NAD+ in Aging: Role of Nicotinamide Riboside and Nicotinamide Mononucleotide
A 30-minute solo talk in which Rhonda Patrick reviews NAD, the NAD boosters nicotinamide riboside and NMN, the preclinical and early human data, and her open questions.
Key moments
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- 1:01Why NAD matters in agingPatrick says NAD declines with age and ties that decline to several hallmarks of aging, including mitochondrial dysfunction and senescence.
- 2:47NAD sources and core rolesShe covers dietary precursors, the role of NAD in energy metabolism, PARP 1 DNA repair and sirtuin activation.
- 7:39Depletion across tissuesPatrick describes NAD falling in high-demand tissues such as brain, muscle and heart, and says exercise and fasting raise it.
- 9:39Salvage pathway and boostersShe explains the recycling pathway, its feedback inhibition, and why nicotinamide riboside and NMN are called NAD boosters.
- 11:26Preclinical benefits reportedPatrick summarizes preclinical studies of nicotinamide riboside and NMN on metabolism, muscle, heart and brain.
- 13:47Pancreatic cancer findingShe describes a preclinical study where NMN accelerated growth of a senescent-cell-driven pancreatic cancer type, and notes its narrow context.
- 15:57Doses and tissue deliveryPatrick converts preclinical doses to human equivalents and reviews isotope tracer data on which tissues receive NAD directly from the boosters.
- 25:44Human trials of nicotinamide ribosideShe reviews two randomized placebo-controlled trials that raised blood NAD, with limited effects on other measures.
- 28:25Storage and recapPatrick notes that both compounds break down to nicotinamide with heat and humidity, then recaps and gives her cautious view.
What the video says
Rhonda Patrick opens by describing NAD as a molecule needed for energy metabolism, DNA repair through the enzyme PARP 1, and activation of sirtuins. She says NAD levels fall with age across tissues and that this decline is linked to many hallmarks of aging, including mitochondrial dysfunction, altered epigenetics and glucose intolerance. She lists possible reasons for the decline, such as more NAD consumption from inflammation and DNA repair, and less production and recycling.
She then explains where NAD comes from. Dietary tryptophan and forms of vitamin B3 contribute, but Patrick says the main source is the salvage pathway, which recycles nicotinamide. She notes that nicotinamide can inhibit sirtuins and that the salvage enzyme is subject to feedback inhibition by NAD. Nicotinamide riboside and NMN, which she calls NAD boosters, are presented as ways to enter the pathway.
The middle of the talk covers preclinical work. Patrick summarizes studies reporting benefits for metabolism, muscle, heart and brain at very high doses, and she works through human equivalent doses for a 180 pound person. She describes a preclinical study in which NMN increased growth of a pancreatic cancer type driven by senescent cells, and says it would be good to see long-term studies. She also reviews isotope tracer data on whether the boosters reach tissues intact, concluding that oral doses mostly reached the liver intact and that other tissues received NAD largely via nicotinamide.
On human evidence, Patrick says there is no published oral NMN data. She describes two randomized placebo-controlled trials of nicotinamide riboside that raised NAD in blood cells, with the highest dose tested at one gram per day. She adds notes on supplement storage and closes by saying she finds the data promising but wants more work before she is ready to use the supplements herself.
On each compound
NAD+0:00
Patrick calls NAD essential for energy metabolism, DNA repair and sirtuin activation, and says levels fall with age. She says its precursors nicotinamide riboside and NMN raised NAD in preclinical studies and that nicotinamide riboside raised NAD in white blood cells in two human trials.
See how your DNA reads NAD+NAD+24:00
She says oral NAD is mostly digested to nicotinamide and that no mammalian NAD transporter has been identified. According to Patrick, injected NAD raised levels in brain and heart in preclinical work, with very little preclinical data and no clinical data on intravenous NAD.
See how your DNA reads NAD+What this video doesn’t settle
- Most of the benefits described come from preclinical studies at very high doses, and Patrick says it is not yet shown whether oral boosters reach tissues other than the liver intact.
- The human trials she cites were short, measured NAD in blood cells only, and she says no long-term safety studies have been done.
- The pancreatic cancer finding is from one preclinical study, and Patrick says she would like long-term studies to confirm and extend it.
Questions this video answers
Does NMN or nicotinamide riboside raise NAD in humans?
Patrick says two randomized placebo-controlled trials found oral nicotinamide riboside raised NAD in whole blood or white blood cells, with increases of 40 to 90 percent in one trial and 60 percent in the other. She says there is no published human data on oral NMN.
What doses of NAD boosters were used in studies, according to Rhonda Patrick?
She says many preclinical studies used very high doses, which she converts to roughly 2.6 grams per day of nicotinamide riboside or about 2 grams of NMN for a 180 pound person. The highest human dose she cites was one gram per day.
Why does Rhonda Patrick say NAD declines with age?
She says the full answer is still open. She points to higher consumption from inflammation, immune activation and DNA repair, along with reduced production and recycling.
What does Rhonda Patrick say about the cancer study on NMN?
She describes a preclinical study in which NMN increased precancerous and cancerous lesions in a pancreatic cancer type driven by senescent cells. She says it does not mean the supplements drive tumors in other cancer types and calls for long-term studies.
How should NAD booster supplements be stored, according to this video?
Patrick says nicotinamide riboside and NMN break down into nicotinamide over time with high heat or humidity. She suggests keeping products cool and buying from a manufacturer that has not left them in a hot warehouse.
Video by FoundMyFitness on YouTube, embedded as published. The summary is written by PeptidesDNA from the video; every claim in it is the speaker’s. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the creator. Not medical advice.
