NMN Supplements | The Top 5 Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Benefits
WHAT IS NICOTINAMIDE MONONUCLEOTIDE?
Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) is a naturally occurring compound found in cells. It’s a precursor to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), critical for energy metabolism and DNA repair. NMN has gained attention for its potential role in supporting cellular health and longevity, with research suggesting that supplementation with NMN may help maintain NAD+ levels and support overall health as we age.
Exploring NAD+ and Cellular Function
Our body continuously produces NAD+. Many key enzymes rely on it to promote cellular function. As enzyme systems consume NAD+, deficits occur in our lives. These deficits increase with age. A decline in NAD+ can significantly harm our health. These enzymes maintain cellular energy and health.
Research on Promoting NAD+ Levels
This has prompted extensive research into promoting NAD+ levels in the body. Theorists propose that promoting NAD+ levels supports critical bodily functions, potentially extending longevity. Enhanced NAD+ levels may not only extend lifespan but also improve quality of life as we age.
Introducing Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN)
So how do we elevate NAD+ levels? This seems to be quite tricky. Recent research revealed Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN) as an efficient precursor to NAD+. In theory, this means NMN may promote a long and healthy life.
Benefits of NMN Supplementation
NMN isn’t just for longevity—it’s beneficial for all ages, providing vitality regardless of age. Young and old people both need high NAD+ levels for their bodies and minds to run at peak performance. Higher NAD+ levels mean more cellular energy, enhancing body and mind function in demanding situations. Let’s be honest, who couldn’t use a little bit of an edge in this fast paced and demanding world? To charge up your cells and unlock the potential of extra NAD+, delve into this comprehensive blog on NMN supplementation!
WHY CHOOSE NOO-TROPICS.EU NMN SUPPLEMENT THAT ARE ENTERIC COATED TABLETS?
Before delving into details, let’s address an important question: why opt for Noo-tropics.eu NMN supplement? There are many NMN supplements around these days, and it’s hard to find the absolute best NMN supplement. This is why it took us a while to get around to bringing out our NMN supplement line.
At first, we were under the impression that NMN was very unstable. This is why we initially only came out with an enteric coated tablet. Yet, with time and various synthesis methods, we’ve found NMN to be far more stable than initially believed. Due to this, we have now come out with a powder and capsule version of NMN!
Above all, we meticulously test our NMN powder and final products for purity and stability at each stage. Unfortunately, many NMN supplements do not meet this standard. Now, let’s find out what real, pure and stable NMN may do for you!
WHAT IS IT USED FOR?
So what exactly can an NMN supplement do for you? Well in short, A LOT! To fully grasp the benefits of an NMN supplement, prepare for an in-depth exploration—it’s worth it. We’ve simplified this by dividing the blog into five sections, each focusing on a top NMN benefit. If you have the time, we suggest reading all sections. Alternatively, jump to section 2 to learn about NMN’s energy-boosting benefits.
Below is a list of all of the benefits we’ll be talking about. Feel free to peruse all sections or use the list below to navigate to your preferred topic!
NMN MAY HELP PROMOTE CARDIOVASCULAR FUNCTION
Cardiovascular Support and Blood Flow Enhancement
Research studies highlight NMN’s significant impact on cardiovascular health and blood circulation. NMN quickly converts into NAD+, a crucial molecule for cardiovascular support. NAD+ fuels the function of SIRT1, an essential enzyme requiring NAD+ to operate. When powered by NAD+, SIRT1 initiates a signaling cascade in the cardiovascular system, resulting in an increase in catalase activity. Catalase helps neutralize free radicals, contributing to cardiovascular health. Additionally, SIRT1 removes acetyl groups from various enzymes and protein complexes, such as nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (Nf-kB), which may produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). By deacetylating Nf-kB, SIRT1 helps maintain balanced oxidation levels, minimizing ROS production and oxidative stress in the cardiovascular system.
Promotion of Mitochondrial Function
Through its actions on SIRT1, an NMN supplement may also enhance mitochondrial function in the cardiovascular system. Mitochondria produce energy in the form of ATP, crucial for cellular and enzymatic activities. NMN promotes SIRT1 activity, leading to the deacetylation of Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1a). Activated PGC-1a stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis, facilitating the formation of new mitochondria, thus improving overall mitochondrial function.
Enhancement of Glycolysis and ATP Availability
Moreover, NMN may promote cardiovascular function by enhancing glycolysis, increasing the availability of ATP when needed. Glycolysis is a metabolic process that generates ATP, providing energy to the cardiovascular system.
