Daily life can be incredibly hectic for some. Between work-related responsibilities, personal goals, and social commitments, it can be easy to forget something important. This is because your attention span and short-term memory may be overstretched.
How can you remedy this common problem? Various neuroscience research suggests that you can increase your short-term memory by implementing one of three simple strategies, which we have outlined below.
Speak Out Loud
When you really need to remember something, try speaking out loud. Repeat the information that you need to retain a few times. If you are in a public place and don’t want to draw too much attention to yourself, simply mouth the words silently to yourself. Both options can help the information stand out from all the other stimuli you are encountering to remember key details.
Focus on the Event for 40 Seconds
Another great way to boost your short-term memory is to actively focus on an event or piece of information for 40 seconds. You should rehearse or replay the interaction in your mind.
Visualize the exchange right down to each key detail that you need to remember. This will help you remember the core aspects of the event and may even allow you to convert the information to your long-term memory.
Use the Power of Prediction
In addition to the strategies outlined above, you can also increase your chances of remembering something by leveraging the power of prediction. In a 2011 study included in the Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, researchers found a strong correlation between asking yourself if you will remember something and your ability to recall the information.
This tactic is beneficial for remembering to perform a pre-planned action, such as calling a family member on their birthday.
Overcoming More Serious Memory Issues
Are you concerned that a serious neurodegenerative condition is causing your forgetfulness? Have you or a loved one recently been diagnosed with an ailment such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s, or suffered a stroke?
If so, then you may benefit from regenerative medicine, also known as stem cell therapy. This alternative option has the potential to slow the progression of cognitive conditions and may even improve short-term memory.
You may have heard about chia seeds being a “superfood,” but dismissed the idea as one more food fad that will soon disappear. Chia seeds have been an important source of nutrition for indigenous populations for hundreds of years.
Today, chia is considered to be a valuable ancient grain that is enjoying a comeback due to its high levels of nutrition.
What’s in a Chia Seed?
It’s hard to believe that something so small could be packed with so much nutrition, but it’s true. While you may still need high-quality supplements to provide all of the vitamins and minerals your body needs daily, eating a serving of chia seeds will help you meet your goals of a healthier diet.
One tablespoon of chia seeds provides the following:
69 calories
2 grams of protein
5 grams of fat
6 grams of carbs
5 grams of fiber
2 milligrams phosphorous (about 11% of recommended daily value for an adult or DV)
7 milligrams calcium (8% DV)
8 mg potassium (1%DV)
5 IU vitamin A (1% DV)
2 mg vitamin C (1% DV)
1 mg vitamin E (1% DV)
In addition to being nutrient-rich, chia seeds are a good source of important omega-3 fatty acids and important antioxidants. If that’s not enough, the fiber contained in chia seeds supports gut health, and a healthy gut leads to an improved immune system.
Some studies suggest that including chia seeds in a diet may offer benefits for those who are managing high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and depression.
How to Eat Chia Seeds
Including chia seeds as part of your well-balanced diet is easy. They don’t have to be soaked or ground like some other ancient grains. Add them to baked goods, or smoothies or eat a crunchy spoonful raw right out of the bag. If your diet has been low in fiber, make sure to drink plenty of water and consume no more than the recommended 2 tablespoons of chia a day to prevent digestive upsets. Always consult with your primary care provider when adding new supplements to your diet regimen.
Articular cartilage is the smooth, white cartilage that covers the ends of the bone in diarthrodial joints. Essential for fluid and pain-free movement, articular cartilage protects the bones by reducing friction and absorbing shock.
However, articular cartilage is also subject to damage and injury as a result of normal wear and tear or as a result of a number of conditions, including osteoarthritis (OA), osteonecrosis, and osteochondritis. Articular cartilage has been found to have a weak capacity for self-repair, mostly a result of having no blood, lymphatic, or nerve supply.
Until recently, the primary option for treatment of joint cartilage defects, including damage to articular cartilage, involved a series of invasive marrow simulating techniques, including microfracture, Pridie drilling, and abrasion arthroplasty which generally produced inferior results.
The search for alternative and more effective treatment options for damaged joint cartilage has recently led scientists to identify mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as an appropriate cellular material for repair of joint cartilage, and specifically for articular cartilage.
As part of this review, authors Eslaminejad and Poor examine and identify the past attempts to use MSCs as a way to cure articular cartilage defects occurring as a result of OA, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and trauma. In addition, the authors further discuss the specific characteristics that led scientists to conclude MSCs to be an appropriate cell candidate for regenerating articular cartilage, including their inherent chondrogenic property, ease of availability, cell homing potential, and immunomodulatory function.
MSCs demonstrate the ability for long-term self-renewal and the capacity to differentiate along multiple cell lineages – including cartilage cells. While bone marrow has been found to possess low numbers of MSCs, the cells have been easily multiplied through standard lab-based culture techniques. In addition, MSCs are considered readily available cells for application in regenerative medicine, thanks in large part to their availability from a number of sources in the body, including adipose tissue, synovial membrane, and skeletal muscle.
