NAD+

NAD+ is one of the newest products on our shelves, and the Australian rules around it are very specific. These are the questions our naturopaths ask in store, in the order they ask them.

A good fit if

• You're an adult who wants an NAD+ building block that's clearly permitted in Australia, rather than an unregulated import
• You're choosing between nicotinamide riboside and nicotinamide mononucleotide and want the evidence and legal differences explained simply
• You're comfortable that raising NAD+ in your blood is proven, while noticeable benefits aren't
• You're happy to take a set course and review it with a practitioner, rather than taking it indefinitely
• You're not pregnant or breastfeeding, and you don't take prescription medicines

Check with us first if

• You take any prescription medicine. There's no interaction data for nicotinamide riboside, nicotinamide mononucleotide or NADH, and no reported interactions doesn't mean there are none.
• You already take a B complex, a niacin product or another NAD+ formula. Bring the labels in so your vitamin B3 amounts don't add up past the NHMRC upper limits without anyone noticing.
• You live with mild cognitive impairment. A 2025 review found lower scores on a physical performance test and slower sit-to-stand times in this group on nicotinamide riboside, so talk to your doctor first.
• You're having cancer treatment. Talk to your specialist about NAD+ building blocks first, because NAD+ affects how cells work across the body.
• You live with chronic kidney disease. A six-week trial found nicotinamide riboside didn't improve exercise capacity and lowered oxygen uptake during moderate exercise.
• You plan to take it indefinitely. Australian rules recommend taking nicotinamide mononucleotide for 12 weeks or less, so a set course followed by a review is the sensible approach.

• Nicotinamide riboside chloride (NR). Best known for: The building block with the clearest Australian legal status and the most human trials. Absorption: Raises whole-blood NAD+ in line with the dose: by 22%, 51% and 142% at 100, 300 and 1,000 mg daily, within two weeks. Typical use: Capsules and tablets taken by mouth, capped at 300 mg of nicotinamide riboside chloride a day in an Australian listed medicine.
• Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN). Best known for: One step closer to NAD+ than NR, and the strictest set of Australian conditions of any ingredient here. Absorption: Raises blood NAD+ at 300, 600 and 900 mg a day over 60 days, and at 250 mg a day over 12 weeks. Typical use: Capsules, tablets and powders taken by mouth, capped at 500 mg a day for a recommended 12 weeks or less, adults only.
• Nicotinamide (vitamin B3 amide). Best known for: The molecule the other building blocks turn into, with no restrictions in Schedule 1. Absorption: Easily absorbed with no flushing, but in the one head-to-head trial it didn't raise blood NAD+ the way NR and NMN did. Typical use: B-complex and single-ingredient tablets; the NHMRC upper level of 900 mg a day from all sources applies.
• Nicotinic acid (niacin). Best known for: The flushing form, and the one that actually produced the cholesterol results people credit to this family. Absorption: Feeds straight into one of the body's NAD+ pathways (Preiss-Handler); flushing is common and expected as the dose goes up. Typical use: Small amounts in B-complex products; capped at 100 mg per tablet or capsule in Australia.
• NADH (the reduced coenzyme). Best known for: The coenzyme itself rather than a building block; sold overseas as lozenges that dissolve under the tongue. Absorption: We have no absorption data for NADH swallowed or taken under the tongue. Typical use: In Australia only disodium NADH is in Schedule 1, for use on the skin at no more than 0.02%, with no listing for use by mouth or under the tongue.
• NAD+ itself, oral or intravenous. Best known for: The name on the front of the pack; there's almost always a building block inside. Absorption: Not established. The molecule is large and charged, which is why the building blocks exist. Typical use: Not in Schedule 1 in any form or route, so it can't be an active ingredient in an Australian listed medicine.

Reference values. There's no Australian recommended intake for NAD+ itself. Everything in this family is a vitamin B3 compound, so the niacin reference values apply: the NHMRC recommends 16 mg niacin equivalents a day for adult men and 14 mg for adult women.

Typical supplemental range. In Australia, the law sets the limit here rather than a nutrient value. A listed medicine can provide up to 300 mg of nicotinamide riboside chloride a day, or up to 500 mg of nicotinamide mononucleotide a day for a recommended 12 weeks or less. Nicotinic acid is capped at 100 mg per dose unit, and nicotinamide has no cap on Australia's permitted ingredients list (Schedule 1).

Upper level. For adults 19 and over, the NHMRC upper limit is 900 mg a day of nicotinamide from all sources, and 35 mg a day of nicotinic acid from supplements and fortified foods. The two forms aren't interchangeable. In pregnancy and breastfeeding, no upper limit has been set for nicotinamide, and the NHMRC says intake should come from food only.

Worth knowing. Label doses and trial doses differ more here than for almost any other supplement. Most nicotinamide riboside trials used 1,000 mg a day, and some went up to 2,000–3,000 mg, but the Australian cap is 300 mg. Nicotinamide mononucleotide trials used 250–2,000 mg a day, against a 500 mg cap. So a product bought here may contain well below the amounts used in research. What you need depends on your age, diet and health, so talk to one of our naturopaths.

If any of these sound like you, talk to one of our naturopaths or your doctor before you start.

• You're pregnant or breastfeeding. NMN medicines must be for adults only and not for pregnant or breastfeeding women; NR above 230 mg carries a warning that it isn't recommended in pregnancy.
• Children and teenagers. NMN is for adults only, and NR products must carry 'Not to be taken by children under 12 years old'.
• You take prescription medicines. There's no drug interaction data for NR, NMN or NADH; that's a lack of data, not a clean bill of health.
• You'd combine it with a B-complex, niacin or another NAD+ formula. Check the labels against the NHMRC upper levels of 900 mg nicotinamide and 35 mg nicotinic acid a day.
• You have mild cognitive impairment. A 2025 review reported lower physical performance (SPPB) scores and slower chair-stand times on NR in this group.
• You have chronic kidney disease. In a six-week trial, NR gave no benefit for exercise capacity and lowered oxygen uptake during moderate exercise.
• You're having active cancer treatment. Talk to your treating specialist about NAD+ building blocks first.
• You'd take NMN continuously long term. The Australian condition is a recommended use of 12 weeks or less.
• You're considering NAD+ by drip or injection. It's completely outside the listed medicine system, with no outcome trials behind it.
• If you take prescription medicines, check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before starting.