Hi, I’m Sophie, one of the founders and scientists behind Avea formulations.
Two months ago, I started an exciting experiment to validate the efficacy of our products. I wanted to see first-hand how our NMN and Booster supplements affect my NAD+ levels and overall well-being.
In this blog post, I’ll share my experience, what I learned, and the impact on my energy, immune health, and daily life. Join me as I reveal the details of this interesting journey.
In this article
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The experiment
Two months ago, I decided to start a small experiment and conduct some at-home blood tests.
The aim was to see whether the impact of our NMN and Booster on my NAD+ levels was measurable over time. This meant I had to do a washout period of at least 4 weeks to begin from a proper baseline.
If you want to know how you currently stand in terms of NAD+ levels, you can also take an NAD+ test today and see where you stand now. This provides insight without needing to stop your supplementation entirely, as I did for my experiment.
For those unfamiliar, NAD+ (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide) is a crucial coenzyme in the body that plays a key role in energy production and cellular health. Maintaining high NAD+ levels is associated with improved energy, metabolism, and overall vitality.
NMN (Nicotinamide Mononucleotide) is a direct precursor of NAD+, and supplementing with NMN has been shown to directly raise NAD+ levels in the body. Our Booster complements this effect as it contains ingredients that support enzymes key in converting NMN to NAD+ (e.g., Resveratrol and Pterostilbene) and ingredients that inhibit enzymes breaking down NAD+ (e.g., Apigenin). This makes the two supplements a perfect synergy.
I had been taking the NMN (1 capsule of 250mg) and Booster (1 softgel) since we launched, meaning for over 2 years, pretty much non-stop. I might have forgotten them for a weekend away, but never took a break of more than 2–3 days.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from not taking these two supplements daily. Note that I continued all the other supplements in my daily routine (e.g. the Collagen Activator, Cell Primer, Stabiliser, Essentials, extra Magnesium, etc.).
Spoiler alert: I felt a big difference. Keep scrolling if you want the details…
The shift in my mornings
My alarm is set every morning for 7:30 am, but I often find myself waking up a few minutes earlier, feeling energised. I’m always surprised at how easily I can get out of bed without snoozing—And to be honest, that’s a change I have to give credit to our Vitality Bundle. It wasn’t always this way.
I already felt a shift within a week of stopping the two supplements. Waking up suddenly became much harder. I found myself wishing for more time in bed, snoozing, and really missing that feeling of being refreshed and rested.
I usually don’t reach for coffee until much later, after I’ve had breakfast. Coffee, first thing in the morning, isn’t that great for your adrenals. I also don’t really use it to feel more alert; I simply enjoy the taste of coffee, and the ritual of drinking it. But I have to admit I caved many mornings, as I really felt I needed that extra caffeine kick to get me started.
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The impact on my immune system
I don’t mean to brag, but I’m hardly ever sick, despite having a toddler who brings back all kinds of plagues from daycare. If I ever get a cold, it’s usually very mild and only lasts a few days.
During the washout month, I had to travel within Europe and attended a big ingredient fair in Geneva. I’ve been there many times over the years without catching any bugs.
Seriously, even during Covid times when they started to open up again, and we had to wear masks at the event location. My immune system had been proving itself. But this time was different; I kept waking up everyday after the event, with a sore throat, congested nose, and an overall feeling of tiredness.
This state lasted for at least 3 weeks without really getting better. Maybe it was a mild form of Covid, as there seemed to be a new wave going around, but I never had anything lasting this long. Even when I tested positive for Covid back in 2022, the symptoms only lasted about 3 days.
Not sure what it was (I’m healthy again now, luckily), but I suspect not taking the NMN and Booster didn’t set my immune system up for success. And indeed, research shows that NAD+ plays a crucial role in enhancing the body’s innate immunity and regulating the immune response to infections.
Besides, a study on Covid patients indicated that those taking NAD+ precursors experienced better recovery. This makes sense because your immune system consumes more NAD+ to fight off viruses and infections.
The change in my energy levels and focus
Another humble brag: I tend to have great energy levels throughout the day. I don’t NEED to drink coffee (again, I really like the taste and usually indulge in 1–2 cups per day, never more).
I also don’t really experience any kind of post-lunch/afternoon “slump” (eating healthy and the Stabiliser help, of course…). Last but not least, I believe that I usually also have great mental focus to align many productive working hours during the day.
My batteries aren’t empty when I get home; I still have the drive to make dinner, play with my son, get him ready for bed (any parent of young children reading this knows this should be an Olympic discipline). Sometimes, I even find the motivation to complete a workout, if I haven’t managed to do so during the day.
But those 4 weeks were rough. As previously mentioned, I was congested non-stop, which didn’t help. I felt much more drained. It was hard coping with the stress, and my body was just not recovering properly.
Of course, all of this also affected my temper, patience, and my overall wellbeing. I have many good habits to balance my stress and help my body recover: red light therapy, walks in nature, infrared sauna blanket, cold showers, etc. I’m sure they all helped, but none of it brought me back to the level I seem to reach when on the Vitality Bundle.
And it wasn’t just a ‘feeling’. I wear an Oura ring to track my sleep, activity, stress levels, and more. During the time I stopped taking the Vitality Bundle, my readiness score averaged 75.
Once I resumed the supplements, my score increased to an average of 87. While correlation doesn’t equal causation, this reflected how I felt overall. It will be interesting to see if the NAD+ test results correlate with the below trend as well.
Completing the washout and measuring my NAD+ baseline
In the end, I spent exactly 5 weeks without taking the NMN and Booster, and I couldn’t wait to start taking them again.
I took an at-home dried blood spot test from the testing company Bloodo on the Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of that last washout week to measure my baseline NAD+ levels (more on that in another article, once the results have been analysed!).
I restarted the two supplements on Friday, June 14th. Since then, I have been taking an NAD+ test weekly, for the past four weeks to measure any increase in my blood levels.
All my samples are currently stored in my freezer and will be shipped to the lab for analysis next week after I take the final test. So, you’ll have to be patient…
It’s important to note that this kind of testing is not necessary for everyone. I undertook this experiment primarily to better understand how our supplements impact NAD+ levels, not as something that everyone needs to do. But it can be useful to monitor your own NAD+ levels to see if they are sufficient or if you need to increase your dose of NAD+ precursors.
This restart was just in time for me to go on our quarterly Avea company retreat in Milan, the following Monday. I love our retreats and spending time with the whole Avea team, but these retreats are always intense (work and socialising-wise).
So, I’m pretty confident when I say– I would not have been able to function at my best during those 4 days without the Vitality Bundle.
I’m biased, of course, but I clearly remember telling the team on the Friday after the retreat that I was feeling a huge shift. Two weeks in, waking up was getting much easier again, all of my health symptoms were gone (I did start to get better towards the end of the washout, but the two supplements might have helped eradicate the last bits of that cold!). I felt productive, focused, more patient, my workouts got stronger again, and my sustained energy was back.
It’s now been almost a month since I started taking the NMN and Booster again, and I can gladly say that I feel “back to my normal self.”
Of course, my lifestyle is not perfect, and I do have moments where I’m not as energised. It is hard to explain, but I still have the sense that I am performing on another level and have an overall feeling of wellness.
I’m looking forward to sharing the detailed results from my NAD+ tests soon. Stay tuned to learn more about the effects that the Vitality Bundle has on cellular health and overall wellbeing.
