How Nicotinamide Riboside (NR) Is Linked to Increased NAD Levels and Healthy Aging
Niagen Bioscience CEO Rob Fried explains nicotinamide riboside (NR), Tru Niagen, and new at-home injections, IVs, and NAD+ formats.
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Most people don’t notice it right away. The workouts get a little harder to recover from, the afternoon slump hits earlier than it used to, and at some point you start doing the math on how many hours of sleep you got like it actually explains something. It usually doesn’t, or at least not fully.
“Aging means different things to different people,” Rob Fried, CEO of Niagen Bioscience, tells LA Times Studios in an exclusive interview for the April 2026 Business magazine. “But the common theme that you see most often is energy.” For Fried, that shift isn’t a lifestyle problem. It’s a cellular one and it points directly to a molecule called NAD, and the compound his company has spent over a decade researching: nicotinamide riboside, or NR.
What Is NAD?
NAD, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, is a molecule that, according to published research, is identified as essential to core metabolic functions in cells. It’s not a supplement or a drug. It’s something your body already makes and already depends on at the cellular level. “NAD is vital for all key metabolic functions within the cell, but most notably energy metabolism and cell repair,” Fried says.
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On the energy side, that comes down to the mitochondria…the organelles inside cells responsible for converting oxygen and nutrients into usable energy through a process called the Krebs cycle, which you probably haven’t thought about since 10th grade. Research supports NAD’s involvement at multiple steps of that process, and without it, the whole system actually stalls.
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And on the repair side, that is arguably just as important. Studies have shown NAD-dependent enzymes as key participants in cellular repair, the mechanisms that activate when a cell is damaged. Whether from oxidative stress, inflammation, a virus, etc. Fried says those enzymes require NAD to function. Without enough of it, the cell’s ability to respond is compromised. “Aging is the accumulation of damage,” he says.
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Why Higher NAD Levels Matter
The case for actively trying to raise NAD levels is built on what happens at both ends of the spectrum..when levels are high, and when they’re depleted.
On the high end, Fried says the effects compound. “When there are high levels of NAD, you have mitogenesis, the ability to create mitochondria. You have more mitochondria, but you also have a higher ATP yield per mitochondria. So even absent additional calories, you have more actual energy inside the cell.” On the repair side: “When you have high levels of NAD, as I say, high NAD saturation levels, the cell is much stronger, much more resilient and able to either repair itself or even repel potential problems.”
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On the depletion end, the evidence gets harder to ignore. Research published in Cell Metabolism found NAD levels can fall to roughly half of youthful levels by middle age. Fried says the slide starts earlier than most people expect: “NAD levels begin to really deteriorate in your late 20s,” he explains. The research, though, is still evolving, a fact Fried doesn’t ignore. “I do think that it has the potential to be that significant and that dramatic,” he says of the NAD-aging relationship. “But I don’t want to overstate.”
What Is Nicotinamide Riboside (NR) — and Why Not Just Take NAD Directly?
Despite what your algorithms might tell you, you can’t simply take NAD as a supplement and expect it to work. Research shows orally administered NAD is largely broken down during digestion before reaching cells, which makes direct supplementation mostly ineffective.
“You need something called a precursor that will enter the cell easily and then convert into NAD,” Fried says. That’s where nicotinamide riboside comes in. NR is a form of vitamin B3, found naturally in trace amounts in milk, yeast, beer, and other sources, that the body uses specifically to produce NAD, so it’s not foreign to the body, but part of an existing process.
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The cellular mechanism, according to Fried, is more targeted than simple absorption. Dr. Charles Brenner, Niagen Bioscience’s lead scientific advisor and the researcher whose patent work underlies the company’s NR ingredient, identified that when a cell is under metabolic stress, it opens a dedicated pathway in search of NR from the bloodstream, which Brenner named the NRKinase pathway.
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The cell, in other words, isn’t just tolerating NR. It’s actively seeking it out. Fried also points out that NR functions as a vitamin rather than a drug, something the body processes naturally, which has implications for both safety and how it’s regulated.
Beyond the Capsule: IVs, Skincare, and What’s Coming
Fried says the formats NR comes in are expanding, and the company is moving that way deliberately. “There are many different ways to elevate NAD. One is an injection, one is an IV, another is an oral supplement, another is a topical.”
The differences aren’t just convenience but that the kinetics are actually different. Fried explains that oral NR moves through the digestive system before reaching the bloodstream, while an IV bypasses that entirely, crossing the blood-brain barrier and going directly into tissue. Injections sit somewhere between the two, Fried explains.
Niagen Bioscience has already launched their Niagen Skincare Innovation Lab… less a product line than a platform for figuring out what NR can actually do on skin. And their first release, what the company is calling their topical prototype, Niagen NanoCloud, is available now.
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But what the company hasn’t officially announced yet has actually been in the works for quite some time. At-home injections. Long before Ozempic was a household name and people were injecting themselves at home, Fried says the company had been working towards an NR injectable you would administer yourself. “If you’re willing to inject yourself to stay thin,” Fried says, “you might be willing to inject yourself to stay young.”
Frequently Asked Questions
What is NAD?
NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is a molecule essential to core metabolic functions in cells, including energy production and cellular repair. According to Fried, it’s “vital for all key metabolic functions within the cell, but most notably energy metabolism and cell repair.”
Why do NAD levels matter as you age?
Research has documented NAD declines in certain human tissues with age. Fried says levels “begin to really deteriorate in your late 20s,” with downstream effects on energy and the cell’s ability to repair damage. The science on the extent and universality of that decline is still developing.
What is nicotinamide riboside (NR)?
NR is a form of vitamin B3 that the body uses to produce NAD. Fried describes it as “the best, safest, most efficient way” to raise NAD levels — though that’s his position as CEO of the company that makes it, not an independent scientific consensus.
Why can’t you just take NAD directly?
Research supports that oral NAD has poor bioavailability and is largely broken down before reaching cells. According to Fried, “you need something called a precursor that will enter the cell easily and then convert into NAD.” NR is designed to do that.
What is Tru Niagen?
Tru Niagen is Niagen Bioscience’s consumer supplement brand built around its trademarked NR ingredient, Niagen. The ingredient is also sold to other supplement brands that formulate their own NR products.
For more, read the April 2026 issue of LA Times Studios Business Magazine
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