Nad+

By Anonymous March 25th, 2026 6 views

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is an essential coenzyme (a molecule that assists with chemical reactions) that helps cells create energy and makes nutrients available to the body.
As a supplement, NAD+ comes with the potential promise to help reverse age-related conditions.

“NAD+ is involved in hundreds of processes in our bodies, and it tends to decrease with age,” says Daniel Craighead, PhD, an assistant professor in the school of kinesiology at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Lower NAD+ levels are associated with an increased risk of obesity, heart disease, cancer, and dementia (a decline in cognitive ability).

Scientists are studying whether increased NAD+ levels improve health markers and prevent age-related health conditions. “The idea is that if you can restore NAD+, it will improve health and function across a lot of different domains,” Dr. Craighead says.

While the role of naturally occurring NAD+ for health and longevity is well-established, whether NAD+ supplements can provide additional benefit (or make up for natural decreases in NAD+) is less conclusive. Here’s what you need to know about NAD+ supplements and whether they may be supportive of your health goals.

Potential Health Benefits of NAD+

NAD+ has gotten a lot of hype for its potential to lower inflammation, improve cognitive function, lower the risk of type 2 diabetes and blood pressure issues, and repair the skin.

“There's a lot of interest and promise in boosting NAD+ because of the research that's been done in animal models, but the human research hasn't been as exciting,” Craighead says. “A lot of the studies done with people have been small and for a short duration, and we're still waiting for bigger studies to come out and provide definitive proof.”

Research involves NAD+ precursors (or molecules the body uses to make NAD+), mainly nicotinamide riboside (NR) and nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), because NAD+ isn’t absorbed very well by the body. NR and NMN, which are smaller and more easily absorbed, are converted into NAD+ within the cells, Craighead says.

Here are some of the potential health benefits of NAD+ according to research on oral NAD+ precursor supplementation so far.

May Reduce Inflammation

One review theorized that boosting NAD+ levels reduces inflammatory markers (substances in the blood that rise due to inflammation), specifically interleukin-13 (IL-13). IL-13 plays a key role in regulating allergic responses and is associated with Parkinson’s disease and cancer.

“Reductions in inflammation is the most consistent benefit we see across studies of NR,” Craighead says. But whether the reduction in inflammation linked to NAD+ is also associated with lower chronic disease risk or prognosis hasn’t been proven, Craighead says. “What it does in the long run, we don't yet know.”

May Improve Cognitive Function for Certain Populations

Researchers suspect the anti-inflammatory effects of NAD+ may offer perks for brain health — in particular, for inflammatory neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). And they’ve started to investigate if there is indeed a link.

In one small study, 15 people with early Parkinson’s disease were given 1,000 milligrams (mg) of NR for 30 days. This resulted in an average increase in NAD+ levels in their brains and a decrease in inflammatory cytokines (a type of protein) compared with the 15 adults with early Parkinson’s disease in the control group.

The researchers believe NR may help prevent Parkinson’s disease from worsening, but more research is needed. “There are some promising signs of benefit, but the benefits are pretty small and only tested in a handful of people,” Craighead says.

And in research so far, NAD+ has not conclusively been shown to boost cognitive health or have protective effects for healthy individuals.

May Lower Diabetes Risk

NAD+ may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes by improving insulin sensitivity (how well your body responds to insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar).

For example, one study found that insulin sensitivity improved when women with prediabetes (a condition where blood sugar is higher than healthy but not high enough for diabetes) who were overweight or had obesity supplemented with NMN for 10 weeks.

NAD+ may work by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress (an imbalance between damaging substances known as free radicals and the antioxidants that neutralize them), and by increasing energy flow and autophagy (a process where the cell gets rid of unneeded or damaged components).

Craighead says the research is promising but calls for more studies with larger sample sizes.

May Improve Heart Health

NAD+ deficiency is associated with heart disease risk factors, such as obesity, aging, and high blood pressure (hypertension), leading researchers to explore whether boosting NAD+ levels can lower the risk of heart disease.

Research suggests it might. A meta-analysis of 29 studies showed that supplementing with NAD+ precursors led to a significant reduction in blood pressure and inflammation in healthy people and those with various health conditions, including high cholesterol, heart disease, and metabolic syndrome (a group of conditions that occur simultaneously and increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes). These findings led researchers to conclude that NAD+ precursor supplementation may, through these mechanisms, lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Craighead notes that a caveat of this review is that it involved studies using niacin, which is a precursor to NAD+, but isn’t commonly used, owing to its adverse side effects.

Potential Risks and Side Effects of NAD+

Here’s what to know about the safety of taking NAD+ supplements. Note that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate supplements as rigorously as it does medications, so it’s important to use them with caution.

Risks

Research shows that NAD+ supplements are generally safe and not associated with any serious adverse reactions or risks, Craighead says.
But he notes that most studies have been short-term, so it’s a good idea to consult your healthcare provider to make sure NAD+ supplements are right for you.

In addition, because NAD+ boosts cellular activity, there’s concern that it may encourage abnormal cells, like cancer cells, to survive. “As a precaution, we do not give NAD+ to patients with cancer,” says Amanda Kahn, MD, a board-certified internist in private practice in New York City who specializes in longevity medicine.

She also advises avoiding NAD+ if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, citing a lack of safety data in these populations.

Side Effects

In general, increasing NAD+ with supplements like NR and NMN is considered safe and doesn’t cause adverse side effects when taken in the shorter term.

But NAD+-increasing supplements like NR and NMN can cause side effects when taken at high doses, like those used in research.
What constitutes a high dose is different for NR and NMN (more on this below). For example, NR’s upper limit — or the maximum amount you can consume daily without adverse effects — is 3 milligrams (mg) per kilogram (kg) of body weight per day.

Potential side effects include:

Liver damage
Headache
Skin flushing
Dizziness

NAD+ is sometimes provided by a healthcare professional as an injection or infusion. If you receive NAD+ as an injection, you may experience redness, itching, or tenderness at the injection site. “But this dissipates quickly and is not harmful,” Dr. Kahn says.

Forms of NAD+

NAD+ supplements are available in the following forms:

Capsules
Powders
Injections
Intravenous (IV) infusions
Nasal sprays

As NAD+ isn’t well absorbed by the body, Kahn recommends oral supplements made of a precursor, such as NR or NMN, or an injection of NAD+.

Injections and IV infusions deliver NAD+ to the bloodstream quickly and are absorbed better by the body since they bypass the gut, Craighead says. But he says a pill form of a precursor should be just as efficient (and probably more convenient).

You may also encounter an NAD+ nasal spray, which may be preferred by needle-averse patients, Kahn says. “However, these patients may not receive the full benefits,” she says, as nasal sprays don’t fully reach the bloodstream the way injections do.

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