WNC Wellness review: Asheville area thrives on integrative medicine

• Asheville thrives as regional center of integrative medicine:

“People from across the country now travel to attend Asheville’s herbal medicine and massage schools, something economic development groups want to promote, along with the city’s abundance of alternative medicine practitioners.” – [Asheville Citizen-Times] 

• UNCA health and wellness department loses activity classes, faculty:

“More studying and less sweating. That’s the future of UNC Asheville’s health and wellness department as budget cuts result in the elimination of faculty as well as activity classes that have been staples of the department.” – [The Blue Banner] 

• New NC flu strain spurs inquiry:

“Flu season is winding down in North Carolina, but health officials are warning doctors to be on the lookout for a form of the virus less sensitive to a common anti-viral drug. […] Health officials said there is a genetic change in the viruses that has not been seen in samples from other states.” – [Asheville Citizen-Times] 

• Buncombe ranked 17th healthiest county in North Carolina

“Buncombe County is the 17th healthiest in the state, according to the County Health Rankings project. According to the rankings, the county has excellent health behavior and clinical care but problems with morbidity and environmental quality.” – [Mountain Xpress]

• Mission Hospital to host ‘Authentic Self’ workshop – Friday, April 15th:

“A full day workshop called “Exploring, Sharing and Nurturing our Authentic Selves” is being offered in April by the Integrative Healthcare Department at Mission Hospital. […] Although the workshop is especially helpful to nurses and other healthcare professionals, it can benefit anyone who is seeking a better understanding of themselves and is ready to develop new approaches for personal and professional fulfillment.” – [Mission Hospitals]

• A midwife’s memoir: Patricia Harman reading at Malaprops April 22:

“Author and longtime midwife Patricia Harman will be reading from her new book, Arms Wide Open: A Midwife’s Journey on Friday, April 22, at Malaprops at 7 p.m. As her publicist notes, “The new book goes back to the hippie homebirth homesteading days when she and her partner went back to the land to experiment with living sustainably.” – [MX Blogwire] 

• Opinion:  Closing school clinics a blow to student health:

“School health centers keep students healthy and healthier students are better learners. Eliminating SBHCs and making it difficult for students to access care will negatively impact academic outcomes, especially for hardest-to-reach students.” – [Asheville Citizen-Times] 

• Study: Yoga calms heart pace, cuts anxiety

“People who suffer from irregular heartbeat could see their episodes cut in half if they do yoga regularly, according to a study released in the United States. Doing yoga three times a week also reduced depression and anxiety while boosting people’s opinion of their own social and mental well-being, said the research presented at a New Orleans cardiology conference on Saturday.” – [AFP] 

• What you should know about those stickers on your fruit and vegetables

“Although they seem like a nuisance, the stickers or labels attached to fruit and some vegetables have more of a function than helping scan the price at the checkout stand. The PLU code, or price lookup number printed on the sticker, also tells you how the fruit was grown. By reading the PLU code, you can tell if the fruit was genetically modified, organically grown or produced with chemical fertilizers, fungicides, or herbicides.” – [Acupuncture Blog Chicago] 

• Dining Out For Life – Thursday, April 28th

“You are cordially invited to join your friends, clients, family and co-workers on Thursday, April 28, 2011, for the 9th annual Dining Out For Life® benefit to support the mission of the Western North Carolina AIDS Project (WNCAP). […] 100 of the finest restaurants in WNC have generously agreed to donate 20% of their gross sales on April 28th to enable us to meet these challenges in a struggling economy. You can do your part by simply dining out for breakfast, lunch or dinner or all three.” – [WNCAP] 

Please submit WNC health & wellness info to: mxhealth@mountainx.com