Have you ever wondered if there are more natural ways to lower your high blood pressure,

guard against Alzheimer's, loose weight, feel better?

Well, it turns out there is.

Welcome to the Nutrition Facts podcast.

I'm your host, Dr. Michael Greger.

Today we continue our series on ways to boost the production of the important metabolic enzyme

NAD plus by reviewing a supplement called NMN.

Both NR and NMN have been shown to have beneficial effects in rodents.

Though they haven't been tested side by side, both precursors raise blood levels of

NAD and people, but similarly haven't been pitted head-to-head against one another.

One potential advantage of NMN over NR is that it may be more stable in the bloodstream,

in mouse blood at least, within an hour most NR is converted into NAM, whereas NMN levels remain steady.

You could also argue that NMN is better because it's a direct precursor of NAD, whereas

NR first has to be converted to NMN.

So we might as well just take NMN in the first place.

Ironically, the exact opposite argument can also be made based on the

inability of NMN to pass through cell membranes. Structurally, NMN is just NR with a phosphate

group attached to it. The phosphate charge prevents NMN from passing in and out of cells.

So to get inside a cell, NMN first has to be converted into NR.

Then once inside, the NR can turn back into NEMN and make NAD.

So if NM first has to be converted into NR for cell entry, the argument goes,

maybe you might as well take NR to begin with,

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