Begin Again with Brenda

09/03/2026

We often talk about NAD+ as though it’s something associated only with aging.

But there’s a much bigger story.

NAD+ is already part of what your cells are doing every day. ⚡

It’s a coenzyme involved in cellular metabolism and plays an important role in processes connected to how cells produce and use energy.

Think about everything your body asks of your cells during an ordinary day.

Walking. Thinking. Digesting. Exercising. Recovering. Repairing.

There’s an enormous amount happening behind the scenes.

That’s one reason NAD+ has become such an interesting area of research: scientists are continuing to investigate its role in cellular function and how NAD+ biology changes across the lifespan.

So instead of thinking:
“Why should I care about NAD+ as I get older?”

Maybe the more interesting question is:
“What is NAD+ already doing inside my cells right now?” 🔬

And that’s where this conversation gets really interesting.

09/02/2026

We've talked about what happens inside the cell.

Now let's zoom out. 🫁

Your cells also need oxygen to support aerobic energy production.

Getting that oxygen where it needs to go requires several systems to work together.

Your lungs bring oxygen into the body.
Your heart and blood vessels help transport it.
Your muscles extract and use oxygen during activity.

And this is where VO₂ max enters the conversation.

VO₂ max reflects the maximum rate at which your body can take in, transport, and use oxygen during intense exercise.

So while NAD+ and VO₂ max measure or describe very different things, they help us look at wellness from two fascinating perspectives:

🔬 What's happening at the cellular level
🫁 How effectively the whole body performs as a system

Healthy aging isn't about one number.

It's about understanding how all of these systems work together.

09/02/2026

For years, VO₂ max was mostly associated with athletes and endurance training.

Today, it has become part of a much bigger conversation.

Why?
Because VO₂ max gives us a way to understand how different systems of the body work together.

Your lungs bring in oxygen.
Your heart helps deliver it.
Your circulation moves it.
Your muscles use it.
Your cells help turn resources into energy.

It’s not just about performance.

It’s about understanding the teamwork happening inside your body.

Join us for NAD+ Decoded as we explore why VO₂ max has become such an important part of the healthy-aging conversation.

📅 Wednesday, September 9
🕗 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT

Register for free using the link below!
beginagainwithbrenda.com/wellness-webinar

09/02/2026

🍂September 2nd — My “New Year” Reset🍂

There’s something about September that has always felt like a new beginning to me.

As I step into the second part of my “New Year,” I want to pause and say, thank you, July and August. ❤️

You reminded me of something I sometimes forget…
Slowing down is not failing.
Sometimes, slowing down is listening.
Sometimes, it’s giving your body the time and space it needs.

And sometimes, it means being willing to say, "I need some help.”

And you know what?

That’s okay, too.

I’m learning to become an even stronger advocate for my own health and well-being. To listen to my body. To ask questions. To speak up. And to pay attention to what my body is telling me.

Because I live in this body every single day. I know when something doesn’t feel right, and I believe we should never be afraid to advocate for ourselves when it comes to our health.

So, my September Reset isn’t about making a long list of things I need to change.

It’s about resetting my mindset.

🌿 Slow down when I need to.
🌿 Listen to my body.
🌿 Ask for help when I need it.
🌿 Make time for the things that nourish me.
🌿 Give myself grace.
🌿 And keep learning about my own health and wellness.

Because sometimes - beginning again doesn’t mean starting over.
It simply means choosing yourself again.

That’s my September Reset Focus. 💚
What’s yours?

What is one thing you want to reset, refocus on, or give yourself more grace with this September?

✨Begin Again. Listen Within. Keep Moving Forward.

09/01/2026

If NAD+ is important to our cells, the next question is pretty natural:

Where does it come from? 🔬

Your body has several pathways it can use to make and recycle NAD+.

And one molecule researchers have been especially interested in is NMN — nicotinamide mononucleotide.

NMN is known as an NAD+ precursor, meaning it can be used along the pathway the body uses to produce NAD+.

That's what makes the NMN conversation so interesting.

Researchers aren't simply studying another nutrient in isolation.

They're studying a molecule connected to a much larger system involving NAD+ metabolism, cellular energy, and aging biology.

There are still important questions being studied, especially when it comes to what changes in NAD+ biology mean for human health over time.

But understanding the pathway gives us a much better foundation for understanding why NMN has received so much attention.

NMN → NAD+ → cellular processes

Sometimes understanding the pathway makes the whole conversation a lot easier to follow. 🧬

08/31/2026

The more we learn about the human body, the harder it becomes to look at wellness as one isolated thing. 🔄

NAD+ helps us explore what's happening at the cellular level.

NMN helps us understand one pathway the body can use to make NAD+.

VO₂ max gives us a completely different view—how effectively the body can deliver and use oxygen during intense exercise.

Then there are all the everyday things surrounding those systems.
Movement. 🚶
Nutrition. 🥗
Sleep. 🌙
Recovery. 💪
Hydration. 💧

None of them tells the whole story by itself.

And maybe that's one of the most useful lessons in healthy aging:
There isn't one number, molecule, supplement, or habit that defines how well we're aging.

The body is a collection of systems constantly working together.

The more we understand those connections, the better questions we can start asking about our own wellness.

💬 If your body had a dashboard, what would you want to understand better: cellular energy, oxygen efficiency, strength, sleep/recovery, or hydration?

08/28/2026

I’ve been learning more about VO₂ max lately, and I have to admit, I used to think it was basically just a fancy fitness score.

It’s actually much more interesting than that.

VO₂ max is a measure of how much oxygen your body can use during intense exercise.

And getting that oxygen where it needs to go is a team effort.

Your lungs bring it in.
Your heart and blood vessels move it around.
Your muscles use it.

So when you look at VO₂ max, you're really getting a glimpse at how several parts of your body work together.

I love learning about things like this because it makes “being healthy” feel a lot less abstract.

Sometimes a number can tell us a pretty interesting story about what’s happening inside our bodies.

08/27/2026

Here’s a VO₂ max fact I found pretty fascinating:
It isn't just something athletes pay attention to.

Researchers have found a strong association between cardiorespiratory fitness and longevity.

In other words, people with higher levels of fitness tend to have lower mortality risk than those with very low fitness.

That doesn't mean your VO₂ max number predicts how long you're going to live, there are obviously a lot of factors involved in that story.

But it does make you think differently about fitness.

Maybe being able to walk farther, climb stairs more easily, or keep up with the activities you enjoy isn't just about “being fit.”

Maybe it's also about building a little more capacity for the life you want to live.

And honestly, that's a much more motivating reason to move than chasing a number on a treadmill.

08/26/2026

I always thought of cardio as being mostly about the heart and lungs.

Then I learned more about VO₂ max.

Turns out, there's quite a team involved.

Your lungs have to bring oxygen in.
Your heart and blood vessels have to deliver it.
Your muscles have to receive it.
And your cells have to put that oxygen to work.

So VO₂ max isn't really a measurement of just one part of you.

It's more like a snapshot of how well this whole system works together during demanding activity.

I think that's what makes it so interesting.

Our bodies are doing incredibly complicated things every time we take a brisk walk or climb a flight of stairs and most of the time, we don't even think about it.

08/26/2026