NAD+ stands for Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide. It’s a natural molecule found within every living cell of your body. We depend upon NAD+ to convert the nutrients in our food into the energy we need. NAD+ also helps repair damaged DNA and helps your body to stay young and healthy.

NADH – How Does It Work ?
NAD is an important molecule in your body and acts like an Uber Eats Courier for energy. It picks up and drops off electrons in the cells in your body. This picking up and dropping off, rather like a bike courier is why we see NAD written as NAD+ and also NADH. If its NAD+ its on its way back from a delivery and if its called NADH its got a piping hot ‘energy’ order ready to deliver ( the H is the hydrogen electron its carrying).

NAD Roles in the Body
These electrons that NAD picks up and drops off are used to drive energy reactions in our body. and NAD can also act as a messenger in the body, for example as a neurotransmitter or to signal when there is DNA damage in our cells that needs repairing.

History of NAD
NAD was discovered by Arthur Harden and William John Young who wanted to know how to improve alcoholic fermentation and discovered that boiled yeast extract really helped with making alcohol in the lab. The molecule they discovered seemed to ‘supercharge’ the yeast.
NAD is also known as – AKA
Because NAD has so many roles in the body you may find it known as various names including the follwing
- NADH
- Coenzyme 1
- Enada
- NAD
- Nicotinamide Adénine Dinucléotide
- Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Hydrate
- Reduced DPN,
- Reduced Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide
NAD Health Benefits
We wrote a much more detailed blog about NAD health benefits here and we also wrote another article about NAD and Aging here. NAD is used to help your mental performance, alertness and concentration as well as memory.
There is research to suggest that NAD has been effective in helping with Alzheimers Disease and another paper here looked at using NAD to treat Dementia and help reverse some of the effects of ageing.
NADH has also used been researched as a way for improving athletic performance and treating chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).
We wrote a full guide to NAD Supplements here.

NAD has been used for treating high blood pressure, high cholesterol and preventing obesity.
We also found that NASA discussed NADs effectiveness against jet lag, and this research paper looked at using NAD to treat depression, and Parkinson’s disease. NAD also reduces the damaging effect of alcohol on the liver; and most importantly for many people reducing signs of aging.
NAD and Energy
NAD is the main thing that takes the food we eat and turns it in to energy. It does this in every cell by helping to burn fats and proteins into energy. The more NAD+ you have available the more ammo your cells have to make energy.
NAD and Aging
As you age your NAD declines for a number of reasons. We cover this in more detail in this blog.

NAD and Mood
NAD isn’t just the only thin that can lift your mood. We wrote a blog about 19 other ways to elevate your mental health here. NAD is known to stimulate a number of neurotransmitters in the brain so may have a positive effect on your mood.
Trubrain Clockwise – NAD Supplement
We’ve recently launched a product called Clockwise that boosts NAD levels in your body in 3 ways
- Boosting the ingredients your body needs to make NAD itself
- Boosting NAD levels directly
- Boosting your body to recycle more used up NAD