Millions of people suffer from a condition called peripheral artery disease, or PAD.
It’s a health problem where the blood flow to the legs becomes weak, usually because fatty deposits build up in the arteries.
This makes it hard for blood to reach the leg muscles, especially during exercise like walking. As a result, people often feel pain, cramping, and tiredness in their legs. Even short walks can become difficult and painful.
PAD is very common, especially in older adults. In the United States alone, more than 8.5 million people over the age of 40 have this condition. Doctors often suggest special exercise programs, like walking under supervision, to help improve blood flow.
But many people don’t have access to such programs. That’s why researchers are working hard to find other ways to help people with PAD live more comfortably.
Now, a new study brings hope. Scientists from Northwestern University and the University of Florida have found that a supplement called nicotinamide riboside might help people with PAD walk longer without feeling pain.
This supplement is a type of vitamin B3, and it’s already popular as an anti-aging product. In fact, in 2022, sales of nicotinamide riboside in the U.S. reached $60 million.
In this study, 90 people with PAD, most of them around 71 years old, were asked to take the supplement or a fake pill (placebo) every day for six months. Neither the participants nor the researchers knew who was getting the real pill. This type of study is called “double-blind” and helps make sure the results are fair and unbiased.
At the end of the six months, those who took nicotinamide riboside could walk, on average, 57 feet farther than those who took the placebo.
When tested in a six-minute walking test, the supplement group improved by 23 feet, while the placebo group walked 34 feet less than before. Even more exciting, the people who took at least 75% of their pills added more than 100 feet to their walking distance.
This supplement seems to work by increasing a substance in the body called NAD, which helps produce energy and repair cells. People with PAD often have low energy in their leg muscles, so boosting NAD may help them move more easily.
The researchers also tried combining nicotinamide riboside with another popular compound called resveratrol, which is found in red wine and believed to be good for health. But adding resveratrol didn’t seem to make the results any better.
Professor Christiaan Leeuwenburgh from the University of Florida, one of the study leaders, said this is a strong sign that nicotinamide riboside could really help people with PAD. However, he also said that bigger studies are needed to prove the results and to be sure the supplement is safe.
Dr. Mary McDermott, an expert in PAD at Northwestern, also took part in the research. The team now wants to do more studies, not just on people with PAD but also on healthy older adults, to see if the supplement can help them stay active and independent as they age.
This discovery gives new hope for older people who want to stay healthy and keep moving. It also shows how some vitamin supplements, like nicotinamide riboside, might one day become useful tools in the fight against aging and poor circulation.
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