Comment · Fri, September 25, 2020 · ND Owner
NMN, Niacin, NAD +, and Addiction
Original post in this thread
[deleted] · 5 points
I was really fascinated to see studies supporting the idea that NAD therapy could be a used pretty straightforwardly as a treatment for addiction:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7278809/
It seems clear that NMN is one of the best oral routes to raise NAD levels, but there also seems to be evidence that straight niacin can raise NAD levels, at least in individuals considered deficient:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32386566/
The substance itself, and its systemic effects is quite exciting, but even more wild is that the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill W., was an extremely fervent (really almost religious) advocate of high doses of niacin for treating alcohol addiction. The fact that this seems to be supported, at least in theory, is pretty wild. I am always shocked when things that are viewed strictly as quackery (and I know there is indeed a lot of that) turn out to be validated. A bit like IV vitamin c being totally written off, and now being used in major hospitals to treat sepsis. Anyways, I wonder if anyone had any experiences, or thoughts to share on…
What they were answering
[deleted] · 2 points
Thanks for the insight and citations! Yeah, I had read about the liver problems with the extended release. I have taken pretty decent doses of niacin that causes flushing, and its quite an experience. Definitely not something a lot of people would be down for. It also seems like NMN is just way more effective at raising NAD. Niacin flushing always makes me think of some of the early LSD studies, including the famous "Good Friday" study by Richard Albert and Timothy Leary, which used niacin as the "active placebo" for their study. Ha! The idea being at least it would do something. It seems like that is pretty much all it is good for now.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · ND Owner
I think enteric coated NMN with a CD38 inhibitor like hesperidin is the absolute best way to increase NAD+.