What each pill ingredient changes
NMN and NR raise blood NAD+ without proving which helps you
A day that leaves you worn out can make pill labels seem promising. NMN and NR are different ingredients, and research hasn't settled which would help your health.
NMN takes fewer changes to become NAD+, rather than working faster
Pills offered for tiredness may contain either NMN or NR, both related to B vitamins. Your body can change either ingredient into NAD+, but neither pill supplies NAD+ itself.
Inside cells, NR must first change into NMN before becoming NAD+. NMN needs one fewer change to reach that form.
Does one fewer change mean the pill works faster? No; fewer changes inside cells don't prove that you feel a benefit sooner.
Trials checked unwanted effects as well as blood NAD+ after giving these ingredients to people or animals. The findings haven't chosen which pill, if any, fits your health.
Blood NAD+ rose further with higher amounts; wider benefit stayed unproved
Blood NAD+ rose by 22% after eight weeks with NR at 100 milligrams daily [4]. The increases were 51% with 300 milligrams daily and 142% with 1000 milligrams daily.
The people had no hot, red skin from NR, and their “bad” cholesterol didn't rise. An NMN trial also found larger blood increases with higher amounts on days 30 and 60 [3].
The NMN authors judged 600 milligrams daily best after considering walking distance and blood results. Their choice concerned that trial; the authors hadn't checked your health or chosen treatment for you.
A review describes NR becoming NMN inside cells before the cells produce NAD+ [5]. NMN therefore needs fewer changes, though cells still have to turn NMN into NAD+ [5].
Researchers remain unsure how the ingredients get into cells and how long the blood changes last. No direct comparison here establishes which pill improves health more or helps you walk farther [13].
NAD+ vs NMN: swallowed NAD+ breaks down before reaching cells
Your body breaks NAD+ into smaller parts after you swallow the substance [6]. Very little reaches cells still in the NAD+ form.
A cell's membrane, its thin outer covering, controls which substances can enter. NAD+ doesn't pass easily through that covering because of its size and electric charge.
NMN gives cells starting material for fresh NAD+, rather than supplying ready-made NAD+. The cells must change NMN before using the resulting NAD+ [5].
The pill trials that found higher blood NAD+ gave NMN or NR [3][4]. You can't apply their findings to a pill filled with NAD+ itself.
Drips put NAD+ straight into a vein, where much breaks apart before getting into cells. The injection findings leave open whether direct delivery into your blood brings better health.
NR and NMN blood results do not apply to NAD+ pills
Little NAD+ from a swallowed pill enters cells before breaking into smaller parts [6]. An eight-week NR trial instead showed a blood NAD+ rise of up to 142% with 1000 milligrams daily [4].
Higher NMN amounts caused larger blood rises during 60 days of treatment [3]. Those blood changes alone haven't established that your health would improve [13].