WNC Wellness review: Vitality City, the coffee health debate & flu vaccine text alerts

Asheville area named Vitality City:

“On May 26, Healthways Inc. and Blue Zones LLC announced that Asheville and the surrounding Western North Carolina region has been selected as a finalist to earn designation as a Healthways/Blue Zones Vitality City, a community in which people are healthier, happier and live longer, have higher productivity, and share a common purpose to drive social and economic progress.” – [BlueRidgeNow.com]

Coffee health debate is well grounded in fact:

“Though many refer to their java habit as an unhealthy indulgence, experts say that in moderation, a cup or two of joe a day actually has numerous health perks.”

“People always talk about it as if it’s a little bad for you. That’s not necessarily true,” says Donald Hensrud, associate professor of Preventive Medicine and Nutrition at the Mayo Clinic. “Coffee contains over 2,000 different chemical components, including cancer-fighting anti-oxidants.” – [Asheville Citizen-Times]

[Via  @InglesDietitian: “Did you know ‘coffee in moderation’ is two 8-oz cups per day? How many oz are you drinking?”]

Global cuisine choices based on Ayurveda principles and a raw lifestyle:

For us, food and active lifestyle is for nourishing our mind, body and soul. We are what we eat and this enables us to lead a well balanced a life.– [by Anu • from Earth Fare]

Ingles Pharmacy offers flu vaccine availability text notifications:

“Sign up for Ingles Flu Shot Alert, We’ll notify you when vaccines arrive.” – [ingles-markets.com, right column]

26 tips to sunproof your skin:

“Get solar-empowered with these secrets for staying healthy […].” – [Health.com]

Salty snack lovers live in a neon food world:

Supertasters, people who experience tastes more intensely, consume more salt than do nontasters.”

“Individuals who experience more bitterness also perceive more saltiness in table salt, more sweetness from table sugar, more burn from chili peppers, and more tingle from carbonated drinks.” – [Penn State University]

F.D.A. panel opposes drug for female sexual desire disorder:

A federal advisory panel on Friday unanimously voted against recommending approving a drug to treat female sexual desire disorder, but it encouraged the company to continue its research.” – [NYTimes]

Top 10 possible reasons for the high HIV infection rate in the southern U.S.:

Recently, I was on a panel discussion as part of the Week of Prayer in Durham, NC. The last questioner of the evening asked, “Why is HIV so prevalent in the South?” We didn’t come up with a scientific list of reasons, and I don’t know if there really is such a list, but here’s what we came up with (in no particular order) …” – [Marc Kolman, The Body]

Please follow us on Twitter and submit WNC health & wellness info with the hashtag: #avlhealth

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About Wade Inganamort
• Partner / Digital publisher @ Hukilau.us • Heavy reader, screenwriter, and information liaison currently enjoying the small-town life in North Carolina •

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