Stay Healthy

Chinese, Greek, Roman and Indian: For thousands of years, cultures around the world have practiced holistic medicine focusing on the whole body through emotional and spiritual well-being.

Today, “alternative medicine” describes holistic, integrative or “complementary” treatments used instead of or in conjunction with traditional therapies.

WOULD A DIETARY SUPPLEMENT HELP YOU MEET YOUR HEALTH GOALS?

Just as there is no one diet that fits everyone, no single supplement or supplement protocol fits everyone. Sure, life would be simpler with a cure-all pill (or regiment of pills). But life — like the human body — is complex. Different dietary supplements work for different people at different times and for different reasons. That’s a lot of “differents” to sort through, so let’s break this down: Before you decide to add a supplement to your daily regimen, there are three questions you need to consider.

NEWS FROM THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION

You are what you drink

According to the American Heart Association, we’re drinking more bottled water, but it’s not affecting the number of calories we get from beverages. Consumers are swapping full-calorie sodas for sports and energy drinks, sweetened teas and bottled coffee drinks that are high in added sugar, negating any benefit from increased water consumption.

BALLET-INSPIRED EXERCISE

Barre classes have become one of the fastest-growing fitness trends nationwide, and fitness studios and gyms on Hilton Head Island and Bluffton are getting in on the graceful action. A ballet-inspired workout designed to build toned and lean muscles, barre (pronounced ‘bar’) is designed for beginners as well as those with previous ballet experience.

The exercises are a combination of postures inspired by ballet and other disciplines, like yoga and Pilates. The barre is used for balance during exercises that focus on isometric strength training — holding the body still while contracting a specific set of muscles — and high reps of small range-of-motion movements.

FINDING A BETTER ‘NORMAL’ FOR CANCER SURVIVORS

On the night of the H.O.P.E. Life and Rehabilitation Center’s open house in November, the place glowed from within. A group of people had gathered to celebrate this new, specialized addition to Hilton Head Island’s health care options.

H.O.P.E. Life stands for “helping oncology patients enjoy life,” and the facility provides physical, nutritional, social and wellness services to any individual and family touched by cancer. Dennis Ittenbach, the physical therapist who opened the practice, said he’d been thinking about and planning the facility for the past 15 years.

HHI PAINTER LOSES WEIGHT, GAINS MUCH

The phoenix: With all its plumes and promise, this mythological motivator reminds us that, however latent, we each possess the potential for renewal and rebirth. Last year, Hilton Head Island painter and Realtor Louanne LaRoche channeled her own inner phoenix and lost more than 160 pounds—without weight loss surgery. Her story serves as an inspiration for people struggling with their weight and their relationship with food.

LOCAL TRAINER OFFERS TIPS FOR FIGHTING HOLIDAY SPREAD

Have you ever wondered where the expression “Slow as Christmas” comes from? Everyone knows there’s nothing slow about Christmas. From the start of the holiday season it’s a 24-7, frenetic hodgepodge of festivities that often derails our wellness routines.

But not this year. Give yourself an early gift: Stacey Saritelli’s holiday high-intensity interval training workout. Saritelli — a personal trainer, the fitness director at Breakthrough Fitness Center and the five-time winner of The Island Packet’s "best of" Readers Choice Awards — is a graduate of Penn State University and has a bachelor’s degree in commercial recreation and health education. She also is an ACE/AFPA personal trainer and fitness instructor and an ACE-certified weight management consultant. Yep, she kicks butt — for a living.

THE MIRACLE OF MAGGIE MAINE, THIS YEAR’S HEART BALL HONOREE.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — and, for many families, the busiest. Holiday parties. Shopping for gifts. Spreading peace and good cheer.

It’s easy to get swept up in the tinsel and twinkling lights, but the Maine family always makes sure their daughter, Maggie, is right in the middle of the action.

MATURE STUDENTS SATISFY THEIR CURIOSITY AT OLLI

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute’s fall term course catalog offers more than 50 pages of opportunities. For those who like learning for learning’s sake, opening it and reading through its full-color pages feels like shopping spree.

OLLI, at the University of South Carolina Beaufort, is part of the Bernard Osher Foundation’s nationwide network of adult learning programs. At USCB, it offers educational programs for people in the Lowcountry ages 50 and older — a fast-growing population in Beaufort County. The institute’s membership is 1,400 and counting; over three semesters last year, more than 410 courses focused on topics ranging from science, history, art, computers, literature and health. Lois McCue, the chairwoman of the Hilton Head Island curriculum committee, said OLLI offers classes in about 20 categories, all taught by volunteers.