What does NADH do in the body?

Increases energy:
Simply put, NADH increases cell energy production. As we age, the energy level in our cells decrease. When cellular energy declines below a certain threshold, the cell dies and the tissue degenerates.

Mental and physical functions:
It is a scientific fact cellular energy increases in the mental functions of thinking, remembering (memory) and decision making. It is also a scientific fact cellular energy increases in the physical functions of muscle performance, endurance, agility and coordination. When NADH is depleted in the cell, mental and physical functions will decrease. When the pool of NADH increases within the cell, mental and physical functions will increase.

It is a scientific fact that the loss of cell energy plays a substantial role in degenerative diseases.

Because NADH increases cell energy production, it keeps the cell alive for a longer period of time, and plays an active role in correcting the conditions that cause degenerative diseases. After years of effort by Dr. Birkmayer (creator of Co-E1®) he has been able to successfully manufacture NADH in a nutritional supplement.

Co-E1® is the only nutritional supplement in the world today that contains stable, active NADH. NADH is the abbreviation for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. The ‘H’ stands for hydrogen. It is the active hydrogen in NADH that provides so many benefits to the human body. It is keeping the ‘H’ (hydrogen) stable and active in the NADH, that makes the manufacturing nearly impossible. In late 1997, there are 11 NADH products on the market. Testing has shown none of them have active NADH.

Taking an Co-E1® an NADH nutritional supplement provides this additional life energy source life for our body's cells.

This energy enhancing effect is reported by people taking NADH tablets. The greatest effects are reported from people with symptoms of fatigue. This energy levelimprovement has been confirmed by special laboratory tests measuring the energy production of cells before and after taking Co-E1® / NADH nutritional supplements.

What does NADH do in the body? (2 of 4)

NADH has a direct, positive role in many of the body's cells (like the immune system, the repair of damaged DNA and damaged cells). This is in addition to NADH's primary role in energy production. The next few pages describe onefunction: NADH as the most biologically potent antioxidant.

NADH is nature's superman of biological antioxidants defending against the damage caused by free radicals.

Antioxidant Summary:
An antioxidant is nature's way to neutralize free radicals. An antioxidant is a scavenger of free radicals. Free radicals damage the body's cells in a variety of ways.

Medical science has shown that free radicals are involved in the development of neuro-degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Free radicals have also shown to be involved in the development of Parkinson’s disease auto immune disease, cancer, coronary disease, artherosclerosis, diabetes, and much more.

NADH, on the basis of its biochemical features, has the strongest positive effect in fighting the threat of free radicals and their potential to do damage.

High reduction power:
NADH has strong antioxidant features, in addition to all its other functions. NADH is the body's most potent biological antioxidant. In terms of biochemistry, aging is a transition from an energy rich state to an energy poor state. An energy rich state is also called the reduced form. An energy poor state is also called the oxidized form. An analogy would be oxidized steel (or rusted metal) is the poorer of the two states of the metal. In biology it is much the same way:

• An energy rich state is the reduced form of a biological compound.
• An energy poor state is the oxidized form of a compound.

NADH is the reduced form (energy rich) of the biological compound called coenzyme #1. It is called coenzyme #1 based on its level of importance to the body. It's the highest ranking coenzyme in the body.

Coenzyme #1 is the substance within the cell with the highest reduction power of all biologically active compounds. This is a complex topic, but we are attempting to teach you why: NADH has the number one antioxidative capability.

The high reducing power of NADH is used in creating energy. The body uses excess NADH as its scavenger of free radicals. Remember this is coenzyme #1. It does the scavenging of free radicals better than any other biological substance known to the body.

Free radicals:

Free radicals cause good hard working cells to turn bad

What does NADH do in the body? (3 of 4)
NADH is nature's potent Antioxidant
. . . continued from the previous page

Free radicals cause good hard working cells to turn bad.

Free radical formation can be triggered by some medications including some antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs. Free radical formation can also be triggered by smog, industrial pollution, smoking, chemicals that are environmental toxins, and heavy metals found in food and water.

Free radicals:
Free radicals damage cells and the cell's genes (DNA code) in very destructive ways. They do so by knocking out the needed electrons from normal molecules.

