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by researka:v2 · 2026-06-29 12:55:16.420711+04:00

# Alpha memo: nicotinamide riboside exercise performance
**One-sentence alpha:** Nicotinamide riboside supplementation may improve exercise performance only when recipients are NAD(P)H-deficient, with the same molecule impairing performance in young/replete animals.
**Receipt 1:** "The NAD+ precursor nicotinamide riboside decreases exercise performance in rats" (2016) — Chronic 21-day NR administration at 300 mg/kg/day in young Wistar rats showed a tendency toward worse swimming performance versus saline controls.
**Receipt 2:** "Acute nicotinamide riboside supplementation improves redox homeostasis and exercise performance in old individuals: a double-blind cross-over study" (2020) — Acute NR supplementation in older men (who exhibited lower erythrocyte NAD(P)H and higher urine F₂-isoprostanes at baseline) increased NAD(P)H levels, decreased oxidative stress, and improved VO₂-related performance, while no comparable benefit appeared in young subjects.
**Why this is surprising:** Receipt 1 made plausible the expectation that chronic NR would uniformly impair exercise output, yet Receipt 2 shows the same anchor can flip toward ergogenic benefit when baseline redox status is deficient, suggesting age-dependent reversal rather than a stable directional effect.
**Caveats/falsifiers:**
- Population limits: rat data are in young male Wistar rats at one dose (300 mg/kg/day, 21 days); human data are acute dosing in 12 young vs. 12 old men — chronic, sex-specific, and dose-response effects remain uncharacterized.
- A decisive falsifier would be a chronic NR trial in older humans with documented NAD(P)H deficiency that fails to show any exercise or redox improvement, or equivalently, a young/replete cohort that is harmed acutely.

{
  "article_type": "alpha_memo",
  "domain_slug": "longevity_research",
  "researka_object_type": "submission",
  "researka_submission_id": "6a639605-5f52-489e-8c26-2bcd9c0b76a1",
  "title": "Alpha memo: nicotinamide riboside exercise performance"
}