The New Darling Supplement Of The Anti-Aging Industry (& The Truth About Whether It Actually Works)

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Charles brenner Nicotinamide Riboside (NR)
Anti-aging, Body, Health & Wellness, Longevity & Age Reversal, Podcast, Podcast-new, Supplements

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Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.

It's no secret that I inject myself with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). It's a bit spendy and a bit uncomfortable, but I do it. Nonetheless, some claim it's not necessary and that one can get all the NAD they need from supplementation. One such supplement that seems to be the current darling of the anti-aging industry is nicotinamide riboside (NR), and to find out a bit more about it, I managed to get the discoverer of this “vitamin” on the show. His name is Dr. Charles Brenner.

Dr. Brenner not only discovered nicotinamide riboside (NR) as a vitamin but is also a leading expert on NAD, which he calls “the central regulator of metabolism”. Originally from Boston, he is a 1983 graduate of Wesleyan University who worked in biotech for 5 years before conducting his PhD research in Cancer Biology in the Biochemistry Department of Stanford University. He subsequently performed his post-doctoral fellowship at Brandeis University before launching his independent career at Thomas Jefferson University. He moved to Dartmouth College in 2003, where he made the seminal discovery of the NR kinase pathway to NAD, and he was recruited to the University of Iowa in 2009 as the Roy J. Carver Chair and Head of Biochemistry.

Dr. Brenner has been funded by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the March of Dimes, the Beckman Foundation, the Burroughs Wellcome Trust, the Lung Cancer Research Foundation, the Roy J. Carver Trust, the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, and has won a number of awards for his research and contributions to innovative education.

For example, thanks to technologies that Dr. Brenner developed, it is now possible to determine how any disease or condition interacts the NAD metabolome, which is the set of genes and small molecules that comprise the NAD ecosystem.

Dr. Brenner is a founding member of the ChromaDex Scientific Advisory Board and serves as their Chief Scientific Advisor. Since conducting the first clinical trial of nicotinamide riboside in healthy adults, he has continued to conduct research on mechanisms by which NR boosts metabolism and protects against diseases and conditions of metabolic stress in animals and to participate in the safe and evidence-based clinical development of NR.

During our discussion, you'll discover:

-How Dr. Brenner enhances his own longevity and anti-aging protocol…8:45

-Why it's best to take NR supplements twice per day…11:00

-The seven specific ways that NAD can get damaged…17:30

-How you can test your own levels of NAD…32:30

-How Dr. Brenner discovered NR as a unique, new vitamin…37:15

-Why niacin in different than NR, and why niacin is not a good way to boost NAD…42:30

-The diseases and conditions that benefit from boosting NAD…48:00

-The connection between NAD, longevity and anti-aging…53:30

-Specific foods that you can eat to increase your NAD availability…1:03:15

-Dr. Brenner's opinion on intravenous NAD and injectable NAD…1:10:15

-Whether TruNiagen is different than any other forms of NR…1:19:30

-And much more!

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Resources from this episode:

TruNiagen

My podcast with the NAD injection clinic

New study: A randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial of nicotinamide riboside in obese men: safety, insulin-sensitivity, and lipid-mobilizing effects

ChromaDex: Response To The Claim Niagen Is Just ‘Expensive Vitamin B3'

Dr. Craig Koniver‘s response when I asked him about NAD IV absorption was to send me this fascinating pdf presentation.

-A portion of Tom Ingoglia of the NAD injection clinic's reply to me was as follows:

“There is a connexin that shows it (NAD) is crossing in fibroblasts. I want to say that it is connexin 43. There is a membrane channel for NMN too…NR has been around for 5 years. NAD IV has been around for 50…”

Do you have questions, thoughts or feedback for Dr. Brenner or me, or about NAD or NR in general? Leave your comments below and one of us will reply!

Ask Ben a Podcast Question

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65 thoughts on “The New Darling Supplement Of The Anti-Aging Industry (& The Truth About Whether It Actually Works)

  1. Candice says:

    I’m late to the conversation here, but I’ve been taking niagen since this podcast (> a year) and have just thrown it all out. I began to have increasingly scary muscle fasicultions and literally thought I had ALS. it was the NR I think bc it it slowly fading now. I hope my damage is not permanent.

