What Is Nicotinamide Riboside?
This is a form of vitamin B that assists in restoring NAD+ levels. It’s actually the most effective way to get that much needed NAD+. This is so important to your cellular health. As we age, our NAD+ levels decrease immensely. Some more than others but after the age of 30, they will begin to decrease. A remarkably effective way to make the same molecule that has been shown to restore NAD+ levels in cells prompted scientists to research NR more carefully and, specifically, to see how we could get more of it. It is recommended to take a supplement in these cases.
How Nicotinamide Riboside Works
NR is a vitamin that our bodies need in order to complete biological functions. Today, there are 8 types of vitamin Bs and NR is found in small amount in dairy products. Maybe you have seen the word ‘niacin’ on some food or flour packages. That is simply because B3 is such an important vitamin that the governments make sure it can be found in certain foods. In 1940, the government recommended that B3 be fortified in our foods due to the fact that it helped cure many from a fatal disease in the early 1900s called pellagra. Now, there are similar products fortified in our rice as well.
“Nicotinamide or other vitamin B3 forms can go through multiple well-characterized reactions to get to NAD+,” Baur says. One way allows NR to become NAD+ by bypassing a step that other precursors must go through.
“In terms of timing, it was kind of a happy coincidence that the ability of NR to serve as a precursor was being recognized at the same time that people were realizing that boosting NAD+ might be a good idea,” Baur says.
The Future of Nicotinamide Riboside
What we do know thus far is that NAD+ levels decrease with aging. It's not clear why this occurs. However, there are supplements that we can take to help with this issue if needed.
