Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health
Let me get straight to it. The supplement is NR and there are many animal studies that are exciting to support the thesis.NR is a precursor to NAD in a mitochondria in living cells and hence a critical component of body's energy apparatus.
If it is a fad, it sure one of the more credible ones since it has the backing of many Nobel Laureates.
Read on.
What is mitochondria
- The mitochondria are critical component of living cells.
- Serve to unify the metabolic processes involved in generation of energy
- The energy is harvested in the form of ATP.
- Mitochondria are the real life energy and power generators for the cells in our body.
The history of mitochondria dates to the origin of life itself in bacteria. These critical components of living cells have remarkably survived all the ups and downs of evolution.
Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?
Aging and mitochondria
The mitochondria get chipped and crumble as we get older. This mitochondrial decay plays a critical role in and spearheads the aging process finally ending in bio-energetic failure and death.
While the mechanisms underlying the mitochondrial decay remain elusive, increasing evidence implicates the degenerative changes in organ systems throughout the body including but not limited to heart, muscles and brain.
How to reverse mitochondrial decay
As we are beginning to understand the critical role of crumbing mitochondria in aging persons, scientists are increasingly looking for ways to reverse this decay of mitochondria with the goal to re-energize the entire body including the brain, muscles etc. and at the same time extend healthy life.
Enter energy related chemical called NAD and its precursors like NR, NMN.
Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health
NAD (Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide)
NAD is an essential component of all living cells. Sir Arthur Harden identified NAD over a century ago in yeast extract. Subsequent studies documented a critical role for a variety metabolic processes in the cells of various organs in the body.
Functions of NAD
Numerous studies have suggested that NAD plays an important role in a variety of critical biological processes:
- Energy metabolism
- Aging of various organs including brain
- Cell death
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Role of NAD in brain
Increasing evidence has suggested that NAD plays important role in metabolic processes and is involved in important brain functions:
- Transmission of electro-chemical messaging between different parts of brain.
- Learning
- Memory
Evidence suggests that higher levels of activated NAD are associated with decrease in amyloid neuro-toxicity in brains of animals with Alzheimer’s.
Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health
NAD and longevity
Effects of NAD on extending the life are related to the effect on energy metabolism in the mitochondria.
Aging and NAD
Levels of the energy linked chemical nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide or NAD decline with age in the decaying mitochondria. NAD is a critical cofactor that can revamp metabolic processes and maintain mitochondrial capabilities.
Medical interest in NAD
Advances in understanding of NAD metabolism have has resulted in a resurgence of medical interest in NAD enhancing approaches for treatment of wide variety of diseases including cancer.
Role of nutritional supplements
In this context, role of nutritional supplements that can enhance and reboot energy linked to NAD molecule are the focus. Much of the scientific energies are concentrated on nicotinamide riboside or NR although there are other candidates as well.
Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health
What is Nicotinamide riboside or NR
Nicotinamide riboside or NR is a predecessor of NAD. NR gets converted to NAD in the body. NR is a lesser known natural form vitamin B3, a trace nutrient present select foods.
Commercial NR Products
Commercially available products of NR include Basis by Elysium Health and Niagen by ChroDex. The latter is outsourced and marketed by many retailers.
It is noteworthy that the NAD supplement train has many Nobel Laureates on board this train.
Effect of NR supplementation
NAD levels
Nicotinamide riboside (NR) treatment results in increased NAD levels as well as improvement in NAD related functioning in the cells.
Brain
Animal studies suggest that NR treatment reduces brain dysfunction in animal with Alzheimer’s disease.
Potential health benefits of NR supplementation
- Protects brain against injury/degeneration
- Promotes insulin sensitivity and helps against diabetes
- Effects muscles and boosts exercise capabilities. For example, Khan and colleagues have shown that NR treatment of mice with mitochondrial myopathy results in delayed progression of disease.
- Reduces weight by suppressing adverse effects of high-fat diet.
- NR studies done in animal models of Alzheimer's disease suggest that it exerts its protective effects by stimulating NAD formation in brains.
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Study on effects of NR on body weight
Methods
Canto and colleagues gave mice usual chow or high-fat diet (HFD). Mice were also given NR at 400 mg/kg/day.
Results
- NR supplementation increased insulin levels as well as NAD levels.
- NR significantly decreased weight in mice fed high fat diet. These mice gained 60% less weight as compared to mice not supplemented with NR.
- The effects on weight are related to increased energy expenditure.
- This effect on body weight is not due to amount of food consumed, since mice receiving NR actually consumed more food.
- NR mice also showed greater muscle performance endurance.
Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?
Mechanism of action of NR
- NR improves cognitive function, in part, by activated some of genes involved in energy metabolism.
- Synapse is the nervous junctions that allow the nerve cell or neuron to send electro-chemical signals to other nerve cells. These junctions have ability to adapt to variable circumstances by strengthening or subsiding as warranted based on circumstances. Mice receiving NR develop greater synaptic adaptation.
- Decreased glucose metabolism and utilization in brain is linked to progression of Alzheimer’s and all this is linked to lowered functioning of mitochondria. NR treatment positively benefits the mitochondrial metabolism-related genes.
Safety/toxicity of NR
Conze and colleagues examined the he safety of Niagen, a commercially available NR formulation by doing various standardized tests after using for 14 and 90 days in rats. Results showed that it does not have adverse impact on genes. Comparison of various doses showed that lowest dose of NR showing adverse effects was 1g/kg/d, whereas no effects were seen at 300mg/kg/d.
Pterostilbene: much more potent than NR
Resveratrol is the part of red wine that provides beneficial effects on health including possible longevity. Pterostilbene is a resveratrol-like chemical that is more potent than resveratrol in enhancing and protecting brain function, and lower risk of cancer and heart disease.
- Pterostilbene is available on market.
- Formulations combining NAD booster NR with pterostilbene are also commercially available.
A word about NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide)
NMN is a component of NAD and is a immediate precusor to NAD in mitochondria.
- Injection of NMN to Mice with Alzheimer’s disease restores mitochondrial respiratory function in brain cells.
- NMN injection results in structure of mitochondria along with changes in protein dynamics.
- Studies show that injection of NMN into old mice for one week reconditions the muscles similar to their younger counterparts. However, it did not improve the muscle condition, likely related to the short duration of treatment.
- NMN injection into diabetic mice can increase NAD levels.
Unlike NR, NMN cannot be given by mouth and has to be used in an injectable form. It is not a commercially available product.
Does the above article make you more inclined to use NR supplements? Please share your thoughts.
Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health
Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?
References
1. Cantó C, Menzies KJ, Auwerx J: NAD(+) Metabolism and the Control of Energy Homeostasis: A Balancing Act between Mitochondria and the Nucleus. Cell Metab. 2015 Jul 7;22(1):31-53. 2. Gong B, Pan Y, Vempati P, Zhao W et al: Nicotinamide riboside restores cognition through an upregulation of proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator 1α regulated β-secretase 1 degradation and mitochondrial gene expression in Alzheimer's mouse models. Neurobiol Aging. 2013 Jun;34(6):1581-8. 3. Imai S, Guarente L: NAD+ and sirtuins in aging and disease. Trends Cell Biol. 2014 Aug;24(8):464-71. 4. Verdin E: NAD⁺ in aging, metabolism, and neurodegeneration. Science. 2015 Dec 4;350(6265):1208-13.
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Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health
