Science of NAD
How are your NAD levels today?
Shelly Albaum
Editor, Science of NAD
Important Disclosures
1. This is my personal website
All opinions are my own. Nobody writes here but me.
​
2. Supplements Are Not Medicines
Health Supplements like nicotinamide riboside are not intended to cure or treat any disease, condition, or illness.
​
3. No Medical Advice
I am a lawyer and a journalist, not a doctor, and I offer no medical advice. But I do follow the science, and I can bring to your attention
some interesting studies. You can read more about me here. And check with your physician -- your physician can look at this research, too.
​
4. Commercial Affiliations
I am a ChromaDex shareholder, and a marketing affiliate for Amazon and Rakuten. As a result, I will sometimes mention or recommend products that I endorse, like Tru Niagen, which I take every day. I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases if you were referred directly from this site and completed a purchase. [Thank you!] You can read more about our advertising, privacy, and data collection policies here.
Why Not Raise NAD by Inhibiting CD38?
If the problem is that the enzyme CD38 is chewing through all your NAD, it seems intuitive to want to plug the leak, to turn off the CD38. But that's probably a bad idea...
Indeed, many substances can suppress the activity of CD38, and when they do, NAD levels go up. And those increased NAD levels have shown positive impacts. But don't uncork the champagne just yet.
The good news, is that inhibiting NAD-degrading enzymes does raise NAD levels. The bad news is that we don't know much about the potential negative side-effects. Specifically, we don't know whether the CD38 is using up NAD in order to accomplish something important that we don't want stopped. CD38 inhibition would likely have unforeseen effects, as it is a highly complex molecule capable of numerous functions...