How NAD Helps Your Cells From Burning Out & Losing Energy

14 Jul 2026 · 1 min

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1:09

In this educational video, the speaker explains how aging leads to an accumulation of senescent cells that become inflammatory. The inflammation triggers the immune‑system enzyme CD38, which rapidly consumes NAD+, the molecule that fuels cellular energy, supports longevity‑related proteins, and serves as the currency for DNA repair. The speaker likens CD38’s activity to a baby discovering sugar—devouring NAD+ quickly. As a result, with age we both consume more NAD+ and produce less, creating a mismatch between NAD+ “expenses” and “income.” This decline underlies why stress and inflammation feel harsher in middle age and why cellular function deteriorates when NAD+ levels fall.

Chapters

Did you know that the older you get, the more senescent cells you have? These are cells that should die and get cleared out, but they don't. That's what senescent means. And the lame part is that they end up becoming inflammatory. When your immune system sees the inflammation, it activates an enzyme called CD38 to help. And CD38 burns through NAD+ like a baby who just discovered sugar. It just burns through your NAD+. If you've ever wondered why stress and inflammation seem to hit harder in your 40s than it did in your 20s, this might be part of the reason. So NAD+ is simultaneously the fuel for your energy system, the substrate for your longevity proteins, and the repair currency for your DNA. And that's also why when it drops, things go very wrong. Now that you see how important NAD+ is, let me recap what actually happens to NAD+ as you age. Why it drops. The short version is that as you age, you're consuming more NAD and making less of it. Your expenses go up, but your income goes down.