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How to increase NMN naturally: 7 ways to support cellular energy and aging

NAD+ levels drop to half of our youth levels by middle age. The connection between declining NAD+ levels and aging makes it vital to learn about natural ways to increase NMN. Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) works as a bioactive nucleotide that creates NAD+, a key molecule we need for cellular energy production and healthy aging.

This piece will cover seven proven natural methods how to increase NMN levels in our body. These methods can support cellular energy production and promote healthier aging.

Eat NMN-rich foods daily

Our diet can boost cellular energy if we know which foods naturally contain NMN. A 2016 study found common vegetables, fruits and some animal products contain measurable amounts of this valuable NAD+ precursor. The quantities might be small, but eating these foods regularly creates a cumulative effect that helps maintain baseline NAD+ levels.

Top NMN-containing vegetables

Research found several foods that stand out for their NMN content. Edamame (young soybeans) leads the pack, making it nature’s richest source. These young soybeans pack complete plant protein, fiber, folate, vitamin K and manganese that boost heart health and balance hormones.

Avocados come next. These creamy fruits deliver monounsaturated fats, potassium, vitamins C, E, K and B6 that boost cardiovascular health and help our body absorb nutrients. High levels of potassium and folate support nerve function and cell repair.

Broccoli contains powerful antioxidants like sulforaphane and broccoli sprouts work great at boosting NAD+ levels.

Other rich NMN sources include:

  • Cabbage;
  • Tomatoes;
  • Cucumber;
  • Nuts.

How to include them in our meals

Heat, oxidation and long storage can reduce NMN levels in foods. Here are the best ways to prepare these foods:

  • Raw foods keep the most NMN. Try to eat foods whole and uncooked when possible. Cucumber, tomatoes and avocado taste great raw and keep all their nutrients;
  • Some vegetables need cooking, but gentle methods work best. Steam broccoli and cabbage for just 2 minutes to keep nutrients while making them easier to digest. Quick blanching or light sautéing also works well to preserve NMN. Long boiling or high-heat roasting breaks down much of the NMN content;
  • Broccoli stems pack most of the NMN, so use the whole vegetable. These often-ignored parts make tasty soups or crunchy snacks.

Add NAD+ supporting nutrients to our diet

Our body needs more than just foods with NMN. A blend of different NAD+ precursors creates a better way to support cellular energy. Our body makes NAD+ through multiple pathways and several key nutrients act as building blocks for this essential molecule.

Niacin, tryptophan and polyphenols

We can boost NAD+ levels through three main nutrient groups that support different biosynthetic pathways. These nutrients give us more ways to naturally improve cellular energy.

Vitamin B3 compounds give us the quickest way to produce NAD+. This group has nicotinic acid (NA, classic niacin) and nicotinamide (NAM, niacinamide). These compounds skip several metabolic steps, making them highly efficient precursors.

Tryptophan, an essential amino acid, gives our body another way to make NAD+ through the kynurenine pathway. Our body turns tryptophan into NAD+ at a ratio of 60:1, 60 mg of tryptophan makes about 1 mg of niacin equivalent. To name just one example, 3 ounces of turkey breast gives us 180 mg of tryptophan, which equals about 3 mg of niacin.

Some polyphenols, especially resveratrol, work differently. They activate enzymes involved in NAD+ biosynthesis instead of being direct precursors. These compounds can boost NAD+ production by activating AMPK and NAMPT, key enzymes in the NAD+ biosynthetic pathway. This makes foods rich in polyphenols great partners for direct NAD+ precursors.

Best food sources and combinations

Our NAD+ levels get the best support when we eat specific food groups high in these precursors. Smart combinations create better effects that optimize cellular energy production.

Animal foods pack the highest amounts of ready-to-use NAD+ precursors. Fish leads the pack. Other great animal sources are:

  • Chicken breast;
  • Turkey thigh;
  • Veal;
  • Cheddar cheese.

Plant-based eaters can get plenty of NAD+ precursors from grains and legumes. Wheat has 6.67 mg of nicotinic acid per 100g, which makes whole wheat bread a great daily choice. Legumes like green lentils and chickpeas give us both niacin and plant protein.

Dairy products shine here because they have nicotinamide riboside. Regular cow’s milk gives us about 3.1 μM NR per serving, plus 5.3 μM NAM. Drinking 2-3 glasses daily helps boost our NAD+ levels significantly.

