305 . Why CD38 Destroys NAD+ Faster Than You Produce It
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What is NAD+ and why is it essential for cellular energy?
Haley Beaver sat right next to me in a chair on national television, hooked up to an IV bag, and said she was going to do NAD for the rest of her life and never age. And almost overnight, NAD Plus turned into a $4.5 billion industry of IV drips, patches, nasal sprays, pills, and powders, with clinics charging $2,000 a bag on the promise of reversing your age. Today, we're going to separate the facts from the fiction on NAD. Because some of what you've heard is absolutely true, and some of it is complete nonsense. NAD, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, is in every single cell in your body, and it has two jobs. The first job is energy. The second job is how that NAD gets used. NAD is real. It declines in your tissues as you age.
The reason is that it's being destroyed, not that you stop making it. Hangover cures, fiction. Risk-free for everyone, also fiction. Here's the biggest fact of all.
Hailey Bieber sat right next to me in a chair on national television, hooked up to an IV bag, and said she was going to do NAD for the rest of her life and never age.
How does CD38 enzyme accelerate NAD+ loss as we age?
Kendall Jenner was sitting right in the chair next to her. And almost overnight, NAD Plus turned into a $4.5 billion industry of IV drips, patches, nasal sprays, pills, and powders, with clinics charging $2,000 a bag on the promise of reversing your age, curing your hangover, and even fixing your jet lag. So today, we're going to separate the facts from the fiction on NAD, because some of what you've heard is absolutely true, and some of it is complete nonsense. And by the end of this episode, you'll know exactly which is which. I'm Gary Brekka, this is The Ultimate Human, and let's get started. So claim number one, NAD is just another overhyped supplement fad. Verdict? Fiction. NAD, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, is in every single cell in your body, and it has two jobs.
The first job is energy. Every calorie you eat, whether it comes from fat, carbohydrate, or protein, has to pass through NAD on its way to becoming ATP, which is the energy currency of your cells. Without NAD, that conversion doesn't happen. The second job is how that NAD gets used. There are enzymes in your body that eat it.
Are NMN and nicotinamide riboside better than direct NAD+ supplements?
The proteins that regulate your metabolism and how your cells respond to stress, they run on NAD. The enzymes that repair damage to your DNA burn through NAD every time they go to work. So the hype was never about whether NAD matters because it clearly does. The hype is about how you get it back. So claim number two, your NAD levels crash 50% by the time you're 40. True, scientists have studied NAD levels in the skin, brain, liver, and even the muscle. They found that NAD runs lower in older people. For example, liver tissue in people over 60 comes in around 30% lower than in younger adults, and brain imaging shows the same downward trend. Claim number three, your NAD drops because your body stops making it.
The verdict, fiction. Your body doesn't stop making NAD as you age. You actually destroy it faster. There's an enzyme called CD38 that sits on the surface of your immune cells, and its job is to chew up NAD. Research out of the Mayo Clinic showed that as you age, and especially as chronic inflammation climbs, CD38 levels rise and start burning through your NAD pool faster than you replace it.
Why can’t raw NAD+ survive the digestive tract without protection?
So a real NAD strategy has three parts. You replenish what's low, you slow down what's destroying it, and you support the machinery your body uses to recycle it. Claim number four, NMN and NR are better than taking NAD itself. Verdict? It depends. NMN and nicotinamide riboside are what we call precursors, meaning they're raw materials your body converts into NAD through a few enzymatic steps. Taking NAD itself is a direct replacement of the finished molecule. Now let me give the precursor crowd their due, because they do have a point. As a standalone ingredient, NMN and nicotinamide riboside actually carry the deeper research trial. Clinical trials show that they reliably raise blood NAD levels. And if you're comparing them against plain NAD powder stuffed into a capsule, the precursors win that fight.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is NAD+ and why is it essential for cellular energy?
0:00–1:16
2
How does CD38 enzyme accelerate NAD+ loss as we age?
1:16–2:21
3
Are NMN and nicotinamide riboside better than direct NAD+ supplements?
2:21–3:28
4
Why can’t raw NAD+ survive the digestive tract without protection?
3:28–4:28
5
Who should avoid NAD+ supplementation (cancer, pregnancy, etc.)?
4:28–5:18
6
What makes a high‑quality NAD+ formula (liposomal delivery, cofactors, CD38 blocker)?
5:18–6:18
7
What foundational lifestyle habits should precede NAD+ supplementation?
6:18–6:59
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from The Ultimate Human with Gary Brecka
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