Fighting aging with NMN

What is NMN?

NMN is the short abbreviation for nicotinamide mononucleotide. You can find NMN in many vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, avocado, etc. It is also present in some red meats but in low quantities. In our bodies, NMN acts as a source of cellular energy. With the help of an enzyme, it is an essential substance in the NAD+ synthesis, which is the reason why NMN is often described as an NAD+ booster. Once absorbed in the gut, NMN transforms into NR (nicotinamide riboside). NR enters the cell and helps in the cellular synthesis of NMN and NAD+. NMN comes in two forms, namely alpha and beta. The beta form is the active one being most potent in the human gut, and easier to absorb.

Why is NAD+ important?

NAD+ binds with various proteins in the cell, some of which are responsible for DNA damage repair. With the progression of age, NAD+ levels significantly decrease. This depletion leads to inefficient DNA repairs, which, on the other hand, results in loss of information – the actual cause of aging.

Why take NMN and not NAD+ directly?

Our bodies have fascinating mechanisms to keep us alive and well. We do not want to override them as they are more complex than anything we have built so far. Direct administration of NAD+ bypasses some of those circuits. It also has a fair amount of side effects like anxiety, fatigue, and insomnia. In some cases, NAD+ even demonstrates poor absorption capabilities through the cellular membrane compared to NMN.

Why take NMN and not NR?

Both molecules are found naturally in foods, and both demonstrate promising capabilities to treat certain conditions in mammals. However, in the latest studies, NMN is taking an extra edge. It showed promising results in treating Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, age-associated weight gain, and, most importantly, aging and the associated NAD+ depletion. Researchers are currently looking to expand this list. Still, it will take time for trials to confirm the other benefits NMN might have.

Should you supplement NMN?

Despite that NMN can be found naturally in foods, it is almost impossible to get the quantities that researchers found to make a difference. In the very best case, you can get 1.6mg of NMN per 100 grams of vegetables (avocados, tomatoes). To get the 600mg dose, you will need to consume approximately 37.5kg vegetables per day. In other words, there is no way to get that quantity of NMN in your body in a natural way through food.

Who should take NMN?

The decline in NAD+ levels begins after the organism has fully developed. Development is strongly individual, but approximately after the age of 16-25, your NAD+ levels will start dropping. Although you do not have physical marks of aging, on the cellular level, the decline has begun. Supplementing NMN can keep your NAD+ levels and mitigate a series of symptoms of aging.

What people experience while taking NMN?

Thousands of people, taking NMN orally for at least a month from all over the world, are sharing mostly the following benefits:

  • Alleviated joint pain;
  • Increased physical endurance;
  • Better digestion;
  • Decreased anxiety and stress levels;
  • Better sleep;
  • Overall high body tone;

Those symptoms have not been confirmed in a clinical trial as they take several years to complete. Despite that the amount of people sharing them is considerable, this cannot be used as a medical claim.

Will I live longer with NMN?

Initial laboratory tests demonstrated the possibility of increasing the lifespan of mammals with about 20-30%. Clinical trials are on the go to determine how much precisely will be the increase of the lifespan of humans. However, age is not the most critical metric. Currently, people above 60 suffer from a series of conditions, which are interfering with their usual way of life. The goal of NMN is to lift this limit and provide more healthy years to people.

Are there any side effects of NMN?

A Japanese human trial started in 2016 and concluded in 2019 that NMN is safe for humans. So far, no one has reported any harmful side effects while administering NMN. All researches so far suggest that NMN is safe to take, and people taking the supplement do not have any complaints. Everyone from VitaeSpan’s team is taking advantage of NMN daily. If you, however, feel any discomfort, please consult a doctor.

Why is NMN so expensive?

Even bought directly from manufacturers in large quantities, NMN is still expensive. The price varies between 2300 and 2800 USD per kilogram, depending on purity. The main reason for the high price is the complex process of production. Right now, the refinement is an expensive and troublesome procedure. There are a couple of researches on the go for more effective production, which may lead to price reduction, but we won’t see those in the next couple of years. Our supplement packs 18 grams of pure NMN, and the final price includes putting it in slowly absorbing capsules, packaging, labeling, marketing, distribution, and operational costs. If we could offer it for less, believe us, we would. A few manufacturers have lower prices than ours. After doing the math, you decide for yourself how they achieved that price. Premium quality is expensive.

Sources

To produce our articles, we use scientific documents and materials from acknowledged sources. By no means we want or can cover their entire content. We support the scientists who did the heavy lifting by buying their articles and books, as this is one of their few income sources. Scientific research is hard, and it barely has the support it deserves. If you want to help, read their books and publications.

