“NAD+ helps create energy by turning food into fuel and supporting cell repair. It’s like the ‘starter’ for energy production,” says Wedgwood. “NADH, on the other hand, is the form that carries and delivers the energy where it’s needed in the body. Think of NAD+ as the builder of energy, and NADH as the transporter, ensuring cells get the power they need. Both work together to keep everything running smoothly.”
What are the benefits of NAD?
Because it’s a vital part of how your DNA works, NAD has a variety of different and useful functions in the body. A couple of the main ones are energy levels, metabolism support, skin health, immune system and DNA repair.
But how exactly does that all work? As Dr. Rishi Mandavia, managing director at Doctors Tatiana + Rishi Advanced Aesthetics, says it’s all about energy conversion. “NAD plays a big role in your metabolism, which is how your body turns food into energy. It helps with key processes that produce ATP [adenosine triphosphate], the energy your cells need to function. Without enough NAD, your body’s ability to create energy slows down, making it harder for your cells to do their jobs.”
NAD can also be an anti-aging boost as well. “NAD is linked to anti-aging because it helps repair cells, protect against damage and support healthy function in things like DNA repair and mitochondrial health,” says Mandavia. “Since NAD+ levels naturally decline as we age, keeping those levels higher might help slow some signs of aging—though more research is needed.”
There’s more: NAD can also have an effect on “managing stress, immune function and regulating your body’s internal clock, or circadian rhythms,” says Mandavia. “It also helps control how genes are expressed, which can impact overall health and longevity.”
Can you take a NAD supplement?
Here’s where it gets a tiny bit more complicated. NAD supplements can be delivered in both an oral form (usually as a tablet, but also a powder) as well as an intravenous or intramuscular injection. The benefits of correct supplement taking should include higher energy levels, boosted metabolism, better stress management and improved sleep, among other things.
But health professionals have differing opinions on what is the most effective, if effective at all, way to take NAD.
Dr. Harpal Bains, a longevity doctor and the medical director at Harpal Clinic (which offers NAD+ IV drips), says IV is more effective than oral supplements, as “NAD+ supplements in oral form are unstable and have poor bioavailability, as it has to bypass your gut acid and enzymes to reach your cells. When taken by injection or intravenously, bioavailability is much better and most people can feel its effects straight away, especially with intravenous NAD+ infusions.”
Mandavia’s opinion is that there is not enough evidence to support the effectiveness of NAD intravenous injections, saying: “There is currently a paucity of evidence to support NAD injections or intravenous infusions. This may be because NAD is an unstable molecule that does not survive long in a solution. Furthermore, NAD+ itself does not easily cross the cell membrane due to its large and charged structure. However, cells can take up precursors of NAD+, such as nicotinamide or nicotinic acid, which can then be converted into NAD+ inside the cell.” Those precursors are usually what are found within supplements.
