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This is Brandon, one of the Co-Founders at Ion Layer.
A few months back I was hit with my second bout of Covid. No big deal right? After all, I’d had it before and recovered quickly. Or so I thought… The timing was terrible, it was the first week of school for our oldest daughter, which meant that she’d have to stay home for 2 more weeks after excitedly anticipating her first day of Kindergarten for months.
Certainly not the thing any parent wants to tell one of their children.
To make matters worse, I was so tired and so foggy mentally that I started to run a bath (searching desparately of some relief for my lower back which was seizing up) in the middle of the night after falling asleep on the bathroom floor…
So how did that end? Not well. I woke up from my brain fog stupor, not only to water all around, but also to my wife bailing water with a cooler out of the garage from the first floor of our home. The tub had flooded over and was pouring down the air vent all the way down and through to the first floor.
I wish I could say it was only uphill from here, but it wasn’t. After struggling for 2 weeks my physical symptoms from covid finally went away but was lingered was significantly worse than the short term effects of covid.
I was hit with something I’ve never experienced before: MASSIVE BRAIN FOG. I have had friends describe brain fog from toxic mold before or even other things, but never before had I experienced it myself. I thrive on moving fast, being a high performer, my brain firing on all cylinders and now for the first time when I sat behind a keyboard I felt like a caveman. The timing couldn’t have been worse. The Ion Layer Beta Kits were 1 month away from shipping and we had loads of work to be done, but my brain wasn’t having any of it.
What happened next has only made me more passionate about IonLayer. About 4 weeks into my brain fog, low energy and fatigue, another early round of Ion Layer NAD+ kits arrived at my home. I’d read of the benefits of using NAD+ for low energy, fatigue, brain fog, etc. before but to be honest, I hadn’t had those issues. I’ve been a big fan of NAD+ for some time to treat a chronic autoimmune disease I was diagnosed with 10 years ago. NAD+ has been fantastic helping me manage it, but now for the first time I was ready to test it out (and pray that it worked) in getting me past my lethargy and brain fog.
Just weeks after going through a kit I felt about 80% and a few weeks later back at 100% and I couldn’t be more thankful or more firm of a believe in building IonLayer. The NAD+ delivered through the IonLayer patches helped me recover from something I was truly worried I’d never recover from.
For those that are new to NAD+, it is a molecule found in every cell of the human body. It plays a crucial role in:
- energy metabolism
- DNA repair
- vital cellular processes.
More recently (much to my benefit) there has been a growing interest in the potential use of NAD+ as a treatment for long covid, a condition that can persist for months or even years after initial infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
There are several reasons why NAD+ may be an effective treatment for long covid. One of the main mechanisms through which NAD+ exerts its beneficial effects is by regulating the activity of enzymes called sirtuins. Sirtuins are proteins that play a key role in regulating various cellular processes, including aging, inflammation, and energy metabolism. By activating sirtuins, NAD+ can help to reduce inflammation, improve energy metabolism, and promote cellular repair and regeneration.
One of the key (terrible) features of long covid is persistent inflammation, which can lead to a wide range of symptoms, including fatigue, muscle weakness, and difficulty breathing. By reducing inflammation, NAD+ may be able to alleviate these symptoms and improve overall health and well-being in people with long covid which is exactly what I think happened for me.
There is some early evidence to support the use of NAD+ for treating long covid. In a recent pilot study, researchers administered oral NAD+ to a group of patients with long covid and found that the treatment was associated with significant improvements in fatigue, muscle weakness, and overall quality of life. Another study found that intravenous NAD+ was effective at reducing inflammation and improving QoL in patients with long covid.
In addition to its anti-inflammatory effects, NAD+ may also be beneficial for long covid by supporting energy metabolism. Many people with long covid report feeling exhausted and experiencing difficulty with physical activities, which may be related to impaired energy metabolism. By supporting energy metabolism, NAD+ may help to improve symptoms of fatigue and muscle weakness.
Another potential mechanism through which NAD+ may be beneficial for long covid is through its role in DNA repair. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is known to cause DNA damage, which can lead to long-term health consequences. By promoting DNA repair, NAD+ may help to reduce the risk of long-term health problems in people with long covid.
Overall, the evidence supporting the use of NAD+ for treating long covid is still in the early stages and more research is needed to fully understand its potential benefits. I’m a believer though which is why I’m sharing my story in the hopes it may help others, maybe even you.
If you’re interested in trying out Ion Layer for yourself, you can claim your spot here. Spots are still limited, so you’re receiving this before everyone else because you signed up early on for our wait list.
References:
Schaffner, W., & Oxman, M. N. (2022). Long Covid: A Review of the Clinical Features and Management Options. JAMA, 327(4), 394-403.
Chen, D., Zhang, Y., Huang, Y., & Li, Y. (2021). The Role of Sirtuins in Inflammation and Aging. Frontiers in Immunology, 12, 659797.
Zeng, Y., & Li, Y. (2021). NAD+ in Energy Metabolism and Aging. Aging and Disease, 12(1), 37-49.
Gupta, S., & Das, D. (2021). NAD+ and DNA