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In the quest to better understand the aging process and potentially slow its relentless march, groundbreaking research by Dr. David Sinclair of Harvard Medical School offers a ray of hope. This article dives into Dr. Sinclair’s intriguing findings on how to restore aged blood vessels with NMN. We explore NMN’s potential role in revitalizing our blood vessels, improving endurance, and perhaps, holding the key to healthier aging.
Of Mice, NMN, and The Vascular Theory of Aging
In a video on the Harvard Medical School site, Dr. David Sinclair explains the effect of NMN on blood vessel regeneration in his research on mice. As we get older, one of the biggest changes that happen in our bodies is that the number of special cells, called endothelial cells that line the inside of our blood vessels, starts to drop. Also, the ones we do have don’t work as well as they used to.
These endothelial cells are super important because they keep our organs and tissues healthy. They do this by making sure we have tiny blood vessels in all the right places. These tiny blood vessels deliver oxygen and nutrients, help control body temperature, and carry away waste products.
The Vascular Theory of Aging
Now, according to a theory called the Vascular Theory of Aging, when these endothelial cells start to fail, it can cause a lot of the problems we usually associate with getting older and can lead to diseases common in old age. In other words, the theory suggests that our blood vessels’ health is a major player in how we age and the diseases we could develop as we get older.
Exercise is currently the best thing we have to slow down the aging effects on these tiny vessels by encouraging the growth of new ones. But, it’s a bit of a mystery why our bodies start to respond less to exercise as we age.
Our muscles are a good place to study this issue because they’re heavily affected by the aging process. As we age, our muscle cells die off more, the growth of new vessels slows down, and there’s an overall loss of blood vessels. This leads to loss of muscle mass and strength and a decrease in stamina in the later years of life, even if we exercise.
A crucial role in maintaining our health is played by an enzyme in our cells called SIRT1. SIRT1 needs NAD+ to function and is particularly important in our muscles where it helps create new blood vessels. As we age, the activity of SIRT1 may decrease, leading to a reduction in blood flow and stamina.
It Works In Mice–Endurance Up By 56-80%
Sinclair’s study shows that by boosting SIRT1 activity using NMN, we can reverse these aging effects, increase the density of tiny blood vessels in our muscles, and improve exercise ability.
Specifically, NMN treatment managed to bring the number of tiny blood vessels and their density in old mice back to levels usually seen in young mice. It also significantly improved blood flow at rest and oxygen levels in the muscle of treated mice compared to the control group. NMN supplementation noticeably increased oxygen consumption in the mice when they were at rest in their cages, but the most significant effect was a whopping 56–80% improvement in endurance, with lower levels of lactic acid after strenuous exercise after exercise. [PMC5884172]
Where Can We Get Some Of This Stuff!?
Although there may be some NMN in various foods, it is tiny compared to the doses used in research studies. And what you can get through food is Vitamin B3 in the form of nicotinamide or nicotinic acid. These forms are nowhere near as effective at raising NAD+ levels as NMN.
First, don’t even think about Amazon for supplements: Read this to see some of the reasons it’s just not a trustworthy place to send our patients for supplements. And, fully acknowledging my own bias, the untrustworthy nature of the entire supplement space with all its half-truths and profit-driven marketing was the whole reason why Supplement-Sciences.com was created as a resource for dietitians and our patients in the first place within the larger context of The NutriScape Project.
But getting back to the specifics of buying NMN supplements on Amazon… ProHealth Longevity (a seller of NMN) published an article in which they discuss their (2020-2021) investigation into adulterated and counterfeit NMN products sold on Amazon.
Their research found that more than half of the NMN products tested contained no NMN at all. Others had less than 80% purity. Some suppliers were selling low-cost vitamin B3 as NMN. Many of these products had fake Certificates of Authenticity and other documentation. Consumer Lab and other parties have now reported similar findings.
Consumer Lab tested the 21 NMN brands with the highest market share on Amazon and found that only three of the brands contained their claimed amounts of NMN. Consumer Lab notes that many of the products that contained virtually no NMN had hundreds or thousands of positive reviews on Amazon. This naturally raises questions about how those reviews were obtained.
The Distinct Flavor That Tells You It Is Real NMN
For trustworthy sources for NMN, check out NMN on Supplement-Sciences.com. Real NMN tastes a little like burnt popcorn and there are only a few suppliers you should trust. This distinct flavor is how I know that I was personally cheated out of about $45 for a bottle of NMN I bought on Amazon… The fake product felt like caffeine and was lemon-flavored and nothing like the flavor of NMN that I am now familiar with. But with such massive potential profits on such an under-regulated platform, who could really expect counterfeiters not to take advantage?
To Sum It Up
Dr. Sinclair’s research points to potential interventions that could slow or even reverse age-related decline. While the complexities of aging are vast, the importance of endothelial health and its relationship to our overall well-being can’t be overlooked. The findings of Sinclair’s study underscore the promising potential of compounds like NMN in boosting the activity of SIRT1, a crucial enzyme in our cells, and promoting the health of our blood vessels. As we continue to unlock the mysteries of aging, NMN emerges as a promising ally in this journey. While there is still much to discover and verify through larger clinical trials, the prospect of enhancing endurance and mitigating the effects of aging through interventions such as NMN supplementation is genuinely exciting. The future of aging research looks brighter than ever, and we are one step closer to transforming the way we age.