These combinations work best:

  • Mix tryptophan-rich proteins with vitamin B6 foods (bananas or potatoes) to help our body use them better;
  • Put niacin-rich grains together with polyphenol-packed foods like berries or green tea;
  • Add fermented foods like sauerkraut and kombucha that have bioavailable NAD+.

Whole food sources work better than refined products. Whole grains keep more B-vitamins than white flour products. Raw or minimally processed foods also keep more NAD+ precursors than heavily processed ones.

Start our day with oatmeal (it has both niacin and tryptophan) topped with seeds. For lunch, eat wild-caught fish or lentils with vegetables. End our day with high-quality protein, whole grains and produce rich in polyphenols.

Try intermittent fasting for cellular renewal

Intermittent fasting is a great way to get higher NAD+ levels and activate cellular renewal pathways without spending money. Unlike diets that tell us what to eat, this approach focuses on meal timing. Our body responds to these planned breaks from eating by making helpful changes at the molecular level.

How fasting activates sirtuins and NAD+

Our cells boost their NAD+ levels in several ways during fasting periods. Cells turn on a crucial “starvation sensor” called AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) when food isn’t around. This enzyme works as the body’s energy meter and responds when fasting creates energy stress.

AMPK lifts NAD+ production through two main paths. It raises NAMPT (nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase) levels, which is the key enzyme that makes and recycles NAD+. The body also switches from using carbs to burning fat, which naturally increases the NAD:NADH ratio in cells.

Higher NAD+ levels turn on sirtuins, a family of NAD+ dependent deacetylase enzymes. These sirtuins act as longevity proteins and manage many health benefits from fasting:

  • Activation of cellular repair processes;
  • Recycling of damaged cellular components;
  • Triggering of longevity pathways.

SIRT1 needs NAD+ to work properly, which creates a direct connection between fasting, NAD+ levels and cell maintenance. Studies have showed that eating less and fasting increase both SIRT1 expression and NAD+ levels in mice. People who fast for five days show higher SIRT1 and SIRT2 expression.

The benefits don’t stop when our fast ends. Eating after fasting triggers better stem cell regeneration, particularly in blood stem cells. This cycle of fasting and eating helps reset metabolism and rejuvenate cells in ways that regular eating patterns can’t match.

Simple fasting schedules to start with

New fasters can choose from several proven methods:

  • 16:8 method: this quickest way to start involves eating all meals within an 8-hour window while fasting for 16 hours. Most people skip breakfast, eat a late lunch and have an early dinner. This lines up well with sleep patterns. Beginners might start with a 14:10 schedule, 14 hours fasting and 10 hours eating;
  • 5:2 protocol: we eat normally five days a week and cut back to 500-600 calories for two non-consecutive days. On fasting days, high-fiber, high-protein foods help us feel full while keeping calories low;
  • Alternate day fasting: more experienced fasters might try switching between normal eating days and modified fasting days with 500 calories. This method really helps NAD+ metabolism but takes time to get used to;
  • 24-hour protocol: a full 24-hour fast once or twice weekly (dinner to dinner, or breakfast to breakfast) creates deep metabolic changes. This approach strongly activates NAD+ and sirtuin responses but might cause tiredness or headaches at first.

Beginners should start with a 12-hour overnight fast. This gentle approach still offers benefits. We can slowly extend our fasting window as our body adapts to get more NAD+ activation.

Sugar disrupts NAD+ metabolism, so it’s best to avoid high-sugar foods during eating windows. The benefits get even better when we combine fasting with NMN-rich foods or NAD+ precursor nutrients from previous sections.

Move our body to boost NMN usage

Physical activity stands out as one of the best natural ways to make use of NMN and boost NAD+ production. Our body creates a unique metabolic environment during exercise that turns on the cellular machinery needed for NAD+ synthesis.

Exercise and mitochondrial health

Physical activity changes mitochondrial function through several connected mechanisms. Our body makes new mitochondria during regular exercise. This process, called mitochondrial biogenesis, lifts their volume by 50-100% in just six weeks of steady training. Skeletal muscle shows this adaptation clearly, making it a great tissue to study mitochondrial changes because of its size and role in whole-body metabolism.

