By Katie Reeder • SMN Intern

As a doctor of naturopathy, Michelle Sanderbeck said one of her main concerns is finding the underlying cause of her patients’ problems rather than just treating the symptoms. 

A medical esthetician at Salon & Skin Spa of Hazelwood Village in Waynesville, Darcia Sirianni knows exactly how important skin care is.

The Mountain Spirit Wellness building in Waynesville’s Frog Level area offers a pair of services that have the same goal — restoring comfort to hurting muscles and joints — but use different methods to get there. Masseuse Lynda Saffell and reflexologist Linda Neff took a few minutes to explain the benefits of their work and how they differ from each other.

By Katie Reeder • SMN Intern

It’s a myth that yoga is reserved for only the most acrobatic of people. And that’s good news considering the amount of stress that is often part of everyday life, said Jay MacDonald, a registered yoga teacher out of Waynesville.

A little bit goes a long way. That’s a key philosophy at Blue Mountain Chiropractic Center in downtown Waynesville. Good health doesn’t have to be an uphill battle. Rather, it can be an easy stride with the right preventative measures in place, within your body and mind.

Sussy Huskey has learned that life can take you in many directions — some planned and others unexpected — but the important thing is to keep moving. 

It was a century ago that Beverly Kiohawiton Cook’s relative was taken from his family and shipped off to Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania. Those years at school, days of travel away from family and forbidden to use native dress and speech, were traumatic.

QUESTION: I have high blood pressure and have been told to cut down on salt and sodium. What should I be looking at on the label?

Answer:  One of the key recommendations of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans is: "Reduce daily sodium intake to less than 2,300milligrams (mg) and further reduce intake to 1,500 mg among persons who are 51 and older and those of any age who are African American or have hypertension, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease."

Green space and gardens dominate much of the Western North Carolina landscape, but what determines whether people here actually eat the fruits and veggies that abound? That’s what April Tallant, health professor at WCU, hopes to find out as she crunches the numbers from her latest research project. 

Some schools are thinking twice about the long standing practice of passing out fast-food coupons to children as rewards.