You've probably seen the adverts and endorsements. You may have an idea about what NAD+ is. Or not. If we're honest, we've been hearing about it for a long time but hadn't looked too closely till we saw the paper on blood NAD+ levels recently, which prompted some research. If you're also confused or interested, read on.

NAD+ is one of the hot longevity / wellness terms right now. Capsules, drips and finger prick tests are all available. The idea is that the tests tell you how you are aging as your NAD+ levels drop as you age. They get your NAD+ level from a blood test. You can then supplement to raise your NAD+ blood levels. Seems simple enough, but this is health so it's, predictably, not.

NAD+ is a molecule every cell needs to turn food into energy. It's also used by enzymes involved in cell maintenance and DNA repair. Hence researchers in aging getting interested.

The recent study by researchers at Amsterdam UMC involved around 300 people between 20 and 87. What they found was that blood NAD+ levels were remarkably stable across all the groups. So not related to aging... But, it's tissue levels that researchers are interested in, in relation to aging. Levels of NAD+ in muscle changes with age but we can now say that blood levels may not reflect what's happening in your muscles.. 

The paper noted that giving people a nicotinamide riboside (NR) supplement did change the blood NAD+ level, almost doubling it. So supplements can increase your blood NAD+ levels.

Interestingly NAD+ supplements aren't usually NAD+ as that's poorly absorbed. They are usually NR or NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide) which are forms of vitamin B3 that the body converts into NAD+. Even more interestingly, much of that is then broken down into nicotinamide, the basic form of vitamin B3 found in any multivitamin, before it reaches your tissues.

A review of 10 randomised trials on adults over 60 found no significant effect of NMN or NR on muscle mass, grip strength or walking speed. While a 2026 review of NMN trials found no effect on blood sugar, cholesterol or weight, and only a small dip in diastolic blood pressure. It also concluded that short term use seems well tolerated. There's also a study into the effects on Parkinson's underway.

So what can we conclude? A NAD+ aging test probably won't tell you much. Whether that NAD+ supplement will make any difference isn't clear yet but it's probably safe to conclude it's not the wonder supplement it's being marketed as.

As usual, our conclusion is that being consistent with the basics will outgun almost any new wonder supplement in time. (That's why we built TOTEMIC.) Though we're happy those scientists are out there trying to improve our healthspan nonetheless.

NAD+ and blood aging study.

Effects of NR and NMN on muscle

Short term safety of NMN