Aliquot #148: The Hype and Reality of Nicotinamide Riboside

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, or NAD, is in every cell of your body and plays a central role in energy metabolism, mitochondrial function, and DNA repair. In certain tissues, especially with aging and specific diseases, those NAD pools can become disrupted or depleted, which led to the idea that restoring them to more youthful levels might improve aspects of aging. But NAD itself doesn't get into cells, so attention has shifted to precursors like nicotinamide riboside, or NR. In this Aliquot, I walk through how that plays out in humans, where the strongest evidence shows up, and where it doesn't, with NAD researcher Dr. Charles Brenner—and why I'm taking it now after being skeptical.