NAD+ Supplements and Fasting
If you understand the role of boosting NAD+ to slow the biological aging process and to restore cell energy and repair, you’ll probably know that intermittent fasting can help to boost the body’s production of NAD. So, you might be wondering if it’s possible to double down on this NAD strategy by taking a supplement at the same time? The answer is yes! Continue reading to get the latest advice on taking NAD supplements whilst fasting.
Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting (IF) involves going for periodic episodes without food. It is more of an eating pattern rather than a diet because it doesn’t involve changes to the amount or type of food that you eat – just when you eat it. Common patterns for intermittent fasting include:
16:8 pattern: which involves consuming all your meals during an 8-hour window each day and fasting for the remaining 16 hours. This is usually achieved by missing breakfast, having a late lunch and an early dinner.
5:2 pattern: achieved by eating normally for 5 days of the week and then 75% less calories for the remaining two days of the week.
Prolonged fasting: periodically fasting for at least 48 hours but at less regular intervals (commonly once per month)
Regardless of the chosen method, intermittent fasting has been scientifically proven to have tremendous health benefits.
How does fasting increase NAD+?
Studies have shown that NAD+ levels are heavily influenced by lifestyle and things that cause energy stress like fasting. The science behind this is simple – when cells undergo a period of stress they need to make sure that efficient energy production is maintained and that cellular maintenance and repair is turned up.
To do this, all cells have a ‘starvation sensor’ called AMPK. Fasting activates the AMPK pathway which leads to increased NAD+ levels in the cell.
This rise in NAD+ occurs via two mechanisms. Firstly, AMPK boosts levels of a critical enzyme that makes and recycles NAD+ called NAMPT. Secondly, your body switches from burning carbohydrate to fat which increases the NAD:NADH ratio.
Increased NAD+ then acts as a signal to activate a critical survival protein called SIRT1. In response SIRT1 activates multiple beneficial downstream processes to ensure the cell can survive the period of stress. In fact, activation of SIRT1 has been found to coordinate many of the health benefits of fasting including activation of cellular repair processes, recycling of damaged cells and activation of longevity pathways.
How will NAD supplements boost your fasting regime?
As with anything in biology, results are always better when you use a combination of interventions. Using an NAD boosting supplement alongside your fasting regime can help increase the benefits in two ways:
Firstly, after fasting your NAD+ levels will decrease upon refeeding as the energy stress is reduced so AMPK becomes deactivated. This drop in NAD+ levels can be mitigated by using an NAD+ boosting supplement to maintain high NAD+ levels in between periods of fasting, to prolong SIRT1 activation and extend the cellular benefits of fasting.
Secondly, with a multitarget approach such as one containing active ingredients that are known to activate the AMPK pathway. These ingredients include Rutin and Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA), further mimicking the fasting process and extending the cellular benefits. These are additional ingredients that cannot be found in the precursor based NAD+ boosters such as NR or NMN.
If you practice intermittent fasting to help boost NAD+ levels in combination with our supplement, it is advised that you take your NAD supplement within your feeding window to avoid breaking your fast.
To read more about how NAD supplements work.
To read more about the benefits of sirtuin activation.