Intermittent fasting (IF) involves going without food for periodic episodes. It is more of an eating pattern than a diet because it doesn’t involve changes to the amount or type of food that you eat - just when you eat it!
Studies have shown that NAD+ levels are heavily influenced by lifestyle, and in particular, behaviors that cause energy stress, like fasting. The science behind this is simple - when cells undergo a period of stress they make sure that efficient energy production is maintained and that cellular health and maintenance is turned up.
To do this, all cells have a ‘starvation sensor’ called AMPK. Fasting activates the AMPK pathway which leads to increased NAD+ levels in the cell.
This rise in NAD+ occurs via two mechanisms. First, AMPK boosts levels of a critical enzyme that makes and recycles NAD+ called NAMPT. Second, your body switches from burning carbohydrates to burning fat, which increases the NAD:NADH ratio.
Increased NAD+ then signals the activation of a critical survival protein called SIRT1. SIRT1 then activates multiple beneficial downstream processes to ensure the cell can survive the period of stress. Activation of SIRT1 has also been found to coordinate many of the health benefits of fasting, including activation of cellular maintenance, recycling and activation of longevity pathways.
As with all things in biology, results are better when you use a combination of different approaches.
After fasting your NAD+ levels will decrease upon re-feeding as the energy stress is reduced and AMPK becomes deactivated. This drop in NAD+ levels can be mitigated by using an NAD+ boosting supplement such as Nuchido TIME+. In other words, Nuchido TIME+ maintains high NAD+ levels in between periods of fasting to prolong SIRT1 activation and extend the cellular benefits of fasting.
If you practice intermittent fasting in combination with Nuchido TIME+ to boost NAD+ levels, we recommend you take your Nuchido TIME+ within your feeding window to avoid breaking your fast.