Consequently, while aging is unstoppable, anti-aging elements with efficacy in reversing aging effects and enhancing longevity are key research points. Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) is emerging as a viable solution with immense therapeutic potential against age-related health problems.
So, What is NMN, and how does it help enhance longevity? Keep reading to learn more about NMN’s purported therapeutic antiaging benefits, including its mechanism of action in countering various age-related health conditions.
1. Elevated Energy Levels
A dip in energy levels is among the most prevalent aging side effects. However, NMN benefits include elevating energy levels by countering the aging factors contributing to low energy levels. Exploring NMN’s invigorating potential entails understanding aging’s effects on normal energy production, as highlighted below.
First, aging causes oxidative stress on mitochondria, inhibiting normal function. Mitochondrial are the primary cell organelles involved in energy production, and their dysfunction causes low energy production.
Additionally, a study on aging’s effects on cell mitochondrial concentration shows that mitochondrial concentration in the musculoskeletal system decreases with advanced age. The study posits that the decline in mitochondrial density may result from low levels of the compounds necessary for the organelle’s biogenesis or production in the body.
Besides inhibiting normal mitochondrial function, age-related cardiac aging interferes with normal cardiovascular system function limiting oxygen and nutrient flow to cells. The cells rely on oxygen and nutrients for metabolic processes that yield energy.
So, how does NMN counter the age-related drop in energy levels? Oral NMN’s primary function in the body is to increase NAD+ levels, as it is a precursor for the latter’s biosynthesis. NAD+ or nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide is a co-enzyme involved in the cell’s metabolic processes for energy production.
Besides facilitating energy production, NAD+ regulates reactive oxygen species (ROS) production during metabolic processes. By limiting ROS production, NAD+ prevents oxidative stress damage to mitochondria, helping maintain healthy mitochondrial concentration.
NMN’s function as an NAD+ precursor helps improve mitochondrial biogenetics. Therefore, NMN indirectly restores DNA mitochondrial replication to facilitate the ideal mitochondrial concentration for enhanced energy production.
2. NMN May Improve Cardiovascular Health, Preventing Age-related Cardiovascular Diseases
The heart is a vital organ, facilitating oxygen and nutrient transportation throughout the body, ensuring all body cells meet their energy needs for optimal body function. Additionally, the heart facilitates the transportation of essential chemicals like hormones to target tissues and organs. Also, its waste removal function helps prevent cell toxicity and maintain healthy cell function.
Aging alters the heart and other circulatory/ cardiovascular system compounds, including blood vessels and blood composition, often inhibiting optimum cardiovascular system function. For starters, one publication on cardiac aging highlights pathological cardiac remodeling, including a slight increase in heart size and the thickening of heart muscles and valves.
Stiff or thickened heart muscles pump blood significantly slower than fully elastic youth muscles. Moreover, the increased heart capacity means the heart takes longer to fill up with blood, slowing the pumping rate., and possibly causing abnormal heart rhythm like arrhythmia.
Additionally, the publication highlights lipofuscin as a significant element in pathological cardiac remodeling. Lipofuscin entails the formation of granules/ deposits of age-related “wear-and-tear” in cells of various organs, including the heart. The lipofuscin deposits cause cell death in the heart via cell toxicity.
Besides heart and blood vessel muscles, aging alters blood volume because the body’s overall water content decreases. The low blood volume means heart muscles must work harder to pump blood away from the heart.
However, NMN can potentially tackle the age-related cardiac remodeling effects highlighted above. Below is an overview of NMN’s benefits and its mechanism of action against cardiac aging.
NMN is a precursor for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), an essential co-enzyme in various metabolic reactions and body processes, including cardiovascular function. Age-related NAD+ decline is the primary reason behind the cardiac remodeling that causes the symptoms above and inhibits normal heart function.
NMN’s role as an NAD+ precursor helps replenish NAD+ levels. Also, as stated earlier, NAD+ is a coenzyme. NAD+’s role as a co-enzyme entails supporting pro-cardiac health enzymes like sirtuins.
According to one publication, sirtuins’ protective effects against cardiac aging include mediating the heart’s cellular processes, reducing cellular damage, and inhibiting heart inflammation. Therefore, NMN’s anti-aging benefits to the heart entail increasing NAD+ synthesis to enhance sirtuin activity for cardiac benefits.
3. NMN May Alleviate Age-related Chronic Inflammation
Chronic inflammation is a significant concern among the aging population (“inflammaging”). A literature review highlights “inflammaging” potential causes, including immunity dysregulation, unregulated coagulation factors, elevated inflammatory cytokine levels, and low sex hormone levels.
Age-related chronic inflammation is in the pathogenesis of various age-related health conditions, including insulin resistance, elevated adiposity, high cholesterol, cardiac diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases. However, NMN supplementation may help alleviate “inflammaging.”
One study on “inflammaging” highlighted NMN supplementation as a potential therapeutic agent for age-related chronic inflammation. The animal model study showed that NMN suppressed adipose tissue inflammation in mice. Moreover, it showed that older mice responded better to the compound than younger mice.
4. NMN May Counter Age-related Cognitive Decline
While age-related cognitive changes are normal, such changes could signal the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, causing cognitive decline. Cognitive decline causes immense stress and lowers the quality of life for affected individuals. NMN may help alleviate such cognitive decline, allowing people to age with dignity.
Oxidative stress, inflammation, and cell death (apoptosis) primarily contribute to age-related cognitive decline. Nonetheless, the review highlights that increasing NAD+ levels via its precursors, including NMN, is a promising treatment for various age-related cognitive decline diseases, including Alzheimer’s and dementia variations.
5. NMN May Intervene In Age-related DNA Damage
Aging and DNA damage go hand-in-hand. DNA damage may manifest as cellular dysfunction or cell senescence (a decline in cell division). Regardless, DNA damage’s effect on the cell impedes normal tissue and body process function and is the pathogenesis for numerous age-related diseases.
Fortunately, NMN may significantly inhibit cell DNA damage, senescence, and inflammation. The study identifies NMN’s role in increasing NAD+ levels as the potential mechanism of action in countering age-related DNA damage.
Conclusion
The benefits highlighted above iterate that NMN is the closest thing to the fountain of youth. Therefore, consult your doctor about adding NMN supplements to your daily health and wellness routine for longevity and graceful aging.