Healthy Shopping: The best NAD+-boosting supplements

Looking for supplements to help boost NAD+? Joanna Evans shares some useful pointers on what to look for plus a handful of high-quality products to try

Boosting your levels of NAD⁺, or nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, is vital if you want to stay healthy and youthful, longevity experts are saying. A multitasking molecule found in every cell of the body, NAD⁺ is crucial for energy production, DNA repair and the health of your cells. But levels naturally decline as you get older—by up to 50 percent by middle age¹—so there’s been a surge of scientific interest in natural ways to raise them.

One proven way is with supplements. But rather than using NAD⁺ itself, which is typically poorly absorbed orally, scientists are turning to NAD⁺ precursors—compounds that the body converts into NAD⁺. These include the more well-known niacin (nicotinic acid) and niacinamide as well as two newer precursors—NR (nicotinamide riboside) and NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide).

NR and NMN appear to be the most effective and efficient options (high-dose niacin can work well but comes with side effects), but as NMN has fewer human safety trials behind it and is not currently authorized for use in food supplements in the UK, NR appears to be your best bet if you’re looking for an NAD⁺ boosting supplement right now.

Here are a few tips on what to look for as well as some top products to try.

What to look for

Form. Look for nicotinamide riboside chloride, which is generally considered the best-supported and most stable form of NR. Niagen®, a patented form of NR chloride used in multiple human studies, is a reliable option.

Ingredients. Scan the ingredients list to make sure you’re not getting any unnecessary extras, like sugars, sweeteners, fillers and artificial colorings and preservatives. Opt for as “clean” a formula as possible.

Dosage. NR is typically used at a dosage of 300–600 mg daily, so make sure you are getting a decent dosage per capsule and avoid vague labels like “NAD⁺ booster blend.”

Testing. Seek out brands that specify third-party testing for product potency and purity and have certificates of analysis available for you to view. If you’re unsure about anything, get in touch with the company to check.

High manufacturing standards. Is the supplement manufactured according to stringent quality standards? Look for certifications of good manufacturing practices (GMPs) on the product label or website.

Products to try

Here are four top-quality NR supplements to consider, all available in the US and UK.

Niagen Bioscience
Tru Niagen 300 mg, $49/£49.95 (30 capsules)
US: truniagen.com; UK: truniagen.co.uk

Featuring 300 mg of Niagen® per capsule, this supplement recently received a 10/10 score from SuppCo’s independent TESTED program, which uses third-party lab testing to verify that products contain what the label claims. All Tru Niagen supplements are also routinely independently assessed for quality, safety and potency, and certificates of analysis are available to view on the website.

DoNotAge.org
Pure NR, $45/£36 (60 capsules)
donotage.org

This good-value option from longevity supplement specialist DoNotAge.org contains 350 mg per capsule of NR—which is over 98 percent pure according to in-house and third-party testing—and there’s nothing added besides cellulose for the capsule. It’s vegan, non-GMO and free of gluten, soy, dairy and other common allergens.

VitalityPRO
NR, $74/£49 (90 capsules)
vitality-pro.com

Like all VitalityPRO supplements, this one is made to cGMP (current good manufacturing practice) standards and third-party tested for purity, potency and safety. Each vegan capsule provides 300 mg of NR chloride and there are no fillers, binders, anti-caking agents or synthetic additives whatsoever. The only other ingredient is the vegetable cellulose capsule.

Renue by Science
NR 1000 Enteric Coated, $54.95/£43.49 (60 capsules)
US: renuebyscience.com; UK: healf.com

These high-dose capsules—providing 1,000 mg of NR per two-capsule serving—have a naturally acid-resistant coating to protect the ingredients from harsh stomach acid and

ensure optimal absorption and efficiency. They’re manufactured in cGMP-certified facilities, and every batch undergoes third-party testing to verify purity, potency and conformity to label claims.

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