Nicotinamide Riboside: Benefits, Side Effects And Dosage - Healthline

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Nutrition

Evidence BasedAll About Nicotinamide Riboside

Medically reviewed by Heidi Moawad, M.D. — Written by Ryan Raman, MS, RD — Updated on July 11, 2025

What It Is
Benefits
Risks & Side Effects
Dosage
Bottom Line

Commonly marketed as an anti-aging product, nicotinamide riboside is a form of vitamin B3 with few side effects. It may help to protect brain cells and lower the risk of heart disease.

Every year, Americans spend billions of dollars on anti-aging products.

While most anti-aging products are used to reverse signs of aging on your skin, nicotinamide riboside is promoted to reverse signs of aging from inside your body.

Within your body, nicotinamide riboside is converted into NAD+, a helper molecule that’s made throughout your body and supports many aspects of healthy aging.

This article explains everything you need to know about nicotinamide riboside, including its benefits, side effects and dosage.

What is nicotinamide riboside?

Nicotinamide riboside is a form of vitamin B3, also called niacin.

Like other forms of vitamin B3, nicotinamide riboside is converted by your body into nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), a coenzyme or helper molecule.

NAD+ helps to promote many key biological processes, such as:

converting food into energy
repairing damaged DNA
fortifying cells’ defense systems
setting your body’s internal clock or circadian rhythm

However, the amount of NAD+ in your body naturally falls with age.

Low NAD+ levels have been linked to health concerns like aging and chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and vision loss.

Nicotinamide riboside supplements have quickly become popular because they appear to be effective at raising NAD+ levels.

Nicotinamide riboside is also found in trace amounts in cows’ milk, yeast and beer.

Potential benefits

Here are some potential health benefits of nicotinamide riboside.

Easily converted into NAD+

NAD+ is a coenzyme, or helper molecule, that takes part in many biological reactions.

While it’s essential for optimal health, research shows that NAD+ levels continue to fall with age. Low NAD+ levels are linked to a variety of harmful diseases.

One way to raise NAD+ levels is to take in NAD+ precursors — the building blocks of NAD+ — such as nicotinamide riboside.

Animal and human studies show that nicotinamide riboside efficiently and consistently raises blood NAD+ levels. What’s more, it’s more readily converted by your body than other NAD+ precursors.

Activates enzymes that may promote healthy aging

Nicotinamide riboside helps increase NAD+ levels in your body.

In response, NAD+ activates certain enzymes that may promote healthy aging.

One group is sirtuins, which appear to improve lifespan and overall health in animals. Studies indicate that sirtuins may repair damaged DNA, reduce inflammation and offer other benefits that promote healthy aging.

May help protect brain cells

NAD+ plays a key role in helping your brain cells age well.

Within brain cells, NAD+ helps control the production of PGC-1-alpha, a protein that appears to help protect cells against oxidative stress.

Researchers believe that oxidative stress is linked to age-related brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

However, it’s still unclear how helpful raising NAD+ levels is in people with age-related brain disorders. More human studies are needed.

May lower heart disease risk

Aging is a major risk factor for heart disease, which is the world’s leading cause of death. It can cause blood vessels to become thicker, stiffer, and less flexible.

Such changes can raise blood pressure levels and make your heart work harder.

Research shows that nicotinamide riboside may help raise NAD+ levels, helped reduce blood vessel stiffness, and reduce the chance of high blood pressure.

That said, more human research is needed.

Potential risks and side effects

Nicotinamide riboside is likely safe with few — if any — side effects.

In human studies, taking 1,000 mg per day had no harmful effects.

However, most human studies are short in duration and have very few participants. For a more accurate idea of its safety, more robust human studies are needed.

Some people have reported mild to moderate side effects, such as nausea, fatigue, headaches, diarrhea, stomach discomfort and indigestion.

Dosage and recommendations

Nicotinamide riboside is available in tablet or capsule form under its own name or with the brand name Niagen.

It is available at select health-food stores and online retailers.

Nicotinamide riboside supplements typically contain just nicotinamide riboside, but some manufacturers combine it with other ingredients like Pterostilbene, which is a polyphenol — an antioxidant that is chemically similar to resveratrol.

Most nicotinamide riboside supplement brands recommend taking 250–300 mg per day, the equivalent of 1–2 capsules per day depending on the brand.

The bottom line

Nicotinamide riboside is a form of vitamin B3 with few side effects. It is commonly marketed as an anti-aging product.

Your body converts it into NAD+, which helps chemical processes throughout your body.

However, most research on nicotinamide riboside and NAD+ is in animals. More high-quality human studies are needed before recommending it as a treatment.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Alegre GF, et al. (2023). NAD+ precursors nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) and nicotinamide riboside (NR): Potential dietary contribution to health.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10240123/
Biţă A, et al. (2023). Nicotinamide riboside, a promising vitamin B3 derivative for healthy aging and longevity: Current research and perspectives.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10459282/
Brakedal B, et al. (2022). The NADPARK study: A randomized phase I trial of nicotinamide riboside supplementation in Parkinson’s disease.https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(22)00045-6
Damgaard MV, et al. (2023). What is really known about the effects of nicotinamide riboside supplementation in humans.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10361580/
McDermott MM, et al. (2024). Nicotinamide riboside for peripheral artery disease: the NICE randomized clinical trial.https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-49092-5
Orr ME, et al. (2024). A randomized placebo-controlled trial of nicotinamide riboside in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10828186/
Wenzek F, et al. (2024). Nicotinamide riboside: What it takes to incorporate It into RNA.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11357040/

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Medically reviewed by Heidi Moawad, M.D. — Written by Ryan Raman, MS, RD — Updated on July 11, 2025

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Nutrition

Nutrition

What is nicotinamide riboside?

Potential benefits

Easily converted into NAD+

Activates enzymes that may promote healthy aging

May help protect brain cells

May lower heart disease risk

Potential risks and side effects

Dosage and recommendations

The bottom line

How we reviewed this article:

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