NAD+ AND LONGEVITY
Since the first humans came into existence on this planet, people have been dying. That is the bad news. The good news is that with the understanding we have today, health and long lives are possible. NAD+ is required to produce energy in the cells of all living things. This includes our cells, and the daily amount of NAD+ necessary is relatively high. Our body efficiently recycles this molecule for most of our lives. NAD+ is also a proven molecule in extending the lives of animals (Longo, 2019). You might be asking yourself, what is the big deal? We have NAD+, and our body recycles it, is there more to this?
As our bodies age, NAD+ recycling and production decrease (Gilmour et al., 2020). This is partially due to an upregulation of an enzyme called CD38. This enzyme uses NAD+ to perform its task, and CD38 is upregulated as we age. This means that the former balance of NAD+ in our cell slowly declines over time. At a certain point, essential aspects of NAD+ use begin to fail. DNA repair requires NAD+ to function, and at some point, the body does not have enough of this molecule to complete the thousands of requisite repairs each day (Clement et al., 2019). This can eventually lead to a mutation that spawns cancer cells. Ensuring proper NAD+ levels remain in circulation can help to reduce the risk for cancer and other energy-related dysfunction in advanced age.
Longevity is the idea that people can live a long, healthy, and fulfilling life. Longevity enthusiasts are hopeful that an average human lifespan of around 80 – 100 years can be extended. They desire to live for 150 years and even beyond. Most people separate healthspan and lifespan when they imagine someone older than 90. They picture a person in a wheelchair or bed and never consider the bright outcome, possible with optimal health practices. The theory that people will live longer than currently seen is being tested by everyone on this planet. With over 7 billion experiments, people could start living past 130 in our lifetime. The oldest person to live through current history, Jeanne Calment, was believed to survive until 122. Extending this out a few more years should be possible with the proper lifestyle habits and supplements.
Many people hope for a magic pill where they can simply take it once or twice a day and never have to change any of their lifestyle habits or diet to see the benefit. NAD+ is not a cure-all, but it is undoubtedly a vital aspect of a well-designed longevity protocol. Living a long and healthy life can happen for almost anyone. Some people live a long life while practicing certain health faux pas, such as smoking. These people have genetic predispositions that allow their bodies to clear toxins at unusually high rates. If longevity is our goal, we should not hope to be one of these people. Instead, we should look towards the median curve of lifespan and healthspan to determine our health practices.
Here are some of the fundamental practices the average person needs to adopt to improve their chances of living a long life. The average person requires 7.5 – 9 hours of sleep each night to complete the necessary repair mechanisms to maintain health. Eating many vegetables and fruits keeps our body filled with the essential nutrients used to perform the tasks required for health upkeep. Stress reduction through prayer, meditation, and other mindfulness practices helps stop destructive chronic inflammation. One author believes the three pillars of health are exercise, diet, and adequate sleep (Vitale et al., 2019). Adding molecules such as NAD+ helps to keep this optimization. NAD+ is necessary for health, and because health is tied in so closely with longevity, it can be considered a vital component for longevity.
NAD+ gives people the opportunity to live a healthy life for longer. People that take care of their bodies can live to be 100 years old or even longer. Adding NAD+ to a carefully designed longevity protocol will help maximize the health of that person. Living a long life filled with health is a dream that could become a possibility. Getting the opportunity to see younger generations and to build relationships with those people would be mutually fulfilling. The ability to accomplish great things is extended when living a long and healthy life. The question you must ask yourself is, do I want to be someone that lives longer?
Clement, J., Wong, M., Poljak, A., Sachdev, P., & Braidy, N. (2019). The Plasma NAD + Metabolome Is Dysregulated in “normal” Aging. Rejuvenation Research, 22(2), 121–130. https://doi.org/10.1089/rej.2018.2077
Gilmour, B. C., Gudmundsrud, R., Frank, J., Hov, A., Lautrup, S., Aman, Y., Røsjø, H., Brenner, C., Ziegler, M., Tysnes, O. B., Tzoulis, C., Omland, T., Søraas, A., Holmøy, T., Bergersen, L. H., Storm-Mathisen, J., Nilsen, H., & Fang, E. F. (2020). Targeting NAD+ in translational research to relieve diseases and conditions of metabolic stress and ageing. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development, 186(December 2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mad.2020.111208
Longo, V. D. (2019). Programmed longevity, youthspan, and juventology. Aging Cell, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/acel.12843
Vitale, K. C., Owens, R., Hopkins, S. R., & Malhotra, A. (2019). Sleep Hygiene for Optimizing Recovery in Athletes: Review and Recommendations. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 40(08), 535–543. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-0905-3103
