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Don’t take NMN; 5 things to consider

Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN) is an exciting molecule that promises exceptional results

things to consider

Really, don’t take NMN until you have read this. Before I started to take NMN as a daily supplement I did a great deal of research and there were some important questions and concerns that kept coming up, things I had ponder and ultimately make a decision on; would I or would I not start to take NMN to boost my NAD levels.

In this article I will share with you those keys areas and if you are considering taking NMN I hope that they help.

clinical trials

don't take NMN until there are more clinical trials.

To date (17 November 2020), only clinical trials with mice have produced substantiated results on the efficacy of Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN), should this be a reason to say don’t take NMN?.  Should we trust the results from mice, if so why?

  • 95% of all Lab animals are mice and rats, according to the Foundation for Biomedical Research (FBR).
  • They are used mainly because they have a short lifespan – two to three years, so several generations of mice can be observed in a relatively short period of time
  • Mice used in medical trials are inbred so that, other than gender, they are almost genetically identical
  • Their genetic and biological characteristics closely resemble those of humans, and many symptoms of human conditions can be replicated in mice

At the time of writing this article data from only one human clinical trial into the safety of NMN has been published, maybe another reason to say don’t take NMN?

don't take NMN

Human trails with regard to efficacy are still on-going; so no results have been published yet. 

So, do you want to take a supplement that, at present, has only been successful during animal trials, or will you wait for the human trails to conclude?

recommended daily dose?

don't take NMN until there is a set dose

Although NMN is commercially available, there is no official Recommended Daily Allowance (this is a real concern and could be a reason to say don’t take NMN?), however there are numerous protocols listed by companies on their packaging stating how much to take and how many times to take it during the day, bear in mind that at present all of these companies are guessing!

No official protocols have yet been established i.e. before food, with food, after food, on an empty stomach, in the morning, just before bed etc.  So, we are still at the ‘suck it and see’ stage, as David Sinclair has said, with regard to humans and NMN we are all guessing.

David Sinclair has explained that he takes one gram of NMN a day in the morning with his coffee. In a show with Joe Rogan, Rhonda Patrick (1:47:20) shared a formula from an NMN clinical trial (unfortunately she didn’t discuss which trial) of 24 mg of NMN per kilo of body weight.

If David Sinclair follows this formula it would make him 42 kilos, anecdotal comments on my YouTube channel put him at around 62 kilos, using Rhonda Patrick’s formula he should be on approximately 1.5 grams a day, why the disparity? With these conflicting dosing protocols, could this be another reason to say don’t take NMN?

cost

don't take NMN until the cost comes down

The cost of NMN varies vastly depending on the type (powder or capsules) and the seller.  Since I started to take NMN prices have come down significantly, but it is still relatively expensive, the average cost of NMN powder is between $2 and $5.  If you consider buying your NMN from DoNotAge.org, at the checkout use the Discount Code Code ‘MYNMN’ for a 10% discount on all your purchases.

You may want to consider independent third party testing of your NMN, some people prefer to do this, especially if they buy direct from a supplier such as Alibaba.

This extra expense could be a reason to say don’t take NMN as it could cost you anywhere between $300 to $500 per batch to test for purity and heavy metals.  If you are considering buying NMN, please ensure that the company you use does have independent third party test certificates and that they test for heavy metals.

don't take NMN until you know the heavy metal count

Most reputable, trustworthy suppliers will provide you with a third party Certificate of Analysis/Assay (COA), if they can’t/won’t provide you with these certificates it may be advisable to seek out another supplier.

As the benefits and side-effects of Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN) have not yet been officially established in humans, you may wish to consider having medical tests completed so you can monitor any markers you think may be important; biological age test, muscle mass or wastage, body fat percentage, liver and kidney functions etc.  

The cost of NMN continues to fall, will you wait for human efficacy trails to be completed before you start to supplement? With all these high costs, could this be a reason to say don’t take NMN until the cost comes down?

quality and grade

don't take NMN until there is an official standard

There are no grades of NMN; there is only one compound and that is NMN.  NMN suppliers who try to set themselves apart from the competition by using tags or labels such as Pure NMN, or Ultra-pure NMN, Elevated NMN or most bio-available NMN are misleading you somewhat.

NMN is NMN, the only thing you should consider paying more for is the purity level, even then what is the difference in efficacy for humans between 95% purity and 99.5% purity, nobody knows and nobody will know until countless human efficacy trials have been conducted and the results posted.  Don’t be lured in by false claims and advertising gimmicks! There are no official standards yest for NMN; yet another reason to say don’t take NMN?

oral or sublingual administration

don't take NMN until there is an optimal method of administration

What is the difference between oral and sublingual administration? Two simple definitions are:

  • Oral administration is a route of administration where a substance is taken through the mouth and swallowed; this can be in tablet form or mixed with a liquid
  • Sublingual administration is where a tablet or powder is placed under the tongue and allowed to dissolve

There are conflicting views on the best form of application, one study recommends sublingual administration, while David Sinclair, and his mice during the clinical study took their NMN orally. 

Some companies have tried to cut out a niche in the market by only selling sublingual products and casting aspersions on all oral applications, again until a significant number of human clinical trials have been conducted and the results published, nobody really knows!

If we still don’t know th correct way to take NMN, could this be yet another reason to say don’t take NMN, at last util we know how to take it?

buying in bulk

don't take NMN in small quantities

You may wish to consider reducing the cost of your NMN by buying in bulk directly from a seller such as Alibaba or Uthever. The minimum bulk order is usually around 1 kilo, so to prevent wastage as NMN is considered to have a shelf life of two years, you may wish to consider buying as part of a collective.  The joint purchase option also allows for the cost of independent third party testing to be shared.

Unfortunately, I had to close comments on the Blog because of spammers, more than fifty a day! If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section of this video: https://bit.ly/35fKVCS

conclusion

Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN) is an exciting molecule that promises exceptional results, however at the time of writing this article only one NMN safety trial has been conducted.  NMN efficacy trails are still ongoing, even when complete the experts say that to be sure, many long-term efficacy trials will need to be completed before any definite advantages of NMN can be officially published.

This time delay may be too long for some people to wait, so many people, myself included, have taken the plunge and have started to supplement with NMN on the basis of one human safety trail. Is time on your side, or will you take ‘the bull by the horns’ on the strength of one safety trial and a number of mouse studies?

So, to those that say ‘don’t take NMN’, I say ‘to each their own’, if you have time on your side, then yes wait, but time marches on and some of us don’t have the luxury of time.