Among the most compelling reasons for MSCs being considered appropriate for the repair of articular cartilage is their homing potential. Specifically, the homing potential of MSCs is thought to help repair damaged cartilage by differentiating into tissue cells to restore function and by secreting a number of bioactive factors to create a repair environment with anti-apoptotic effects, immunoregulatory function, and stimulation of endothelial progenitor cell proliferation.
While using MSCs to repair damaged articular cartilage appears to have tremendous potential, the treatment is not without potential drawbacks or concerns. Among the most pressing of these concerns is that MSCs-regenerated cartilage is potentially too thin to resemble mature cartilage and hypertrophy resulting from MSC-regeneration could lead to ossification of cartilage tissue.
As such, there have been several recent attempts to evaluate the potential of using MSCs to regenerate articular cartilage in both animals and humans, with all demonstrating some degree of enhanced healing and repair by using MSCs as treatment.
The authors conclude that while using MSCs in the repair of damaged articular cartilage appears to have tremendous potential for long-term clinical success, they also call for further research into a number of areas, including improving the quality of repair tissue formed following MSC transplantation, enriching the cell population for chondrogenic cells, and further study into developing a safe and highly efficient gene delivery system for MSCs used in the regeneration and repair of articular cartilage.
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting more than 900 million people around the world. Developing when the cartilage that protects your bones wears down, osteoarthritis (OA) most commonly affects the joints of the hand, hips, spine, and knees[1].
While current treatment for OA and related joint damage is focused primarily on managing pain and minimizing further damage, function, and quality of life issues, no preventative therapeutic treatment currently exists for preventing or rehabilitating the condition.
Recently, stem cell therapy has been found to be an efficient therapeutic approach for treating degenerative joint conditions, including OA. Specifically, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), from adipose cells have been demonstrated to be the most promising type of stem cell for treating osteoarthritis.
In this study, Bui et al. studied the outcomes of applying MSCs harvested from adipose tissue in an effort to evaluate the therapeutic potential when transplanted in patients with grade II and III osteoarthritis.
Previous studies have demonstrated that PRP treatment of ADSCs promotes differentiation and proliferation into chondrogenic cells which resulted in improved healing of articular cartilage when ADSCs were pretreated with PRP. An additional study demonstrated the effects of PRP on the non-expanded stromal vascular fraction (SVF) in cartilage injury observed in an animal model, demonstrating significant regeneration of cartilage.
The aim of this clinical trial was to evaluate the efficiency and related side effects of non-expanded SVF when combined with PRP in treating OA grade II or III.
At the conclusion of Bui et al.’s study, patients demonstrated significant improvements in key measures, including improved joint function, decreased pain score, and improved gradual and consistent improvement observed in pre and post observations as measured by the Lysholm score.
As further evidence of the success associated with a therapeutic treatment combination of ADSC and PRP, post-treatment MRIs demonstrated cartilage regeneration and thicker layers of cartilage at the injured site after 6 months of treatment. In addition, all participating patients reported reduced pain levels after 3 months and 71% of patients demonstrated the ability to climb and descend stairs after 3 months. None of the patients participating in this study demonstrated infection, tumor formation, or any other side effect or complication as a result of this procedure.
As a result of their findings in this study, Bui et al. conclude that this therapeutic treatment method was successful in reducing pain, regenerating cartilage, and improving the quality of life for patients who participated. However, considering the small size of this study, the authors call for additional and larger-scale studies to confirm the potential for this promising, minimally invasive stem cell therapy for patients with osteoporosis.
There are certain foods you need to eat to have a healthy and balanced body: milk for strong bones, protein for muscles, and fruits and veggies for overall health. But did you know there are certain foods you can eat specifically to help your bladder health?
Here are a few urologist-recommended food and drink options that can help to improve your bladder health.
Water
Water has always been (and will always be) the best drink you can give your body. Water helps to stimulate urination, which flushes bacteria out of the body and prevents infection.
Make sure you’re getting at least the daily recommended amount of water in your diet.
Fruits and Vegetables with High Water Content
If you have trouble getting through the recommended amount of water, adding certain fruits and vegetables to your plate can help. These foods tend to have higher water content than other kinds of food, so increasing the amount of fruits and veggies in your diet will help you introduce more water to your body.
It’s important to note that some acids from the fruit can end up irritating your bladder, so make sure to choose fruits and vegetables that aren’t too acidic!
Fiber-Rich Foods
Fiber is known to be a valuable dietary addition for gut health, which makes it ideal for bladder health, as well. Potatoes, whole grains, and legumes are a few foods that are high in fiber.
Cranberries and Cranberry Juice
If you’ve ever had a UTI or other kind of bladder infection, you’ve likely been told to drink a glass of cranberry juice. Cranberries contain an antioxidant called proanthocyanidins, which cut down on bacteria’s ability to hang around the urinary tract.
It’s important to remember a doctor’s visit is the best way to find relief for bladder problems. With that being said, changing your diet can help improve your overall bladder health.
This website and its contents are not intended to treat, cure, diagnose, or prevent any disease. Stemedix, Inc. shall not be held liable for the medical claims made by patient testimonials or videos. They are not to be viewed as a guarantee for each individual. The efficacy for some products presented have not been confirmed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
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