what is NADH
NADH is compound that is extremely important for our biological systems and forms the energy level of an organism.It is actually a reduced form of a co enzyme NAD (nicotine adenine dinucleotide). It is the important component of ETC (electron transport chain). It is found in all organisms like plants, animals etc.
It is a naturally‐occurring and vital compound found in all living cells of plants, animals, and humans. It is essential for adequate energy, and supplementation can improve energy levels. The human body carries on many important functions or activities at the same time. All of these activities require cellular energy production. The memory, immune system, and even the DNA repair system are dependent on the proper production of cellular energy. But wait, the benefits of NADH don’t end there. NADH has also been proven to increase energy, as well as act as an antiaging nutrient, enhances memory, is the body’s top antioxidant, and can help with specific diseases such as Parkinson’s, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), depression, and Alzheimer’s disease.In summary, NADH is a highly powerful form of vitamin B3 commonly referred to as niacin or niacinamide. NADH is present in all living cells of humans, animals, and plants. Hence, it is present in our daily food sources. However, animal protein sources—meat, poultry, and fish—contain the highest amount of NADH. Vegetables, fruits, and other vegetarian food have a much lower NADH content. Plants need less energy to survive and no energy for locomotion or movement, so they have less NADH. Vegetarians,therefore, receive little NADH from their diets and should consider supplementing with NADH. Many other people also can benefit from taking NADH supplements, though, for a few key reasons. First, almost all of the NADH we take in from food is destroyed during food preparation. Second, even if our diets consisted mostly of raw meat or fish (which isn’t advisable), we would only receive a minimum of NADH from these food sources. Most of the NADH in these foods would be degraded by the stomach’s own digestive gastric acids that break down food into its constituent parts for absorption. Other health benefits: It protects the liver from alcohol damage. NADH is actually the cofactor (activator) of the enzyme that degrades alcohol (alcohol dehydrogenase). This means that the more NADH you have in your liver, the faster alcohol is eliminated. NADH also prevents the alcohol‐induced inhibition of the sex hormone testosterone. Under the influence of alcohol, the production of the sex hormone testosterone is blocked. In other words, the more alcohol you consume, the lower your sex drive becomes. In the presence of NADH, this alcohol‐induced inhibition of testosterone production is diminished or absent. NADH lowers cholesterol levels and blood pressure. In a double‐blind animal trial utilizing spontaneously hypertensive rats, NADH lowered cholesterol levels within eight weeks and reduced blood pressure within eleven weeks. These preliminary animal studies suggest that NADH has potential for lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels in humans. NADH inhibits dopamine auto‐oxidation. The neurotransmitter dopamine is spontaneously oxidized in our bodies, in particular in the brain; this is called auto‐oxidation. This process is found to be significantly higher hi older individuals. Since NADH can inhibit the auto‐oxidation of dopamine, it represents a useful tool in reducing or preventing damage to certain areas of the brain. NADH enhances the immune system. NADH is directly involved in the cellular immune defense system. Special white blood cells, called macrophages, are responsible for direct elimination of foreign bodies such as bacteria, viruses, and molds. They literally capture these foreign bodies and then degrade and eliminate them. During this process, a markedly increased metabolic activity including oxygen consumption takes place. Most of the oxygen is converted to superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, which are able to destroy viruses or bacteria. This phenomenon is known as “metabolic burst” and appears to be the first and most critical step leading to the destruction of the foreign invader. Large amounts of NADH are required for this process. Hence, the more NADH your body has available, the more protection your immune system can provide. NADH enhances a person’s memory.Memory is not a single function; rather, it’s composed of a system of multiple processes. Memory can be defined as the storage of information, signals, and stimuli received by our five senses and the retrieval of this stored information. The major prerequisite for memory is cognition. Cognition is the process of receiving signals from outside the body. This is triggered by a chemical reaction in the cells of the central nervous system, and certain molecules induce information from one form to the other. These neurotransmitters are responsible for vegetative as well as cognitive performance. The best known neurotransmitters are adrenaline, its precursor noradrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin. With an increase in the production of these neurotransmitters, cognitive performance will improve. Several studies have shown that dopamine and adrenaline production are naturally increased by NADH. Therefore, NADH can effectively enhance memory. NADH is a coenzyme. What is a coenzyme? A coenzyme is a substance that enhances or is necessary for the action of all enzymes in the body. Coenzymes are generally much smaller molecules than enzymes themselves. Enzymes are large biological molecules that catalyze biological processes and create products in our bodies that we need for basic survival. Without a coenzyme, the majority of enzymes in the body are useless. Enzymes can be compared to production machinery in a factory that transposes one material into another one. In living cells, enzymes catalyze the breakdown and turnover of food components into smaller units, converting food into energy and water. Enzymes can perform their work only if an additional essential factor combines with the molecule itself. This factor is called a coenzyme. Without a complementary coenzyme, enzymes will not work and, therefore, they cannot produce complete protein systems for the human body. Hence, a coenzyme is essential for an enzyme to become active. Unlike DHEA and melatonin, NADH is not a hormone, but a coenzyme. How does my energy depend on NADH? The billions of cells that form tissue and organs and ultimately the human body have an important assignment: to produce energy. If our cells slow down or decline in their energy production, the most visible result is that we are tired and can increasingly experience greater overall fatigue. NADH is part of every living cell. Inside each cell a process known as the Krebs cycle combines NADH with Hydrogen to form ATP, your body’s own energy. NADH also an “energyrich” compound. Energy is stored in the NADH molecule. When NADH reacts with the oxygen present in every cell, energy is produced in the form of ATP. One NADH molecule leads to the formation of three ATP molecules. In other words, NADH has triple the energy capacity of ATP. Furthermore, NADH creates additional energy when it reacts with oxygen and water forming nicotinamide (also known as vitamin B3) and ADP (adenosine diphosphate). This all means that NADH is a super energizer. ( http://co-e1.com/science/nadh/)
Exact and good answer Ayasha.
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