Research shows NMN helps improve muscle recovery and strength
We all know that frequent exercise builds muscles and can help to slow down muscle fatigue, but you might not know how bad aging can be for your muscles. Age-related tissue loss, which is also known as sarcopenia, induces our muscles to start shrivelling, meaning they become more fragile with age.
While this is worrying, and you might be seeing your retirement dream of a round of golf every day slipping away, research shows that there is a way to counter this debilitating decline. NMN supplementation benefits muscle development and healing by enhancing the supply of blood and nutrients to your muscles [1], and improving muscle strength and performance [2].
We’ll take a look at some of the reasons NMN supplementation is so effective and find out more about Elevant, one of the leading NMN brands available.
NMN and NAD+
So, what exactly is NMN? Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) is a molecule that is a precursor to another molecule, a coenzyme called NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide). The key thing to remember is that NAD+ is found in all living organisms and is vital for life, playing a key role in DNA expression, making proteins and other functional products for survival. NAD+ is also the primary electron shuttle between the Krebs cycle (how we make energy) and the electron transport chain [3].
The human body has natural levels of NAD+, but this amount decreases significantly as we age. This can lead to adverse outcomes like reduced insulin sensitivity, dysfunctional or damaged mitochondria and susceptibility to aging-related diseases.
As well as helping you to avoid muscular decline and diminished physical strength [4], NMN is regarded as a critical element in increasing NAD+ levels in cells [5].
Its benefits don’t end there, however! NMN has been shown to [6]:
- Amplify insulin sensitivity and eye function
- Enhance mitochondrial metabolism and contain age-linked changes in gene expression
- Improve energy metabolism and physical activity
- Suppress age-related weight gain
NMN supplementation for improving muscle recovery and strength
What does scientific research tell us about supplementing with NMN? Extensive studies reveal that onboarding the precursor molecule, NMN, elevates NAD+ levels. Age-related NAD+ level declines have been linked to cardiovascular, metabolic diseases and neurodegenerative and lowered muscle function, which lab research has shown NMN supplementation relieves.
But humans don’t exist in a lab setting – what real-world relevant research is there?
Looking at the human angle
Toshimasa Yamauchi and colleagues from the University of Tokyo conducted a study that treated men over 65 with 250 mg daily of NMN, which significantly improved their muscle performance and increased their NAD+ levels [7]. The study found that NMN improved some performance indicators and muscle strength (walking speed, grip strength and the number of instances the participants could stand up from a chair within 30 seconds). These are tests that absolutely relevant to the challenges brought about by aging and adds to science’s conclusion that NMN can enhance muscle strength and performance in individuals because of its NAD+ level-boosting properties.
Over the past decade, a lab studies has seen the beneficial effects of NMN on exercise performance, healthy aging and improved longevity. For instance, NMN supplementation boosts energy production, increases physical endurance by over 50 per cent and supports various physiological characteristics like insulin sensitivity and neuron function [8].
Likewise, some recent studies provide evidence that these beneficial effects occur in humans – with NMN improving muscle function in men over 60 and insulin sensitivity in prediabetic menopausal women.
NMN is your workout’s secret weapon
To discover whether healthy, middle-aged people can gain similar benefits from NMN, Guangzhou Sport University runners who supplemented with 300, 600, or 1200 mg of NMN power a day over the course of six weeks. During this period, these three dosage groups trained five to six times per week for 40-60 minutes and underwent heart and lung (cardiopulmonary) exercise testing.
The endurance exercise testing showed that the body’s ability to absorb oxygen and deliver it to tissues greatly improved with 600 and 1200 mg daily dosages. The researchers also looked into the effect of NMN on aerobic power – the muscles’ ability to use oxygen from the lungs and heart for energy production – and they discovered the aerobic power improved at these doses compared with runners who didn’t take NMN.
In addition, the ventilatory threshold, which is the point where the breathing rate increases faster than oxygen absorption, markedly improved at 600 and 1200 mg/day doses with training. These findings show that taking NMN in addition to exercising can improve the body’s oxygen utilisation capabilities, especially at higher doses.
Elevant Prime and Elevant Optima
Choosing an NMN supplement can be overwhelming – enter Elevant Prime and Elevant Optima.
Elevant has been performing extensive research and investment into NMN supplements over the last few years, research will has resulting in a distinctive and highly-pure form of NMN, called NMN-C. Undistinguishable from natural NMN, NMN-C is pharma grade NMN; it is ultra-pure, highly stable and has shown to be more tolerable than other molecules that boost NAD+.
The C is there to represent the sophisticated series of processes, like no other, that Elevant has developed to guarantee an extremely high degree of quality, purity and standardisation to strict pharmaceutical-grade requirements. NMN-C is manufactured in cGMP-certified facilities in Europe in accordance with stringent US FDA regulatory guidelines, and every batch is tested for purity [9].
Elevant is available as Prime and Optima, two supplements which have been optimized to slow down the aging processes and keep you energised daily by targeting complementary routes of absorption: a direct uptake through sublingual sensor and a deeper one targeting cells where it is needed the most.
Elevant recommends taking NMN-C as a daily routine:
- Take Prime supplements in the morning for long-term action at a deeper level.
- Take chewable Optima in the afternoon to boost energy and focus for the rest of the day (this chewable form enables the NMN to go through sub-lingual sensors and be absorbed faster.)
Combined, results are duplicated. It supports your body and mind for increased energy level, enhanced endurance, and sharper mind.
NMN is proving to be a safe, effective and fast-acting solution to improving health, right down to the cellular level of cells – while cells might be microscopic, keeping them healthy is a major part of keeping you healthy and energised.
And while you might not be aware of NMN benefitting your cells, you should see the effects when you exercise, as your aerobic capacity should increase, allowing you to work harder. Integrated with training, supplementing with NMN may improve performance and muscle recovery through stimulation of signalling pathways and maintenance of blood flow.
[1] https://www.myinvity.com/blogs/invity-connect/can-nmn-improve-my-training-and-muscle-recovery
[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41514-022-00084-z
[3] https://www.thehealingsole.com/blogs/news/how-nmn-improves-muscle-recovery-strength
[4] https://www.prohealthlongevity.com/blogs/control-how-you-age/maintaining-mighty-muscles-clinical-study-finds-nmn-boosts-muscle-strength-and-performance-in-older-men
[5] https://nad.com/what-is-nad
[6] https://bit.ly/3ceOXBR
[7] https://assets.researchsquare.com/files/rs-455083/v1_covered.pdf
[8] https://www.nmn.com/nmn-benefits-side-effects-dosage
[9] https://elevant.co/blogs/news/the-science-behind-elevant