Stay Healthy

Emma Annunziata gets excited to go to school on yoga days. On a Tuesday morning, she can be seen running into the yoga room at Hilton Head Island School for the Creative Arts as her mom Tara tries to keep up. 

As part of the early morning yoga club, Emma is one of up to 15 children who join school counselor Colleen Kowal twice a week before school.  

Tara Annunziata said she enrolled Emma in the club to “relax her and to get ready for a big day at school.” 

Your relationship with your plastic surgeon is a crucial step in creating a more beautiful you.

We all know looking good and feeling good go hand in hand. But the symbiosis between the two is perhaps never more apparent than when you walk into a plastic surgeon’s office as a patient.

SPY Elite System Technology for Breast Reconstruction

The Savannah breast reconstruction surgeons at The Georgia Institute For Plastic Surgery now have access to a valuable type of technology that will aid in reconstructive surgery using the patient’s own tissue to restore the breast. Memorial University Medical Center has added a piece of equipment to its operating rooms called the SPY Elite System. The SPY system helps the surgeons select the best tissue to use when reconstructing a breast, and can reduce the risk of complications and further surgeries.

What is the Spy System?

Fred Corpuz runs about 2,500 miles a year, or the distance between here and Los Angeles, Calif. And at 64 years old, he shows no signs of slowing down.

Corpuz, an Ohio native who now calls Hilton Head home, will lace up his sneakers for yet another challenge this month during the 10th annual Hilton Head Half Marathon, 10K and 5K race on Feb. 11.

Last year, Corpuz placed first in his age group with a time of 1 hour, 43 minutes. Corpuz hopes for a repeat, although this race is just one of many he’s competed in over the past 30 years. He has run 20 full marathons, with a personal best of 2 hours, 40 minutes. He’s also competed in “15 or 20” half marathons.

We recently chatted with Corpuz between runs to see what keeps him going and what advice he might have for those of us who are less acquainted with crossing the finish line.

Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, yams, corn on the cob, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, family awkwardness — there are just so many reasons to gorge yourself on the fourth Thursday of each November.

In the words of portly comedian Kevin James, “Thanksgiving, man. Not a good day to be my pants.”

James isn’t alone. We are a nation of overeaters. According to World Health Organization surveys taken between 2000 and 2008, two-thirds of Americans are too fat, and the numbers on the scale keep going up. Inside one of the world’s fattest countries, South Carolina is one of the fattest states.

The Palmetto State ranks eighth nationally in terms of its percentage of obese adults (30.9 percent), according to a report recently released by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Those statistics suggest the turkey won’t be the only thing getting stuffed around here this Thanksgiving.

• Free classes will be held Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings this summer; you don’t have to be registered for the LoCo Motion walk to train.
• Beaufort: Beaufort Memorial Life Fit Wellness, 843-522-5637
• Bluffton: Palmetto Running Company, 843-815-1718
• Hilton Head: Hilton Head Hospital (Tuesdays), 843-689-8280; Coligny Beach with LoCo Boot Camp (Saturdays),843-540-3064

If you’re planning on hitting the beach or the pool a lot this summer, don’t forget to bring protection: Your hair conditioner.

Making a summer fashion statement isn’t solely wrapped around your waist as a sarong while wearing the trendiest swimsuit.

Looking for exercise this summer? Wake up at 5 a.m., throw your running shoes on, stretch and pound the pavement around your neighborhood. Yes, that’s right. Five o’clock in the morning.

More people are going under the needle for minimally invasive surgeries

From high heels to hair products, everyone is trying their best to look good on a budget — even when it comes to cosmetic surgery.

According to a national procedural statistics report from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), minimally invasive procedures such as Botox were up 5 percent from 2007 to 2008. The top five surgical procedures of 2008, according to the ASPS, were breast augmentation, nose reshaping, liposuction, eyelid surgery and tummy tucks.

During harder economic times, more patients might not be able to afford the more permanent surgeries, but they are still finding a way to get that beauty fix using minimally invasive cosmetic procedures. The top five in 2008 were Botox that can diminish facial fine lines and wrinkles, hyaluronic acid fillers to plump the lips or soften facial creases, chemical peels, laser hair removal and microdermabrasion, a skin rejuvenation technique.