NAD Stimulates production of dopamine, serotonin, and noradrenaline, thereby improving moods
I want to introduce this discussion with an illustration “proper functionality of your car”. For your car to serve you well, it will need to be fueled, well lubricated and mechanically checked from time to time. When these are not done you will not get the best from your car and instead it may become disastrous to you. NAD is like these elements the car need to function well. Your body will not function well without NAD and so what is this great element that the body needs so much and how does it function in the body? Keep reading and find out.
NAD stands for Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, which is the chemical term for a molecule that reacts with oxygen in the mitochondria in every cell of your body in order to create energy so you can function properly and move, breathe, pump blood, digest food, think, and generally, live your life. The absence of this essential cellular fuel is now recognized as a key feature of chronic fatigue, apathy, depression, anxiety, alcohol and drug addiction, weak immune system (infections and cancer), muscle pain and weakness, headaches, memory disturbance, sleep problems, focus and concentration defects and other chronic diseases. NAD deficiency may be an unrecognized epidemic of cellular disease.
Nevertheless friends, we may not understand the importance of NAD in our body until we identify its key roles in the body. To help us get the facts right let us look at some of the functions of NAD in the body which include:
- Increases energy in brain cells
- Stimulates production of dopamine, serotonin, and noradrenaline, thereby improving moods
- Increases energy in heart cells
- Protects and repairs DNA, reducing DNA mutations which contribute to atherosclerosis, cancer, immunodeficiency, rheumatoid arthritis, and much more
- Lowers cholesterol
- Lowers blood pressure
- Strengthens the immune system
- Stimulates nitric oxide production, thereby improving blood flow in the body
Medical research has shown that NAD therapy has positive effect to several medical conditions. The following are some of the medical conditions that improve greatly as a result of this therapy:
- Chronic fatigue
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Alcohol and drug addiction
- Sleep disturbance
- Memory loss (forgetfulness)
- Attention deficit
- Diabetes
- Muscle pain and weakness
- Joint pain and stiffness
- Headaches
- Fevers, sore throats and swollen lymph glands
- Parkinson’s disease
- Cancer
Research has also shown that NAD does not only benefits persons with medical condition but can also provide the following benefits to healthy people:
- Increased physical energy
- Improved mental performance
- Improved response to short term sleep deprivation
- Reduce the effects of jet lag
- Enhance libido
- Anti-aging
Since NAD is so fundamental to good health, how is it that we can become deficient in this powerful molecule? First of all, the vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates, proteins and fats come from our diet and provide the building blocks to citric acid cycle energy production. If either of the nutritional factors is low, energy production is weakened. Since oxygen is just as important as hydrogen in cellular energetics, lack of exercise and shallow breathing due to stress are common factors that can reduce the amount of oxygen at the cell level. And finally the enzymes that catalyze the citric acid cycle are often inhibited or destroyed by chemical or physical toxins that create oxidative, or free radical, damage.
Free radical damage comes from cigarette smoke, drugs, radio waves from cell phones and Wi-Fi, and the myriad chemicals found in all humans at this time on earth, including phalates, parabens, pesticides, styrene, benzene, toluene, and thousands more. For example, medical scientists now widely believe that Alzheimer’s dementia and Parkinson’s disease share the common feature of nerve cell degeneration due to impairment of the ATP producing enzymes with the citric acid cycle and mitochondria.
Genetic NAD deficiency may be present at birth and appear in children as poor sleeping, behavioral problems, hyperactivity, impaired concentration, academic stress and underachievement. Some people have been tired and depressed for as long as they can remember. For these people there is a greater tendency to try drugs and alcohol in order to improve energy and mood, and simply feel better, but the risk for addiction is high.
A word of caution is necessary as we discuss genetics and addiction, or, any other disease. Inherited variations in genes do not invariably lead to disease. Lifestyle and mind style factors often override, so to speak, a genetic tendency. Basically the DNA is the hardware in the computer and the epigenome is the software, which is influenced by our lifestyle and the choices we make in our lives. The epigenome responds to our thoughts, emotions, beliefs and overall stress levels, as well as our diet, exercise levels and other features of our daily lives. Basically, the genes put the bullet in the gun, but it is our lifestyle and mind style that pulls the trigger.
NAD deficiency
There may be a genetic polymorphism that reduces a gene coding for a mitochondrial protein which regulates NAD production. Since mitochondrial DNA is all received from the mother through the egg (no mitochondria are found in sperm) we can look to the maternal side for clues to energy production in the family history.
Since the primary neurotransmitter of the reward pathway is dopamine, genes for dopamine synthesis, degradation, receptors, and transporters are indicators for further consideration. Also, serotonin, norepinephrine, GABA, opioid, and cannabinoid neurons all modify dopamine metabolism and dopamine neurons. Therefore, defects in various combinations of the genes for these neurotransmitters may result in a Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS).
Finally I will not be doing you any form of justice if I don’t let you know of experts you can make further enquiries from. Matters of health are not just about reading and understanding what you have read from books, internet or articles like this one. Every one of us will need a professional touch for effectiveness and that is ware doctor Dalal Akoury comes in. she is an expert in chronic problems, addiction and obesity. A visit at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under Doctor Akoury’s care will be all you need to regain your life completely.
