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NMN vs NR for NAD+ boosting, anyone actually notice a difference between them

Posted by student748 in Longevity & Anti-Aging - 6 points, 8 comments.

Been reading heaps about NAD+ precursors lately and honestly getting a bit lost in the weeds. For what it is worth i keep seeing people split into two camps, the NMN crowd and the NR crowd, and both seem pretty convinced theirs is better.

From what i can gather NMN is one step closer to NAD+ in the pathway but there is debate about whether it even gets into cells intact or has to get converted back to NR first at the membrane. Is that actually settled or is it still up in the air?

I'm keen to try one for general energy and recovery since i've been feeling a bit flat on long training weeks lately. Could just be overtraining tho, hard to separate variables. For what it is worth i'm not expecting miracles, just curious if anyone here has tried both and felt a real difference one way or the other.

Also wondering about dosing ranges people are using. Seen everything from 250mg to 1000mg daily thrown around and not sure what's reasonable to start with. Any input appreciated, still pretty new to all this stuff.

Comments

  • fasted_scientist: The cell transport question is still a bit of a mess tbh. There's some evidence for an NMN-specific transporter (Slc12a8) in the mouse gut, but whether that's meaningful in humans at normal oral doses is anyone's guess. Sinclair's lab pushed that finding but it's not exactly settled across the field. I tried NMN for a couple months at around 500mg and honestly didn't feel much. Could've been underdosing, could've been that my NAD levels weren't the bottleneck in the first place. Never tried NR
  • fasted_scientist: Ngl I’ve tried both over a few months each, keeping everything else as steady as I could. With NR at 300 mg a day I didn’t notice much change in energy or recovery, just the usual ups and downs from training load. Switching to NMN at the same dose I felt a slight edge in morning alertness on some weeks, but it was hard to tell if that was just better sleep or placebo. I’d start low, maybe 250 mg, see how you feel, and keep a simple log.
  • labrat_vik: Yeah the transporter data is still shaky, especially in humans. I ran 300 mg NMN for six weeks and felt no clear bump in energy or recovery, though my sleep seemed a tad deeper. Never tried NR so I can’t say which might work better for me.
  • sleep_coastal: Anecdotally I ran NR 250 mg for six weeks and felt nothing, then switched to NMN 250 mg and noticed a bit sharper focus in the mornings, but sleep quality varied so I couldn’t isolate it. Keeping a simple log helped me spot the trend.
  • student748: Cheers for that, super helpful. It's interesting you felt the focus shift on nmn because that's exactly what i'm looking for when i'm flat. Yeah nah, the sleep thing is a worry though since i can't afford to mess up my recovery. For what it is worth i might start at 250mg too and keep a log like you did. Did you take it on an empty stomach or with food?
  • student748: Chur for that, really helpful actually. The deeper sleep thing is interesting, i've seen a couple people mention that separately from the energy effects. Makes me wonder if the NAD+ impact shows up in sleep quality before it shows up in daytime energy. Did you notice the sleep change pretty quick like first week or did it take a while to kick in? Keen to figure out if there's a pattern there before i pick one to try.
  • student748: Here's a thought: the dosing question is huge for me because when I first started NR, I went straight to 1000mg, total overkill, probably why I felt nothing. Now I'm cycling 250mg on weeks, 125mg off, and the difference in how I feel on long run weeks is night and day compared to when I was on the high dose constantly. Also, I've been stacking it with my morning coffee and a handful of walnuts, and I swear the combination seems to smooth out the energy crash usually hit around mile 18-20. But I
  • student748: Chur that's exactly the kind of clarity i was after, the Slc12a8 thing is what kept popping up and i wasn't sure if it was settled or just Sinclair's lab pushing it. Good to know it's still messy. For what it is worth your 500mg experience is helpful, makes me think i should look at whether NAD is even my bottleneck before spending money on either. Did you ever get bloodwork done or just go off feel?

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