NMN vs. Resveratrol – the difference explained.

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The most popular longevity supplements

The two most sought-after longevity supplements on the market today are NMN and Resveratrol. We have both products in our assortment at For Youth. Whilst the packaging and the capsules might look similar, the products themselves are different. Yet… very complementary.

NMN or nicotinamide mononucleotide is found naturally in the human body and in foods such as cabbage, cucumber, soy beans, avocado and broccoli. Resveratrol or  3,5,4′-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene is a polyphenol, a compound that certain plants produce to defend themselves against pressures such as weather, insect attacks and wounding. Resveratrol is found in high concentrations in red grape skin, but also in peanuts, blueberries, raspberries, mulberries and Japanese knotweed (Hu Zhang).

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You might wonder whether you should take The Base – NMN and The Grape – Resveratrol at the same time, or which one to start with first. Before we can answer this question, let’s take a step back and look at the process of ageing itself.

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Hallmarks of ageing

To put it simply, ageing is cell damage. Cells get damaged due to various genetic, environmental or lifestyle reasons. This damage leads to all kinds of symptoms, ranging from the simplest example of wrinkles to more severe diseases that shorten lifespan. In 2013, a framework was proposed to describe all known researched factors that explain why we age. This framework is called the “9 Hallmarks of Ageing”.

An example of one of these Hallmarks is “epigenetic alterations”. If your DNA is your blueprint, your epigenome is the management deciding what to build and what not. Under the influence of your epigenome, certain genes are turned off or on. If your epigenome gets damaged, this can lead to errors where cells behave in ways they shouldn’t. A cell in your liver might behave like a skin cell when it shouldn’t. Epigenetic alterations can therefore lead to all kinds of smaller issues and graver age-related diseases, from a slightly lower level of immunity to cells showing cancerous behaviour.

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Enter the sirtuins

Understanding why we age has also led to the discovery that ageing can be slowed down and even reversed. Sirtuins, for example, are longevity genes that produce certain proteins that respond to cell damage and fix it. 

Sirtuins were first discovered in yeast cells by the lab of Leonard Guarente at MIT. Not coincidentally, the now well-known David Sinclair was also working at this lab at that time. Later it was discovered that mammalian cells also produce sirtuin proteins and that adding more sirtuin genes to the DNA of mice significantly increased the lifespan of these animals. What NMN and resveratrol have in common is that they both interact with your so-called sirtuins. 

Synergistic effect

Most of us lead a life of guilty pleasures. We might eat a bit too much fast food or we don’t exercise as regularly as we should. Sirtuin genes are just very sensitive to unhealthy lifestyles. It makes them complacent and they then don’t produce as many of these precious proteins. Caloric restriction – on the other hand – activates the sirtuin genes. Now you might understand why a diet such as intermittent fasting is recommended to increase your lifespan. The interesting aspect of resveratrol is that it mimics the effects of caloric restriction and is able to activate your sirtuin genes. 

These sirtuin genes also need fuel to create the enzymes that fix your cell damage. This fuel is known as NAD+. NAD+ levels in your body go down as you age and raising NAD+ levels increase the levels of fuel available to the sirtuins. It’s hard to supplement NAD+ effectively to your body, but NMN has been proven to increase levels of NAD+.

You might now get where this is going: resveratrol activates the longevity genes and NMN supplies the fuel that your longevity genes need to fix cell damage. And – on an even deeper level – NMN and resveratrol together target all 9 Hallmarks of Ageing.

Anti-ageing benefits

NMN and resveratrol work holistically against ageing, meaning that they both – as they support repairing cell damage – have a whole range of short term and longer term health benefits. In the short term, people report having more energy after taking either one of the two. Others are reporting a sharper mind, better sleep or a more glowing skin. 

Resveratrol is also considered an antioxidant as it not only supports fixing cell damage, but it also prevents it. Due to the antioxidant properties, resveratrol has also shown to be beneficial to heart and blood health by lowering blood pressure, lowering “bad” cholesterol and increasing insulin sensitivity. Several studies are also showing promising results for resveratrol in anti-cancer therapies.

NMN or resveratrol?

Whether to take resveratrol or NMN or both is a personal choice. NAD+ levels decline as you age, so the older you get, the more NMN you would need to boost your NAD+ levels. Activating your longevity genes can also be done by exercising or eating less food, but resveratrol offers a more reliable solution. Some people also specifically take resveratrol due to the cardiovascular benefits. But, if you want to target all 9 Hallmarks of Ageing at once, we recommend taking both The Base – NMN and The Grape – Resveratrol at the same time. As always, we do recommend speaking to your doctor before starting the use of NMN or resveratrol.