Asheville Citizen-Times from Asheville, North Carolina • Page 10

B4 TUESDAY April 28, 2009 ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES Features Editor Bruce Steele, 232-5848 or bsteeleCITIZENTIMES.com YOUR NEWS Rust comes to Jubilee ASHEVILLE Singer-songwriter Julie Rust will perform at 4 p.m. May 10 at Jubilee at 46 Wall St. Rust, who has recorded four CDs, will be joined by her husband, Rusty, performing on guitar. Tickets are no and are available at the door. For information, call 645-3781.

For a preview, visit www.JulieRust.com. 0 TT HEALTH FITNESS Living Tax planning seminar offered ASHEVILLE The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina will sponsor a tax and estate planning seminar 9 a.m.-i2i5 p.m. May 6 at Lioncrest on the Biltmore Estate. Presenter will be Bryan Clontz, president and co-founder of Charitable Solutions, LLC. Cost is $100 per person through Friday, $120 after Friday.

To register, call the Community Foundation at 254-4960. Adopt a new friend Radar is 2-year-old Chihuahuacorgi mix who weighs 13 pounds. He's full of love and run and available from Sarge's Animal Rescue- Foundation in Waynes-ville. To learn more, call 246-9050, visit www.sargeand friends.org or stop by Sarge's 0 j) Melanle MacNell, a professional hoop dancer with Asheville Hoops, leads a beginners hooping class at Studio Terpslcorps In downtown Asheville. headquarters for Saturday adoption day at 1659 S.

Main St. in Waynesville. Today's reader photo By Alexandra Morris MacNeil now teaches two classes a week during the spring season, and she just 'b wrapped up a wmter hoop-tit aerobic AM0RRISeGANNEIT.COM ASHEVILLE The Hula-Hooping wave that's sweeping the country is more than just a class designed to keep people in shape. Hoops and abs mM mm mm mm mmt fad. For at least one woman, the hoop has changed her life, Melanie MacNeil, of Asheville, began hooping The Asheville YMCA also offers a Hula-Hooping course, with a focus on abdominal work.

1 yyy i (forr "We went through a trial period to offer (the class) to our members, and it was a hit," said Bryan Messing, wellness director at the Asheville YMCA. A.K. Benninghofen is the hoop fitness instructor for tour years ago. "After a bad breakup, I found MacNeil said. "I was brokenhearted and a little lonely, but I put myself back together with (or in) a Hula-Hoop." MacNeil said after hooping on a regular basis she started to feel better physically and kW II II kW Tom and Martha Mills, of Asheville, sent in this photo of a crow that made off with eight of the Easter eggs that had been hidden in their side yard for their 2-year-old grandson to find on Easter morning.

The crafty crow poked a hole in the egg with its beak, then flew away with its lower beak in the hole and its upper beak supporting the egg. Send In your photos: The Citizen-Times wants to publish your favorite family or neighborhood photos. Share your high-resolution digital images of yourself, children, pets, wild animals, neighborhood, volunteer work or other remarkable moments in your life. Close-ups preferred. Digital photos must be at least 500 KB in size.

Include a caption, your name, a daytime telephone and the town you live in. E-mail to the YMCA course She said the class is fun and more Return nf Hnla-Hnnn social than most aerobics classes. She said the class is great for balance, coordination and raising your heart rate. Hooping strengthens muscles and releases tension. She said it promotes weight loss and increases energy and blood circulation.

Participants say it often doesn feel like exercise while they're do ing it, but hoopers are sore the follow ing day, Benninghofen said. She added I II 11 II II III UN JV "It takes practice and hard work," 1 she said. that members in the class are seeing posi Take5 Today Hula-Hooping has also become her business. "Hooping definitely changed who I am," said MacNeil, who graduated from Warren Wilson College in 2000 with a degree in social work and is now president, CEO, secretary and do-it-all lady of Asheville Hoops. "It's helped me to find grace physically, mentally, spiritually and tive results.

"Melanie teaches hoop dancing, which is amazing to watch," Benninghofen said. "My class is much more about how to get a good workout with a hoop." Lynn Trezise is the group exercise coordinator at the Asheville YMCA. She said the class welcomes beginning to advanced Pleas set HOOPS on BS The certified hoop instructor started Asheville Hoops in February 2008. Along with holding workshops and classes, MacNeil makes customized, handmade hoops for sale and performs using fire and LED hoops. Beginning 'Therapy' The one-man, many-character, dysfunctional-family comedy "My Mother's Kalian, My Father's Jewish, and I'm In Therapy" starts its six-day, seven-show run at 8 tonight at the Diana Wortham Theatre, Pack Place, downtown.

