As we get older, we begin to lose stamina, become weaker, and generally have a harder time keeping up with those who are younger than us. While this is an expected aspect of getting older, that does not mean that it is unavoidable.

The internal and external signs of aging result from decreasing levels of compounds that promote vitality. One example of a compound that declines with age is NMN, which is the star of our supplement DNA Plus. As a building block of cell rejuvenation, NMN is a crucial supplement for those in search of better overall health.

What is NMN?

Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) is a type of nucleotide naturally produced by the body. As a nucleotide, it plays an essential role in many functions of the body, including acting as a building block for DNA.

NMN is very often considered a NAD activator because, within the cells, NMN is converted into it. This connection is important because nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is also very significant in the body, with an important role in metabolism and energy production.

Since all the cells in the body require NAD, they also need NMN to produce NAD and function properly. Some functions NAD assists with include:

-         DNA repair

-         energy metabolism

-         cellular stress responses

-         gene expression

How much NAD your body can make, though, depends on how much NMN is available.

So, for the body to perform these actions, it needs NMN.

A Natural Decline

While the body naturally produces NMN, its production can decline as you get older. When this happens, your body’s production of NAD also decreases, which may contribute to some of the aging-related health conditions that can occur.

One example of this is that certain age-related metabolic conditions, such as liver diseases and diabetes, have been shown to correlate with lower levels of NMN and NAD.

Because of the natural NMN decline seen with aging and the aging-related conditions that can result, supplementing this important nucleotide should be a high priority for those looking to maintain or improve their vitality.

NAD Benefits

Since NMN supplementation increases the amount of NAD in the body, recounting the benefits of NMN also requires looking at what NAD can do for the body.

Protect Your Brain

NAD is suspected to modulate the production of a protein that protects cells from mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress, two qualities that are related to some neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease.

Animal studies have shown that supplementing with NAD can help negate the effects of NAD depletion, which include neuroinflammation and DNA damage, thus acting as a potential therapy for Alzheimer’s.

Increase Longevity

NAD can help repair DNA by activating sirtuins, which are a group of proteins with activity linked to longevity. Additionally, low NAD levels are often associated with age-related diseases, which suggests that increasing NAD levels, such as through NMN supplementation, may address or prevent these diseases, helping you live a longer and happier life.

Reduce Heart Disease Risk

High NAD levels may be able to help protect against heart disease, with animal studies finding that high NAD blood levels reversed age-related arterial damage, which can lead to heart disease. This finding is exciting because it shows that NMN supplementation can do more than prevent diseases, it can potentially reverse them.

Improve Muscle Strength

Studies on older mice have shown that higher NAD levels can help improve muscle strength, function, and endurance, helping to restore vitality and improving how you feel overall.

Why We Supplement NMN And Not NAD

While NAD is the compound that provides the many benefits listed above, NMN is the one that you want to supplement. This is because supplementing NAD provides no benefit for the body since there is no way for NAD to enter the cell.

However, by providing the booster for NAD, NMN, cells can bring NMN into the cell, where it is then converted into NAD.

Research has shown that this will occur, too, with a study on ten men showing that taking NMN also increased the amount of NMN byproducts, including NAD, in the blood.

Benefits of NMN

Research surrounding the direct benefits of NMN supplementation, instead of looking at the benefits of NAD, are fewer yet still promising.

A study on postmenopausal women with prediabetes who were overweight or obese showed that taking 250 mg of NMN each day for ten weeks increased insulin sensitivity and signaling.

Another study on NMN examined its benefits for sleep quality. The study participants were 65 years old or older and received either 250 mg of NMN or a placebo control for 12 weeks. The researchers found that those who took NMN in the afternoon saw improvements in muscle responsiveness and overall drowsiness compared to those who took NMN in the morning or not at all.

The benefits of NMN for aerobic capacity have also been researched. In 2021, 48 runners between the ages of 27 to 50 were given oral NMN supplements at 300, 600, or 1200 mg per day for six weeks or a placebo.

