If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re considering, or have already scheduled, an orthopedic stem cell procedure. And like many of the patients we talk to, you probably have one question front of mind:
“Is there anything I can do beforehand to get better results?”
The short answer is yes. A lot, actually.
Your stem cell procedure will only ever be as effective as your stem cells are healthy. The good news is that there are steps you can take in the weeks and months before treatment to give yourself the best possible outcome.
Important: This article is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace medical advice. Any changes to medications or supplements should be discussed with your healthcare provider first.
Based on our orthopedic stem cell expertise, experience, and research, here are ten ways to naturally improve your stem cell health:
Want the detail behind each one? Keep reading.
Most of us eat far too much sugar. And when we say “sugar,” we don’t just mean the extra teaspoon full we add to our coffee.
We mean anything that converts to glucose in the blood. The obvious culprits are table sugar, super-sweet fruits, and fruit juices. The less obvious ones are starches, such as bread and pasta.
When you combine all that sugar with too little activity, your body pumps out too much insulin. That sets the stage for metabolic syndrome: weight gain, insulin resistance, and high blood pressure.
According to one study, adult stem cells lived longer in cell culture when glucose was reduced. Other studies have shown that high blood sugar can decrease the regenerative potential of stem cells.
But switching to artificial sweeteners isn’t the answer. Sweeteners act like real sugar in the body and produce the same toxic chemicals. They also disrupt your gut, and they’ve been associated with a greater risk of stroke and dementia.
Saying no to sugar will accomplish several things: it will improve your quality of life, help you manage your weight, and improve your stem cells.
What can you do?
Aim to be on a low-glycemic diet for a few months before your procedure – Atkins, Zone, or South Beach are all good options to control insulin release and blood sugar. The glycemic load of carbohydrates runs on a high-to-low scale: high means a quick spike in blood sugar, low means sugars digest slowly.
Even short-term calorie restriction can improve stem cell function.
One study showed that when mice were calorie-restricted, their muscle stem cells had improved function, and this extended all the way down to the cellular level. Mitochondria, the little “power plants” of the cell, were also more plentiful in these mice. The effect worked well in both young and old animals, and it’s been seen in mesenchymal stem cells too.
These were mouse studies, so this effect may or may not extend to humans. But at least one human study has shown that losing weight through a low-calorie diet helped increase the number of circulating stem cells in the blood.
You don’t have to restrict calories for long. Even a short-term reduction can make a difference.
What can you do?
In addition to cutting sugar and eating a low-glycemic diet, reduce your calorie intake by 20% during the two weeks before your bone marrow aspiration.
Triglycerides (TRGs) are your body’s storage system for unused carbohydrates. You burn carbs for energy, and when there are too many to burn, the excess gets stored as triglycerides for later.
If you regularly consume more carbohydrates than you can burn, your triglycerides can climb dangerously high. That raises your risk of heart disease and high blood pressure, and it’s tied to metabolic syndrome and weight gain – especially when compounded by excess sugar and calories.
After years of culturing stem cells for our patients, it has been our observation that stem cells can grow poorly in patients who have high triglycerides or obesity issues.
What can you do?
Get your triglycerides measured and reduce your sugar, carbohydrate, and calorie intake to bring them down to a normal range before your stem cells are drawn. A very high-quality fish oil supplement may help reduce triglyceride levels as well.
Research shows that older animals that are more active have better stem cells, and these stem cells create more bone. It also shows that stem cells in muscles are increased by exercise and, further, that weight lifters have better stem cells in their muscles.
We label the activity level of our patients in three tiers:
What can you do?
Try to land somewhere between Peak and Average Active. If you’re a Couch Potato and physically able, push toward Average Active. If you’re already Average Active, push toward Peak.
Do what you need to push yourself:
If you have injuries or health issues that make these workouts impossible, focus on what you can do. Start with light activity in the pool, then increase as you’re able. Becoming an elite professional athlete is not the goal. You simply want to improve your stem cells so we can harvest the best cells for your treatment.
There are several nutritional supplements that may be beneficial to stem cells or cartilage. The list includes:
These can help our stem cells in several ways. Studies have shown they can reduce the aging of our stem cells, help our stem cells differentiate (turn into other types of cells), and make our stem cells healthier. Vitamin C, specifically, helps our bone marrow stem cells by promoting their proliferation, or increase in numbers.
Curcumin has been shown to upregulate bone formation and suppress oxidative stress, alleviating bone loss. It also has strong anti-inflammatory properties, and in our lab it performed very well, helping mesenchymal stem cells. Curcumin is the active ingredient in turmeric, a major spice in Indian cuisine. One study on a compound found in the whole turmeric root concluded that the compound caused brain stem cells to grow and proliferate, which could mean that people with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s may do better when given turmeric or its derivatives. That study showed promising results in rats, though there isn’t much data on humans yet. Still, you may want to consider taking whole turmeric for brain health.
Studies show glucosamine and chondroitin protect cartilage and reduce cartilage loss. They make up 2 of the 8 supplements that passed our own laboratory tests when creating our stem cell formula.
