Why don’t you use nicotinamide ribose or nicotinamide mononucleotide?
Nicotinamide riboside and nicotinamide mononucleotide are newer (and very expensive) dietary ingredients used to boost NAD+. Boosting NAD+ is not unique to these newer ingredients. It’s the defining characteristic that makes a compound a vitamin B3. The niacin equivalents—niacin (nicotinic acid; NA) and niacinamide (NAM)—boost NAD+. L-tryptophan is also a precursor for NAD+. We included both NA and NAM, as well as L-tryptophan, because these ingredients can be used to make NAD+ and this approach supports three different ways of making it. Redundancy is a core value within complex systems science and something we look for when formulating our products.
From our research we also are not convinced that nicotinamide riboside (NR) or nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) offer good value or actually deliver on their intended goals. Studies in the 1990’s found that NAD+ and other molecules in our food are broken down into niacinamide before being absorbed. NAD+ in food, as an example, was first broken down into NMN. The NMN was then further broken down into NR. And the NR was slowly turned into NAM during digestion. A small amount of this NAM was turned into NA by gut microbiota. So it was NAM (and to a much lesser extent NA) that was absorbed. Until information exists showing that the NR and NMN molecules can make it past digestion and the liver intact, we think these are very expensive ways to do something the other niacins do.
More Frequently Asked Questions
How should I get started with Qualia Life?
A good strategy, when starting anything new, is to start slow and gradually working your way up. This takes advantage of the body’s adaptive capacities and minimizes chances of poor response. Exercise is a great example of this. When starting a new exercise routine, the tendency is to want to do a lot right away. But this increases chances of having very sore muscles or getting injured. So, it’s better to start conservatively and slowly do more as your body gets accustomed to the new routine.
Can I take Qualia Life in addition to one of the Qualia products?
Yes you can take Qualia Life with Qualia Mind, Qualia Focus or Qualia Nootropic Energy.
When we designed Qualia Life, we did so understanding people would take it with one of the other Qualia nootropic products.
Is there a way to save money on my Qualia Life subscription?
Does Qualia Life work for everyone?
How does Qualia Life work?
We’ve written a series of articles discussing how Qualia Life works in detail. But, in general, it works by helping our cells and mitochondria do more work, especially the types of tasks they tend to struggle to get to as we get older. When our cells and mitochondria can do more work, and get to all the important jobs we need them to do, we look, feel and function better.
What should I do if I notice a side-effect and think it might be because of this product?
One of the interesting things found in studies is that placebos can have positive effects … and unwanted effects. The common side-effects seen from placebos match what are found in studies of dietary supplements and what we saw in our tolerability testing.
Differences between Qualia Life and Qualia Mind?
Qualia Life was designed to make your cells and mitochondria (the powerhouses of cells) work better. When your cells and mitochondria are able to do their jobs better, we look, feel, and perform better.
What should I expect when taking Qualia Life?
Depending on health, age, and other factors, what you experience will vary. In the biohacker and quantified self communities, you’ll run across the acronym YMMV. This stands for “your mileage may vary.” It means that every person does not respond identically to the same thing. YMMV is seen with diet, exercise, sleep needs, and circadian preferences (i.e., some people are morning people; others are night people). It’s also seen with dietary supplements. Because of this, there’s a growing movement for what are called N-of-1 (or one person) experiments.
What are the ingredients in Qualia Life?
For the full list of the ingredients in Qualia Life, why they were chosen, and the research behind them, please review our formulation section.
Why do you recommend taking Qualia Life for 5 days followed by 2 days off?
Neurohacker Collective uses a model of science called complex systems science. One of the core principles is adaptation. Living organisms are experts at adapting to things.
Do I need to take the full dose of Qualia Life?
In general, we recommend taking the full dose. The full dose provides the studied amounts of many of the ingredients (this is an important part of being able to make accurate structure/function claims) and is the dose we designed the formulation to deliver and have studied in our testing.
