For high energy and anti-aging
Niagen is the brand name for nicotinamide riboside chloride, a precursor molecule for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, or NAD for short; you may sometimes see it referred to as NAD+ because it carries a positive charge at some stages of its metabolic work, or NADH when it has a hydrogen atom attached to it. It occurs naturally in every cell of your body and is vitally important to your energy metabolism. Please see the link at the bottom of this page for a good reference to the science of NAD.
NAD declines with age and by so doing creates a bottleneck in the amount of energy our cells have to perform their vital functions.
My personal testimonial:
I thought I was already pretty peppy compared to others my age, but I was astounded at how much physical and mental energy I gained on my very first day taking the recommended 300 milligram dose of Tru Niagen! So astounded that I called the manufacturer, ChromaDex, Inc., that same day to ask if such a profound effect so quickly was normal; they told me that effects can vary between individuals, but yes that does happen for many people. Others may need to take it for a few weeks to notice any effects, and a few people never notice any change at all. Consequently I view this molecule as one that is probably more of a metabolic bottleneck for some than it is for others, and it must have been a very significant energy bottleneck for my own personal biochemistry. So your mileage may vary, but if you ever feel low on physical or mental energy sometimes, I think you owe it to yourself to try this out.
NAD supplementation is considered among many to be today’s best existing anti-aging methodology, and having experienced it firsthand myself, I think so too. The only caveat I would add is to remind you that you need adequate intakes of all the other micronutrients required for optimum health too (begin here if you haven’t already), or you are doing yourself a disservice and won’t be able to gain the maximum benefit from NAD. Those other essential micronutrients are listed on this site under the Basic Necessities menu.
Read about the first Niagen human clinical study here.
From Therapeutic potential of boosting NAD+ in aging and age-related diseases:
Decreased levels of NAD+ are associated with the hallmarks of aging as well as several age-related diseases, including metabolic disorders, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Replenishment of NAD+ levels via administration of its precursors have been demonstrated to display beneficial effects against aging and age-related diseases. Importantly, boosting NAD+ levels have been shown to extend lifespan of various laboratory animal models including worms, flies, and rodents
Translational Medicine of Aging
Volume 2, January 2018, Pages 30-37
See all the nicotinamide riboside studies on PubMed.