Adapting to Asia’s ageing societies: Why Boosting NAD+ is crucial for anti-ageing and cognitive gains

Dr Nady Briady. lecturer at Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing at the University of New South Wales, explained the importance of NAD+ while presenting at the Healthy Ageing Summit APAC 2019, organised by NutraIngredients-Asia​ and FoodNavigator-Asia​.

NAD+, which is naturally occurring in the body, is consumed when the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) protein is activated for DNA repair and during the maintenance of the immune system.

A low NAD+ level, due to hyper-activation of PARP and inflammation, however, is link to the onset of age-related illnesses and cognitive problems such as the Alzheimer’s disease.

“​Hyper-activation of PARP during pathology can lead to NAD and ATP depletion, and cell death via energy restriction. ​

“​A significant decrease in intracellular NAD+ has been reported in the brain and other organs as a result of DNA strand breaks and PARP activation following exposure to hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide, HIV infection, or during inflammation,”​ Briady explained.

Other factors that affect NAD+ include a long term high fat diet.

“In a recently accepted article, my group demonstrated that chronic high fat diet is associated with increased levels of oxidative stress, neuro-inflammation, impaired NAD+ metabolism, and cognitive decline in the brain,” ​he said.

They found that increasing NAD+ levels in the central nervous system could improve brain function in mice exposed to a high fat diet.

“Interventions aimed at increasing NAD+ levels in the central nervous system may improve brain function and reduce underlying degenerative processes that may lead to progressive neuronal loss and the development and progression of neurological disorders.”​

Nicotinamide riboside the solution?​

To increase NAD+ levels, Briady pointed out that the supplementation of nicotinamide riboside (NR) – a form of vitamin B3, was the most effective way.

Besides NR which is present in milk, other NAD+ precursors are also available in the natural diet, they include amino acid tryptophan found in salmon, poultry, and nuts.

NAD+ precursors are also found in two other forms of vitamin B3 – nicotinic acid (NA) and nicotinamide (NAM).

On the other hand, the provision of these vitamins to NAD+ production is affected by a number of factors, such as the gut microbiome.

Braidy pointed out that studies have shown that NR consumption could increase the intracellular NADome in a 52 year-old male subject who ingested 1,000 mg of NR daily for a week.

Another mouse study showed that increasing NAD+ via the supplementation of NR significantly normalised neuroinflammation, synaptic transmission, phosphorylated Tau, and DNA damage in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model study. 

Alternative methods​

Lifestyle choices and habits could also influence NAD+ levels in the body.

Some of the habits include a low protein ketogenic diet, intermittent fasting, and regular exercise to boost caloric restriction.

For example, a study has shown that when rats were exposed to a ketogenic diet, there is a significant increase in NAD+ levels.

“Based on diverse published literature and these initial data, we suggest that increased NAD during ketolytic metabolism may be a primary mechanism behind the beneficial effects of this metabolic therapy in a variety of brain disorders and in promoting health and longevity,”​ Braidy explained.