This article was written in partnership with Jinfiniti Precision Medicine, a company I’ve personally vetted and recommend. As always, my editorial standards are unchanged.
I’ve spent over 20 years in the trenches of biohacking, cellular health, and human optimization. I have 10+ degrees and certifications. I’ve interviewed Dr. Eric Berg, Dave Asprey, Ben Greenfield, and Dr. Steven Gundry on my podcast. I’ve spoken at Mr. Olympia events. And I test everything — every protocol, every supplement — on myself before I recommend it to the 1.5 million people who follow my work.
NAD+ is one of the most important molecules I’ve encountered in two decades of this work. The science is undeniable. But here’s what I’ve seen play out over and over: most people are using it completely wrong. Here’s what I wish more people knew before spending their first dollar.
Dylan’s Pick
The only NAD+ program that proves it worked
Stop guessing. Test your levels first, then supplement.
1. Most People Take The Wrong Dose
This is the single biggest reason NAD+ fails people — and it has nothing to do with the product quality.
The most common thing I hear: “I took it for two months and felt nothing.” Or: “I tried three brands and none of them did anything.” Or the one that really gets me: spending months on a protocol with absolutely no way to verify if it’s working.
Here’s what all of those experiences have in common: dosing blind.
⚠ The Problem
NAD+ absorption is not one-size-fits-all. Two people can take the exact same supplement at the exact same dose and get completely different results. I’ve seen this play out repeatedly in the research — and in my own experimentation over 20 years.
Absorption depends on your genetics, your gut microbiome, and — most critically — your current intracellular NAD+ levels. Without knowing where you’re starting, you’re essentially flying blind.
As a biohacker, the idea of running a protocol without a baseline measurement is fundamentally broken. I would never do it. And yet that’s exactly what the entire supplement industry asks you to do.
✓ The Fix
- Test your intracellular NAD+ levels before you start.
- Get a dose calibrated to your actual biology — not the label average.
- Retest at the start of Month 3 to confirm it actually worked.
2. NAD+, NMN, NR, Niacin — What Actually Matters?
The supplement industry has turned this into a marketing war. Here’s the straightforward breakdown.
All of these precursors can raise your NAD+ levels. The variable that actually matters isn’t which form — it’s whether the dose is right for your body. Pick one. Stay consistent. Test before and after. That’s the whole protocol.
Pure
NAD+
Pure NAD+
Too large a molecule to survive oral digestion intact. Not effective as a standalone oral supplement — despite what some labels imply.
NMN
NMN (Nicotinamide Mononucleotide)
Fast-acting and well-researched. More expensive, but effective for most people — including high-performers and athletes.
NR
NR (Nicotinamide Riboside)
More affordable, slightly slower to build. Still effective if you’re consistent and give it the time it needs.
B3
Niacin (Vitamin B3)
The original precursor. Most affordable. Causes a temporary skin flush — a known physiological response that signals absorption, not a safety concern.
✓ Bottom Line
- Pick one form and stay consistent. Test before and after.
- If levels didn’t rise adequately, adjust the dose — not the form.
“As a biohacker, running a protocol without baseline data isn’t optimization — it’s guessing. I’ve been doing this for 20 years. The people who get results are the ones who measure.”
— Dylan Gemelli, DylanGemelli.com
3. Does It Actually Help With Energy & Brain Fog?
From a cellular health standpoint — yes. But not the way stimulants work, and that distinction is critical.
This is one of my favorite topics because the mechanism is exactly what you’d expect when you understand cellular bioenergetics. NAD+ doesn’t mask fatigue. It addresses one of the root causes of it — at the mitochondrial level.
| Approach | Mechanism | Result |
|---|
| ☕ Caffeine / Stimulants | Blocks adenosine receptors — borrows energy from later | Spike, then crash |
| ⚡ NAD+ Recommended | Fuels mitochondrial ATP production directly | Clean, sustained energy. No debt. |
Here’s the honest timeline I’ve observed — in the research and in my own experience:
W1
Week 1
Minimal noticeable change. Foundational cellular replenishment is happening. Don’t quit here — this is where most people make the mistake.