  2. Sandbox says:

    Would an NAD patch be as efficient as an NAD infusion for improved stamina, energy type of purpose?

  3. JP says:

    Hey Ben, thanks for your podcasts (very inspirational) and for diving deep into the whole NAD thing so we can cut through all the noise. In this podcast you said you’d run Dr. Brenner’s views -about supplemental NAD+ having to be converted back to NR before it can be utilized- by some of the other guys in the know, and who do IV infusions. I would be interested if you could share their views on this. Thanks so much – feels like a missing piece of information. Also in the this podcast and another one I listened to (with Dr. Grant from Oz I think) I didn’t hear any discussion around the efficacy of NADH supplementation. Is this something you have explored yet?

  4. Joyce says:

    Thank you for this very interesting podcast on NAD. I I have a question that I’ve not been able to find an answer to. I’ve taken nicotinamide riboside twice. The first time at around 35 mg, and the second time at 10 mg. This is a far cry from the 500 mg recommended for an adult. The brand is Life Extension NAD+. The pill comes in a 100 mg capsules. Taking 35 mg kept me awake for 3 nights with severe insomnia. Taking 10mg yesterday kept me up last night. There’s been about two month in between these two doses as I was not eager to repeat my insomnia. I do have insomnia in general, but do normally sleep about 5 hours a night. But on nicotinamide riboside, it was no sleep. I’ve also noticed from the Amazon comments of people who ate taking nicotinamide riboside that about 3-5% have insomnia or severe headaches. Is there any reason for why that might be? I thought I would try it hoping that it would repair something in my brain that’s obviously not functioning right., I likely have a dysfunction of glutamic acid decarboxylase. I read somewhere that NAD could help restore the balance between the Gaba and glutamate neurotransmitters. All the great things I’ve heard about NAD and its help with neurodegenerative diseases is why I’m interested, but the effect is so strong that I’m afraid to take anymore. If only I could understand why this was happening, it would help me figure out if I want to continue taking even smaller microdoses. Thank you.

    1. Jack says:

      The obvious first question is: Have you tried taking Melotonin?

  5. Glenn Ricci says:

    Order the product to Canada, from the company website, was delivered by UPS July 31?

    I emailed the company mid August due to non delivery?

    Ups tracking number shows it was delivered?

    Point of this the customer service from truniagen was horrific, as if they washed their hands of it, I have sent several emails asking to find out on UPS end as ups won’t give me info? I haven’t asked for new products or even money back only an inquiry to find the package??

    Have received no email back in regards to An investigation?

  6. Ed Arias says:

    Dr. Brenner and Ben, thanks so much for the informative podcast on NAD. I just have a couple questions:

    1. I’ve been a long time user of the product, Basis (Elysium) which incorporates pterostilbene with NR. What are your thoughts/knowledge on this addition to the NR formulation, is there an advantage.

    2. Is there any work/research going on to incorporate NADase (principally CD38) inhibitors (i.e. 78c or flavonoids such as apigenin or quercetin) to the NAD formula … or is it just best to get these through the diet? TIA, Ed.

    1. Ed Arias says:

      I see Thorne Sups have a product, ResveraCel, which DOES incorporate Quercetin (250mg) along with more NR (300mg) … plus 150mg resveratrol & 50mg TMG … gonna give this a try for a while … someone is ahead of the curve.

    2. The other company put pterostilbene in because they think that a compound more stable than resveratrol would activate SIRT1. Many problems with this. First, resveratrol does not activate SIRT1. Second, pterostilbene raises human LDL cholesterol. This was first shown by Riche at al in a paper cited by the other company in their clinical study. And if you look in their paper, Basis elevates human LDL-C. There is no reason to include pterostilbene in a supplement intended to improve human health. You can look at the references and data behind these statement here https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2018.10.007
      You can find the full text of all of my papers at https://brenner.lab.uiowa.edu/curriculum-vitae

      So, no, don’t take pterostilbene. Also, inhibiting CD38 is a bad idea for healthy people. CD38 is required for immune function and cd38 mice have autistic-like behavior. All of these phytochemicals are great as part of a balanced, vegetable-rich diet.

