I know there are few things more boring than hearing about how tired and busy other people are, but let’s just say that, as a full-time working mother with two kids under five, I am more tired and busy than I’ve ever been before.
So when I had the opportunity to test out NAD+, a molecule that’s had the wellness world buzzing with its promise to increase energy, super-charge focus, enhance your mood and improve your sleep, I was definitely interested. After having my second child I’ve been left with a brain fog that rarely lifts outside of work, and I’ve always been a terrible sleeper. Who wouldn’t want to be a more productive, get-up-and-go version of themselves?
A-list fans of NAD+ include Hailey Bieber, who told Kendall Jenner ‘I’m going to NAD for the rest of my life, and I’m never going to age’ while they were hooked up to NAD+ drips during a 2022 episode of The Kardashians (NAD+ has been linked to a delay in age-related decline in cells). Jennifer Aniston told the Wall Street Journal that weekly shots are ‘the future’. Even when I attended the Body Brilliant x The Body Lab clinic in Kensington to receive my first NAD+ IV drip, a celebrity whose name I won’t disclose pops in to pick up her own dose, telling staff she can’t travel without it (luckily for those visiting swanky hotels like Estelle Manor and Soho Farmhouse in the UK, you can get a top up there).
So why has everyone gone mad for NAD+? After all, it already exists in our bodies. This clever coenzyme is key to powering energy metabolism, DNA repair, circadian rhythm regulation, and stem cell rejuvenation. You can help increase your level of NAD+ with good sleep, regular exercise and vitamin B3-rich foods like meat, nuts and dairy, but age and stress deplete our natural levels faster than they can be replenished, meaning that as you get older, you’ll have much less of it in your system.
In an attempt to counteract this decline, NAD+ can now be administered in several forms, including infusions — a drip injected into your arm — for an NAD+ mega-boost (prices start from £325 for 250mg given over 45 minutes, up to £750 for 1000mg). This is the version I try first, and I’m pleased to report it’s not as uncomfortable or painful as it might sound. In fact it’s quite restful just being able to sit on a couch not moving for nearly an hour.
Alternatively NAD+ shots — which can be self-administered — provide a lower dose that is faster and slightly more affordable overall (£375 for 20 injections to take over a four to six week period, from Body Brilliant). They do however, involve injecting yourself at home, which may not appeal to the squeamish. The idea certainly doesn’t thrill me, but I’m taught how to self-inject in the clinic, and happily the needle is so ultra-fine I barely feel it going into the skin I’ve pinched on my stomach. It stings slightly more as I push the cold liquid into my body, but only for a second or two, and then I dispose of the needle head into a special container for safety. I’m packed off from the clinic with a month’s worth of NAD+ in the injector pen, which I have to keep in the fridge at home after transporting it home in a special ice-packed box. The instructions are to inject it into my stomach for three continuous days to begin with, then every other day, using the sanitiser wipes I’m provided with the clean the injection site before and after.
Will regular doses NAD+ work? Gemma Wilkins, founder and CEO of Body Brilliant, tells me there is ‘growing number of scientific studies exploring the benefits of NAD+ supplementation’. These include studies into the mitochondrial function (improving energy production in cells), neuroprotection (which could benefit cognitive health) and metabolic health (‘It’s been linked with improved insulin sensitivity and reduced markers of inflammation.’) She recommends an injectable version of NAD+ over the oral supplements available, to bypass the digestive system and offer ‘faster and more complete absorption’ and ‘more immediate effects’. A course of four to twelve weeks is recommended to elevate your NAD+ levels, although ‘for those recovering from burnout, illness, or chronic stress, a more intensive short-term protocol including IVs may be recommended.’
It’s important to point out that NAD+ has its nay-sayers too, with some pointing to the lack of peer-reviewed studies into this ‘wonder drug’. Dr Sophie Shotter, founder of Illuminate Skin Clinic, says that although NAD+ is ‘an incredible molecule linked to every cellular process in the human body’, she thinks ‘home injection kits…are a triumph of marketing over biochemistry.’ Her doubts include temperature control: the molecule ‘is unstable at room temperature and is normally shipped and stored at –20 °C’, which is much colder than your average fridge. Plus, NAD+ ‘is meant to be synthesised or recycled inside cells, not injected into subcutaneous tissue or the blood stream. Direct vascular exposure triggers immediate enzymatic breakdown, so only a fraction survives long enough to have any home of transport into a cell.’ And even if it does reach them ‘it’s almost impossible for the NAD+ to be absorbed into the cells themselves,’ says Shotter, who describes the injector pens as an ‘expensive placebo’.
As for my own experience, I certainly noticed the difference after my initial IV infusion, which I try during a lunch hour at work. I was like a Duracell bunny at my desk that afternoon, ticking off my to-do list at record rate. As for the self-administered jabs, the immediate impact was less obvious to me, but one major change was that I didn’t experience the usual pre-menstrual dip in energy levels and mood, which I normally experience every month. In fact, I had one period at the beginning and one at the end of my NAD+ course, and in both cases I was completely surprised by their arrival because I hadn’t had any of the usual warning signs. It’s obviously hard to completely nail down cause-and-effect in my own case, but I’ll be very interested in seeing where the science goes as NAD+ is explored further. And, whether Hailey Bieber does indeed ever age.
