24 Feb MSW Research Corner: NAD+ and Vitamin Therapies

MSW Research Corner: NAD+ and Vitamin Therapies

Adam Mitchell, Director of Clinical Research

Aside from Ketamine Therapy here at MY Self Wellness, Bonita Springs we provide an array of other services for our community members mental and physical well-being.  This edition of our MSW Research Corner focuses on the benefit of these other services, specifically, the growing body of evidence that NAD+ has profound effects on cellular health, and the tremendously improved bioavailability of vitamin infusions taken via IV (intravenous) in our clinic versus orally taken pills you may find in health sections of stores. When taken orally, NAD+ has less bioavailability and may not be very beneficial.

NAD+

NAD+, an important molecule your body creates from niacin, is produced in lower quantities as we age.  This recent article from the non-profit Lifespan.io reviews how mice, genetically impaired from creating NAD+, died earlier of heart failure, and illustrates the importance of NAD+ for cardiac and skeletal muscle health (1).  Focus on NAD+ by health and longevity researchers has revealed NAD+ as a promising treatment for Alzheimer Disease.  Supplementing NAD+ slows the progress of Alzheimer Disease, improving neuronal survival and memory while diminishing mitochondrial damage (2).  Though production of NAD+ is promoted by physical exercise, further NAD+ supplementation increases energy and endurance of athletes (3). The reputation of NAD+ as a potent protector of cellular mitochondria from damage and sustainer of cellular stability, leads to it being a hot-target explored by researchers (4).  Mitochondria, which normally utilize nutrients for cellular energy, are impaired from nutrient-sensing when NAD+ levels are low.  Nutrients unused by our bodies are available to bacterial invaders, and other infectious threats to our wellbeing (5).  Aside from its NAD+’s applications for brain, athletic, cellular health and anti-aging, it has applications for addiction treatment.  Research shows NAD+ helps to diminish cocaine cravings in addicts seeking treatment, possibly via its ability to help the brain better process what it already has within it (6, 7). NAD+ also helps to boost serotonin levels so when pairing with Ketamine which helps increase dopamine the two therapies combined can cause a deeply profound effect on a person’s mood. We like to refer to them as the peanut butter and jelly of treatments.

IV VItamin Therapy

Beyond dose alone, how we take vitamins and medication is linked to bioavailability (how accessible the vitamins are by your body) as well as blood serum levels (how ‘flooded’ your body is with the vitamin/medication).  Despite wide availability of orally taken supplements and vitamins, IV vitamin infusions such as we offer at MY Self Wellness are used to ‘bombard’ the body with what it needs to fight off infections (8) and help fight cancer to such a degree (9, 10) that IV vitamin-C infusions are becoming a standardized part of cancer treatments.  In cancer patients, IV vitamin-C blood serum levels were nearly ten-times greater than the same dose taken orally (11).

Dose matters, but is not the whole story.  Route of administration matters, in how much of that dose gets to where your body makes use of it; what side-effects that route of administration may or may not have.  Looking at side effects of vitamins, orally administered vitamins are well known for gastrointestinal issues (12) which IV administration avoids.  The relative absence of discomforting side effects and high bioavailability, reveals IV vitamin therapies as a well-tolerated and effective treatment to treat many chronic conditions. (13).

Here at MY Self Wellness, in Bonita Springs, Florida, we offer more than Ketamine Therapy alone.  We offer a wide array of IV-vitamin, NAD+ and supplement services to benefit our community members mental & physical functioning, helping to maintain longer spans of youthful functioning as we age than without such supplementation.  Depending on the options, (we do have a Fast IV Vitamin treatment) some IV treatments can last for several hours as you relax, ensuring blood serum levels remain high throughout the entire treatment.  At MY Self Wellness, we work to help all who seek our services live longer, healthier, happier and fuller lives.  Don’t hesitate to give us a call at 239-908-9958 to inquire more about services which suit your goals and needs.  We look forward to helping you on your healing journey.

References

1. A Relationship Between NAD+ and Gradual Heart Failure. (n.d.). Www.lifespan.io. Retrieved February 20, 2023, from https://www.lifespan.io/news/a-relationship-between-nad-and-gradual-heart-failure/

2. Fang, E. F. (2019). Mitophagy and NAD+ inhibit Alzheimer disease. Autophagy, 15(6), 1112-1114.

3. Mach, J., Midgley, A. W., Dank, S., Grant, R. S., & Bentley, D. J. (2010). The effect of antioxidant supplementation on fatigue during exercise: potential role for NAD+ (H). Nutrients, 2(3), 319-329.

4. Covarrubias, A. J., Perrone, R., Grozio, A., & Verdin, E. (2021). NAD+ metabolism and its roles in cellular processes during ageing. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, 22(2), 119-141.

5. López-Otín, C., Blasco, M. A., Partridge, L., Serrano, M., & Kroemer, G. (2013). The hallmarks of aging. Cell, 153(6), 1194-1217.

6. Braidy, N., Villalva, M. D., & Eeden, S. V. (2020). Sobriety and satiety: is NAD+ the answer?. Antioxidants, 9(5), 425.

7. Logan, R. W., Parekh, P. K., Kaplan, G. N., Becker-Krail, D. D., Williams III, W. P., Yamaguchi, S., … & McClung, C. A. (2019). NAD+ cellular redox and SIRT1 regulate the diurnal rhythms of tyrosine hydroxylase and conditioned cocaine reward. Molecular psychiatry, 24(11), 1668-1684.

8. Toyosawa, T., Suzuki, M., Kodama, K., & Araki, S. (2004). Effects of intravenous infusion of highly purified vitamin B2 on lipopolysaccharide-induced shock and bacterial infection in mice. European journal of pharmacology, 492(2-3), 273-280.

9. Riordan, H. D., Riordan, N. H., Jackson, J. A., Casciari, J. J., Hunninghake, R., González, M. J., … & Rivera, A. (2004). Intravenous vitamin C as a chemotherapy agent: a report on clinical cases. Puerto Rico health sciences journal, 23(2).

10. Riordan, H. D., Riordan, N. H., Jackson, J. A., Casciari, J. J., Hunninghake, R., González, M. J., … & Rivera, A. (2004). Intravenous vitamin C as a chemotherapy agent: a report on clinical cases. Puerto Rico health sciences journal, 23(2).

11. Klimant, E., Wright, H., Rubin, D., Seely, D., & Markman, M. (2018). Intravenous vitamin C in the supportive care of cancer patients: a review and rational approach. Current oncology, 25(2), 139-148.

12. Driscoll, M. S., Kwon, E. K. M., Skupsky, H., Kwon, S. Y., & Grant-Kels, J. M. (2010). Nutrition and the deleterious side effects of nutritional supplements. Clinics in dermatology, 28(4), 371-379.

Padayatty, S. J., Sun, A. Y., Chen, Q., Espey, M. G., Drisko, J., & Levine, M. (2010). Vitamin C: intravenous use by complementary and alternative medicine practitioners and adverse effects. PloS one, 5(7), e11414.