New Ingredient Backed by Scientific Evidence May Have Wide Appeal as a Dietary Supplement and Food Additive

The demand for anti-aging products among baby boomers is almost insatiable, and there is no shortage of companies looking to meet that demand. Whether it is cosmetic surgery, facial injections, supplements or newly touted concoctions, Americans will buy almost anything that promises to restore youth, vitality, physique and energy.

Many of the supplements and nutraceuticals that promise dramatic anti-aging and health benefits fail to deliver anything short of subtle results at best. Few, if any, can deliver on the promise of anti-aging benefits through a "beauty from within" concept.

There is, however, a genuinely innovative ingredient that has the promise to deliver pronounced results without invasive procedures or significant expense. It is NIAGEN from ChromaDex (OTCQB:CDXC - News), which was introduced this month as the first and only commercially available form of nicotinamide riboside. Also called NR, nicotinamide riboside is a metabolic booster found in milk and whey. Often referred to as a "miracle molecule", NR shows promise in research studies to help address many of the symptoms associated with aging and health care in general: obesity, cholesterol, muscle loss, energy decline, insulin sensitivity and more.

NR is a more potent form of the more commonly known vitamin B3 niacin. It is an important part of the cellular metabolism of humans, improving the way cells use energy. On a cellular level, NR is used to create what is called the NAD+ coenzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide a key part of a number of vital metabolic processes. NAD+ plays a key role in the way your mitochondria function. Mitochondria are known as the "energy powerhouses of the cell" because they are the source for most cellular chemical energy. But they are also involved with other tasks such as cell death, cell growth and control of the cycle of cell division. Research indicates that NR could be used as a nutritional supplement to improve metabolic and age-related disorders characterized by defective mitochondrial function.

You don't have to be a biologist to recognize that each of these functions may have something meaningful to do with the way we age as individuals and how our bodies change over time. The first and only commercially available source of NR, NIAGEN may help promote improved mitochondrial function, generating health benefits that are broad and meaningful.

In fact, studies lend a considerable degree of scholarly support to this concept. In 2007, for example, a trio of scholars from the Dartmouth Medical School's Department of Genetics and Biology performed a survey of the state of knowledge surrounding NAD+(1) and found that higher levels of cellular NAD+ may offer a host of benefits. Some of these may include potentially positive cell protective and metabolic effects, enhanced cardiovascular health, more appropriate glucose levels and improved cognitive function.

Remarkably, that report came out only three years after NR was first discovered. In that time, interest among researchers in the potential of NR as a contributor to life extension has only grown. Some of the more compelling recent published findings include:

-Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College and the Polytechnic School in Lausanne, Switzerland reported in the June 2012 issue of the journal Cell Metabolism that high doses of NR prevented obesity in mice that were fed a fatty diet. The same study also found that higher levels of NAD+ increased muscle performance, improved energy expenditure and prevented diabetes development, all without side effects.(2)

-A June 2013 study from Neurobiology of Aging reported that dietary treatment with NR might benefit the cognitive function of patients suffering with Alzheimer's Disease, and that as a supplement, NR may help reduce the presence of certain Alzheimer's-associated toxins in the brain.(3)

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NIAGEN™ Nicotinamide Riboside Offers Huge Potential as Next Generation Niacin