Is NAD+ Worth It?

The miracle treatment is getting a lot of buzz, so I signed up to get an IV tranfusion. Here's what that was like.

As readers of this newsletter know, last month I talked to Asa Akira, who put me onto the life-changing magic of NAD+ therapy. She claimed that the IVs and injections helped her husband deal with his chronic pain and helped her get out of the fog of her low-grade depression.

NAD stands for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, which is a coenzyme found in all our cells that helps with DNA repair, cell signaling, and greasing the skids of our metabolic pathways. It’s essentially a do-it-all helper molecule.

As we get older, our NAD+ levels go down naturally, with the first significant drop happening in our forties. According to a 2020 paper published in Nature, this decline “is linked causally to numerous ageing-associated diseases, including cognitive decline, cancer, metabolic disease, sarcopenia [or age-related muscle loss] and frailty.” The good news, though, is that many “of these ageing-associated diseases can be slowed down and even reversed by restoring NAD⁺ levels.”

Curious and newly 40, and with a family history of Parkinson’s, I hit up our mutual friend and HEAVIES day one Leilani, who swears by her monthly NAD+ infusions, which she says helps mitigate her brain fog, aids with post-workout recovery, and gives her a steady hum of energy. I was sold and eager to try it. She recommended a spot called Clean Market, which, conveniently enough, had a location just three blocks away from the SSENSE office in Soho. So one afternoon I booked an appointment for late in the day.

What It Was Like

Clean Market touts itself as a “modern wellness destination for self care” but looks like the millennial bedroom section of a CB2. They offer a slick menu of different IV drips— like a “Mega Recovery” for dehydration and hangovers, and a “NutriCLEANSE” detox with Glutathione, B12, and Vitamin C—but I was there to get the “NutriYOUTH” NAD infusion, which promises “heightened senses, ageless energy, and youthful brain function,” all for $295.

Ordinarily that’s pretty steep for me, but a handful of net-30 freelance checks had just cleared and I was ready to feel baby again, especially after a few tough weeks of feeling like utter shit. Leilani, however, cautioned me that when she gets the IV done, she often experiences headaches and stomach cramps. Oh, and for some people, your heart can race to the point it feels like someone is stomping on your chest. Ruh roh!

After getting ushered into a private room with a big cushy recliner, and after getting cleared by the nurse practitioner and a remote doctor on an iPad, I was recommended to start with the level 2 (with 3 being the highest), which was 250mg of NAD+.

I was game, though: a younger and more attractive version of me could have violently emerged out of my spine in a pile of goop, and I would have been cool with that.