Dr. Martin Picard on NAD, Mitochondria & Why NMN Matters
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Dr. Martin Picard sat down with Steven Bartlett on Diary of a CEO in 2026. Picard runs a mitochondrial research lab at Columbia University. His PhD is in mitochondrial biology of aging. He does not take supplements himself. He warned viewers about the biohacking hype.
Then, near the end, he said this:
"NAD+ is probably the best supported intervention to reduce inflammation."
— Dr. Martin Picard, Columbia University
Coming from a skeptic, that lands. Here is the mechanism he described, and where NMN fits.
Full interview: Dr. Martin Picard on Diary of a CEO
TL;DR
- You carry about 5,000 trillion mitochondria. Roughly 1,000 per cell.
- Mitochondria turn food and oxygen into the energy you feel as being alive.
- They do this by moving electrons. NAD is the carrier.
- Low NAD means stalled electrons. Picard calls this energy resistance.
- NMN is what your body uses to build NAD.
- Picard, a supplement skeptic, still called NAD the best supported intervention to reduce inflammation.
Who is Dr. Martin Picard?
Dr. Martin Picard is a mitochondrial biologist at Columbia University. He has led a research group there for 10 years and holds a PhD in mitochondrial biology of aging. He founded an institute focused on the systems and technologies that help people heal and transform through better energy metabolism.
His work sits at the intersection of biology and lived experience. He studies how the way you feel changes your mitochondria, and how your mitochondria change the way you feel.
What are mitochondria?
Mitochondria are the structures inside your cells that transform food and oxygen into usable energy. Each of your cells contains about 1,000 of them. Across your body, that adds up to roughly 5,000 trillion.
They do more than make energy. In Picard's words, they act like a "distributed brain" inside the cell, receiving signals about what is happening inside and outside, and coordinating a response.
How do mitochondria produce energy?
They move electrons. Food carries electrons. Oxygen accepts them. The mitochondria act as the circuit that flows one to the other. As the electrons flow, energy is released as ATP, as electrical signals, and as heat.
The warmth in your hand when someone shakes it comes from your mitochondria flowing electrons in real time.
What is energy resistance?
Energy resistance is Picard's framework for most modern disease. It describes what happens when energy cannot flow smoothly through the mitochondria.
Two ways this happens:
- Too much energy is pushed onto the system (chronic high blood sugar, too much food, chronic stress). Voltage spikes. Damage builds.
- The mitochondria themselves are impaired and cannot flow enough energy to meet demand.
Either way, the electrons back up. That backup shows up as fatigue, brain fog, inflammation, and over time contributes to conditions like diabetes, Alzheimer's, and cardiovascular disease. Picard called insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes textbook energy resistance disorders.
Why did Picard call NAD+ the best supported intervention?
Because NAD is an electron carrier.
His words on the podcast: NAD takes electrons from food and hands them to the electron transport chain, so the mitochondria can flow those electrons with low resistance. If you are depleted of NAD, that resistance climbs. Electrons stall. Inflammation follows.
He was clear about the limits. He said most people are not deficient in NAD. He does not think of it as a magic pill. But he called it the best supported intervention to reduce inflammation, and said that for reasons he does not fully understand, some people report more energy on it.
For a scientist who spent the interview steering away from supplements, that is a specific carve-out.
How does NMN fit in?
NMN, or nicotinamide mononucleotide, is a direct precursor to NAD. Your body uses NMN to build the NAD your mitochondria need to keep electrons moving.
You cannot eat NAD and get useful amounts of it into your cells. The bioavailability is poor. Precursors like NMN are how researchers and clinicians support NAD levels through the oral route.
At Genevity+, our NMN Lipo uses a liposomal delivery format for oral absorption. Our NMN Powder is a straightforward precursor at a clean dose.
Free TMG in every NMN order while stock lasts.
What about TMG?
TMG (trimethylglycine, or betaine) is not a fix for NMN. It is an addition that supports the methylation pathways your body uses when NAD metabolism runs.