  1. Nicotinamide Mononucleotide: Exploration of Diverse Therapeutic Applications of a Potential Molecule by Saikat Kumar Poddar, Ali Ehsan Sifat, Sanjana Haque, Noor Ahmed Nahid, Sabiha Chowdhury, and Imtias Mehedi;
  2. Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN) Supplementation Promotes Neurovascular Rejuvenation in Aged Mice: Transcriptional Footprint of SIRT1 Activation, Mitochondrial Protection, Anti-Inflammatory, and Anti-Apoptotic Effects by Tamas Kiss, Ádám Nyúl-Tóth, Priya Balasubramanian, Stefano Tarantini, Chetan Ahire, Andriy Yabluchanskiy, Tamas Csipo, Eszter Farkas, Jonathan D Wren, Lori Garman, Anna Csiszar, Zoltan Ungvari;
  3. NAD+ Precursors Protect Corneal Endothelial Cells From UVB-induced Apoptosis by Can Zhao, Wenjing Li, Haoyun Duan, Zongyi Li, Yanni Jia, Songmei Zhang, Xin Wang, Qingjun Zhou, Weiyun Shi;
  4. NAD+ Repletion Rescues Female Fertility During Reproductive Aging by Michael J Bertoldo, Dave R Listijono, Wing-Hong Jonathan Ho, Angelique H Riepsamen, Dale M Goss, Dulama Richani, Xing L Jin, Saabah Mahbub, Jared M Campbell, Abbas Habibalahi, Wei-Guo Nicholas Loh, Neil A Youngson, Jayanthi Maniam, Ashley S A Wong, Kaisa Selesniemi, Sonia Bustamante, Catherine Li, Yiqing Zhao, Maria B Marinova, Lynn-Jee Kim, Laurin Lau, Rachael M Wu, A Stefanie Mikolaizak, Toshiyuki Araki, David G Le Couteur, Nigel Turner, Margaret J Morris, Kirsty A Walters, Ewa Goldys, Christopher O’Neill, Robert B Gilchrist, David A Sinclair, Hayden A Homer, Lindsay E Wu;
  5. Extracellular NAD + Enhances PARP-dependent DNA Repair Capacity Independently of CD73 Activity by Anna Wilk, Faisal Hayat, Richard Cunningham, Jianfeng Li, Silvia Garavaglia, Leila Zamani, Davide M Ferraris, Peter Sykora, Joel Andrews, Jennifer Clark, Amanda Davis, Laurent Chaloin, Menico Rizzi, Marie Migaud, Robert W Sobol;
  6. Nicotinamide Mononucleotide and Melatonin Alleviate Aging-induced Cognitive Impairment via Modulation of Mitochondrial Function and Apoptosis in the Prefrontal Cortex and Hippocampus by Leila Hosseini, Fatemeh Farokhi-Sisakht, Reza Badalzadeh, Aytak Khabbaz, Javad Mahmoudi, Saeed Sadigh-Eteghad;
  7. Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN) Supplementation Promotes Anti-Aging miRNA Expression Profile in the Aorta of Aged Mice, Predicting Epigenetic Rejuvenation and Anti-Atherogenic Effects by Tamas Kiss, Cory B Giles, Stefano Tarantini, Andriy Yabluchanskiy, Priya Balasubramanian, Tripti Gautam, Tamas Csipo, Ádám Nyúl-Tóth, Agnes Lipecz, Csaba Szabo, Eszter Farkas, Jonathan D Wren, Anna Csiszar, Zoltan Ungvari;
  8. Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN) Treatment Attenuates Oxidative Stress and Rescues Angiogenic Capacity in Aged Cerebromicrovascular Endothelial Cells: A Potential Mechanism for the Prevention of Vascular Cognitive Impairment by Tamas Kiss, Priya Balasubramanian, Marta Noa Valcarcel-Ares, Stefano Tarantini, Andriy Yabluchanskiy, Tamas Csipo, Agnes Lipecz, Dora Reglodi, Xin A Zhang, Ferenc Bari, Eszter Farkas, Anna Csiszar, Zoltan Ungvari;
  9. NAD + Intermediates: The Biology and Therapeutic Potential of NMN and NR by Jun Yoshino, Joseph A Baur, Shin-Ichiro Imai;
  10. Short-term Administration of Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Preserves Cardiac Mitochondrial Homeostasis and Prevents Heart Failure by Rongli Zhang, Yuyan Shen, Lin Zhou, Panjamaporn Sangwung, Hisashi Fujioka, Lilei Zhang, Xudong Liao;
  11. Nicotinamide mononucleotide attenuates brain injury after intracerebral hemorrhage by activating Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway by Chun-Chun Wei, Yuan-Yuan Kong, Guo-Qiang Li, Yun-Feng Guan, Pei Wang, Chao-Yu Miao;
  12. Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Inhibits JNK Activation to Reverse Alzheimer Disease by Zhiwen Yao, Wenhao Yang, Zhiqiang Gao, Peng Jia;
  13. Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Protects Against β-Amyloid Oligomer-Induced Cognitive Impairment and Neuronal Death by Xiaonan Wang, Xuejun Hu, Yang Yang, Toshihiro Takata, Takashi Sakurai;
  14. Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Supplementation Reverses Vascular Dysfunction and Oxidative Stress With Aging in Mice by Natalie E de Picciotto, Lindsey B Gano, Lawrence C Johnson, Christopher R Martens, Amy L Sindler, Kathryn F Mills, Shin-Ichiro Imai, Douglas R Seals;
  15. Effect of nicotinamide mononucleotide on brain mitochondrial respiratory deficits in an Alzheimer’s disease-relevant murine model by Aaron N Long, Katrina Owens, Anna E Schlappal, Tibor Kristian, Paul S Fishman, and Rosemary A Schuh;
  16. Effect of oral administration of nicotinamide mononucleotide on clinical parameters and nicotinamide metabolite levels in healthy Japanese men by Junichiro Irie, Emi Inagaki, Masataka Fujita, Hideaki Nakaya, Masanori Mitsuishi, Shintaro Yamaguchi, Kazuya Yamashita, Shuhei Shigaki, Takashi Ono, Hideo Yukioka, Hideyuki Okano, Yo-ichi Nabeshima, Shin-ichiro Imai, Masato Yasui, Kazuo Tsubota, Hiroshi Itoh;