  7. Matt says:

    1. Any point in periodically cycling off NR? Do we develop a tolerance?

    2. A friend complained that it caused insomnia. If it speeds metabolism that would give you more energy, right? Do people report insomnia as a side effect?

    3. Assuming I should pause the NR during an extended fast?

    1. Charles Brenner says:

      Folks, I can’t guarantee that I will continue to answer every question because I do cover these issues my interviews but here are salient points:

      1) nicotinic acid (NA), nicotinamide (NAM) and NR are unique forms of B3 that are not equivalent, especially at high doses. NA causes flushing. NAM inhibits sirtuins. Because the gene for NA usage (NAPRT) is not expressed in neurons, NA doesn’t elevate neuronal NAD. Because the gene for NAM usage is turned down in some conditions of metabolic stress, such as heart failure, NAM can’t be used by a number of tissues when we really need the NAD boosted or maintained. The NRK1 and NRK2 genes are, in contrast, expressed in all cells and tissues and, in fact, are unregulated in conditions of metabolic stress including high noise in the ear, heart failure and central brain injury.

      2) Is is possible that taking high doses of a B3 could deplete methyl groups. Yes, it is possible and in fact, there are some data that doses of 300 mg of NAM and NA per day have an effect on some other metabolites. Specifically, elevated homocysteine (HCY) was seen, which could potentially mean that there’s less S-adenosyl methionine (SAM), though to my knowledge that has not been well documented. To address this concern, we looked at HCY in a clinical study in which people took up to 1 gram of NR for 8 weeks. Though our results have not yet been peer reviewed (look for them in coming weeks), we saw no disturbance of methyl group metabolism in people. If we had seen something, we would have reported it right away because we know that there are a lot of people taking NIAGEN.

      3) Is NR sold by Thorne NIAGEN? Easy question: yes. Any product that references NIAGEN or Tru NIAGEN on their website has the FDA safety pedigree to which I referred in the podcast.

    2. Charles Brenner says:

      Matt, 1) I don’t know of a mechanism that would produce a tolerance. In animal systems, we’ve occasionally seen the NRK1 gene increase expression when NR is available. 2) I haven’t heard reports of insomnia that are due to NR. That said, it is a very good idea to keep a journal. If a person goes on and experiences insomnia, goes off and does not experience insomnia, there could be something about NR disturbing a person’s sleep cycle. Would a higher metabolic rate produce insomnia? No. 3) I don’t give advice on extended fasting. For my upcoming yom kippur fast, I will take NR. I can’t think of any reason to lower one’s micronutrition during a fast. There’s metabolism happening in every cell and tissue whether you are putting in new macronutrients or not.

  8. Simone says:

    Hi Ben, I am a fan of Thorne Research supplements as you are. Have you made any enquiries with them re their NiaCel-250 product? I have been using this for a couple of weeks however after listening to Dr Brenner’s podcast I am questioning the integrity of this product. Kind regards, Simone

    1. Mike says:

      How come? It says on the website that Niacel 250 and all the thorne NR products use the chromodex NR?

      1. Simone says:

        You’re right. Thanks Mike :)

  9. SlyNate says:

    Chris Masterjohn just released a podcast episode where he details how NR depletes methyl groups and can have harmful side effects for some people, especially those with MTHFR. All the other sources of info about NR have led me to believe it’s perfectly safe and without many serious side effects. Thoughts?

    1. I heard a podcast several weeks ago with Charles Brenner from another source. I was all over it thinking that high dose NR is a good thing and i started to take it, then I heard a podcast by Chris Masterjohn who really does not advocate the use of NR in doses much more than the low dose of 30mg RDA which is generally unavailable (usual dose available is 125mg) . Chris MJ states how NR steals methyl groups thus causing a host of issues from energy level fluctuations to neurotransmitter imbalances, and if you have any MTHFR gene mutations it can have a more negative effect and more rapidly! He advised tribmethyl glycine to help balance the methyl steal that occurs with NR, but he does not advocate high dose NR in any way at all conflicting the information from Charles Brenner.
      Now I’m really confused?
      Ben I know you can get to the bottom of this, my faith is with you 😊

      Thank you for all your good work I enjoy tuning in to all your podcasts and love the wide range of topics you cover, I learn something every time 👍

      1. John says:

        Ben, This question needs to be addressed in detail. Please don’t continue to advertise until this is addressed properly.

