Let's talk about NAD⁺. There are drips, shots, and even NAD cookies available now, so it’s a good time to take a look at what it actually is.

NAD⁺ (coenzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) – the name already tells quite a bit about what it actually is. It’s a coenzyme. A coenzyme is like a smaller helper for enzymes to do their job. In this instance, NAD⁺’s primary job is to carry electrons.

NAD⁺ takes on an H⁻ (hydride ion, or hydrogen atom with an extra electron) and becomes NADH. This is important. The hydrogen is mostly added during electron transport in our bodies, which partially explains why hydrogen- and electron-enriched water is so beneficial for biological systems.

We do not energetically run on bananas; we need to extract hydrogen and electrons from the food we eat and then let them react with the oxygen we breathe. That’s the current assumption. Interestingly, I couldn’t see red blood cells carry oxygen. They have a negative charge when measured. Anyway, that’s a story for another time.

The carbohydrates and fats we eat are dissected through our citric acid cycle so that the contained hydrogen and electrons can be used. That’s pretty much their sole purpose. I once helped an old Jew move his books from one apartment to another, and he explained that process at length to me, since he was one of the scientists who was involved in its discovery.

The plus at the end, by the way, stands for its overall positive net charge. Once it absorbs an H⁻ with an additional surplus electron, we get NADH, which is neutral in charge. NADH is then used at the beginning of the respiratory chain, where dehydrogenases remove the hydrogen and, through various steps, react it and its electrons with oxygen as the final acceptor, creating water. A beautiful cycle.

There are a few other important points we need to cover when it comes to NAD⁺. For one, continuous supplementation of NAD⁺, especially with IV drips, can inhibit the natural pathway of producing NAD⁺. Flavonoids such as apigenin, for example, upregulate and stimulate the natural production of NAD⁺. Secondly, the ratio between NAD⁺ and NADH has a strong influence on our aging process, unrelated to the sole NAD⁺ content. The ratio is important.

There are deeper genetic reasons for that. The enzyme NQO1 plays a role, oxidizing (stripping away electrons) from NADH and hence increasing the NAD⁺ to NADH ratio. Flooding your system with who-knows-where-from NAD⁺ IVs disturbs that ratio, and it requires H⁻ to balance it out.

How does our body manufacture NAD⁺ itself?

NAD⁺ is manufactured from vitamin B3 and from the amino acid tryptophan. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid and needs to be ingested externally. The SIRT1 (sirtuin 1) protein activity is strongly dependent on and stimulated by NAD⁺.

The NAD⁺ pathway stimulates deacetylase SIRT1, which can reprogram even genes, but the balance is important.

Conclusion:
NAD+ is great if its in a natural balance with NADH.