As we’ve mentioned, functional medicine treatments offer potential benefits for athletes. Depending on your needs, NAD intravenous therapy may be prescribed for post-workout concerns, such as upping hydration and alleviating muscle fatigue. And guess what – NAD IV therapy from the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre is here to help with sports recovery.

NAD is short for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, and its effects are gaining attention with new and experienced athletes. This is a crucial coenzyme and, without it, we likely wouldn’t be functioning! Our cellular processes lean on NAD for the conversion of food into energy, for shifting energy between cells, DNA protection, and to support sleep and metabolic functions. When you think about it, NAD bears major significance on a cellular level. 

If you’re regularly physically active, this article may inspire you to adopt a post-workout regime. 

Our Toronto IV Lounge highlights the following for educational purposes: 

• • Understanding the need for post-workout recovery;
  • The beneficial effects of NAD after a training session or game;
  • How NAD+ IV is administered in our Toronto IV Lounge. 

What’s the deal with post-workout recovery?

Indeed, exercise has positive effects on cardiovascular health, weight, mood and blood pressure – but it instinctively stresses the body. Working out causes tiny tears to the muscles; enzymes and hormones can wildly alter in levels; and inflammation begins to intensify. 

Due to these negative effects, your immune health kicks into gear to promote healing. Once you recover from these damages, your body responds with improvements in your strength, flexibility, etc. And when you perform the same moves at your next practice, your body won’t experience the same amount of damage. This is all part of the recovery process; the number of times you redo physical movements can lead to fitness improvements. 

Optimizing post-workout recovery can help athletic health goals, especially for preventing muscular and cellular damage. If this process is ignored, tissue injuries can endure for weeks, triggering pain and weakness, which can impact your future physical performances. This is why stretching, staying hydrated, and eating protein is needed after a game or training. Depending on your symptoms, a functional medicine provider may recommend getting NAD IV therapy.

Suggested reading: Unlocking the Signs of NAD+ Deficiency and How to Address Them: A Guide to NAD IV Therapy in Toronto

Muscle recovery benefits from IV NAD+ treatments

NAD IV therapy is when a NAD solution is administered into your bloodstream. A tube safely connects your vein to the intravenous treatment, which allows for the solution to rapidly enter the body without using the digestive tract. As digestion isn’t needed, the body can immediately use NAD to promote healing. IV NAD+ may offer these health benefits for sports recovery:

• • It can promote muscle growth: Muscle regeneration requires optimal amounts of cellular energy production. But this requires NAD and unfortunately, the essential coenzyme declines as people age. “The vast majority of studies indicate that lower NAD+ levels are deleterious for muscle health and higher NAD+ levels augment muscle health,” confirms a Skeletal Muscle report.  
  • NAD may enhance energy levels: A NAD+ IV drip could help prevent or alleviate post-workout fatigue. Physical activity requires ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is the foundation for bodily energy. IV NAD+ could help older adults recover from sports by boosting ATP levels. 
  • May lessen inflammation and chronic pain: Lengthy, high-endurance workouts can increase your amount of inflammatory oxidative stress, which can influence chronic inflammation. “NAD+ deficiency exerts effects on the emergence of oxidative stress in multiple diseases, while boosting NAD+ has protective effects due to enhancement of antioxidant capacity…” says a Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy article. 
  • Could potentially shorten recovery times: NAD contributes to cellular health by producing and repairing cells; because the absorption of nutrients is immediate with IV therapy, NAD can be quickly absorbed to speed-up the healing process. This may shorten your recovery time and help you prep for the next game! 

Note: NAD IV therapy is a form of adjuvant therapy. It should not replace current medications, a balanced diet, exercise, or any other health regiments. IV NAD+ should be amalgamated with regular supplementation, a healthy lifestyle, and additional therapies. 

Are you seeking new health strategies to one-up your game? Do you need to improve reaction times or endurance on the playing field? Let’s explore the potential benefits of NAD IV therapy – request your consult with us now. 

