Metabolic syndrome is an interrelated cluster of metabolic problems stemming from lifestyle factors, including poor diet and sedentary behavior. The disorder encompasses chronic inflammation, high blood pressure, abnormal blood lipids, elevated blood sugar and obesity. As the syndrome progresses, it can lead to Type II diabetes and an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.
One of the co-factors underlying metabolic syndrome is reduced levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+). NAD+ is a coenzyme that performs a number of functions in human metabolism, including glycolysis, the breakdown of glucose for energy. In addition to energy metabolism, NAD+ regulates DNA damage repair, gene expression and stress responses.
Understanding Type II Diabetes
Simply put, Type II diabetes, clinically known as diabetes mellitus, is an imbalance between sugar consumption and your body’s ability to use it for energy. All carbohydrates are broken down to glucose in your digestive tract and absorbed to your bloodstream. That includes sugar, flour, rice, fruits, vegetables and other grains and plant-based foods.
When glucose enters your bloodstream, your brain signals your pancreas to secrete insulin, a hormone that facilitates glucose uptake in your cells. You can think of insulin as a master key that unlocks the doors to your cells, letting sugar in to either be used for fuel or stored as glycogen. But your cells’ storage capacity for glucose is limited. Unless you burn excess sugar for energy, your cells reach their storage capacity and become insulin-resistant, causing sugar to accumulate in your bloodstream, and leading to Type II diabetes.
NAD+ and Diabetes
Your body naturally manufactures NAD+ from niacin, one of the B vitamins. However, as you age, NAD+ production drops off substantially. If you lead a sedentary lifestyle, the reduction of NAD+ in your body’s cells becomes even more pronounced. Reduced levels of NAD+ speed up aging and physical decline.
Low NAD+ impacts your cells’ mitochondria, tiny organelles that use oxygen to convert fats and glucose to energy. Physical inactivity shrinks mitochondria and impedes glucose metabolism, causing sugar to accumulate in your cells and bloodstream. Reduced mitochondrial function coupled with low levels of NAD+ and lack of physical activity is a recipe for Type II diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
Natural Ways to Increase NAD+ and Fight Diabetes
- Aerobic Exercise: Challenging your cardiorespiratory system is a proven way to fight metabolic disease and Type II diabetes. Even your very first bout of cardio after a period of inactivity reduces your circulating blood sugar, taps into glycogen stores and decrease insulin resistance in your cells. In addition, regular aerobic exercise stimulates the proliferation and growth of mitochondria in your muscle cells and heart, increasing NAD+ levels and enhancing your capacity to burn sugar and fat for fuel.
- Resistance Training: Weight training is one of the fastest ways to reverse insulin resistance in your cells. Resistance training is fueled almost exclusively by glycogen stored in your muscle cells. Performing two to three resistance training sessions per week targeting all of your major muscle groups will help fight Type II diabetes, increase your lean muscle mass, improve your bone density, increase collagen production and slow the aging process. Like cardio, weight training increases the number and size of muscle cell mitochondria and stimulates the production of NAD+.
- Yoga and Meditation: Ongoing stress alters your body chemistry, increasing cortisol levels and interfering with your metabolism. Elevated stress hormones cause systemic inflammation, one of the key components of metabolic syndrome. Yoga, meditation, breathing techniques and other stress management strategies can restore optimal hormone balance and help lower your risk of Type II diabetes.
- Nutrition: If you eat mostly fresh unprocessed fruits and vegetables and steer clear of grains and sugars, glucose is released slowly to your bloodstream and your cells are able to metabolize it for energy. But if you overload your system with bread, pasta, rice and sugary snacks and drinks, your cells are unable to handle the overload. Cutting out sugar and cutting back on grains is a positive step toward reversing Type II Diabetes.
- NAD+ Therapy: Supplementing nicotinamide riboside (NR), a precursor to NAD+, can improve your mitochondrial health and enhance your ability to convert glucose to energy. A recent study of mice conducted by Trammell et al. found that NR supplementation reduced insulin resistance and obesity in their rodent test subjects.
NAD+ IV Therapy for Type II Diabetes
If you are serious about reversing Type II diabetes and slowing the aging process, the best way to boost your body’s NAD+ levels is via IV drip therapy. While oral supplements are available, their journey through your digestive tract can dramatically reduce their potency, and in some instances they can pass right through your system without ever breaking down.
IV NAD plus therapy delivers potent nutrients right to your bloodstream, where they are quickly carried to your cells to be used for improved mitochondrial function, DNA repair and more. NAD+ IV therapy is safe and effective. Because NAD+ is a nutrient and not a drug, it does not disrupt your body chemistry and does not require a prescription. If you are currently taking pharmaceuticals to manage Type II diabetes, be sure to consult your health care provider before getting NAD+ therapy.
Combining NAD+ IV therapy with physical activity, stress management and dietary changes can help reverse Type II diabetes and put the brakes on aging.
Nutrient IV Therapy in NYC
To fight aging, improve your health and enhance your quality of life, visit Advanced Cryo NYC, located on Manhattan’s famous Broadway. In addition to NAD+ therapy, we offer a broad range of micronutrient IV cocktails, hangover relief therapy, cryotherapy and other innovative therapies and treatments to keep you looking and feeling like the very best version of yourself.