Support for Endothelial Function and Blood Flow
In terms of blood flow, SIRT1 plays a crucial role once again. By promoting SIRT1 function, NMN may enhance endothelial function by supporting nitric oxide levels. Nitric oxide induces vasodilation, promoting blood flow. SIRT1 contributes to nitric oxide function by reducing mitochondrial ROS formation, thereby facilitating blood flow regulation. NMN’s support for lower levels of mitochondrial ROS formation may aid in promoting blood flow and cardiovascular health.
Overall, NMN would be a fantastic supplement to take if you are looking to support your cardiovascular function!
NMN MAY HELP PROMOTE ENERGY LEVELS
NMN’s Energy-Promoting Effects
NMN is widely recognized for its ability to boost energy levels in both young and older individuals. NMN achieves this through several mechanisms, and its energy-boosting effects are consistently reported in almost every anecdote.
ATP Synthesis and Energy Levels
The science behind NMN’s energy-promoting effects is quite fascinating! The first mechanism is actually incredibly simple. The body uses ATP for nearly every process that takes place, and NAD+ synthesis is no exception. In fact, the synthesis of NAD+ requires quite a lot of ATP, but an NMN supplement can significantly decrease ATP expenditure during NAD+ synthesis. Due to this, NMN may promote levels of available ATP, thereby helping to promote overall energy levels. However, this process only plays a minor role in NMN’s energy-promoting effects, and the next effect we will talk about is far more important.
Enhanced Food Intake and Metabolism
Studies have shown that an NMN supplement can increase food intake in mice without increasing body weight. Interestingly enough, the mice that were being administered NMN showed higher food intake than the control group, while also having lower body weight than the control group! This is pretty fascinating as these mice were eating more than normal but also losing weight! The reason for this is that NMN appears to promote energy metabolism. The researchers confirmed that NMN-treated mice exhibited substantially increased physical activity, indicating efficient conversion of food into energy.
Furthermore, the mice were also consuming more oxygen, yet their respiratory quotient decreased. This indicates that the mice were switching their main energy source from glucose to fatty acids. Overall, this shows that an NMN supplement allows us to derive more energy from the food we eat, leading to higher levels of physical activity and potentially promoting weight loss.
Promoting Healthy Aging and Energy Efficiency
This effect on how NMN influences energy metabolism seems especially important for healthy aging. As we get older, we become less efficient at turning food into energy, potentially leading to weight gain and overall low energy levels. Taking an NMN supplement, in theory, would help us more efficiently turn food into energy. This should promote overall vitality and may even support weight loss.
NMN MAY HELP PROMOTE SLEEP QUALITY
The Connection Between Energy and Sleep
Now this is a bit of a strange one, right? Why would an energy promoting supplement also help promote sleep? Well, this is not entirely uncommon. For example, we have found that Uridine may help promote energy levels, but it may also help promote sleep quality. This is why we formulated our sleep support formula with Uridine. With NMN however, it is somewhat unclear as to how it is helping promote sleep quality but we do have some solid leads. Fair warning, this is about to get a little bit complex, but this may also be the first time this topic has been discussed in much detail besides loose anecdotal reports.
NMN, NAD+, and Circadian Rhythms
As we have talked about in some of the other sections, NMN turns into NAD+, and NAD+ is used as a fuel source by Sirtuin signaling proteins. Now it seems that the Sirtuins are highly involved in our circadian rhythm, and likewise NAD+ is also highly involved in our circadian rhythm. In fact, NAD+ levels appear to go up and down in a rhythmic fashion and it appears that this rhythm is being generated by various circadian clock genes. This is where it starts getting interesting, as another circadian rhythm regulator, melatonin, also appears to interact with sirtuins. Melatonin, however, does the exact opposite of NAD+ and instead of activating sirtuins appears to inhibit sirtuins. This appears to be very important for our circadian rhythm as sirtuins control certain aspects of wakefulness, especially SIRT1.
The Role of Nicotinamide Metabolites in Sleep Regulation
SIRT1 appears to enhance the function of various wakefulness promoting neurons, such as catecholaminergic and orexigenic neurons. With this in mind, it is thought that activation of SIRT1 could lead to wakefulness, with the opposite occurring during inhibition. This is why it is important to note that melatonin appears to be a SIRT1 inhibitor. However, this is where it gets confusing because we are taking NMN to promote NAD+ formation, and NAD+ is a SIRT1 activator. This likely explains to a certain degree the sense of energy and wakefulness you can experience after taking an NMN supplement. However, it does not explain the reports of increased sleep quality that are associated with NMN supplementation. That being said, in almost all anecdotal reports of NMN, there is mention of better sleep quality. So we decided to dig a little bit deeper and found some fascinating information…
The Influence of NMN on Circadian Control
When we take NMN, it is quickly transformed into NAD+, which is then used up by sirtuins. In the process of NAD+ getting used up, it forms various metabolites such as nicotinamide. Nicotinamide in particular is important here, as it is an inhibitor of SIRT1, yet it also gets turned back into NMN via the salvage pathway. This regenerated NMN then turns into NAD+ which activates SIRT1. Now this is where circadian control comes into play. During the day, when we supplement with NMN, we will see an elevation in NAD+ levels and SIRT1 activity. We will also see more activity in the salvage pathway that turns nicotinamide back into NAD+, due to there being more available nicotinamide.
