Humans are living longer and better than ever before – talented scientists, researchers, and doctors continue to discover new answers for how the body works. We have learned ways to decrease infant mortality rates and increase life expectancies in many countries around the world. While this has enabled many of us to live longer, there are still some inescapable facts of life that accompany old age. One thing professionals have learned is that, over time, our bodies will experience cell damage. Learning what this looks like and what causes it, on a molecular level, has led to new therapeutic practices in the field of anti-aging/regenerative medicine. Treatments like IV vitamin therapy or NAD infusions can relieve a wide range of symptoms related to things like mineral imbalances or general fatigue.
What is NAD/NAD+?
Studies have shown that our cells produce less and less energy as we grow older. This means we are losing the fuel our cells need for repairing any damages. That’s where NAD comes into play. It stands for Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide, and it is a critical cofactor involved in hundreds of processes in the body.
One of its main uses is related to energy production within the mitochondria which, as you know from high school science class, is the powerhouse of the cell. NAD is crucial in converting the nutrients we eat in our foods into usable energy through chemical reactions that can be directly related to other processes in our bodies, like metabolic rates or the amount of ATP produced in the body. ATP stands for Adenosine Triphosphate, but all you need to know is that when your cell needs energy it will pull from ATP as a source. The thing is that ATP cannot be made without NAD; the two are directly related.
You can think of it like this: if you are getting older, you are going to have more DNA damage. It just so happens that the little helper your cell uses to repair your DNA requires NAD as fuel.
How can NAD help us live longer?
That is exactly why NAD+ IV infusions and IV vitamin therapy have so many therapeutic benefits – from promoting brain growth and muscle recovery to treating chronic illness, managing pain/stress and even restoring your energy and mood.
For years now, practitioners have offered IV vitamins to help patients boost their immune system and deal with chronic pain conditions. This method of treatment is being used more and more because the IV is a very efficient way to deliver supplements into the body. They are infused directly into the circulatory system, bypassing other systems, like the digestive tract. There are other methods for delivery of NAD supplements through ingestion or even using a patch, but the IV method allows more NAD to be absorbed by the body. For people who aren’t a huge fan of needles, though, the NAD patch is a great alternative which will give you the same benefits over time. With studies showing less certainty that we are able to take them in through ingestion, and with the direct path to our bloodstream through the IV injections, the IV route remains the more efficient and extremely safe treatment.
After using IV vitamins for years, a newer treatment has been developed called NAD+ IV infusion. It is the process where the oxidized form of NAD is administered via IV drip to deliver the coenzyme directly into the bloodstream.
Research has shown powerful connections between NAD levels in our cells and our mental and physical health as we grow older. Decreased levels of NAD have shown to speed up the aging process as well as increase the risk for certain age-related diseases. Since NAD works with other enzymes in our cells to help them create and maintain energy, these treatments aim to decrease the risks of neuro- and muscular degeneration and improve cardiovascular and metabolic health.
Let’s take a look at some of the different ways we can deal with age-related or health conditions by replenishing our levels of NAD in the body:
Anti-Aging/Regenerative Properties
As mentioned earlier, NAD is the source of energy for a cell to repair itself. Replenishing our bodies’ NAD levels affects us in various ways – but most recent research links NAD with overall cell protection and more specifically, DNA repair.
Both of these abilities, in theory, can prolong an individual’s lifespan. Typically, the best results have been seen in systems of the body that benefit directly from mitochondrial functions: brain growth and muscle recovery. The special enzymes in our brains that NAD activates are called sirtuins. Research has linked sirtuins with:
- strengthening memory
- improving cognition, and
- decreasing risks of degenerative diseases.
Not only do sirtuins support growth for your brain and its functions, but it also acts to reinforce and protect parts of your DNA as it undergoes mitosis. Essentially, NAD has varying effects on other molecules and biological conditions in your body to provide energy as well as protect and maintain current energy production.
Boost Athletic Performance with NAD
Whether it’s for rehabilitation or even for athletic performance, restoring your cell’s NAD levels will improve muscle recovery in damaged tissues. Many athletes will strain and push their bodies to their limits. People who challenge their physical limits in this way are heavily depleting their body of NAD. Even though athletes like this will be in peak physical shape, their levels of NAD are being used extremely fast.
If you are an athlete and have noticed that your workouts are not producing the same results that they used to, or that you are hitting what seems like a ceiling in your progress, it may be because your body is utilizing all the energy that it possibly has to get to a certain level.
In cases like this, adding even just a small amount of supplementary NAD to the body can give a boost to an athlete’s performance. In addition to boosting performance, using NAD therapy can also reduce athlete’s recovery periods. Typically, if athletes have performed at a very high level for a long period of time, their bodies are depleted of NAD and energy. This makes following workouts more strenuous and not as effective as they could be. By adding NAD to the body, it allows the athlete to generate more energy so that they can recover and get back to their normal routine more quickly.
Weight Loss Benefits of NAD Infusions
Another major use for NAD is to boost the body’s metabolism. If you have been trying to either lose weight or just boost your metabolism to operate at a higher level, then NAD can be a very good option for you. Patients who are wanting to use NAD therapy to boost their metabolism have typically seen the best results by already consulting their primary health care provider to ensure that they are following some other necessary guidelines that would help with losing weight and boosting metabolism.
If you are considering being a candidate for NAD therapy, be sure to consult with your doctor or primary health care provider. It’s important that you are maintaining the right diet, and exercising enough to be leading at least a fairly healthy lifestyle.
If these things apply to you already, then using NAD treatments as an additional therapy or boost is a great place to start because NAD is involved in redox reactions, which are the chemical reactions that lead to energy production in the body.
NAD is really important in the metabolism of carbohydrates – they help turn carbs into sugars that can be used by your brain, your muscles, and all of your cells. The more efficiently the body can turn carbs into usable sugar, the faster your metabolism works.
What does an IV session involve? Will there be any side effects?
As mentioned earlier, NAD is normally administered through an IV. It is a longer infusion than maybe doing an IV vitamin hydration. If you decide that NAD therapy may be something you want to explore, schedule a time to talk with whoever is administering the therapy so that they can see what your individual wellness goals.
After that, you’ll be connected to an IV line and the fluids would begin to be administered. Drip times vary on how quickly your body will receive it, so you may experience some side effects associated with the infusion if the speed is very high. Side effects may include an elevated heart rate, chest tightness, or shortness of breath – all very mild. These side effects are typically relieved by simply turning down the rate of the IV drip.
There are other options available, like NAD patches, so feel free to consult with your primary doctor for what is best for you and your goals. You can schedule an appointment here or go to www.ivmenowfl.com for more information.