Exercise quickly changes NAD+/NADH ratios in muscle cells. Our cellular metabolism moves toward glycolysis during moderate to high-intensity workouts. This temporarily reduces NAD+ while raising NADH levels. Such metabolic stress kicks off a strong adaptive response that ended up making the mitochondrial network more efficient.

The way cells adapt to exercise works through an interesting process called “mitohormesis”. Our mitochondria become more active during exercise and produce free radicals that get our cellular defense system going. Rather than causing damage, this controlled stress activates protective pathways. The Nrf2 protein gets involved and increases antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase and glutathione synthetase.

Exercise training fights age-related mitochondrial problems through several pathways:

  • It activates PGC-1α, which controls mitochondrial creation;
  • It improves mitochondrial fusion while cutting down harmful fission;
  • It helps remove damaged mitochondria;
  • It makes the electron transport chain work better.

These changes work together to produce more cellular energy and reduce oxidative damage.

How physical activity increases NAD+ demand

Exercise directly affects NAD+ metabolism by activating nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT), the key enzyme in the NAD+ salvage pathway. Adults who participate in structured physical activity show a 71.7% chance of increased NAMPT expression or become 1.46 times more active compared to those who don’t exercise, according to studies.

AMPK activation leads to this exercise-induced NAMPT boost. Muscle contractions raise cellular AMP/ATP ratios during physical activity. This activates AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase), our cell’s main energy sensor. A chain of events follows that increases NAMPT gene expression, which helps cells make more NAD+.

Different types and intensities of exercise change these adaptations. Aerobic exercise works better at increasing NAMPT expression than just resistance training. Endurance exercise especially increases gene expression of both nuclear and mitochondrial coding genes, which helps make more mitochondrial proteins.

Research shows that a single exercise session triggers NAD+ production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Scientists can see this through increased NAMPT gene expression and higher intracellular NAD+ levels. This suggests exercise helps NAD+ metabolism throughout our body, not just in muscle tissue.

Exercise and NMN supplementation work really well together. Amateur runners improved their breathing threshold and oxygen use after six weeks of endurance exercise combined with NMN supplements. The combination also improved exercise endurance and muscle capillary density more than either exercise or NMN alone.

Sleep better to support NAD+ cycles

Quality sleep plays a crucial role in maintaining healthy NAD+ levels and circadian function, yet many people overlook its importance. Our body’s cellular energy production and NMN metabolism benefit naturally from the complex connection between sleep and circadian rhythms.

Circadian rhythm and NAD+ synthesis

NAD+ levels maintain a close association with circadian rhythms, these internal 24-hour cycles control sleep-wake patterns and many physiological processes. NAD+ levels rise and fall rhythmically throughout the day to help maintain proper cellular function. Studies show that older animals and humans often lose this natural oscillation, which might explain why sleep problems become more common with age.

Scientists have discovered that NAD+ serves a dual purpose in circadian biology. Daily rhythms affect NAD+ levels, while NAD+ helps keep these biological cycles in sync. NAD+ helps repair and protect genes that influence these biological cycles.

This relationship works through molecular mechanisms that involve sirtuins, especially SIRT1, an enzyme our body needs for healthy sleep cycles. SIRT1 needs NAD+ to work properly, which creates a direct connection between NAD+ availability and circadian health. Research shows promising results, NAD+ supplementation helped older mice regain youthful levels of BMAL1 chromatin binding, transcriptional oscillations and mitochondrial respiration rhythms.

Sleep hygiene tips for better recovery

Our NAD+ metabolism depends on quality sleep, so good sleep practices are essential:

  • Maintain consistent sleep-wake times: our body’s internal clock works best when we stick to regular sleeping and waking schedules, even on weekends;
  • Manage light exposure strategically: our circadian rhythms need 10-30 minutes of morning sunlight. We should avoid blue light from screens at least 2 hours before bedtime;
  • Create an optimal sleep environment: our sleep quality improves in a quiet, dark and cool bedroom;
  • Time meals appropriately: our nighttime cellular processes work best when we finish eating by early evening, ideally 6-7 PM.

Clinical studies back these approaches. A 12-week study revealed that NMN intake helped older adults sleep better compared to placebo.

NAD+ and sleep quality share a two-way relationship. Good sleep helps NAD+ metabolism and proper NAD+ metabolism supports restorative sleep. This mutual reinforcement makes sleep optimization the life-blood of natural NMN utilization.