Several studies have shown that resveratrol protects cartilage and helps stem cells differentiate and proliferate. It also helps control blood sugar, which ties right back to the metabolic syndrome discussion in section 1. Another way to get resveratrol is through healthy foods like red and purple grapes and blueberries, though it’s nearly impossible to get the amount you’d need to mine its cartilage benefits through food alone, especially if you’ve already experienced some cartilage loss or damage.
What can you do?
Add a supplement that contains all of the ingredients above to your daily diet. Start now to improve your stem cells and give yourself the best chance at success with your treatment.
There are many prescription drugs that hurt stem cells; we base this on our experience with growing stem cells for over a decade. We have seen, over and over, patients whose stem cells we are unable to grow due to a certain medication the patient is taking. Taking the patient off the medication reverses the problem.
We cover four big offenders in sections 6–9, but the full list is much longer. Talk to your Regenexx physician about what you need to restrict, and which medications are likely fine to continue.
Quinolone antibiotics, such as Cipro and Levaquin, hurt not only stem cells but also tendon cells. They’re typically prescribed for infections like urinary tract infections and some orthopedic infections, and they’ve been associated with serious tendon ruptures.
Ligaments have their own stem cells. When medications damage those cells, the ligaments or tendons can eventually weaken or fail leading to tendinopathy or tendon rupture.
What can you do?
If you’re taking quinolone antibiotics, talk with your physician. After clearing it with them, avoid quinolones for at least one to two weeks before your procedure. Supplementing with vitamin E is also a good idea, as it’s been shown to protect cartilage cells from the negative effects of quinolones.
If you smoke or use any kind of tobacco or nicotine product, this one’s for you.
Most people know tobacco damages their heart and lungs. What’s less well known is what it does to your stem cells. Research has shown that cigarette smoke directly harms mesenchymal stem cells (the cells we harvest from your bone marrow and use in some of our procedures) impairing how well they function and reducing their ability to migrate where they’re needed. One study found that smoke exposure disrupted stem cell “homing,” the process your body relies on to send repair cells to an injury.
And it’s not just cigarettes. The damage extends to nicotine itself, which means e-cigarettes, vapes, chewing tobacco, and even nicotine patches and gum. Nicotine has been shown to interfere with how stem cells multiply and turn into bone – a particular concern for orthopedic patients, where your stem cells may need to aid cartilage, ligament, and bone tissue repair.
What can you do?
The best move is to stop using all tobacco and nicotine products well ahead of your procedure. We know quitting isn’t easy – even cutting back makes a difference, and the further ahead of your procedure you can do it, the healthier your stem cells will be at harvest time. Talk with your physician about a plan that works for you.
Prescription NSAIDs, such as Motrin, Advil (ibuprofen), Aleve, Celebrex, and Mobic, come with a hefty FDA label warning and a host of risks, including gastrointestinal bleeding, fatal strokes, and sudden-death heart attacks.
What can you do?
If you’re taking an NSAID, it’s a good idea to stop taking these high-risk drugs anyway but definitely at least one to two weeks before any stem cell treatment. Glucosamine and chondroitin, as well as curcumin (covered in the supplements section above), may be good alternatives to NSAID drugs.
High-dose steroids are used for everything from asthma to herniated discs, but they are horribly toxic drugs to stem cells.
They may be powerful anti-inflammatories, but they’re a “bull in a china shop” pharmaceutical, meaning their untamed power results in raging-bull side effects. One study concluded that steroids “flipped a switch” on mesenchymal stem cells and made them not want to turn into bone.
What can you do?
In the months leading up to your stem cell treatment, if you’re taking steroids (oral or epidural), wean yourself off these drugs. Talk with your physician about an alternative that’s safe for your stem cells.
Have you heard of low-oxygen conditioning tents? Many elite athletes sleep in them to reap the benefits of low oxygen.
Stem cells grow and stay more viable at low oxygen levels, so is low oxygen better?
Sometimes. Stem cells differentiate better when oxygen is normal. So when growing stem cells, low oxygen is better; when differentiating, or turning them into other tissues, normal oxygen is the way to go.
What can you do?
Before your stem cell procedure, take a little vacation to a high-altitude location.
Your stem cell procedure will only ever be as effective as your stem cells are healthy. So focus on these ten ways to improve your stem cells, and you’ll give yourself the best possible chance at a great result.
Here’s the snapshot one more time:
You can read more about all of this in Dr. Pitts’s book Nutrition 2.0.
Regenexx Cayman is a licensed Regenexx facility and the exclusive provider of Regenexx-C, the world’s most advanced orthopedic stem cell procedure, as well as Cryopreservation, which allows you to bank your stem cells for future use.
We treat a wide range of orthopedic conditions, including joint arthritis, tendon and ligament injuries, spine issues, and sports injuries, helping patients avoid surgery and improve their quality of life. Whether you’re early in your research or already scheduled for a procedure, our team is here to help you get the most out of your Regenexx procedure.
Ready to learn if stem cell therapy is right for you? Call us at 1-877-211-3834 or get in touch to learn more.
