How much NMN should I take per day?
A common question
One of the most common questions we get from our community is about the right dosage for Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN). At For Youth, we recommend taking one 250 mg capsule of The Base - NMN a day. To be precise, we actually suggest taking that dose in the early morning.
Even though we recommend one cap daily, surveys are showing us that 40% of our customers are actually taking more than one dose a day. They might have been inspired by prof. David Sinclair, who says he is taking 1000 mg every morning. There are good reasons as to why you might want to consider taking more than 250 mg a day, but let’s first look at why we recommend 250 mg.
Why For Youth recommends 250 mg
Most human studies are conducted with doses of 250 mg of NMN and these studies have shown that NMN is effective at this dose. Because we want to stick to scientific research as much as possible, this is the main reason why we are recommending a dose of 250 mg a day.
NMN is expensive due to the innovative manufacturing process and the safety measure that have been put in place. For Youth wants to make NMN accessible to many people that’s why we are putting 250 mg of this precious material in one capsule. Higher recommended doses would have meant higher prices, whilst a dose of 250 mg is already effective.
However, we do recognise that there might be reasons why you might want to take a higher dose. We can’t give general advise on this, it really depends per person.
Why you might want to consider a higher dose
A recent study from 2020 has tested the safety of NMN up to doses of 500 mg and no adverse side effects were found. The team of scientists concluded that one dose up to 500 mg is safe and well-tolerated. The team didn’t do any research into higher doses, but that doesn’t rule out that a 1000 mg dose would not be safe.
NAD+ is needed to repair our DNA and maintain overall cellular health and these levels go down progressively with age. Supplementing NMN can maintain NAD+ levels, but because the levels decline progressively, older people might actually benefit from higher doses. A study conducted on middle-aged mice showed that a dose - equivalent to a dose in humans - of 500 mg a day prevented most age-related physiological decline. This would suggest people that are older than 50 might benefit from higher doses, whilst for people in their 30s or 40s a dose of 250 mg might be sufficient.
Another factor to consider is body weight. More body mass means more cells, thus more NMN would be needed to raise NAD+ levels. If you are heavier than average, you might want to consider taking an extra capsule per day.
A rule of thumb
Considering what we explained in the sections above, we still stand by our recommended dose of 250 mg - at least when you’re start taking NMN for the first time. If you feel the effects of NMN are limited, your body might require more NMN to adequately raise NAD+ levels and you may want to consider increasing the dose. Besides your personal health status, age and weight would be the best factors to use to decide the dosage you would need. And when in doubt, always seek the help of a health or medical professional.
The future of dosing
Defining the right dose ultimately depends on your personal situation. There is no straightforward answer. Age, weight, spending power, overall health… all these factors might play a role. At For Youth, we are very aware of this challenge and we also see a way forward.
If you have been using NMN for a month or 2 or 3 and you’re only noticing minor effects, you might want to consider increasing the dose. A more scientific way of approaching dosing, would be to regularly do a biological age test. A small improvement or even an increase of your biological age could indicate your dose is too low.
In the near future, For Youth will also launch a bioavailability tests to determine your NAD+ levels. By tracking your levels, you could optimise the dose you need even better.
-FY