      2. Joel says:

        Yes I actually went and order Tru Niagen as a result of this podcast but per Chris’s podcast am only taking the 30mg but yeah seems crazy to take these high doses dangerous even maybe?

        1. Jeff Gilligan says:

          Joel – None of the human trials have shown any adverse effect for taking NR up to atlas 1000 mg for people of normal weight, and 2000 mg for best males. It is probably safe at higher dosages.

      3. Roy Lay says:

        Read the transcript from Masterjohn. Looks like bad science and a lot of conjecture to me. Even if you have the MTHFR gene mutation there is no reason to take for granted that you necessarily have a shortage of methyl groups. He irrationally sets the NR limit at the NA RDA even though they work differently and at that limit would be basically useless. He offers zero research to back his claims. There IS research on the other hand about the possible dangers of overmethylating. I’ve always taken TMG, NAC, & folic acid to increase methylation, but have cut back to a couple times a week lately.
        I take NIAGEN, 300 MG, 1 and a half grams AL Carnitene, 600 mg ALA, and will continue to use pterostilbene as long as my LDL cholesterol levels remain excellent, which they are. I’m 63, and still outwork most 30 yr. olds I know.

    2. Jack says:

      Take TMG.

  10. Jager Willoughby says:

    Ben, what is your night time Organifi Gold recipe? Thank you so much.

  11. Patricia G Henry says:

    So just to clarify again… is Charles saying that Niacel by Thorne is not his patented Niagen?

  12. Keith Bean says:

    Ben, how about Pau tea, can we just use the capsules to increase Nad or do we need to make the tea using the recipe you suggest?

  13. Lucy Choisser says:

    Dr. Brenner did not complete his answer to what most people experience when they start taking Tru niagen. He said hair and nail growth, but then was asked something else. What else do people typically experience? And how many days off taking it, at say 500mg per day, does it take to experience effects?

    1. Vauss says:

      I personally experienced major changes in chronic pain/stiffness/discomfort in joints two weeks after going to 250 mg per day. What I mean by major changes is 90 percent of the pain etc. was gone. Circadian clock seems to have been reset so I get better sleep, ability to exercise much more is enabled. I am 66, male, with type 2 diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.

  14. Patrick says:

    Hello Ben & Charles
    I’m hoping I can get some of my concerns addressed, These podcasts have a lot of influence on people and when products are being advertised I’m hoping this post isn’t ignored. I am taking the TruNiagen product.

    I’m loving the sound of NR supplementation however are there any caveats that should be applied. I have experienced some positive and not so positive effects, while it would be great if this was a silver bullet I’m not convinced and like the diet world I’m not sure it’s a one size fits all and its important that this is discussed.

    I started with 500mg of NR a day, I was taking this with 125mg of pterostilbene (have experienced the negatives and the positives without the pterostilbene)

    I’m a 41 year old male with a busy lifestyle

    Positives
    • Improved sleep
    • Morning erections returning to the equivalent of my 20’s (could be linked to point 1)

    Negatives
    • Tightness in both calves, with a strain developing preventing me from running, 10+ years running and I have never experienced this. Cycled off, tightness went away. Cycled on, strain re-occurred
    • Heart rate increase of 20bpm on some occasions, feeling a little uneasy. I have put this down to taking with coffee in the AM. This happened on one other occasion and I am not sure if I had a hot drink, but would love to get a view on this. It is not a nice feeling
    • Tingling in feet, similar symptoms as described in peripheral neuropathy, particularly noticeable one day when experiencing symptoms of increased heart rate. I have a MTHFR gene mutation and I did read somewhere that people with an MTHFR mutation have issues processing NR (this could impact a lot of people)
    I am now taking NR 3 times a week (250mg each day) because of the improved sleep but I have stopped taking the 500mg a day due to the negative symptoms, I am also concerned about continuing to take NR because of the lack of human trials and my negative experiences above.
    The following article is deep but interesting, the efficacy of Niacen (with statins) is seems unclear

    https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa1107579?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3dwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    The following article is also interesting and points to an increase in diabetes with Niacen

    https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa1300955?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3dwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

    Would love to get Charles thoughts on the above, I have contacted TruNiagen and there recommendation is to reduce dosage.

  15. Kathrin says:

    Hi Ben,
    Tru Niagen isn’t available where I live, what do you think of Thorne’s version?

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=as_li_qf_sp_sr_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bengree-20&keywords=Thorne+NiaCel+250&index=aps&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=xm2&linkId=5530b23a8f12342de334471f2088159e

    Thanks a lot for yet another super interesting podcast!

  16. Landon says:

    Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.

  17. Okay, I will address four of the issues that have arisen with listeners.

    1) Does NR affect 1-carbon metabolism by depleting methyl groups? Good question. We have completed a clinical study with healthy volunteers who took 1 gram of NR per day. We looked at circulating levels of homocysteine as a sensitive biomarker of perturbing 1-carbon metabolism. While the data have not yet been published in a peer reviewed journal, I am comfortable saying that NR is safe. Note that we’ve recently published placebo-controlled safety data for NR at doses of up to 2 grams per day.

    2) Is NR that is called Niagen or Tru Niagen the same as a product that contains NR that is not called Niagen. Easy question. Absolutely not. Only one company licensed the Dartmouth IP for human nutritional uses of NR. Only one company has obtained FDA notifications for the means by which NR chloride is produced, crystallized and for material that, on the basis of its lack of toxicity in animals and people, is designated as a new dietary ingredient and generally regarded as safe. If you are buying a product with Niagen as an ingredient or a finished product called Tru Niagen, you are getting material that has a legal, regulatory and safety pedigree. If you are buying a product that says it has NR in it that is not Niagen, I truly don’t know what is in it or what safety data supports its human use.

    3) Why use NR versus NMN or NAD? I address this in every interview. NMN has one phosphate. NAD has two phosphates. Compounds with phosphates don’t go into cells. The largest piece of NAD that can gain entry into NAD is NR. Here are 6 papers to this effect:
    http://www.jbc.org/content/286/24/21767 http://www.jbc.org/content/288/36/25938 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4823… https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms13103 http://www.molmetab.com/article/S2212-8778(17)303… https://brenner.lab.uiowa.edu/sites/brenner.lab.u…
    4) I have heard that so-and-so PhD scientist has told people he takes how much of such-and-such compound. What do I take? I exercise caution in extrapolating my own health practices to others. When I am asked this kind of question I always say that evidence says that people age better by having a high level of physical and mental activity, eating well, getting clean water and air, being socially engaged and sleeping well. A lot of physical activities including dance, yoga and high intensity interval training promote fitness and health–I enjoy all of those. It is well known that I was the first person to take NR and that I do take the Tru Niagen product in order to maintain metabolic health though the inevitable stresses of life. I’ve also been quoted as saying that I’ve gone from taking NR in the morning to twice a day. While we’ve tested NR at doses of up to 2 grams per day for safety and not seen adverse events, we do not know how NR would interact with every possible genotype, medication or disease or condition. Bottom lines: the current recommended dose is 250 mg in the morning. Therapeutic trials for diseases and conditions are mostly being done at 1-2 grams per day. There is an evidence basis for splitting a daily dose into am and pm, particularly if one is taking more than 250 mg. And, it is always a good idea to ask your doctor and keep a journal if you are on medication or have specific questions about how NR might interact with you.

    Again, it was a pleasure to speak with Ben and I hope that people will continue to keep up with our research.

    1. Clyde Boyer says:

      Thanks for the thoughtful summary, Dr. Brenner. I’m a little confused about the impact of high dosage Niacin and whether it inhibits sirt1 and the effectiveness of NR supplements. I’m currently taking 1500 mg of Niacin and 250 mg of Elysian Basis on a daily basis.