Our bodies are constantly regenerating its cells. It is believed that under normal conditions, every cell in the body will be replaced within 7 years. The exception to this rule is when a cell dies. Some cells have short life spans. For example, a blood cell's life span lasts about 4 months.

Damaging a cell's genes can cause problems for next generation of cells. Free radicals are extremely reactive molecules which interact with many compounds in our cells. The compounds most effected are the lipid containing structures (like the cell membrane.) A lipid is a type of fat.

Free radicals will react with the lipids of a cell membrane, violating the cell wall integrity. This will cause cell leakage and eventually will result in the death of the cell.

Where do free radicals come from?
Did you ever see a movie where people were to close to an atomic blast. On a grand scale, the body is damage by free radicals. Free radicals are formed in our cells by something knocking out electrons from a normal molecule.

Medical science has known for years that x-rays, high energy radiation, and even the sun's UV rays can create free radicals. In the past 20 years medical science has found that free radicals formation is also triggered by:

• environmental toxins, and some type of chemicals found around the home and office.
• drugs including some types of antibiotics and some anti-inflammatory medications.
• ozone, some types of smog, and some types of industrial pollutants.
• smoking, and alcohol.
• heavy metals that may be found in food and water.

Small amounts of free radicals are also produced in normal cells by metabolic reactions. Our body possess a defense system to protect its cells from being irreversibly damaged. This system is called the antioxidative protection shield.

This is where the word, "antioxidative - or anti-oxidation" comes from. The first and most important antioxidant component in this shield is NADH. It is the reduced form of coenzyme #1 also called NADH nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. It is the most potent biological antioxidant because it has the highest "reduction" of unpaired electrons.

In the presence of free radical inducers (like radiation) the intracellular content of free radicals increases considerably. The antioxidative protection system can cope with the natural amounts produced in the body. The system becomes overwhelmed when large amounts of free radicals are caused by the outside environment.

The more free radicals present in a cell, the more damage a cell suffers leading to earlier cell death. Increased cell death can lead to premature tissue degeneration. Medical science has shown that free radicals are involved in thedevelopment of neuro-degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Free radicals are also involved in the development of auto immune disease, cancer, coronary disease, artherosclerosis, diabetes, and much more.

Protection:
It is vital that a supply of antioxidants or free radical scavengers be sufficient to meet level of free radicals in our body. To keep a sufficient supply of antioxidants in the body an nutritional supplement may be necessary. One of the most potent antioxidants and free radical scavengers is NADH. NADH enters the cell from the outside world (our diet) and increases the intracellular antioxidant pool.

Elderly people can especially benefit from an antioxidant nutritional supplement (like NADH). It has been found that the antioxidant pool within the body declines with aging. This leaves the elderly more vulnerable to free radical damage and the diseases they cause.

What does NADH do in the body? (4 of 4)
NADH is nature's potent Antioxidant

No biological substance is more powerful, or more potent an antioxidant than NADH. It is the strongest defense against the damage of free radicals. The browser "reload key" will re-synchronize this animation.

Where are antioxidants found?
Biological antioxidants are present in all living cells. The body's antioxidants protect their cell membranes from anormal level of free radicals. When the level of free radicals rise above normal levels, an antioxidant nutritional supplement is recommended.

Well known antioxidant nutritional supplements are beta carotene (a vitamin A precursor) vitamins C, D, E, and selenium. NADH, like the other antioxidants are known to protect the body's cells from free radical damage. Protecting cells from free radical damage reduces the risks of developing neuro-degenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

In May 1997, the New England Journal of Medicinereported:

• The mental deterioration of Alzheimer's can be slowed significantly by taking vitamin E (Vitamin E is a well known antioxidant. The antioxidant NADH did not participate in this clinical trial which tested vitamin E.)
• Researchers want patients in the earlier stages of Alzheimer's. Their hope is that if treatment begins early enough, antioxidants might postpone Alzheimer’s disease indefinitely.

Free radicals are also shown to be involved in the development of auto immune disease, cancer, coronary disease, artherosclerosis, diabetes, and much more.

It is believed that taking antioxidants may help slow the advance of neuro-degenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson's disease

Reminder:
Remember to view the library's section that describes the involvement of NADH in many of the body's internal workings.