04/02/2020
“HOW TO AGE WELL” ~~ DNA, Mitochondria Energy and NAD+
By Erich Parks, Applied Kinesiologist, Nutritional Therapist
“Along with age, comes wisdom”, the saying goes. But also comes joint and muscle pain, hardened arteries, deteriorating memory, etc. This article is about the REASON we experience symptoms of aging. The reason we age has to do with simple math: we begin the process of breaking down faster than we can repair. In youth, our DNA repair is robust and accurate, but as we get older, that process gets inefficient and we break down. But is this normal or just COMMON, since we all observe the aging process as degenerative?!
Since our DNA contains the programming for QUANTITY of life (how long we CAN live), the chemistry of DNA repair we experience, determines the QUALITY of life we live. When DNA is replicated, trillions of times each day, the copies in the new cells may contain errors, due to toxins, drugs, radiation, EMF’s, processed (denuded) foods, chronic high stress, etc. Fortunately, our DNA has a maintenance and repair team to fix errors, to keep us healthy. This repair process is THE reason we age well, or not.
DNA repair is largely dependent on NAD+, a molecule found in the mitochondria, the energy producing part of the cell. Over time, the DNA repair process can slow down due to depletion of NAD+, causing cells that become senile (yes, it’s a thing!). You see, if the DNA is duplicated in a new cell with errors, it doesn’t function well, or at all. In youth, these ‘senile’ cells are destroyed quickly by our White Blood cells. But due to failure of the DNA repair process, the senile cells can proliferate and cause inflammation, overwhelming the WBC’s ability to reduce them, and THAT leads to deteriorating joints, muscles, arteries, heart, kidney….and everything, until we die (prematurely) or want to die.
While it may sound like I’m about to tell you about the true “fountain of youth”, the result of recent research indicates we can restore our mitochondrial DNA repair to bring back youthful energy, quick repair and robust health. The key seems to be in that NAD+ molecule. The molecule that makes the system HUM is a simple derivative of Vitamin B3, Niacin. Research has shown that increasing NAD+ levels in cells improves repair significantly. So, what’s the best way to do that and regain our youthful health? Read on…..
Since NAD is a product of B3, we can theoretically just take Niacin to accomplish higher cellular NAD. While this is true, Niacin has an unpleasant side effect of causing flushing of the skin at doses that are effective, and while it does result in increased NAD, Niacin and Niacinamide (non flushing B3) also inhibit sirtuins. Sirtuins are a type of protein that manages many cellular processes, and sirtuins are critical for cell maintenance and DNA repair. Because sirtuins, like mitochondria, rely on NAD for energy, we want to increase NAD and Sirtuin activity; and that is possible using B3’s cousin, Nicotinamide Riboside.
Research published in “Nature Communications” March-2018, finds that supplementation with nicotinamide riboside (NR), was able to raise NAD levels by 60% in older adults, and NOT inhibit Sirtuins. NAD allows the mitochondria and sirtuins in our cells to power all the processes that keep us alive. We want to increase NAD to restore robust repair, so using supplements containing NR will help to achieve that higher level. This research used a dosage of 1000mg NR per day.
Genetics professor at Dartmouth College, Dr. Charles Brenner, discovered stressed or damaged cells are actively looking for NR that they can turn into NAD to help repair themselves. NR is a natural substance. It can be found in trace amounts in milk. But you would have to drink 75 gallons of milk to get a recommended dose of NR -- even more if you are older or stressed.
NR is not as well-studied as Niacin, but 150+ studies are underway, and among those that have been completed are a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over human study showing that NR is both safe to take and effectively increases NAD levels. Some of the conditions being studied to improve or prevent human diseases with NR replenishment are: Alzheimers, Heart Disease, Parkinson's Disease, Breast Cancer, alcohol-induced liver poisoning, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, organ injury from sepsis and Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS).
So, “along with age, come wisdom” and a need for supplementing Niacinamide Riboside. As always, contact me for more information on how to age well; your quality of life may depend on it!