  18. Dave Fellows says:

    Chris Masterjohn very recently covered issues with too much NR/niacin/niacinamide over-consuming methyl groups:

    “So, one reason that’s problem is that niacin, it does not matter what form, niacin, niacinamide, nicotinamide, nicotinamide riboside, all forms of niacin in excess consume methyl groups in order to be properly excreted in the urine. In fact, even on a normal diet of no supplements, you are excreting methylated niacin metabolites into your urine. The absence of methylated niacin metabolites in your urine is considered a sign of niacin deficiency. So if you add on top of that even more niacin from supplements, you are going to methylate even more niacin metabolites and pee them out into the urine. That means you’re losing methyl groups.”
    https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2018/07/26/careful…

    I hadn’t heard this mentioned before and everything to-date has been “Oh, there’s no side effects” so would be good to hear the perspective from Charles and other proponents of NR. Could other supplements like SAMe do a similar job as trimethylglycine to support methyl groups?

    1. Susa says:

      I also just heard Chris’ podcast and I am very disturburbed and confused. Especially if you have MTHFR. He is claiming no more than 30mg
      Vs everyone else Saying 500!
      Can someone please explain if there’s a risk here.
      Thanks,
      Sue

    2. Patrick says:

      Thank you Dave. This is a very interesting post and balanced work from Chris as ever. Some serious considerations for people in that video !

  19. Andy Mack says:

    Coffee inhibits sirt1

  20. Todd says:

    I wonder why Ben Greenfield didn’t ask Charles Brenner when we will know whether or not NR helps humanss with heart failure. Brenner told an interviewer in March that he know the results of the heart failure human trial of NR on heart failure conducted at the University of Washington but that he couldn’t discuss the results yet. Why not ask about when that will be announced?

  21. albedo says:

    Excellent podcast initiative, thank you.

    I apologize if I overlooked this but would like to clarify:

    1- How much Dr Brennan is taking per day? He said he is taking two doses of NR during the day, in the morning and the evening (due to circadian rhythm of NAD peaking). Does he take the recommended dose (500mg) split during the day, i.e. 1x250mg plus 1x250mg, or two times the recommended dose, i.e. 2x250mg plus 2x250mg ?

    2- He extensively spoke on NA and nicotinamide. No comment on NMN?

    3- Often mentioned positive impact on liver conditions. I also recollect benefits for kidneys. Can he comment too?

    Thank you!

    1. Todd says:

      I heard Dr. Brenner give a talk in late 2016, and I asked him how much NR he took, and he said 250 mg in the morning. In late 2017, he said he increased to 500 mg a day. (Tru Niagen recommends 250 mg a day.)

      I assume Dr. Brenner doesn’t mention NMN because he is on Chromadex’s payroll just as David Sinclair doesn’t mention NR because he is doing something with NMN in order to get a patent to sell that within a couple of years. Dr. Sinclair wrote that each morning he takes 750 mg of NMN along with 1000 mg of resveratrol and 500 mg of metformin.

      1. albedo says:

        Thank you Todd

      2. Vauss says:

        I’ve heard him talk about NMN in a previous podcast and his view is similar to what I have seen in papers. See figure 2 in the link below. Basically, extracellular NMN has to be converted to NR to penetrate the cell, where it is converted back to NMN. There are essentially three separate NAD+ pools in the cell, one in the cytosol, one in mitochonria, and a third in the nucleus.

        https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S1550-4131%2815%2900266-1

  22. Sean says:

    I wish you’d addressed the legal fight Chromadex has had with Elysium.

    Is Basis from Elysium the same product or not?

    I started taking that when it was first introduced and since then the 2 companies had a falling out. And some legal battles.

    1. Jeff Gilligan says:

      Basis was formerly made with NR produced by Chromadex. It is now made at another source. There is no reason to think that the NR in Basis is different from that in Chromadex’s Niagen.

