There are many acronyms you might find on the packaging of so-called longevity supplements, promoted by influencers for their ability to \u201crepair DNA\u201d and assist in \u201canti-ageing\u201d.<\/p>\n
NRC (nicotinamide riboside chloride) and NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide) are two of them \u2013 both precursors or \u201cbuilding blocks\u201d for NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide), a naturally occurring molecule<\/a> in the body. Trimethylglycine (TMG) is another and is sometimes added to \u201csupport\u201d other ingredients.<\/p>\n Packaged together, these ingredients are supposed to \u201cboost daily vitality\u201d and \u201cimprove cellular health\u201d, according to their promoters.<\/p>\n But is there any evidence to support these claims?<\/p>\n What are longevity supplements?<\/p>\n While some longevity supplements contain multiple ingredients in one tablet, others promote \u201cstacking\u201d \u2013 that is, buying different products and ingredients and taking them together for an optimum longevity boost.<\/p>\n Prof Oliver Jones, an internationally recognised expert in analytical science with RMIT University, says NAD is involved in many chemical reactions in the body, including energy production and DNA repair.<\/p>\n \u201cYour body has two main ways to get NAD,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cIt can create it from scratch \u2026 or it can recycle it from other compounds. Some people suggest one can boost NAD production by providing the precursor compounds.\u201d<\/p>\n The reason NAD-promoting supplements keep getting pushed as anti-ageing is twofold, Jones says, \u201cBecause NAD is part of a lot of essential biochemical processes in the body, and because concentrations of NAD are reported to decline as we age.\u201d<\/p>\n What the evidence says<\/p>\n While clever marketing makes it sound like products containing these or other building blocks can increase longevity, \u201cthe likelihood that any single compound among the many thousands in the body is responsible for all ageing is pretty much zero\u201d, Jones says.<\/p>\n \u201cEven if NAD concentrations did decline with age, that would not mean that the decrease in NAD caused the ageing,\u201d Jones says. \u201cThere are plenty of biochemical changes associated with ageing but that does not mean the changes caused the ageing.\u201d<\/p>\n One Instagram ad states that \u201cNAD levels increase by 51% in 14 days\u201d after taking a particular longevity supplement. But Jones says increases in a single biomarker don\u2019t always equate to meaningful changes, such as reduced disease.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile 51% sounds like a large increase, it only means your original concentration went up by half the original amount,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cFor example, if you start with 0.25mg of a compound, increasing it by 51% gives you 0.38mg, which is not much more. It is easy to use a percentage increase to make something sound large.\u201d<\/p>\n The question we should ask is not \u201cdo NAD concentrations increase or not\u201d but \u201cdoes it matter if they increase or not\u201d, he says.<\/p>\n Prof Bruce Neal, a physician and executive director of the George Institute for Global Health<\/a>, says to determine that \u201cyou need large, well-designed trials that show real outcomes, such as fewer heart attacks, better physical function, longer life\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cFor these products, that kind of evidence just doesn\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/p>\n Very few human studies have been done<\/p>\n Danielle Shine, an accredited dietitian, nutritionist and PhD candidate researching nutrition misinformation on social media, says much of the enthusiasm for longevity products is \u201cbased on animal studies, mainly involving rodents, which rarely translate reliably to humans, especially for complex outcomes like ageing or long-term health\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHumans aren\u2019t rodents,\u201d she says. \u201cWe metabolise compounds differently, live in far more variable environments and age in fundamentally different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n She said a few small NMN studies in adults aged 40-65 reported minor improvements in subjective energy or walking distance \u201cbut there\u2019s no evidence that these short-term changes translate into long-term health benefits or increased lifespan\u201d.<\/p>\n Neal adds that combining ingredients in the hope the right \u201cstack\u201d will boost health \u201cis just another clever way of getting people to spend more money on things that probably won\u2019t help them\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you think the supplement offsets drinking more or smoking, that\u2019s also a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n So what actually improves longevity?<\/p>\n Shine says maintaining a healthy and well-balanced diet, drinking water, exercise that includes resistance training, getting enough sleep, managing stress, nurturing social connections, avoiding harmful substances and protecting your skin with broad-spectrum sunscreen all help.<\/p>\n \u201cKeeping up with preventative healthcare, including vaccinations, routine check-ups and evidence-based screening tests\u201d is also important, she says.<\/p>\n \u201cNo supplement can match or replace these foundational habits for supporting overall health and longevity.\u201d<\/p>\n Melissa Davey is Guardian Australia\u2019s medical editor<\/p>\n Antiviral<\/a> is a fortnightly column that interrogates the evidence behind the health headlines and factchecks popular wellness claims<\/p>\n Share your experience<\/p>\n Share your experience<\/p>\n What health trend\u00a0do you want examined?<\/p>\n Your responses, which can be anonymous, are secure as the form is encrypted and only the Guardian has access to your contributions. 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