What is NAD+?

What Is NAD+ And How Does It Work?

NAD stands for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and in short – it’s essential for life.

NAD is a molecule found in every one of the body’s cells and is used to power our metabolism. It does this by enabling the mitochondria in our cells to convert the food we eat into the energy our body needs to function.

Because of this, NAD is directly linked to how energetic we feel and as it’s required to turn off those genes which induce ageing, also helps to decelerate ageing.

Scientists believe NAD is the secret key to maximizing how long we enjoy good health.

NAD boosts our body’s ability to recover from stress and strain as well as enhancing performance during exercise. More importantly, though, it also helps negate damage caused by over-consumption and living a sedentary lifestyle, as well as decreasing levels of DNA damage, ageing, and illness over time.

The Science Of NAD Within The Cell

Cells obtain energy during cellular respiration by oxidizing food molecules such as glucose. The energy derived from these actions is used to form ATP.

Oxidation can be defined as the removal of hydrogens from a molecule. Since hydrogen consists of a proton and an electron, a proton and an electron are removed during oxidation.

Whenever a molecule is oxidized, another molecule must be reduced. Hydrogen is added to it. During an oxidation-reduction reaction in the cell, an enzyme is involved in transferring the hydrogen (proton + electron) to a co-enzyme, called NAD+. This enzyme has a binding site for both the substrate and NAD+.

Once both are bound with the enzyme, the hydrogen is transferred from the substrate to the NAD+. In other words, the substrate is oxidized by losing the hydrogen, and the NAD+ is reduced to NADH.

As with all enzyme-mediated reactions, once the reaction is complete, the products separate from the enzyme and the enzyme can then be used again. NADH, a high-energy electron carrier, diffuses away and is available to donate the hydrogen to other molecules.

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