      1. Matt says:

        I had originally also tried Basis when initially introduced to NR. I now take Tru Niagen mainly because if I wanted Pterostilbene I could get it from Chromadex and pay less, but I actually prefer just NR from Chromadex. Furthermore, I’m convinced that Elysium is not going to survive the legal battle and I don’t want to lose money on a subscription when they go belly up.

        If you’d like to know more, visit Shelly Albaum’s blog here: https://www.right-of-assembly.org/

        1. Todd says:

          I’m pretty sure Elysium will stick around. I used to read Right to Assembly and will at times but the legal blogger has been wrong about the lawsuit(s) several times. It seems that Elysium could be ordered to pay damages to Chromadex but survive and even thrive with a new product that Elysium says it is testing. My guess is a blend of NMN and something else. The last I heard is that Elysium is out selling Tru Niagen by a little so a major player.

  23. Lydia Halioua says:

    I am a 66 years old woman, extremely healthy, weighing only 95 lbs, a vegetarian for the last 36 years or so and recently turned vegan. I have been a n acid proponent of targeted high quality nutritional supplements to prevent/cure most ailments and it seems to be working for me. I started taking Tru Niagen a couple of weeks ago, 2 caps in the AM before breakfast. I wss wondering if that 250mg dosage might be too high for me, based on my weight but also on the fact that I am basically very healthy. I noticed thst my appetite has gone down which could lead to weight loss, which I do not need or want. Would you suggest 1 capsule a day rather than 2?

    1. Jeff Gilligan says:

      Take at least 250 mg. You simply cannot raise your NAD levels by much with less than that. This is established in some of the published trials.

      1. Todd says:

        This is relative. An early human trial showed that 100 mg of NR NAD+ levels were increased by 25% after 24 hours.

        1. Jeff Gilligan says:

          If it says “niagen” on the label, it is from the same manufacturer. Niacel sells the same thing as TruNiagen – both are sourced from Chromadex.

        2. Jeff Gilligan says:

          Todd – Right. I think I recall an earlier trial that indicated an increase in NAD at 100 mg. The recent Danish trial showed no appreciable benefit for obese middle aged men. The earlier trial might have been with people who were of normal weight.

    2. Vauss says:

      Lydia,

      Just be aware that you may be among the low percentage of the population that can not take NR without problems. My own 67 year old wife tried to take NR and wound up with some headaches and gastro problems and had to stop after a couple of weeks. Myself, I am taking 750 mg a day without a single problem.

  24. Mike Davis says:

    Good stuff Ben. Have you ever put together a list of everything you prefer for injection/IV?

      1. James Johnson says:

        Ben,

        Is that list forthcoming? :) If it is somewhere else already, please advise.

        1. Not yet! But when my book comes out it will have plenty in there.

  25. Steve says:

    Data on whether/how NR affects athletic performance is mixed – studies utilize animal models. Would be good to know whether NR interferes with adaptive response to exercise-induced oxidative stress and whether Chromadex etc. are conducting/funding clinical trials

    1. Jeff Gilligan says:

      The rat endurance trial that was conducted in Greece has been debunked. All other trials and anecdotal reports indicate that it increases endurance levels.

  26. Allan says:

    For some strange reason, nad reacts very badly with. Mitoq in some.

    1. Jeff Gilligan says:

      I am not aware of any evidence of that.

  27. Johan says:

    Both in your show as well as in Dave Asperys show a while back I think Dr Brennan is/was quite explicit in stating that really NAD IV seems to be not the way to do it as it as it us a to large molequle for the cell to absorb..?

    So why persist in doing someting that expensive and that seems to be less effient that oral intake of NR that directly is absorbed by the cell and then in the cell converted to NAD?

    1. See response from Dr. Koniver and Tom Ingoglia above…

  28. Mark says:

    Sorry Ben, but I notice you use the word crema when you describe the foam or froth on the surface of a cup of coffee. In Italy crema is dairy cream. Schiuma is the froth on the surface of a cup of espresso or a cappuccino. I said the same for years until my Sicilian wife corrected my description.

    Best always,

    Mark

    1. Stefan says:

      Yep, I confirm that is exactly the case. I’m from the North (ER).

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