Comment · Sat, September 26, 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
bronzeagemindset · 1 points
Is the science really there that shows its that much more effective than large doses of niacin?
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · ND Owner
With niacin you have 3 rate-limiting enzymes controlling the amount of NAD+ created: NARPT, NMNAT, and NADSYN1. With NMN you only have one: NMNAT. It only stands to reason that you can increase NAD+ faster and to a higher level with NMN than niacin.
Take a look at the main niacin study regarding NAD+: http://booksdl.org/scimag/get.php?doi=10.1016/j.cmet.2020.04.008&key=B6GS963T69EW1TJD
They are looking at 4-10 months of regular niacin dosing. NMN restores levels in as little as 60 minutes in some recent studies.
This is a good study on NMN's mechanisms: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413111003469
Another good one: https://jasn.asnjournals.org/content/jnephrol/28/8/2337.full.pdf
But yes, long-term niacin supplementation does appear to elevate NAD+ to good levels. It might just take longer. However, the other issue with niacin is that it can increase glucose, insulin, and C-peptide levels, which can be counterproductive for Diabetes.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4211901/
This can be bad for insulin resistance, whereas NMN improves insulin resistance.