NAD+ IV Infusions and Injections: What Does the Science Say?

NAD+ IV Infusions and Injections: What Does the Science Say?

NAD+ injections and IV infusions are two ways that you may consider boosting your body’s NAD+ levels. Nuchido has analyzed the science behind these approaches though, to inform you about the limitations of these techniques based on what we know today: 

Can NAD+ Injections Trigger Inflammation?

It is a common misconception that NAD+ IV infusions or injections are the most effective way to boost NAD+ levels, simply because they deliver “pure” NAD+ directly into the bloodstream within minutes. 

One issue here though is that NAD+ has no beneficial function in our blood – it is inside our cells where it carries out its role of restoring our cellular health and supporting energy production. 

NAD+ is not usually found in high levels in the bloodstream. Some research suggests that when it is given directly through IV or injection, it may trigger an inflammatory response. This is because the body can see this unusual spike as a stress signal and respond by activating the immune system. 

Can Your Cells Absorb Pure NAD+?

Another problem that develops is tied to how NAD+ is a large molecule, coming in at over twice the molecular weight of NR and carrying two negatively charged phosphate groups. 

This is why NAD+ cannot easily enter most of our cells in its intact form. A specific transport channel is required for direct entry, and so far, this has only been identified in heart and brain cells. 

What the evidence does suggest is that after an NAD+ IV, much of the NAD+ is rapidly broken down into smaller precursors, such as NAM, NR and NMN, which can then be taken up by cells. However, a significant proportion is broken down and excreted. 

Importantly, current studies on NAD+ IV therapy have not shown a reliable or sustained increase in NAD+ levels inside cells, nor clear evidence that this translates into consistent, meaningful health benefits. 

When pure NAD+ struggles to cross the cell membrane, it can remain stuck in our blood and lead to our body needing to work hard to remove it. You could experience this process through some of the unpleasant side effects of NAD+ IV infusions and injections, such as abdominal cramps, chest tightness, light headedness, and nausea. 

The more NAD+ that is directly put into your body through the likes of injections and IV infusions, the harder your body will then have to work to either break it down or remove the waste.  

To date, there have also been no clinical trials on NAD+ injections. So, it remains unclear whether they are safe or effective at increasing NAD+ levels in the body. Based on what we do know from NAD+ IV studies, it is likely that injections would face similar biological limitations.

What's the Alternative to NAD+ Infusions and Injections?

Given the limitations we've covered, an important question is whether there's a more reliable way to support your cells' NAD+ production, without the cost, inconvenience, or uncertainty of repeat clinic visits.

This is where Nuchido TIME+ works differently. Rather than introducing NAD+ directly, our next-generation booster has been clinically proven to fix the root causes of NAD+ decline, restoring your body's natural ability to continuously recycle NAD+ as it's used up in the cell. Because it works with your existing salvage pathway rather than trying to bypass it, there's no large molecule to force across the cell membrane, and no waste product for your body to break down and clear.

Nuchido TIME+ has been studied in gold-standard human clinical trials, showing it's a safe, daily formula that restores NAD+ at the cellular level. These improvements have been linked to positive changes in key markers of cellular health, including inflammation, glycation, and biological age. What's particularly interesting is how these cellular changes translate more broadly, with people reporting improvements in everyday outcomes such as energy, sleep quality, and visible skin health.

If you're already receiving NAD+ infusions and want to understand how the two approaches can work together, our guide on how to enhance the effect of NAD+ infusions covers that in more detail.

Support your cellular health at the source by exploring Nuchido TIME+ today.

 

References:

  1. Hawkins, J., Idoine, R., Kwon, J., Shao, A., Dunne, E., Hawkins, E., ... & Nkrumah-Elie, Y. (2024). Randomized, placebo-controlled, pilot clinical study evaluating acute Niagen®+ IV and NAD+ IV in healthy adults. medRxiv, 2024-06.
  2. Grant, R., Berg, J., Mestayer, R., Braidy, N., Bennett, J., Broom, S., & Watson, J. (2019). A pilot study investigating changes in the human plasma and urine NAD+ metabolome during a 6 hour intravenous infusion of NAD+. Frontiers in aging neuroscience, 11, 257.
  3. Conlon, N., & Ford, D. (2022). A systems-approach to NAD+ restoration. Biochemical Pharmacology, 198, 114946.
  4. Henderson, J. D., Quigley, S. N., Chachra, S. S., Conlon, N., & Ford, D. (2024). The use of a systems approach to increase NAD+ in human participants. npj Aging, 10(1), 7.