NAD+

NAD+: Your Body's Energy and Repair Currency

NAD+ is basically a tiny molecule that acts like currency in your cells—it gets passed around constantly to fuel hundreds of different biological processes. Think of it as the energy exchange system that keeps everything running, from powering your cells to fixing damaged DNA. People are interested in NAD+ because your body naturally produces less of it as you age, and researchers have connected this decline to aging itself.

Here's how it actually works: Your cells use NAD+ in your mitochondria—the tiny powerhouses inside every cell—to convert food into usable energy. It's like the intermediary that hands off energy from one step to the next. But NAD+ also does repair work. It activates special proteins called sirtuins that act like your cells' maintenance crew, fixing damaged DNA and keeping your genes running properly. Your immune system also relies on NAD+ to function well. Because NAD+ touches so many critical processes, when levels drop with age, your cells become less efficient at making energy and fixing themselves. That accumulated damage contributes to aging and age-related diseases. By boosting NAD+ levels, people are essentially trying to restore their cells' ability to maintain themselves the way they did when they were younger.