Nicotinamide Riboside: Is It Worth Taking? by Jerry Brainum

 

 

According to health statistics, the so-called Baby Boomer generation, or those born between 1946 and 1964, is the first generation that is seriously concerned with staying young as long as possible. They have seen their parents and other relatives health decline with the passing years, with vigor and energy being qualities of the distant past. Even worse is the rising incidence of degenerative brain disease, especially Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease is projected to hit the Baby Boomer population especially hard, with millions subjected to this inevitably fatal disease. The Baby Boomers do not want to suffer this fate of physical and mental decline, so many are taking preemptive measures to forestall such a fate. These measures include an increased interest in exercise and nutrition, both of which are the best known way to slow the ageing rate. Indeed, medical studies of Masters athletes show that they are far younger than their chronological age.A fit person in their 70s shows some of the same physical attributes of healthy people in their 40s.

Besides exercise and nutrition, there are other alleged routes to staying young. A popular method involves hormonal therapy. Estrogen supplementation is thought to retain many of the vestiges of youth in women, such as smoother skin and more efficient brain power. A recent study presented at an endocrinology conference found that men who showed higher estrogen levels also showed extended telomeres. Telomeres are the "strings" on the end of chromosomes that get shorter every time a cell divides. Eventually, when the telomeres shorten enough, the cell stops dividing and goes into senescence. This is a primary cause of the aging process.  For men, the prime youth hormone is testosterone. And there is some truth to the youth-promoting effects of testosterone. These include a retention of muscle mass and a loss of excess body fat, especially in the midsection area. That alone will produce a more youthful appearance. Not to mention the considerable sexual benefits of testosterone, which include maintenance of a sagging libido that is common with age. But the men who will get the best results from testosterone replacement therapy are those who are actually deficient in the hormone. While statistics show that men have an average two percent drop in testosterone levels every year starting about age 40, not all men are deficient in the hormone. This explains why some men seem to get better results than others when they begin TRT.

Growth hormone is thought to be another route to a more youthful appearance. Much of this effect of GH is based on a highly publicized 1990 study conducted by Dr.Daniel Rudman and published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. You can read this article free here: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199007053230101    

The study involved . . .