NAD⁺ is the molecule at the heart of how we age.
Nearly every biological process involved in aging; energy production, DNA repair, cellular communication, depends on one molecule: nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, or NAD⁺ for short. It's found in every cell in your body. And it declines as you get older.
NAD⁺ plays a central role in three of the most fundamental processes in the body.
Why NAD⁺ declines
Your NAD⁺ levels peak in your twenties. From your thirties onward they begin to fall, slowly, but steadily. By middle age, they're typically around half of what they were in youth, and lower still as the years go on.
There are several reasons for this. The enzyme CD38 actively breaks NAD⁺ down, and its activity rises with age. At the same time, the body becomes less efficient at producing the precursors NAD⁺ is built from. Stress, poor sleep and a Western diet all speed the decline.
What you can do about it
Taking NAD⁺ itself doesn't work: the molecule is too large to pass intact through the gut wall. What does work are its direct precursors: smaller molecules the body quickly converts into NAD⁺. The most effective and best-documented of these is Nicotinamide Riboside (NR).
But topping up isn't enough on its own. CD38 keeps breaking NAD⁺ down, even while you supplement. Apigenin, a natural flavonoid, inhibits CD38 directly and less breakdown means the NAD⁺ you replenish actually stays available to your cells.
That's why Niata uses NR as the foundation of the Day Formula, to replenish during the day, and Apigenin in the Night Formula, to slow the breakdown at night so the system keeps working while you sleep.
Source: Camacho-Pereira et al., Cell Metabolism, 2016 · Martens et al., Cell Metabolism, 2018
The science behind NAD⁺
NAD⁺ is essential for cellular energy, DNA repair, and healthy aging. As natural levels decline with age, your cells become less efficient. Niata's Day Formula is designed to support healthy NAD⁺ levels with science-backed ingredients, helping you maintain energy, resilience, and long-term cellular health.
What the science says
NAD⁺ is one of the fastest-growing areas in longevity research. Over the past decade, hundreds of studies have been published: from early work in cell models to clinical trials in people. The findings are promising, but we'll be honest: not all of it has been proven in large, long-term human studies yet.
What is consistently confirmed is this: NAD⁺ levels fall with age, NR raises them effectively, and higher NAD⁺ levels are linked to better mitochondrial function and DNA-repair capacity. That's the foundation Niata is built on.
Further reading
Martens et al. — Cell Metabolism, 2018
Chronic nicotinamide riboside supplementation is well-tolerated and elevates NAD⁺ in healthy middle-aged and older adults.
Yoshino et al. — Cell Metabolism, 2018
NAD⁺ intermediates: the biology and therapeutic potential of NMN and NR.
Bonkowski & Sinclair — Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, 2016
Slowing ageing by design: the rise of NAD⁺ and sirtuin-activating compounds.
Camacho-Pereira et al. — Cell Metabolism, 2016
CD38 dictates age-related NAD decline and mitochondrial dysfunction through an SIRT3-dependent mechanism.
Escande et al. — Diabetes, 2013
Flavonoid apigenin is an inhibitor of the NAD⁺ase CD38.