The anti-aging world is developing at a rapid pace, and various miracle drugs are emerging in an endless stream, such as rapamycin, metformin, taurine... If you want to say who is the evergreen tree, NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide) must be on the list.
It is well known that the reduction of NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) levels in the human body is an important factor causing aging. As the precursor of NAD+, NMN can help increase the level of NAD+ in the body and has shown excellent anti-aging effects in many studies.
Currently, various studies on NMN, in addition to focusing on the dosage of NMN, also focus on the drug delivery system of NMN, that is, how to use NMN to be more effective.
This time, Pai Pai will summarize the various uses of NMN for everyone, and let us see who is the top king of NMN life extension.
If you want to achieve the best effect from the NMN you take, the way you take it is key. Appropriate taking method can ensure the bioavailability of NMN to the greatest extent, which means that more NMN active ingredients can reach the blood and improve the effectiveness of the supplement. In this way, NMN can also bring more anti-aging benefits to users.
Let’s start with the most common NMN capsules and explore the potential bioavailability of the five major ways of taking NMN, and how to take them most effectively.
When taking stock of NMN administration methods, capsule-type NMN is definitely the first to bear the brunt. It can not only cover up the bad taste of NMN itself, but also prevent oral absorption of the drug. It is convenient and easy for users to accept. It can be said to be the most common NMN supplement on the market. One of the forms and the only one that has been repeatedly tested in human clinical trials.
Numerous studies have shown that NMN capsules can effectively increase NAD+ levels in the blood and have high bioavailability. It allows our body to absorb NMN better and is a good and efficient choice.
However, the benefits of capsule NMN to the body do not seem to be linear. A human clinical study showed that increasing the dose of NMN capsules from 300 mg to 600 mg increased NAD+ levels in the blood, but the 900 mg capsules did not further increase NAD+ levels.
In other words, there is a limit to increasing NAD+ levels in the form of capsules. It only has an increasing effect within a certain dose. Beyond this range, it will not bring additional benefits.
In addition to ordinary capsules, in order to improve the absorption of NMN in the body, scientists also tried a special enteric-coated capsule. This kind of capsule will only decompose under the specific pH of the intestine, which can help NMN resist the destruction of gastric acid and send it all the way to the intestine for dissolution and absorption.
In common drug experiments, enteric-coated capsules can generally improve the bioavailability of drugs, but whether the bioavailability of NMN can be improved through enteric-coated capsules requires further extensive testing.
To put it simply, NMN powder is to take away the capsule outside the NMN capsule. When taking it, just soak the powder in water and drink it whole.
Researchers have also tried using powders in many experiments with mice. They dissolved NMN powder in water and fed it to mice. The results show that NMN powder can indeed help increase NAD+ levels in the blood, indicating that the powder has a certain effect.
When simulating the bioavailability of NMN powder, scientists accidentally discovered that gastric acid does not degrade NMN in large quantities, so it does not matter whether NMN has special protection when passing through the stomach.
The results of this study immediately make it appear that the enteric-coated capsules mentioned above are unnecessary. Without them, NMN would not be affected by the stomach.
It can be seen from this point that there is actually not much difference between NMN powder and capsules. It is the capsule that covers NMN, preventing the part of NMN powder from being absorbed by the mouth.
If there is any difference, it would be the experience of using it. Although NMN powder is not protected by a shell and users have to face the original taste of NMN, the powder is easier to swallow than capsules, which is good news for many people who have difficulty swallowing.
Regardless of whether it is tablet or powder, NMN has to make a long circuit in the body before arriving in the bloodstream. Such long-term loitering will cause drug loss and reduce the absorption of NMN.
To improve the absorption of NMN in the body, the most intuitive way is to reduce the paths for NMN to wander in the body so that it can enter the bloodstream faster.
For this reason, scientists decided to skip the trip of NMN to the gastrointestinal tract and use an oral spray to allow the drug to be absorbed directly through the oral mucosa and enter the bloodstream.
Oral spray has higher requirements for the type of NMN. Regular NMN uses microcrystalline form, while oral spray uses liposomal NMN, which is made from natural fats.
The characteristic of liposomes is that they are bubble-shaped and can imitate various structures in the body and help transport various molecules, thereby deceiving the body's supervision. Therefore, liposome NMN has better bioavailability and better absorption than microcrystalline NMN.
Sprays are not without their drawbacks. Spray spray, as its name suggests, dissipates like mist once sprayed, resulting in a very short retention time of the drug, and the dose is generally not too high.
In order to solve the problem of retention time, scientists have further upgraded this oral absorption method and began to try NMN gels, tablets, powders, etc. that can be taken sublingually.
These forms of NMN are more stable and can remain in the mouth for longer periods of time. At the same time, the oral mucosa under the tongue is easier to help than other parts of the mouth.
Whether it is capsules, tablets, or sprays, the purpose is to take NMN and let it be absorbed throughout the body. In addition to this, NMN can also be applied topically. Topical application of NMN is to dissolve NMN in an oily solution and then apply it to the skin.
Research shows that topical NMN reduces inflammation and skin damage in a mouse model of eczema. Another study similarly showed that NMN, applied topically, increased NAD+ levels in skin cells grown in laboratory dishes.
However, this increase in NAD+ is limited and does not increase NAD+ levels in the blood. Most of the NMN is absorbed by the skin, so the skin is the best site for anti-aging effects.
Different from topical application, NMN applied systemically through other systems can not only increase the NAD+ level in the blood, but also increase the NAD+ level in the skin, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone. This makes the effect of local application somewhat useless.
The various NMN delivery methods mentioned above are ultimately intended to increase NAD+ in the blood. So why not take a drastic step and inject NMN directly into the bloodstream, bypassing all other transit points.
A team of Japanese scientists thought so. They injected NMN into healthy individuals through animal experiments. The results showed that direct injection directly increased the NAD+ level in the blood by 20% and also reduced blood lipid levels.
Since the injection bypasses all possible organ barriers and injects NMN directly into the blood, the drug has almost 100% bioavailability, so the effect is extremely significant.
However, injection is an invasive procedure that requires piercing the skin, which involves safety issues. It may be okay to conduct experiments on animals, but there will still be considerable resistance to large-scale clinical promotion in humans.
A number of European and American celebrities, including the Kardashian family, Justin Bieber, etc., strongly support NAD+ injection, saying it is fast and effective. Charles Brenner, the originator of research on NR (another NAD+ precursor), believes that it is unnecessary to take an injection to supplement NAD+ orally.
There is a lot of talk in the world. Before the world is unified, the method of increasing NAD+ levels by injecting NMN may not become mainstream.
Post time: Jan-26-2024