W2
Weeks 2–3
Sleep quality improves. The afternoon energy drop starts to fade. Recovery between sessions accelerates. Subtle — but measurable if you’re tracking.
W4
Week 4+
Consistent, clean energy. Sharper mental clarity. The kind of baseline shift you notice when it’s gone, not when it arrives.
Other benefits consistently reported: Faster workout recovery, improved mood regulation, reduced joint stiffness, better skin, stronger nails. These show up differently depending on where you were depleted to begin with.
4. Pills vs. Injections vs. IVs — What’s Worth It?
More expensive does not mean more effective. The data backs this up — and I’ve looked at all of it.
Injections and IVs deliver NAD+ to your bloodstream — but the goal is intracellular NAD+. Those are completely different things. Data from over 100,000 intracellular tests shows well-dosed oral supplementation outperforms injectables for most longevity and performance goals.
| Method | Monthly Cost | Delivery | My Verdict |
|---|
| Oral Supplements Best Value | $65–$150 | Intracellular | Best for longevity & daily performance |
| Injections | $200–$500/mo | Bloodstream only | Niche use cases |
| IV Drips | $400–$1,000/session | Bloodstream only | Hard to justify on data |
5. Is NAD+ Safe Long-Term?
From a research standpoint — yes. Here’s what the science actually shows.
I only recommend things I’ve vetted in the literature and tested on myself. NAD+ precursors have one of the stronger long-term safety profiles in the supplement space. You’re not introducing a foreign compound — you’re restoring a molecule your body naturally produces and depends on.
Niacin: Skin FlushingA prostaglandin-mediated response. Feels like brief warmth for up to 20 minutes. Harmless — actually a sign the niacin is being absorbed properly.
NMN / NR: Mild GI DiscomfortRare and dose-dependent. Taking it with food resolves it in nearly every case.
Long-Term UseDecades of preclinical and clinical research support favorable safety outcomes. No serious adverse effects at typical supplementation doses.
6. Why You Felt Nothing
After 20 years in this space, I can tell you exactly why. The same four errors show up every time.
I’ve heard this story hundreds of times. Someone spends 60 days on a protocol, feels nothing, concludes it doesn’t work, moves on. After 20 years of research and self-experimentation, it’s almost always one of these four things:
-
They were dosing blind.
The label dose is a manufacturer’s starting point — not a dose calibrated to your biology. Without a baseline test, you have no idea if you even needed supplementation, or how much.
-
They picked the wrong form for their biology.
Different precursors are metabolized differently depending on gut microbiome composition. Without testing, you can’t know which form your body converts efficiently. You’re making a $100+ guess.
-
They quit too early.
NAD+ replenishment is cellular, not symptomatic. The shift is quiet — sleep improves, the 3pm crash fades, recovery accelerates. Quitting at week two is stopping a protocol right before it starts delivering.
-
They had no way to verify it was working.
Without before-and-after testing, you have no data. Feeling better is not data. Feeling nothing doesn’t mean it failed. The only way to know is to measure — which is the entire premise of biohacking.
7. What Most Companies Don’t Want You to Know
I’ve written about supplement industry practices for years. This one frustrates me most.
The research on NAD+ is real. The decline with age is real. The cellular energy connection is real. But the leap from “NAD+ is important” to “our specific supplement at this specific dose will raise your levels” is where most companies quietly stop providing evidence.
⚠ The Incentive Problem
Testing creates accountability. If a company built testing into their protocol, you’d know whether their product raised your levels. If it didn’t, you’d stop buying. So instead, they cite general NAD+ research not conducted on their specific product — and count on you not noticing the difference.
What an evidence-based NAD+ protocol actually looks like:
✓ The Standard I Hold Everything To
- Test your baseline first — intracellular NAD+, not a symptom checklist.
- Clinical-grade formulation — verified purity, not off-the-shelf bulk ingredients.
- Retest at the start of Month 3 — objective data showing what actually changed.
- Iterate until it works — adjust dose or formulation based on results, not marketing promises.
This is the standard I apply to everything I recommend to my community. Jinfiniti is the only NAD+ company I’ve found that actually operates this way — building testing and accountability into the core product. If you want to see exactly how their protocol works, this page walks through it step by step.
