SHELF HELP

        Read: Win the Weight Game: Successful Strategies for Living Well(Fireside; $15) by Sarah, the Duchess of York, and Weight Watchers. The former royal shares her insights on losing weight, managing stress and rebuilding self-esteem. With menu plans.

CALENDAR

        Reach: Chiropractor/personal trainer Brian McMaster will present “Stretching for Strength” 4-5 p.m. Tuesdays beginning March 27 at the Alliance Institute for Alternative Medicine, 6400 Galbraith Road, Kenwood. The class covers techniques to improve flexibility, muscle tone, balance and circulation. Cost is $45 for the four-week session, or $15 per class on a drop-in basis. Call 791-5521 to register.

        Learn: Martial arts instructor Jerome Cook will teach tai chi weekly at the Mercy HealthPlex in Fairfield beginning Wednesday. The class meets at 7 p.m. Cost is $80 for non-members, $56 for members. Call Pam Butler (942-7539) for information.

        Splash: The Cincinnati Recreation Commission is sponsoring two Swim Stroke Clinics in March. One meets 7:30-8:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays at the Mount Auburn Pool. The second meets 7:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at Krueck Pool. Call 352-4000 for information.

        Walk: The Cincinnati Center for Developmental Disorders will hold a benefit walk at 10 a.m. May 20 at Devou Park in Covington to benefit the new Down Syndrome Treatment Center, which opens in July.

        Participants can choose from a one, three or five-mile course. Registration begins at 9 a.m. the day of the walk. For information, call 636-4723.

SITINGS

        Get pumped: Want ideas on how to rev up — or start up — your workout? Check out www.fitnesslink.com, which features tips on what's new in men's and women's fitness trends, a virtual gym tour that explains what equipment works which muscle groups, diet and nutrition tips and mind/body wellness.

NUTRITION

        Grain pain: Gluten may be the culprit behind recurring headaches and lack of coordination in people who are sensitive to the protein found in wheat and other grains.

        Researchers from the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, England, found that removing or cutting back on gluten greatly reduced symptoms among middle-aged study participants.

        The study, published in the February edition of Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology, reported 10 patients with gluten sensitivity whose MRI tests suggested inflammation of the central nervous system.

        Nine of the 10 patients found full or partial relief from occasional headaches or unsteadiness and failure of muscle coordination after trying a gluten-free diet. The 10th patient refused to try the diet.

        Dr. Marios Hadjivassiliou, study author and neurologist, reported that one of the participants, a 50-year-old man, had experienced episodic headaches and loss of balance for four years, with the incidents becoming worse over time. With the gluten-free diet, his symptoms disappeared. When he relaxed the diet, his symptoms returned.

        The diagnosis of gluten sensitivity and gluten-related neurological dysfunction relies on the presence of certain antibodies. Some individuals may also be genetically more sensitive to gluten.

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