Tag Archive for: Wellness Rx

Benefits of Carbohydrates

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Health Benefits of Carbohydrates from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for the body’s cells, tissues and organs, particularly the brain. They are also a rich source of health-promoting fiber. 

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Transcript:

Carbohydrates are the most abundant nutrient (with the exception of water) in the diets of most humans around the world. Contrary to popular belief, carbohydrates are not only the key ingredient in desserts, sugar-sweetened beverages like sodas, and many of the packaged snack foods. In actuality, carbohydrates are a part of all food groups and are found in grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and even dairy. A healthy diet rich in carbohydrates would include those plant-based foods in their unrefined whole food form. In fact, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that carbohydrates make up 45 to 65 percent of our total daily energy intake. Every cell in our bodies can benefit from the consumption of carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for the body’s cells, tissues and organs. The brain is particularly dependent on the glucose from carbohydrates for its fuel source. Unrefined carbohydrates are a rich source of fiber, which has many benefits including helping maintain digestive and bowel health as well as a healthy weight. Fiber also lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal cancer. 

 Consuming nutrient dense carbohydrates in their whole food form are advantageous to meeting your body’s nutritional needs. 

Thanks for joining this Patient Empowerment Network program. Please remember to ask your healthcare team what may be right for you.

Abdominal Breath Meditation

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Abdominal Breath Meditation from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Learn how to cultivate a calm and soothing quality of mind through controlled abdominal breathing.

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Transcript:

Greetings everyone. Thank you for joining this Patient Empowerment Network program. In this practice session we will be exploring active breathing as a form of meditative practice. Before we start the practice, I want to state that the quality of your breathing is intimately related to the qualitative experience of the mind. In this session we will be taking advantage of this relationship between the mind and the breath by manipulating the breath in order to manipulate and regulate the mind.

To start our practice, find a comfortable seat. A chair is perfectly fine. You may also make arrangements to support your back if necessary. Or you may lie down on your back for this particular practice. Allow your eyes to softly close if you feel comfortable doing so. By closing the eyes you minimize visual distractions. If you are seated feel the weight of your body in your seat. Begin to lengthen your spine. Relaxing your shoulders. Lengthening the back of your neck. Relaxing your jaw, and the musculature of the face. Begin to take notice of the natural flow of your breath. Maybe by attending to your torso, the abdominal or chest areas, or the movement of the air as it passes through your nostrils.

I invite you to imagine your torso as a cylindrical tube made of a lower chamber, the abdominal area, and an upper chamber, the chest area. In this practice we will focus on the lower chamber, the abdominal area. If you like, you can rest a hand on your abdomen to help you with this exercise. Begin by actively exhaling the breath out the nostrils, gently drawing your abdomen back towards your spine. Then begin to inhale smoothly and gradually through the nostrils feeling the expansion of the lower chamber in all directions without straining. While allowing the upper chamber/chest area to remain steady and still. When the lower chamber fills, gently and smoothly exhale out the nostrils bringing the abdomen towards the spine. Continue this smooth and gradual controlled breathing in and out the nostrils as long as time permits. Allowing your next exhale to be your final round and return to attending to the natural flow of your breath. Gently open your eyes.

We hope you enjoyed this Patient Empowerment Network program.

Benefits of Plant-Based Diets

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Benefits of Plant Based Diets from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

The benefits of a plant-based diet are positively correlated with reducing the risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and some cancers like colon and breast cancer.

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Transcript:

A healthy, plant-based diet aims to maximize consumption of nutrient-dense plant foods while minimizing refined, processed carbohydrates, added fats, oils, and animal foods (including dairy products and eggs). A plant-based diet encourages eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. Contrary to popular belief, a plant-based diet is a rich source of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, as well as health-promoting phytochemicals and antioxidants. However, vitamin B12 is deficient in plant-based foods and can be easily acquired by consuming foods fortified with it such as some plant-based milks or through supplementation.

The benefits of a plant-based diet are positively correlated with reducing the risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity and some cancers like colorectal cancer. The rich source of phytochemicals and antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables in plant-based diets are protective against cancer and are supportive in recovery and management during cancer treatments such as chemotherapy.  

Though some may think that plant-based diets are more expensive than a more conventional diet, the opposite is actually true. Animal proteins and animal-based products like dairy make a bigger impact on a grocery budget, and incorporating more plant-based foods in your diet can provide savings on food costs.

Thanks for joining this Patient Empowerment Network program. Please remember to ask your healthcare team what may be right for you.