If you’re young you might find this hard to believe, but it’s only been within the last generation that we have made the link between our health and our diet. It started with the realization that inhaling cigarette smoke can cause the formation of cancerous cells in our lungs. It took quite some time for us to believe that. And, as obvious as it seems now, it took even longer for us to learn and accept that eating processed foods and sugar has an effect on our heart health, and health in general.

In Louisiana, food is a part of our culture. And not all of that food is good for us.

That’s the point Yvette Quantz makes, both in her private nutritionist practice and as Operations and Marketing Dietician for Eat Fit Acadiana.

Also in the believe-it-or-not category of physical health, it wasn’t that long ago that there were only two types of people who got a massage: professional athletes and men for whom the word “massage” was a euphemism for a very specific and localized type of physical therapy. This type of “massage” was conducted in what was called a “massage parlor,” which basically came to be code for “brothel.”  Today we all accept the physical, and psychological, health benefits of real, therapeutic massage. 

Here in Acadiana, Kate Lemoine is a licensed massage therapist who is taking massage out of the clinic and on the road. Through her company, Open Arms, Kate shows up with her massage table or chair in locations as diverse as festivals and work places.

Photos at Cafe Vermilionville by Lucius Fontenot.