NAD+ research, explained
A plain-language library on NAD+, the coenzyme every cell uses to turn food into energy. We summarise the human studies, compare oral precursors with IV infusions, and list what to check before any treatment.
Last updated October 2026. General information, not medical advice.
01 / The molecule
NAD+ picks up electrons as cells break down glucose and fats, becoming NADH. In the mitochondria, NADH hands those electrons to the chain of proteins that makes most of the cell's ATP.
Some enzymes use up NAD+ as they work. Sirtuins (SIRT1 to SIRT7) remove chemical tags from proteins; PARPs help repair DNA; CD38 breaks NAD+ down. Their activity depends on how much NAD+ is available.
Cells rebuild NAD+ mostly by recycling nicotinamide, and also from vitamin B3 forms and precursors such as NR and NMN. Studies report lower NAD+ in several tissues with age, in animals and in some human tissues.
02 / Routes compared
"Bioavailability" here means what reaches the blood. Higher blood levels are not the same as a health benefit, and no trial has compared these routes head to head on health outcomes.
| Route | What it is | What human studies measured | Open questions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicotinamide riboside (NR), oral | A vitamin B3 form the cell converts to NMN, then NAD+ | Single doses of 100 to 1,000 mg raised the blood NAD+ metabolome in a dose-dependent way (Trammell, 2016). 500 mg twice daily for six weeks raised NAD+ in blood cells of healthy older adults by about 60% (Martens, 2018). | How much reaches specific tissues such as muscle and brain, and whether the rise changes health outcomes |
| Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), oral | The step just before NAD+ | Single doses up to 500 mg were well tolerated in healthy men in a small Japanese safety study (Irie, 2020). Several short trials report higher blood NAD+ levels. | Most trials are small and short; long-term safety data are limited |
| NAD+, intravenous | NAD+ itself, infused into a vein at a clinic | In a pilot study, 750 mg over six hours in 8 healthy men: plasma NAD+ did not change for the first two hours, then rose about 400% by the end, along with breakdown products. No adverse events were seen at that slow rate (Grant, 2019). | How much intact NAD+ enters cells, and what faster clinic infusions do; only one small published pharmacokinetic study |
| Food and vitamin B3 | Niacin and nicotinamide from meat, fish, grains and legumes | Covers basic needs; high-dose niacin causes flushing and needs medical supervision | Not designed to raise NAD+ above normal levels |
03 / Before any treatment
Talk to your own doctor first if any of these apply to you:
04 / Partner clinics
We only pass enquiries to licensed clinics that hold the approvals their country requires for this kind of referral. Until then, the form below adds you to the reading list instead.
| Country | Partner clinic | Approval required before referrals open | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malaysia | None yet | Clinic advertisement approved by the Medicine Advertisements Board (KKLIU number shown) | Not open yet |
| Indonesia | None yet | To be confirmed with a licensed clinic in the country | Not open yet |
| Thailand | None yet | To be confirmed with a licensed clinic in the country | Not open yet |
| Taiwan | None yet | Medical Care Act: only medical institutions may advertise medical services | Not open yet |
Published monographs · 研究专著与公开方案
Autophagy, β-Hydroxybutyrate and the Bioenergetics of Intermittent Fasting
Cahill's fuel switch, autophagy and its limits in humans, ketones in the brain, Veech's thermodynamics checked by calculation, NAD+ and sirtuins, a model of common fasting schedules and a pre-registered crossover trial on attention. It names no brand, recommends no supplement and gives no doses.
从卡希尔燃料切换、自噬及其在人体的证据边界，到维奇热力学的核算与 NAD+，附糖原–酮体模型与预注册交叉试验；书中不提任何品牌、不推荐补充剂、不给剂量。
Not medical advice. Disclosure: this site and 5D Library are run by the same group, founded by the author. 非医疗建议。说明：本站与 5D Library 同属作者创办的集团。
Alpha-Quartz, Tourmaline Pyroelectricity, Widmanstätten Diffusion and Near-Infrared Cytochrome c Oxidase
The real physics behind stones and light, and how large it is: the piezoelectricity of quartz and the quartz resonator, the pyroelectricity of tourmaline, the Widmanstätten pattern as a record of cooling over millions of years, light in tissue and the biphasic dose of red and near-infrared light, the Schumann resonances and earthing, with four physical checks and a double-blind trial against a heat-matched sham.
