Step 2: NAD+Restoration

Step 2: NAD⁺ Restoration

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺) is a coenzyme essential for cell function and systemic life sustenance.

NAD⁺ declines with age to the point that by the time humans reach 80 years, they may only have around 4% of the NAD⁺ levels they did at age 21. It may be a mere coincidence, but, interestingly, the average human lifespan in modern societies today happens to be around 80 years.

As it relates to today’s age-reversal interventions, including cell rejuvenation therapies, most of these therapies are likely to work best in people with optimal levels of NAD⁺.

You may have heard about a study from Harvard Medical School earlier this year that identified a method to reversevascular aging. This reversal was accomplished by boosting endothelial levels of NAD⁺ and the cellular protein sirtuin1 (SIRT1).

Resveratrol exerts its beneficial effects mainly by boosting SIRT1. Older people, however, are so deficient in NAD⁺ that they are unable to fully benefit from resveratrol. That’s because SIRT1 functionality is highly dependent on NAD⁺.

Methods that remove senescent cells or remove toxic debris from aged cells (autophagy) will be of little benefit if there is insufficient NAD⁺ to enable continual youthful metabolic activity.

Hence, individuals seeking to delay or reverse certain aspects of aging should take steps to boost cellular NAD⁺ levels. This will likely improve responses to resveratrol and/or calorie restriction, both of which boost SIRT1. Youth factors derived from young plasma or infused stem cells are more likely to induce rejuvenation in response to higher NAD⁺ levels. We acknowledge the need for more experimental evidence to verify better responses to young plasma/stem cells by boosting NAD⁺ levels.

A dietary supplement called nicotinamide riboside increases NAD⁺ blood levels.