In the salvage pathway, nicotinamide is turned into NMN by a rate-limiting enzyme called nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase (NAMPT). It appears that NAMPT is under strict circadian control, with levels being highest during waking and lowest during sleep. This means that by taking an NMN supplement during the day, we may have higher nicotinamide levels floating around at night when NAMPT activity goes down, which ultimately means less SIRT1 activity due to decreased synthesis of NMN and NAD+. As we talked about earlier, less SIRT1 activity, may also correlate to decreased wakefulness and would go hand in hand with the effects of melatonin. Overall, this is just a theory, however, it logically appears to make sense and explains why anecdotal reports all appear to suggest sleep-promoting effects after NMN supplementation.
NMN MAY HELP PROMOTE LONGEVITY
This section is going to be a bit of a summary of all of the sections in this blog. This is due to the fact that the longevity promoting effects of NMN are rooted in its ability to promote cardiovascular function, sleep quality and energy metabolism. Overall, it appears that the most important aspect of NMN promoting longevity is it’s ability to promote NAD+ levels and thereby Sirtuin function. It appears that NAD+ levels decline as we age, and thereby any function in our body that is being supported by NAD+ may not work as well. By replenishing our bodies with NAD+ by taking an NMN supplement, we can help support these vital processes that rely on adequate NAD+ levels. In theory, this should support overall longevity. Furthermore, it should also help promote better quality of life as we age.
NMN MAY HELP PROMOTE A POSITIVE MOOD
Positive Mood Enhancement with NMN
Besides anecdotal reports of improvements in energy levels and sleep quality, another commonly reported effect of taking an NMN supplement is finding yourself in a more positive mood. Lucky for us, this one is very easy to explain, unlike the reported sleep effects!
SIRT1 Activation and Mood Regulation
It appears that SIRT1 is a very important regulator of our mood. Research has discovered that blocking SIRT1 may result in negative mood states, whereas activating SIRT1 results in more positive mood states. This appears to especially be the case for SIRT1 activation in two parts of the brain, the dentate gyrus and the hippocampus. These two brain areas play a very important role in regulating our mood, and these brain areas are also very sensitive to the effects of stress. This is likely why you may find yourself in a less than ideal mood after being exposed to stress. SIRT1 activation, however, appears to be able to reverse the effects of stress on the dentate gyrus and hippocampus, helping to promote a positive mood even in the face of stress!
NMN and SIRT1 Activity for Mood Enhancement
Overall, this means that through elevating NAD+ levels, an NMN supplement may be able to help support SIRT1 activity, thereby promoting a positive mood. As we discussed earlier in the sleep section too, SIRT1 activity also helps protect wakefulness promoting neurons, and may even help promote their activity. These wakefulness promoting neurons include catecholaminergic and orexigenic neurons, which also play a major role in mood processes. Furthemore, it appears that SIRT1 activity may help promote neurogenesis which has been shown to help promote a positive mood too. In addition to this, circadian rhythms are also highly involved in mood and it appears that the better our circadian rhythm functions, the better our overall mood may be. This is yet another mechanism by which NMN may help promote a positive mood, as it appears to be able to positively influence our circadian rhythm.
Complementary Mood-Boosting with NMN and Polygala Tenuifolia
Overall, NMN may not be the end all be all for promoting a positive mood, however, it appears to affect a large amount of processes in the body that can help contribute to promoting a positive mood. We believe that NMN would make a very solid foundation for a mood boosting stack, but we’ll touch on this more in our stack idea section at the end of this blog!
Combining NMN and Polygala Tenuifolia for Enhanced Mood
NMN appears to have a very unique mood-promoting effect, and so we thought it would be a no-brainer to combine it with one of our most popular and effective mood-promoting supplements; Polygala tenuifolia! Polygala tenuifolia is very popular as a mood promoting supplement because it starts working fast but has sustainable effects. In addition to this, it is one of the few mood promoting supplement that also promotes energy, motivation and focus. Taking the two together, should make for a very uplifting and productivity promoting stack
Also read our blog on Modvigil