What to expect from our functional NAD+ IV drips 

We administer intravenous therapy in our in-house IV Lounge, which opened in 2012. Along with various essential nutrients, we can prescribe NAD IV therapy for your needs. Our IV Lounge practitioners have 50+ years of combined experience, and we modify your NAD+ IV dose with the principles of integrative functional medicine. Your dose is calculated for biological needs – and is unique to you only!

During your initial consultation, we’ll go over your current health issues and whether you’re allergic to the IV fluids. You can opt for a stand-alone NAD drip or have NAD with a series of nourishing drips. Our clinic adheres to a collaborative approach to health care, so your comfort matters to us! We also ensure that your session is closely monitored by our health team, which consists of naturopathic doctors, nurse practitioners and registered nurses.  

Our IV menu includes folic acid, glutathione, vitamin C, and more; we can also customize vitamin drip therapy for unique health goals. For example, if you feel like aging is taking a toll on your skin, we can blend an IV drip with detoxifying amino acids, antioxidants, and essential vitamins. When intravenous therapy is added to a healthy lifestyle and other functional medicine treatments, it may support health enhancements. 

Our clinicians aim to address the root cause of your health concerns. Functional lab testing can also be accessed to provide us with explicit details about your gut, hormones, brain function, and environmental exposures. 

Request your initial visit for NAD IV therapy from the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre! NAD+ IV treatments may contribute to fighting chronic stress, improving cognitive function, and supporting muscle health. Call our dedicated health team to become a new patient today. 

Disclaimer: The information in this article is designed for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. This information should not be used to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting a doctor. You should always consult with a health care practitioner before relying on any information in this article or on this website. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your doctor or other qualified healthcare provider because of information you have read from the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre website or other affiliate media. 

 

References

Campelj, D., & Philp, A. (2022). NAD+ Therapeutics and Skeletal Muscle Adaptation to Exercise in Humans. Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.z.), 52(Suppl 1), 91-99. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-022-01772-2

Chubanava, S., & Treebak, J. T. (2023). Regular exercise effectively protects against the aging-associated decline in skeletal muscle NAD content. Experimental Gerontology, 173, 112109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2023.112109

Goody MF, Henry CA. A need for NAD+ in muscle development, homeostasis, and aging. Skelet Muscle. 2018 Mar 7;8(1):9. doi: 10.1186/s13395-018-0154-1. PMID: 29514713; PMCID: PMC5840929.

O’Connor E, Mündel T, Barnes MJ. Nutritional Compounds to Improve Post-Exercise Recovery. Nutrients. 2022 Nov 29;14(23):5069. doi: 10.3390/nu14235069. PMID: 36501099; PMCID: PMC9736198.

Poljsak B, Milisav I. NAD+ as the Link Between Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, Caloric Restriction, Exercise, DNA Repair, Longevity, and Health Span. Rejuvenation Res. 2016 Oct;19(5):406-415. doi: 10.1089/rej.2015.1767. Epub 2016 Mar 16. PMID: 26725653.

“Post-Workout Muscle Recovery: How to Let Your Muscles Heal and Why” for Everyday Health, posted on March 22, 2023, viewd on October 3, 2024. 

Thirupathi, A., Pinho, R. A., Ugbolue, U. C., He, Y., Meng, Y., & Gu, Y. (2021). Effect of Running Exercise on Oxidative Stress Biomarkers: A Systematic Review. Frontiers in Physiology, 11, 610112. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2020.610112

Walzik, D., Jonas, W., Joisten, N., Belen, S., I. Wüst, R. C., Guillemin, G., & Zimmer, P. (2023). Tissue-specific effects of exercise as NAD+-boosting strategy: Current knowledge and future perspectives. Acta Physiologica, 237(3), e13921. https://doi.org/10.1111/apha.13921

Xie, N., Zhang, L., Gao, W., Huang, C., Huber, P. E., Zhou, X., Li, C., Shen, G., & Zou, B. (2020). NAD+ metabolism: Pathophysiologic mechanisms and therapeutic potential. Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, 5. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-020-00311-7