

16. Zhang H, Ryu D. NAD⁺ repletion improves mitochondrial and stem cell function and enhances life span in mice. Science. 2016 Jun 17;352(6292):1436-43.

17. Zhang H, Ryu D. NAD⁺ repletion improves mitochondrial and stem cell function and enhances life span in mice.

Science. 2016 Jun 17;352(6292):1436-43.