Take your mom. $25-35. Visit the box office or wwwdwtheatre.com. Free parking If you've got the day off or a long lunch, cruise over to the N.C. Arboretum.

Spring is bustin' out all over, and it's Tuesday, so parking is free and so is admission. Visit wwwjicarboretum.org. To team about hooping and other fitness classes offered to YMCA mem- bets at 11 a.m. Mondays, visit wwyrticawnaorg. WEB EXTRA To see a photo gallery from MacNeH's Oast and watch a video, foflow the 3 (Inks posted with the online version, of this story it CRISI-TBSUm .1 WANT TO HOOP? Melanie MacNeil teaches two classes: Hoopdandng 101, for beginning I students, and Intermediate Hoopdance: Deepening Your Hoop Experience, Classes are held at Studio Terpsicorps, 129 Roberts St, Asheville.

I To purchase a hoop, sign up for a class or book a perfbrmance visit I www.8shevillehoops.com or contact MacNeil at melmacpinl hotmail.com. Suffering from allergies? Consider natural approaches About 20 percent of Americans suffer from allergies, with symptoms like itchy eyes and nose, sneezing, sinus headache and conges- Dr. Nikolai Hedberg with the enzyme bromelain, which is derived from pineapple. Stinging nettle has been shown to reduce inflammatory chemicals in the body that contribute to allergy symptoms. N-acetyl cysteine, or NAC, is not only an excellent antioxidant but also is an expectorant and mucolytic agent NAC rebuilds glutathione, which is one of your body's most powerful antioxidants.

We use these supplements to quickly and effectively reduce the symptoms of allergies. Dm mUm ml Dr. MWw IMkmJ, like vitamin can significantly reduce the exaggerated immune response to harmless substances. Quercetin is possibly the most biologically active fla-vonoid that can quickly reduce free radicals. Quercetin is found in onions, garlic and tea but can also be taken as a supplement Quercetin is one of na- hire's most powerful antihistamines as it directly in- hibits the release of hista- mine from immune cells.

A quarter of the quercetin you ingest will go directly to the lung, making it an excellent compound for allergies and -associated asthma. Its absorption can be enhanced abnormal immune response to a harmless substance. Why does the immune system overreact to something that is harmless? That is the question we ask every patient because one person's contributing factors may be completely different from another's, yet they have the same symptoms. Genetics, environment, nutritional status, digestive function, adrenal gland health, antioxidant status and many more can all be factors to allergic responses. Traditional medicine treats the symptoms of allergies by suppressing the immune system with drugs like antihistamines.

This approach, however, does not reach the underlying cause of why the immune system is not functioning correctly. We are seeing a rise in allergies in industrialized nations because of the increasing toxic burden placed on our bodies. Medications only mask symptoms but also have unwanted side effects like drowsiness and nutrient depletions. Natural medicines do not have side effects, nor do they cause hu-' trient depletions. Antioxidants can reduce allergic symptoms by 1 quenching free-radical production, which contributes to the inflammation caused by allergies.

Antioxidants of pollens. Fall is the worst time of year for most allergy sufferers because of the greatest release of weed pollen, with ragweed and goldenrod being the most common offenders. The term "hay fever" is a misnomer because neither hay (alfalfa) nor fevers are typically associated with allergies. Fungal spores are high at all times except during times of snow cover resulting in continuous immune system stress and symptoms. Allergies can account for sleep loss, lack of work productivity and general misery, making it a very important problem to address.

Allergies are basically an GUEST COLUMNIST tlOn. Allergies are a problem for many people in the spring, but allergies can occur at any time. Dust mites, mold spores, animal dander and specific chemicals can trigger symptoms. Seasonal allergies occur during different times of the year from tree, grass, weed and commercial crop release pncttd ht ApdM. Ht cm fMskHl il IS aninrs rn 1 1 hi II 1 1 jIm I "A I nl iCJ- I I I 1 I I 71 I I CD Broken, Used, Unwanted Jewelry, Class Rings, CoinsSiter.