Highlights:

• Instead of taking NMN or NR, Stanfield takes 50 mg of niacin, gets regular exercise, eats well, and gets sufficient sleep.
• The science says exercise, caloric restriction, eating and avoiding certain foods, and sleeping well help to maintain NAD+ levels.
• There are more human studies supporting the anti-aging effects of NMN than niacin, so Stanfield’s reasoning for niacin doesn’t quite add up.

Stanfield is a Primary Care Physician hailing from the lush landscapes of New Zealand, offering the latest longevity-related research to his over 200,000 YouTube channel followers. On his website, he lists the supplements he takes to counter aging and the supplements that he has abandoned.

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When it comes to halting the supplementation of “NMN/NR,” Stanfield says,

“There’s interesting mice and single cell studies regarding NAD+ precursors, however the human data demonstrating a benefit is lacking. I focus on stopping my NAD from declining by using a small dose of Niacin, regular exercise, a great diet, periods of safe fasting, and restful sleep.

Furthermore we don’t know the long-term effects of boosting NAD+ to very high levels.”

Is Stanfield’s Approach Appropriate?

The reasoning behind Stanfield quitting NMN is sound, except when it comes to supplementing with a low dose of niacin. Below is an explanation of how exercise, diet, and sleep can maintain NAD+ levels with aging, originally reviewed by Poljsak and colleagues.

Regular Exercise

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Whether it’s sprinting, swimming, or cycling, aerobic exercise activates an enzyme called NAMPT, which converts nicotinamide into NAD+. In this way, exercise has been shown to reverse the decrescendo of NAD+ with age. Resistance exercise, like lifting weights and calisthenics has also been shown to activate NAMPT to increase NAD+ levels.

Since exercise consumes ATP — cellular energy — and NAD+ plays a fundamental role in ATP production, NAD+ increases in response to exercise to replenish ATP levels. As such, exercise increases NAD+ levels across the body similar to an NAD+ precursor. Therefore, exercise is a great approach to boosting NAD+ levels.

A Great Diet

It is unclear what Stanfield means when he says “a great diet.” However, eating a diet rich in the amino acid tryptophan, vitamin B3 (a.k.a. niacin or nicotinic acid), and its derivatives niacinamide (a.k.a. nicotinamide) and nicotinamide riboside (NR), and NMN also stimulate NAD+ synthesis.

The daily requirement for NAD+ synthesis can be achieved with 15 mg of niacin. Many NAD+ precursors, including niacin and NMN can be found abundantly in meat, fish, poultry, and dairy products. Some can also be found in cucumber, cabbage, immature soybeans, broccoli, avocado, and tomato.

Furthermore, a diet high in fat and/or sugar decreases NAD+ levels, especially when consumed in large amounts. A prime example of a high-calorie, high-fat, high-sugar meal is a McDonald’s combo meal or most other similar fast-food meals. Sweets, like donuts, cakes, and cookies are also high-calorie, high-fat, high-sugar foods.

Periods of Safe Fasting

Based on his recent video, Stanfield likely does not follow an intermittent fasting diet because he says it leads to muscle loss and metabolic dysregulation. He argues (and cites scientific articles) for getting 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (~0.7 grams/pound) per day to maintain muscle mass.

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It’s possible that Stanfield limits his calories while still maintaining adequate protein intake. Caloric restriction (CR) — reducing daily calorie intake by 25-60% — is the most scientifically backed strategy for prolonging the lifespan of animals. Importantly, CR has been shown to increase NAD+ levels.

One way CR increases NAD+ levels is by activating NAMPT, similar to aerobic exercise. CR also decreases the concentration of NADH, the reduced form of NAD+. In turn, this alters the ratio of NAD+ and NADH, which are constantly interchanging, leading to increased concentrations of NAD+.

Overall, it is unclear what Stanfield means when he says he uses “periods of safe fasting.” If not the popular 16-hour per day fast, then it’s possible that he fasts for longer periods but not as frequently. For example, some individuals fast for 24 to 48 hours each week or month. At least one study has shown that a 24-hour fasting period increases NAD+ levels in mice.

Restful Sleep

Our NAD+ levels oscillate with 24-hour rhythms called circadian rhythms, which are modulated by our sleep-wake cycle and feeding times. The proteins that control our circadian rhythms (CLOCK and BMAL1) regulate the activation of NAMPT and therefore NAD+ synthesis. Getting too little sleep reduces the activation of NAMPT while adequate levels of sleep increase NAMPT activation.

It follows that maintaining our circadian rhythms by practicing habits like waking up and going to sleep at the same time every day, as well as getting sufficient levels of sleep (about 7 to 8 hours) can maintain our NAD+ levels. In contrast, sleep deprivation and irregular waking-up and going-to-sleep times can lower our NAD+ levels.

Niacin (50 mg)

While Stanfield says there is a lack of human evidence for NMN and NR, there is less human evidence showing any anti-aging benefits for niacin. That is, one study showed that 1000 mg of niacin improves muscle performance in adults with a muscle mitochondria disease. However, there are little to no studies showing that niacin supplementation could benefit healthy older adults.

Does Stanfield Need any NAD+ Supplement?

Dr. Stanfield is in his early thirties and since he exercises, eats well, and gets sufficient sleep, it is likely that he has normal NAD+ levels. Perhaps he supplements with a small dose of niacin to make sure his NAD+ levels are normal, but such supplementation may be unnecessary. In this case, supplementing with NMN would also be unnecessary and the reasoning behind choosing niacin over NMN or NR remains unclear.

Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHY