New FREE Support Group! (Plus Halloween Carb Counting)

The Diabetes Team at Valley Medical Group is excited to announce a new FREE Diabetes Support Group in our Northampton (Florence) office. 

The group will meet on the 2nd Wednesday of every month starting November 11th, from 5:30 -7 pm. 

The group is open to anyone - no need to sign up.

 Our first support group will feature a food demonstration to prepare you for the holidays!!

 We are looking forward to offering support and connections with you, your family and our community. If you have any questions or concerns you are welcome to contact Bonnie Grenier at 413-262-2838 or bgrenier@vmgma.com

And to get you started thinking about your strategy for navigating the holiday season, let's start with Halloween! Here are the nutrition facts for some of the most popular Halloween candies you might encounter this week, thanks to Diabetes Forecast Magazine: 

Candy	Calories	Fat (g)	Carbs (g)
Snickers, fun size	80	4	10.5
Snickers, mini	43	1.6	4.4
3 Musketeers, fun size	63	2	11
3 Musketeers, mini	24	0.7	5
Skittles Original, fun size mini	60	0.5	14
Butterfinger, fun size	100	4	15
Butterfinger, mini	45	2	7.25
Candy Corn, 1 oz.	100	0	25.6
Milky Way, fun size	80	3	12
Milky Way, mini	38	1.6	6
Almond Joy, snack size	80	4.5	10
Almond Joy, mini	67	3.6	8
Hershey's Kiss, 3 pieces	67	4	8.3
Kit Kat, snack size	70	3.6	9
Kit Kat, mini	18	2	5.6
Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkin	170	10	18
Twix, fun size	80	4	10
Twix, mini	50	2.6	6.6
Peanut M&M's, fun size	90	5	10.5
M&M's, fun size	73	3.3	10.6
York Peppermint Patty	140	2.5	31
York Peppermint Patty, mini	50	1	11
Tootsie Roll	23	0	4.6
Charms Blow Po	60	0	17
Jolly Rancher	23	0	5.6
Smarties roll	25	0	6

Nutrition information is shown per piece of candy or per bag for appropriate items (such as M&M's).

Source: http://www.diabetesforecast.org/2010/oct/carb-counts-for-halloween-candy.html

Good News for Fidgeters

By now, I'm guessing you've heard about the health effects of sitting. Those of us logging hours in front of computers, TV's, and sitting in cars on long commutes have an increased risk of:

• heart disease
• diabetes
• cancer
• anxiety
• death (!)

Sitting has been said to increase your risk of heart disease just as much as smoking! And in the research I've seen, this is even if you exercise for an hour at the gym before you go home.

But I have some encouraging news for you: it seems that even small efforts to move more can make a big difference.

For example, as this article explains, there is research to show that some of these health risks are lower in people who fidget.

And this one shows that even a two minute walk each hour can offset these drawbacks.

Encouraging, right? You don't need to start running races to undo all that time in your chair. Here are some more suggestions to stay moving throughout the day:

• If you have a laptop or other portable device, put a shelf or a small table on top of your desk so you have the option to alternate sitting and standing throughout the day
• Walk down the hall to speak to a coworker, rather than sending an email
• Get up to refill your water bottle (two goals in one!)
• Go the long way around to the copier or to the bathroom - bonus points if you can go up one set of stairs and down another on your way
• When tidying up the house, make a trip up or down the stairs for each item you put away
• Stand up, walk in place, or do simple stretches during each commercial break
• Pace or walk in place while on the phone, brushing your teeth, or waiting for the microwave

What other suggestions do you have for fitting a little bit more movement into your day? Let us know in the comments section below!