The study found that, after six weeks, those given NMN supplements showed increased aerobic capacity, which increased in relation to the amount of NMN given. The scientists running this trial predict that this higher aerobic capacity was due to higher oxygen intake levels.

How To Increase NMN?

For those looking to increase NMN levels to help promote cell rejuvenation, there are two ways to do so:

Natural Sources of NMN

NMN can naturally be found in some foods, such as:

-         avocados

-         broccoli

-         cabbage

-         tomatoes

While studies have shown that the gut can readily absorb NMN, there is a need for more studies investigating how NMN-rich foods can increase NAD levels.

NMN Supplementation

NMN supplementation has been studied more often in both human and animal trials, showing it is well-tolerated by the body, increases cellular levels of NAD, and has minimal side effects.

For those looking for an NMN supplement that will help increase NAD levels and improve your health on a cellular level, DNA Plus is for you. With 150 mg of NMN in each dose, your body will see a significant increase in NAD levels that will encourage healthy aging by promoting heart health, improving endurance and muscle strength, and reducing the effects of aging.

Try DNA Plus and see how much better you feel when you have the help of NMN.

References

Okabe, K., Yaku, K., Tobe, K., & Nakagawa, T. (2019). Implications of altered NAD metabolism in metabolic disorders. Journal Of Biomedical Science, 26(1). doi: 10.1186/s12929-019-0527-8

Hou, Y., Lautrup, S., Cordonnier, S., Wang, Y., Croteau, D. L., Zavala, E., Zhang, Y., Moritoh, K., O'Connell, J. F., Baptiste, B. A., Stevnsner, T. V., Mattson, M. P., & Bohr, V. A. (2018). NAD⁺ supplementation normalizes key Alzheimer's features and DNA damage responses in a new AD mouse model with introduced DNA repair deficiency. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115(8), E1876–E1885. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1718819115

de Picciotto, N. E., Gano, L. B., Johnson, L. C., Martens, C. R., Sindler, A. L., Mills, K. F., Imai, S., & Seals, D. R. (2016). Nicotinamide mononucleotide supplementation reverses vascular dysfunction and oxidative stress with aging in mice. Aging cell, 15(3), 522–530. https://doi.org/10.1111/acel.12461

Frederick, D. W., Loro, E., Liu, L., Davila, A., Jr, Chellappa, K., Silverman, I. M., Quinn, W. J., 3rd, Gosai, S. J., Tichy, E. D., Davis, J. G., Mourkioti, F., Gregory, B. D., Dellinger, R. W., Redpath, P., Migaud, M. E., Nakamaru-Ogiso, E., Rabinowitz, J. D., Khurana, T. S., & Baur, J. A. (2016). Loss of NAD Homeostasis Leads to Progressive and Reversible Degeneration of Skeletal Muscle. Cell metabolism, 24(2), 269–282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2016.07.005

Irie, J., Inagaki, E., Fujita, M., Nakaya, H., Mitsuishi, M., & Yamaguchi, S. et al. (2020). Effect of oral administration of nicotinamide mononucleotide on clinical parameters and nicotinamide metabolite levels in healthy Japanese men. Endocrine Journal, 67(2), 153-160. doi: 10.1507/endocrj.ej19-0313

Yoshino, M., Yoshino, J., Kayser, B., Patti, G., Franczyk, M., & Mills, K. et al. (2021). Nicotinamide mononucleotide increases muscle insulin sensitivity in prediabetic women. Science, 372(6547), 1224-1229. doi: 10.1126/science.abe9985

Kim, M., Seol, J., Sato, T., Fukamizu, Y., Sakurai, T., & Okura, T. (2022). Effect of 12-Week Intake of Nicotinamide Mononucleotide on Sleep Quality, Fatigue, and Physical Performance in Older Japanese Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study. Nutrients, 14(4), 755. doi: 10.3390/nu14040755

Liao, B., Zhao, Y., Wang, D., Zhang, X., Hao, X., & Hu, M. (2021). Nicotinamide mononucleotide supplementation enhances aerobic capacity in amateur runners: a randomized, double-blind study. Journal Of The International Society Of Sports Nutrition, 18(1). doi: 10.1186/s12970-021-00442-4