What are NAD+ Sublingual Lozenges, and How do They Work?

NAD+ therapy and supplementation, including NAD+ sublingual supplements, have gained increasingly more attention from the scientific community in the past decade due to its potential to promote health as we grow older, prevent chronic diseases, and even help to treat addiction.

It may sound too good to be true, but the science behind NAD+ therapy and supplementation is relatively simple.

Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide, or NAD+ for short, is the most abundant chemical in the body (1). It is needed for hundreds of biochemical processes in and between cells that keep our body functioning correctly. When we get ill or injured, NAD+ requirements increase to help repair bodily damage. At the same time, NAD+ decreases as we age. This is partly why illness is more common in older age groups.

The idea behind NAD+ supplementation and NAD+ therapy is simple: it helps to replenish a waning pool of NAD+ in people that the body is craving, especially in people who are chronically ill, aging or living with addiction (1, 2, 3).

NAD+ IV therapy is most useful for addiction and treating some illnesses since it requires medical supervision. However, NAD+ supplements are available without prescription and can help to replenish the NAD+ supply in the body over time. NAD+ sublingual tablets or lozenges are among the latest effective technology for replenishing NAD+ in the body in the comfort of your own home.

What are NAD+ Sublingual Lozenges?

NAD+ Sublingual Lozenges contain a form of NAD+ that is easily absorbed by the body, broken down into usable parts, and rebuilt in the cell to replenish NAD+ pools.

You place one sublingual tablet under your tongue daily and leave it there until it is completely dissolved. It delivers small doses of NAD+ to your body to help gradually supply your cells with the NAD+ they need to function correctly.

Some NAD+ sublingual lozenges or tablets contain NAD+ precursors, such as tryptophan, nicotinic acid (pyridine-3-carboxylic acid), nicotinamide (nicotinic acid amide), nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) and nicotinamide riboside (NR) (4). These can be converted into NAD+ at different rates and proportions.

The Longevity Collective’s lozenge provides the body with the complete form of NAD+. Since NAD+ cannot be absorbed directly into the cell, it is broken down, building blocks are absorbed, and it is rebuilt within the cell.  

How do Sublingual Lozenges Work, and What Are the Benefits?

A common form of NAD+ supplementation is NAD+ oral pills or NAD+ precursor oral pills. While oral pills can help to increase NAD+ concentrations in the blood, it undergoes first-pass metabolism, which can decrease the bioavailability of NAD+. This means that the amount that gets into the cells is significantly less than consumed. Additionally, oral NAD+ and NAD+ precursor supplements may cause gastric irritation in some people (5).

In short, NAD+ sublingual lozenges have benefits over oral supplements because they:

-       Increase the retention time of the dosage while dissolving in the oral cavity. As it slowly dissolves under the tongue over several minutes, it allows the body to absorb it more effectively.

-       Increased bioavailability. Since the NAD+ is absorbed directly into the blood across the thin layer of skin under the tongue, it does not experience first-pass metabolism. First-pass metabolism is normal, but it reduces the amount of bioavailable NAD+ or NAD+ components available for use by the cell.

-       Decreased gastric irritation. Oral supplements can cause irritation of the stomach and intestine in some people. Taking the supplements sublingually rather than orally makes people less likely to experience gastric irritation. 

You can read more about the different forms of NAD+ supplements here.

Main Takeaway: Does NAD+ Sublingual Supplementation Work?

Research shows that NAD+ supplementation in different forms increases NAD+ concentration in the body by fighting NAD+ deficiency. While diet, exercise, and other lifestyle changes can help decrease NAD+ loss or even increase NAD+ concentrations slightly, the improvements are often minimal. NAD+ supplementation, including NAD+ sublingual tablets, may help replenish NAD+ concentrations in the body over several weeks or months of use, helping improve overall wellbeing.

References

1.     Navarro, M. N., Gómez De Las Heras, M. M., & Mittelbrunn, M. (2021). Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide metabolism in the immune response, autoimmunity and inflammageing. British Journal of Pharmacology, 179(9), 1839–1856. https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.15477

2.     Yaku, K., Okabe, K., & Nakagawa, T. (2018). NAD metabolism: Implications in aging and longevity. Ageing Research Reviews, 47, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2018.05.006

3.     Martens, C. R., Denman, B. A., Mazzo, M. R., Armstrong, M. L., Reisdorph, N., McQueen, M. B., Chonchol, M., & Seals, D. R. (2018). Chronic nicotinamide riboside supplementation is well-tolerated and elevates NAD+ in healthy middle-aged and older adults. Nature Communications, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03421-7

4.     Poljsak, B., & Milisav, I. (2018). Vitamin B3 forms as precursors to NAD+: Are they safe? Trends in Food Science & Technology, 79, 198–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2018.07.020

5.     Aronson, J. K. (2009). Routes of drug administration: uses and adverse effects. Adverse Drug Reaction Bulletin, NA;(254), 975–978. https://doi.org/10.1097/fad.0b013e32832a0b18