NMNH Supplements: Benefits, Dosage, and More

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is a naturally occurring substance that plays a crucial role in many body functions, from energy production to DNA repair. As you get older, NAD+ levels decline and are believed to be a major contributor to the body’s aging process and the development of age-related health problems.

But what if you could take a supplement that would help your body produce more NAD+, potentially slowing down the aging process? Researchers have been working on developing a NAD+ boosting supplement. Reduced nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMNH) is one of the newest dietary supplements. Though in the very early stages of research and development, NMNH supplements show promise.

Learn about NMNH supplements and what the science says about their purported benefits.

What are NMNH supplements?

NMNH supplements are new anti-aging supplements available for sale at various online retailers. NMNH is reported to be a precursor of NAD+. So, it’s a substance that can be transformed into NAD+.

NAD+ is a coenzyme found in every cell in your body. It supports many vital processes, including energy metabolism, DNA repair, gene expression, and cell signaling. NAD+ is essential to life and the body uses many pathways for production to keep levels high. Some of these pathways use NAD+ precursors to produce the coenzyme, including nicotinamide riboside (NR), a form of niacin that researchers believe the body converts into nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) to make NAD+. NMNH is a reduced version of NMN.

It is hypothesized that as you get older, the breakdown of NAD+ outpaces the production of new NAD+. As previously mentioned, the change in NAD+ production is one of the factors that is believed to contribute to aging. Scientists have been working on developing supplemental precursors for NAD+ to combat the aging process, starting with NR and NMN.

NR is a form of niacin called vitamin B3 and a precursor for NAD+. Research shows that supplementing with NR increases NAD+ levels in the blood but not in other tissues like muscle. NMN administration research is also in the early stages but shows that the precursor is good at NAD+ boosting.

However, the FDA has banned the sale of NMN supplements in the United States, as NMN has been authorized by the FDA to be investigated as a new drug ingredient.

Emergence of NMNH supplements

Seeing the popularity of NR and NMN products in the market, supplement manufacturers started looking at other NAD+ precursors that could be legally sold as dietary supplements and may even have a more pronounced effect, such as NMNH. Little is known about NMNH, and scientists are still only hypothesizing about the reactions that produce the precursor in the body.

Preliminary findings suggest promise for NMNH supplement accessibility, including a process for producing mass quantities of the NAD+ precursor using a chemical method that produces dihydro nicotinamide mononucleotide, the reduced form of NMN. Researchers are hopeful that the innovative production of NMNH may help decrease the cost of supplementation.

Though in the early stages of research, supplement makers have caught wind of the potential benefits of NMNH and are selling NMNH supplements. Supplement makers note that NMNH is a new ingredient and is still under research but promote the product as the most effective supplement for NAD+ boosting.

What are the potential benefits of NMNH supplements?

Research on the potential benefits of NMNH supplements is limited. Currently, there are only two animal studies on NMNH supplementation. The results scientists find from animal studies might not be applicable to humans. Let’s take a look at what the research shows.

A 2020 study published in the Journal of Proteome Research found that NMNH administration increased NAD+ levels in mice. The researchers from this study also found that supplementing with NMNH reduced oxidative stress and subdued the breakdown of glucose into energy and cell growth. Changes in energy production and cell growth are some of the hallmarks of aging.

Another animal study published in 2021 in The FASEB Journal concluded that NMNH increased NAD+ production faster and in larger amounts than NR and NMN. Additionally, the researchers reported that NMNH uses a different pathway to produce NAD+ and spares the use of other NAD+ precursors. The study also noted that NMNH supplementation increased NAD+ levels in the blood and other tissues like muscle, brain, and heart.

Though results from these studies indicate NMNH supplements exhibit encouraging signs, it’s too early to say what type of therapeutic potential it may have in people. Any claims promoted by NMNH supplement makers aren’t based on complete science. This means the supplement may not work at all or have adverse effects. Consult with your doctor before taking any dietary supplements, especially ones still under investigation.

Potential side effects

Without human studies, there's no information about the safety of NMNH supplements, their potential side effects, contraindications for use, or specific situations, such as pregnancy, where the supplement may be unsafe.

Talk to your doctor before adding any dietary supplements to your daily routine. Though available over-the-counter (OTC), dietary supplements like NMNH contain active ingredients that can affect health and interact with other nutrients or medications.

In the United States, the introduction of a new dietary supplement ingredient that has not been previously part of the human diet requires a formal notification to the FDA. As NMNH is chemically different from NMN, it classifies this compound as a new dietary ingredient (NDI) that must be evaluated by the FDA in regard to the compound's safety and available evidence. However, at present, no NDI notification has been submitted for reduced NMN.

Additionally, dietary supplement products in the United States aren’t tested for safety or effectiveness by the FDA. The supplement maker must follow Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) to ensure their product is safe from contaminants and contains the ingredients listed on the label.

With only two studies and no human studies, it’s unclear how NMNH supplements may affect people, and consumers should proceed with extreme caution. Talking to your doctor can help you get personalized guidance for what may best help you.

How NMNH supplements work in the body

Researchers need to conduct human studies to understand how NMNH works in the body. Without the research, no one can answer this question.

One of the promising benefits of NMNH is that the supplement may work better than NMN and NR supplements. Early research on NMN administration in people suggests that it may help support healthy aging, boost physical activity in older adults, and improve blood vessel elasticity, potentially lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease. Research also suggests that NR is good at NAD+ boosting and may even have some effect on inhibiting viral replication like the COVID-19 virus.

Though there have been some human studies for NMN and NR, longer studies are needed to better understand how the NAD+ precursors work in the human body. Moreover, researchers can’t extrapolate the evidence of how NMN and NR supplements work in the body to predict how NMNH works. More research is needed all around.

Recommended dosage

Without human studies, there’s no recommended dosage for NMNH supplements. Based on the hypotheses raised looking at the few available animal studies, the dosage for NMNH may be lower than the dosages needed for NMN and NR supplements.

For NMN, there’s no set recommended dosage, but research has shown that doses ranging from 250 to 1,250 milligrams a day are safe for short periods of time. The same is true for NR. There’s no recommended dosage and studies show that dosages ranging from 100 to 1,000 milligrams in people are safe.

The NMNH supplements available for sale at retailers should provide information about dosage on the label. You may find NMNH supplements that provide 250 milligrams of dihydro nicotinamide mononucleotide in two capsules that you take once a day. For the record, the animal studies didn’t give NMNH in oral form, but as an injection, so a different administration method may also affect the dose needed to produce certain effects. Again, before taking NMNH supplements, consult your doctor.

How to take NMNH supplements

Since there haven’t been any human studies for NMNH supplements, there are no guidelines on when or how to take the dietary supplement. Your doctor can provide specific guidance based on their knowledge of your overall health and the most current research on NMNH supplements.

It’s not known whether you should take NMNH supplements with food, without food, or at a certain time of day. It’s also not known if you need to take NMNH separately from medications or other supplements.

More research, specifically clinical trials, is needed to establish these basic guidelines.

Should you use NMNH?

Supplement makers are quick to jump on the latest science and trends, pushing supplements with very little evidence to support claims. NMNH is such a supplement and a popular choice for individuals looking to slow down the aging process. Unfortunately, without human studies, it’s impossible to know how NMNH supplements work and what benefits, if any, they may offer.