NAD+ IV Drips Promise to Reverse Aging — But Does the Science Hold Up?

The Trend: If your favorite celebrities are getting hooked up to IV drips between Pilates classes, there’s a good chance NAD+ is involved. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide is a molecule found in every cell in your body that helps convert food into energy and keeps your cells functioning properly. Your levels naturally decline as you age, which is what caught the attention of longevity researchers and then trickled down to every wellness influencer with a podcast.

What People Are Saying: Marketers are billing NAD+ as a fountain of youth, promising everything from better sleep to reversed aging to cleared brain fog. IV infusions at wellness clinics can run anywhere from $200 to over $1,000 a session, and oral supplements aren’t cheap either. The problem is that most of the more impressive NAD+ findings come from animal studies, and researchers are pretty upfront that the human evidence is still thin.

What to Know: Precursor supplements like NMN and NR appear to be generally safe, but long-term risks remain unknown. So talking to your doctor before plunking down $500 for an IV drip is a smart move.