Can You Test NAD Levels?
Part of past issues with NAD is there wasn’t an easy, reproducible way to measure NAD levels, so it was hard to know what “normal” was for age, gender, BMI, etc. and whether treatments are actually resulting in trackable change. This is new science and rapidly evolving. You will see the dates on the studies I cite, which are current studies.
This is a study looking at dried blood sampling as the method of testing NAD levels. This is a study out of Analytical Biochemical Chemistry, published in 2023: “Stabilization and quantitative measurement of NAD in human whole blood using dried blood spot sampling.”
In the study, they discuss how NAD levels are being touted in the anti-aging space, but there haven’t been many human studies conducted to document the link between aging and aging-related diseases. NAD+ and its precursors are unstable in blood and difficult to measure. We need to be able to measure NAD to figure out levels, normals, and changes with treatment.
They developed the dried blood spot sampling method and showed with as little as 5 μL of blood, they can measure NAD levels. Dried blood spot sampling could be implemented in clinics and at home. They hope this will become the gold standard for NAD+ measurement in blood, and accelerate the research on NAD supplementation and improvement in aging and disease.
Why dried blood spot sampling? In this, you spot blood on a special filter paper and then dry, extract, and quantify the substance concentration.
- It is simple.
- It does not require you to separate plasma from blood.
- It can be done with smaller volume than conventional blood tests.
- It can be easily transported.
- It is already used for newborn mass screening, SARS-CoV antibodies, and other tests.
What did they find?
- The calibration standards of NAD+ showed good linearity (0.9936 to 0.9990) in the range of 0.25 to 200 μM
- The lower limit of quantification was 0.5 – 2 μM
- The best dried blood sample card was DMPK-B. Why? It can be stored with stability, and the extraction buffer is stable during storage.
- It maintained NAD+ stability of 85% or more for at least 2 weeks at 4 °C and one week at room temperature.
Can you do it now?
Yes. We are offering NAD level testing at Biohackr Health. We recommend you do a test before you start supplementing with NAD, whether that involves IV or oral forms. Our NAD program employs both. You then test again after 1-2 months of supplementing.
We do think, like most things, there is “too low” and “too high,” so monitoring your level will help bring science to your individual program and help us figure out what your ideal dosing and type of supplement is.
