Nutritionist Sarah Di Lorenzo: The wonder-supplement social media stars are obsessed with

Recently I watched a video of Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner talking about their obsession with an intravenous supplement known as NAD+ IV, administered for feeling great, longevity and anti-ageing.

Now I have been aware of NAD+ for a while but after seeing this video I decided to do a deep dive into the wonderful world of NAD+, find out all the health benefits and any downsides.

In my research I discovered that it is extremely popular also in Italy where women feel they don’t need Botox because the NAD+ is amazing for looking younger and vibrant.

Not only is NAD+ something you can administer via IV and supplements it is now available as an injection.

So what is NAD+?

NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is a coenzyme that is vital to us found in all living cells and is derived from Vitamin B3.

It plays a crucial role in metabolism by helping enzymes transfer electrons during cellular respiration, particularly in the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the body’s primary energy source.

In simple terms NAD+ is all about healing and repairing at the cellular level.

The main functions of NAD+ are energy production, where it is essential playing a role in the body’s citric-acid cycle, known as Krebs, which is the metabolic pathway taking place in the mitochondria of our cells.

Cellular respiration is how our cells generate energy from the food we eat.

NAD+ can repair our DNA, help with longevity and anti-ageing and supports a group of proteins linked to ageing, cellular repair and metabolic regulation called sirtuins.

NAD+ also has a role in cell signalling, as a signalling molecule that influences immune function, circadian rhythms and our stress response.

When it comes to metabolism and general health NAD+ is linked to better metabolic health, overall cellular resilience, lowering inflammation, better memory heart health, healthy muscle, and our brain health.

As you can imagine reading all this had me sold!

The thing about NAD+ is that as we age our natural levels start to decline around age 50 and this is linked to ageing related diseases, impaired cellular function and less energy.

I would have to say that less energy is one of the biggest complaints of my patients in their 50s and beyond.

Our quality of life is impacted, think about ageing adults, stressful lives, poor lifestyle choices such as regular alcohol consumption and poor diet or convenience eating as we age.

This is where supplementing can be really beneficial, renewing and protecting our cells that may improve our quality of life, improve sleep, brain health, stress response, mood, energy levels and overall wellness and that wonderful feeling of feeling your best self.

Being deficient in NAD+ as you age means no power to energise cells and just feeling lethargic and low in mood.

There are two supplements NR (nicotinamide riboside) and NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide) .

Research is showing that supplementing with these are linked to helping restore NAD+ levels and promote overall health and longevity.

People who should avoid NAD+ supplementation are people who have kidney or liver issues and those who are pregnant or breastfeeding until there is more research available.

Otherwise in my research I found supplementing had no serious side effects.

While NAD+ interest is growing rapidly globally as well as here in Australia it’s important to talk to your GP before taking any supplement.