While our current promotion runs, TMG is included free with every NMN Lipo and NMN Powder order at Genevity+.
Purpose and mitochondria
One of the most interesting studies Picard referenced came out of Chicago. Researchers interviewed people every year about how much sense of purpose they felt, then examined their brains after they died.
The people who felt the most purpose had more energy transformation capacity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the region involved in reasoning and executive function.
Picard's read: purpose focuses energy the way a laser focuses light. Same amount of energy, different pattern, dramatically different reach.
The direction of causation runs both ways. Purpose seems to shape the mitochondria. The mitochondria seem to shape how much purpose you can feel.
What is GDF15 and why does it matter?
GDF15 is a protein that goes up when your body is under energetic stress. It is elevated in cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. It also rises during acute mental stress.
The receptor for GDF15 sits in the brainstem, in the region that governs nausea and sickness behavior. When GDF15 reaches the brain, the brain reads it as: something in the body is running out of energy. It conserves. Motivation drops. You feel like you want to lie down.
People with chronically high GDF15 are more likely to develop mental illness, cardiovascular disease, and die earlier.
The signal to lower it is the same signal for most of what Picard discussed. Move. Do not overeat. Sleep well. Find purpose. Reduce chronic stress. Support the mitochondria so electrons keep flowing.
What does Picard actually recommend?
He is careful here. He is a scientist, not a coach. But across the conversation he pointed to:
- Exercise. Anything that makes you breathe harder makes your mitochondria work harder. Recovery is where the adaptation happens.
- Do not overeat. Especially sugar. Overloading the system raises resistance.
- Restrict the eating window. Intermittent fasting worked for him personally. Signals the cell to prune weak mitochondria (mitophagy) and make better ones.
- Ketones. He noted people report more energy on ketogenic diets, likely because ketones take a shorter path to the mitochondria than glucose.
- Purpose. Focus and coherence lower the energetic cost of everything.
- Sleep. Likely serves to lower energy resistance overnight.
On supplements he was skeptical. On NAD specifically, he made a carve-out.
What this means for you
If you are already taking NMN, this is the mechanism it has been running under the hood the whole time. Not a promise, not a felt result. A mechanism. NMN feeds NAD. NAD carries electrons. Electrons flow. Mitochondria do their job.
If you are new, this is the case for starting there. NAD is upstream of an enormous amount of cellular work. NMN is the practical way to support it.
Our current promotion adds free TMG to every NMN Lipo or NMN Powder order while stock lasts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Dr. Martin Picard?
Dr. Martin Picard is a mitochondrial biologist at Columbia University with a PhD in mitochondrial biology of aging. He has run a research group at Columbia for 10 years.
What did Dr. Picard say about NAD+?
On Diary of a CEO he called NAD+ the best supported intervention to reduce inflammation, and described it as an electron carrier that helps mitochondria flow energy with low resistance.
Is NMN the same as NAD?
No. NMN is a precursor. Your body uses NMN to build NAD. Oral NAD has poor bioavailability, which is why NMN is used to support NAD levels.
How many mitochondria are in the human body?
About 5,000 trillion, based on roughly 1,000 mitochondria per cell across the cells that carry them.
What is energy resistance?
Energy resistance is Picard's term for what happens when electrons cannot flow smoothly through the mitochondria. It shows up as fatigue, inflammation, and contributes to diabetes, Alzheimer's, and cardiovascular disease.
Does Dr. Picard take supplements?
No. He said in the interview that he does not take any. He made a specific carve-out for NAD, calling it the best supported intervention to reduce inflammation.
Where can I watch the full interview?
Dr. Martin Picard on Diary of a CEO
This article summarizes public statements made by Dr. Martin Picard on the Diary of a CEO YouTube channel. Genevity+ makes no medical claims about NMN and does not treat, diagnose, or cure any disease. Talk to your doctor before starting any supplement.