Exogenous NAD+ Increases Metabolism

Effects of Chronic NAD Supplementation on Energy Metabolism and Diurnal Rhythm in Obese Mice

In a study published in 2018, scientists gave obese mice 1 mg/kg of NAD+ by inter peritoneal injection for 4 weeks, which restored NAD+ levels in the hypothalamus to normal levels. 1

The hypothalamus is the master regulator of metabolism. Decreased levels of NAD+ are found in hypothalamus with obesity, disease and the normal aging process.

In this study, supplementation with NAD+:

Restored NAD+ levels to normal
Increased Energy Expenditure
Increased metabolism rate
Decreased Blood glucose levels
Decreased Cholesterol levels
Improved sleep patterns
Improved weight control

NAD+ Controls Energy Metabolism

This research confirms and extends earlier research on the importance of NAD+ levels on energy metabolism and the effectiveness of NAD+ supplementation to restore vigor. I covered this more fully in this article.

Prior research in mice and humans has shown some of these effects from supplementation with NAD+ precursors such as NR and NMN (1,2,3,4 5).

What is notable in this study is that a dose of only 1 mg/kg per day was able to achieve all these results over a short period of 4 weeks. As the authors note, this is a 100x smaller dosage than required for NAD+ precursors NMN and NR to achieve some of the same results.

It is notable that supplementation with NAD by itself, at a 100-times lower dose compared with those of its precursors NMN and NR (25,26), caused a beneficial metabolic effect

Decreased Hunger

The improvements in metabolism from supplementation with NR or NMN are most likely the result of those precursors being metabolized to NAD+ in the liver. Supplementation with NAD+ provides the same benefits for metabolism through a more direct route and requiring much smaller dosages to achieve the desired results.

Prior Research

The increased efficiency of NAD+ supplementation vs NMN or NR in restoring metabolism is also seen in this study published August 29, 2018.

Exogenous Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Regulates Energy Metabolism via Hypothalamic Connexin 43

Researchers were able to trace labeled NAD+ to prove it does enter the hypothalamus directly, without conversion to NR or NMN as many had previously supposed.

They also show that NR and NMN are not able to cross the blood brain barrier to the hypothalamus.