For example, when I searched the internet, Meiji Pharmaceutical’s NMN happened to come up as a popular product, and it costs 45,500 yen for 60 tablets containing a total of 6g of NMN. The instructions say to take 600mg of NMN per day. NMN is taken into cells and converted to NAD+ by the NAMPT enzyme. Proteins called histones wrap around DNA in the nucleus and control the expression of various proteins. Sirtuin 1 deacetylates proteins such as histones and regulates their function, and NAD+ is the recipient of the acetyl group removed by the coenzyme required at this time.

Now, at first glance, it seems that buying and taking very expensive NMN will be good for your health, but a big question arises. The synthesized amount of ATP, which is the source of energy (calories) per day for a person weighing 60 kg, is 120 moles, which is 60 kg, which is the same as the body weight. ATP is metabolized to produce the energy (calories) that humans need. At this time, carbohydrates, such as sugar glucose, are used to synthesize ATP, which is necessary for humans, by ingesting and metabolizing 600 g per day, and at that time, 33.3 moles, 22 kg of NAD+ have no anti-aging effects. It will decompose and disappear. This is equivalent to 11 kg of NMN decomposing and disappearing in one day.

I don’t understand the point of buying NMN that costs 45,500 yen and taking only 600 mg of NMN a day when NAD+, which is equivalent to 11 kg of NMN, decomposes and disappears without any effect. It has been shown to be effective in experiments when administered to mice, but the dose is equivalent to several tens to hundreds of grams per day for humans.

If you really want to increase your NAD+ levels, losing weight is the most effective way to increase your NAD+ levels. If the main component of fat is the fatty acid, palmitic acid, metabolizing 1 mole of palmitic acid will generate 106 moles of ATP and consume 7 moles of NAD+. If palmitic acid covers the daily ATP production (calories), NAD+ equivalent to 2.6 kg of NMN will be consumed. If you take glucose, a typical sugar, to cover the daily ATP production (calories), NAD+ equivalent to 11 kg of NMN will be consumed, compared to taking palmitic acid (fatty acid). This means that more than  NAD+, which corresponds to 8 kg of NMN, will be decomposed and disappeared. In other words, weight loss and a ketogenic diet that avoids carbohydrates and consumes fat are by far the best way to increase NAD+.

I would like to hear counterarguments from companies and academics who recommend NMN intake.