Key Takeaways
- NAD+ helps your cells turn food into energy and supports enzymes that maintain DNA.
- Liv's nasal spray and injection contain the same active ingredient, NAD+.
- The nasal spray is a metered spray you use once or twice a day, with no needle.
- With the injection, you give yourself a shot twice a week.
- Tell your provider which you'd prefer, and they'll help you choose based on your health history.
Some people would rather never give themselves a shot. Others would rather think about their medicine twice a week than every morning. If you're choosing between an NAD+ nasal spray and an injection, it usually comes down to which of those feels more comfortable to you.
How Your Cells Use NAD+
Your body builds NAD+ from niacin, also called vitamin B3. It also makes some from tryptophan, an amino acid in protein. More than 400 enzymes need NAD+, and no other helper molecule made from a vitamin works with as many. Here's where it shows up:
- Feel more in the tank: Every cell you have converts food into usable energy, and that conversion runs on NAD+.
- Built to bounce back: Your DNA takes small hits every day. The enzymes that repair it spend NAD+ to do the work.
- Firing on all cylinders: Cells coordinate through enzymes that manage stress and signaling. Those enzymes depend on NAD+.
Three more enzyme families, sirtuins, CD38 and PARPs, need NAD+ as a helper to do their work.
How Do the Nasal Spray and Injection Compare?
Both contain NAD+, the same active ingredient that's in Liv's oral drops. The difference is how you take it and how often.
| Nasal spray | Injection | |
|---|---|---|
| How you take it | A metered spray in each nostril | A shot under the skin |
| How often | Once or twice a day | Twice a week |
| Liv protocol schedule | One spray per nostril, once or twice daily (60 to 120 mg a day) | 100 mg twice weekly, then 200 mg twice weekly from month 2 |
| What it asks of you | A daily habit | Comfort with a needle on two set days |
| Active ingredient | NAD+ | NAD+ |
| Provider review | Before every refill | Before every refill |
SAME MOLECULE, TWO RHYTHMS
The choice is a rhythm, not a rank.
| Nasal spray | Injection | |
|---|---|---|
| How often | One to two times daily | Twice weekly |
| What it asks of you | No needle. A daily habit to keep | A shot under the skin on two fixed days |
Each route is offered as a choice of how you take NAD+, and the schedules do not convert into one another.
Which Form Fits Your Routine?
The form that fits you best is the one you'll stick with.
Would You Rather Skip the Needle?
Then the nasal spray may be right for you. You take NAD+ without injections, and because it's a metered spray, each use gives a set amount. It easily fits into your existing morning routine.
Would You Rather Think About It Twice a Week?
Then the injection may be right for you, as long as you're comfortable with a shot. You take it on two set days a week, which can be easier to remember than something you do every day.
Do Pills Get in Your Way?
Neither form is swallowed. That can help if your gut has trouble absorbing medicine, or if you'd rather not add another pill to the ones you already take. Tell your provider if either applies to you.
What Your Provider Weighs With You
Your health history, your goals and how you'd like to take NAD+. You share them on a short online health form, and a licensed provider then decides whether NAD+ is right for you and helps you choose between the spray and the injection. If it's right for you, they choose your dose and how much medicine you'll get.
Your provider stays with you after you start. Before each refill, you tell Liv how you're doing, and your provider reviews your progress and adjusts your plan as needed.
Side Effects and What to Tell Your Provider
Tell your provider about any side effects before you change how you use either form. With the injection, Liv's protocol lets your provider keep the same strength and prescribe it less often, or keep you on the first-month schedule instead of stepping up. If you already take nicotinamide riboside, say so, because a separate NAD+ prescription alongside it may not be right for you.
On your health form, list every medicine and supplement you take, including niacin or NMN.
Getting Started
Once you've sent your health form, a licensed provider reviews it within 48 hours. After approval, delivery usually takes 3 to 5 days, and compounding can add time. Your provider reviews your plan before every refill at no extra cost, and you can change your plan, skip a shipment or cancel from your account.
If you choose the injection, the dosage chart shows how its schedule steps up. The NAD+ supplement guide covers the other forms people ask about. When you're ready, start with an evaluation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is NAD+ nasal spray as effective as an injection?
Will either form make me feel more energetic?
Can I switch from the spray to the injection, or back?
Does the first prescription work the same for the spray and the injection?
Can I take NAD+ by mouth instead?
Where do the dosing schedules come from?
Are NAD+ nasal spray and injections FDA-approved?
Is NMN from the supplement shelf the same thing?
References
References
Before You Go…
Here are a few handpicked articles to inspire your next self-care moment.
