Tag: jill

Handwashing: The Number One At-Home Germ Prevention

The Nurturing Well by: Jill Starbuck While people catch the common cold and other viruses throughout the year, back-to-school days and colder weather bring more sniffles, coughs, and scratchy throats than any other time of the year. This is also the time of year when the running debate about the efficacy and dangers of vaccines…

Medication & Its Outrageous Costs Explained

The Nurturing Well by: Jill Starbuck Nearly everybody faces the cost obstacle when it comes to medication. Prescription medication is often exorbitantly priced, especially brand name drugs. Overall prescription drug spending rose 3.2% to nearly $330 billion in 2013. As spending continues to increase, so does the number of Americans who cannot afford their medications…

September Marks ITP Awareness Month

The Nurturing Well by: Jill Starbuck September marks ITP awareness month, a perfect time to introduce this rare disorder and support its sufferers. ITP stands for Immune Thrombocytopenia Purpura, a rare bleeding disorder. A person with ITP has an overactive immune system that attacks and destroys its own platelets. Oftentimes, the spleen is the biggest…

Macronutrients: Three Key Elements to Healthy Eating

The Nurturing Well by: Jill Starbuck Countless diets have tried to upset the dietary balance in order to achieve weight loss. Certain diets suggest lowering carbohydrates to unhealthy levels. Others claim you should significantly reduce fat intake. Still others promote the elimination of an entire food group. A multitude of diets exist for you to…

Suicide: The Proverbial Elephant in the Room

The Nuturing Well by: Jill Starbuck Recently, headlines shocked millions of people by announcing the death of Robin Williams. Perhaps most startling is the way he died. Suicide forces those left behind to deal with complex emotions, including confusion, anger, sadness, and guilt. Suicide grief can last for years with no resolution. Suicide has long…

Curb the Soda Addiction

The Nurturing Well by: Jill Starbuck Soda is one of America’s favorite beverages. This is because both sugar and caffeine have addictive qualities. Furthermore, it’s within reach everywhere we turn. We find soda at amusement parks, concerts, sports events, movie theaters, vending machines, checkout counters, and many other places. Two of the top beverage companies…

Stretching the Right Way

The Nurturing Well by: Jill Starbuck Stretching provides many health and fitness benefits. And perhaps the best part about stretching is that it feels good! While stretching is a seemingly simple concept, many injuries occur from stretching improperly. Check out the following tips to get the most out of your stretches. 1. Warm up. Stretching…

Stretch It Out

The Nurturing Well by: Jill Starbuck Most of us can agree that one of the best physical feelings is a nice big stretch. You know the one after you’ve been sitting in a car or at a desk for hours? Or the one after you wake up in the morning? These types of stretches are…

Hot Exercise Tips for Safe Workouts

The Nurturing Well by: Jill Starbuck With summer officially here, we will see some of the hottest days of the year in the next few months. The heat brings with it great opportunities for fun summer events, especially those involving water. It also provides some great outdoor exercise options such as triathlons, kayaking, swim meets,…

Produce Rinses: A Simple Safeguard

The Nurturing Well by: Jill Starbuck Summer presents great opportunities to enjoy fresh produce with enticing gardens, massive fields, and abundant fresh markets. The temptation to pick a berry or a tomato and plop it into our mouths is often too great to ignore. However, you may want to think twice about doing so. While…

The High Price of Water

The Nurturing Well by: Jill Starbuck Hot summer days are nearly here. In fact, we’ve already had a few teasers. On these nice days, we spend more time outdoors in the sun playing and working on various projects. All of this activity and heat causes us to reach more frequently for water to quench our…

Dog Confrontation Survival Tips

The Nurturing Well by: Jill Starbuck Dogs love to chase. One of their favorite things to chase is runners. Even a normally lazy dog will become suddenly active upon seeing a runner. While many dogs are typically friendly, their natural instinct is to chase, especially someone unfamiliar in their surrounding territory. In turn, when runners…

For the Love of Dogs: A Runner’s Plea

The Nurturing Well by: Jill Starbuck I love dogs. In fact, I’m the proud owner of two beautiful eight-year-old dogs, a Siberian Husky and a Golden Retriever. They make up part of my family. Along with my dogs, I also love to run. However, more often than not, dogs and running do not mix. There…