Cut back on sugar and processed foods

Sugar hits our cellular energy pathways hard and makes it tough to keep healthy NAD+ levels. New research shows some worrying links between eating lots of sugar and faster cellular aging that we need to look at closer.

Why sugar disrupts NAD+ metabolism

High-fat and sugar-rich diets overload cells with energy and reduce the NAD+/NADH ratio. This happens through multiple ways. Our body sees a spike in blood glucose and insulin levels when we eat too many sugars and processed carbs. This raises the NADH/NAD+ ratio and creates harmful reactive oxygen species.

Our mitochondria get flooded with electrons from sugars and create more superoxide at complexes I and III of the electron transport chain. This oxidative stress hurts our DNA, which kicks PARP enzymes into action. These enzymes use up NAD+ to fix the damage, draining our cell’s NAD+ stores.

Sugar’s effects on NAD+ go deeper than what we might think. Research shows that obesity, which often comes from eating too much sugar, links to lower sirtuin and NAMPT expression while PARP activity goes up. Aldo, losing just a bit of weight boosts SIRT1 and NAMPT expression and cuts down PARP activity by a lot.

Sugar also fires up CD38, an enzyme that burns through NAD+ and controls body weight. Scientists found that mice without CD38 don’t get fat from their diet because NAD+ activates the SIRT-PGC1alpha pathway.

Whole-food swaps to support NMN

Smart food swaps can help us cut back on sugar while helping our NAD+ metabolism:

  • Drink herbal teas or infused water instead of sugary drinks, these drinks are the biggest source of added sugars in Western countries;
  • Pick whole grain cereals with no added sugar over processed ones;
  • Go for dark chocolate (85%+ cacao) rather than milk chocolate, which packs about 25 grams of added sugar per bar;
  • Use olive oil and vinegar instead of store-bought salad dressings;
  • Eat fruit for dessert, nature’s sugar comes with fiber that slows down how fast our body absorbs it.

Health experts say we should keep free sugars to 5-10% of our daily calories, about 25-50 grams.

Lower stress to protect our NAD+ levels

Stress quietly drains our cellular NAD+ reserves. This creates a biochemical imbalance that speeds up aging at the molecular level. The link between psychological pressure and cellular energy shows why managing stress is a vital but often overlooked way to support NAD+ metabolism.

How stress depletes NAD+

Our cells react to stress by producing more free radicals and oxidative damage. This uses up NAD+ stores faster as our body tries to repair itself. The process creates a harmful cycle, lower NAD+ levels make cells less capable of handling oxidative stress. This leads to more damage and further depletion.

Several pathways play a role here. Stress hormones like cortisol disrupt the metabolic processes that keep NAD+/NADH ratios health. It also increases inflammation which makes CD38, an enzyme that breaks down NAD+, more active.

The biggest impact comes from increased DNA damage. This activates poly-ADP-ribose polymerases (PARPs) that use up to 90% of cellular NAD+. These enzymes directly compete with sirtuins (especially SIRT1) for available NAD+. They essentially take away resources our body needs to age healthily.

Studies show this competition between PARPs and sirtuins becomes stronger as we age. NAD+ levels naturally drop with age and stress-triggered PARP activation puts more pressure on an already limited supply.

Relaxation techniques that help

The right stress management practices can help protect our NAD+ levels in multiple ways:

  • Mindfulness meditation reduces inflammation linked to NAD+ loss and activates our body’s natural relaxation response;
  • Deep breathing exercises help lower stress hormone production and protect NAD+ metabolic pathways;
  • Progressive muscle relaxation turns on our body’s “rest-and-digest” mode to counter the fight-or-flight response that uses up NAD+;
  • Regular time outdoors lowers stress hormones and inflammation that drain NAD+ reserves;
  • Social connections decrease biological stress markers tied to faster NAD+ use;
  • Yoga practices mix movement with breathing to help adjust our nervous system and reduce oxidative stress.

We should try to include at least one stress-reduction practice each day. Even short 10-15 minute sessions can make a real difference when we stick with them.

NAD+ levels affect many parts of our health. These natural methods are a great way to support our cellular energy systems. Using these strategies regularly can improve more than just NAD+ metabolism. This shows why they’re so valuable to consider for living longer.

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