石英压电与谐振器、电气石热释电、魏德曼花纹记录的百万年冷却、组织光学与红光近红外的双相剂量、舒曼共振与接地，附四项物理检测与等热量假照射双盲试验。
Not medical advice; the book claims no healing power for any stone, meteorite, earthing product or light device. Disclosure: this site and 5D Library are run by the same group, founded by the author. 非医疗建议；本书不声称任何石头、陨石、接地产品或光照设备有疗效。说明：本站与 5D Library 同属作者创办的集团。
Dopamine Reward Prediction Error, Serotonergic Homeostasis, HPA-Axis Allostatic Load and the Challenge Hypothesis, Read Beside East Asian Classics of Mind Regulation
Dopamine as reward prediction error and the average-reward model of a raised baseline, the HPA axis and allostatic load as a feedback loop, testosterone and the challenge hypothesis with honest effect sizes, serotonin, morning light and the circadian clock, slow breathing near 0.1 Hz and the baroreflex, and why no single hormone level is optimal, read beside Mencius, the Suwen and Zhuangzi's wooden cockerel, with a daily-rhythm check and a pre-registered trial of morning light and slow breathing.
多巴胺作为奖励预测误差与平均奖励率模型、HPA 轴负反馈与异态负荷、睾酮与挑战假说的真实效应量、血清素与晨光授时、0.1 Hz 慢呼吸与压力反射共振，以及为什么不存在单一的最优激素水平，与《孟子》养气、《素问》恬惔虚无和《庄子》木鸡并读，附日常节律核查与晨光加慢呼吸的预注册随机试验。
Not medical advice; the book gives no hormone, drug or supplement doses. Disclosure: this site and 5D Library are run by the same group, founded by the author, who uses these books as the basis of his community courses, the 5D Ascension Cards (Dimensional Shift Card Decks) and the Yafu AI knowledge base. 非医疗建议；本书不给任何激素、药物或补充剂剂量。说明：本站与 5D Library 同属作者创办的集团，作者以这些书作为其社群认知课程、升维牌卡（5D Ascension Cards）与 Yafu AI 知识库的方法论基础。
From the Randle Cycle and Epigenetic Inhibition to Autophagy Kinetics, Read Beside Classical Chinese Fasting Texts
Ketone bodies as fuel, signal and switch: fuel stoichiometry and why ketones yield less ATP per molecule of oxygen than glucose, Veech's thermodynamic hypothesis computed with the Nernst equation, β-hydroxybutyrate and histone deacetylases and how later work revised that finding, the AMPK–mTORC1 switch and why mouse autophagy timelines are not human hours, calorie-matched metabolic-ward trials, and sodium and water in the first low-carbohydrate week, read beside the Mawangdui Quegu shiqi, Ge Hong's Baopuzi and the Huangdi Neijing, with a four-step metabolic log and a pre-registered crossover trial.
酮体作为燃料、信号与开关：燃料化学计量与「按每分子氧计酮体的 ATP 产量低于葡萄糖」、用能斯特方程计算维奇的热力学假说、β-羟丁酸与组蛋白去乙酰化酶及其后来的修正、AMPK–mTORC1 开关与「小鼠自噬时间线不等于人的小时数」、热量匹配的代谢舱试验，以及低碳水第一周的钠与水分变化，与马王堆《却谷食气》、葛洪《抱朴子》和《黄帝内经》并读，附四步代谢记录与预注册随机交叉试验。
Not medical advice; the book gives no supplement or ketone-ester doses and its exercises never go beyond a 16-hour daily fast. Disclosure: this site and 5D Library are run by the same group, founded by the author, so he has a direct commercial interest in the book's subject; the book mentions and recommends no product. 非医疗建议；本书不给任何补充剂或酮酯剂量，练习不超过每天 16 小时的进食间隔。说明：本站与 5D Library 同属作者创办的集团，作者与本书主题有直接的商业利益关系；书中不提及也不推荐任何产品。
No. This site explains the research and, where a licensed partner clinic is available in your country, passes your enquiry to that clinic. Doctors at the clinic decide whether any treatment is suitable.
No. Studies in people show that oral precursors and IV infusions raise NAD+ and related molecules in the blood. Whether that leads to health benefits in people is still being studied.
There is no head-to-head human trial comparing them on health outcomes. The table above shows what each route has been measured to do in the blood, which is a different question from whether it helps you.
Rules on advertising medical services differ by country. We only connect visitors with a clinic after that clinic has the approvals its country requires for this kind of referral.
The pages summarise published research and link to every source. They have not yet been reviewed by an independent doctor or pharmacist, and they are general information, not medical advice. Corrections are welcome.
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This website provides general educational information about NAD+ research. It does not offer, sell or advertise medicines or medical treatments, and nothing here is medical advice or a claim that any product or treatment prevents, treats or cures any disease. Decisions about treatment should be made with a registered medical practitioner.