National Diabetes Month!

Greetings!  November is National Diabetes Month.  Along with that, the Holidays have arrived with Halloween and now we have Thanksgiving to look forward to.  Even though this time of year is often a time of celebrating, it can also be a very stressful time of year, with family gatherings, an increase in our spending, figuring out what gifts to buy for those loved ones on our list, and the extra cooking we have to do before the end of the year!  It is hard to take time for ourselves but it's even harder to eat healthy, exercise with the drop in temperatures and decrease in daylight and manage our diabetes.  Therefore, we want you to take time to recognize how far you have come this year before you start to feel overwhelmed.  Take a moment to recognize all that you have done for your health and diabetes this year.  Stay positive and think of all the positive things you have done to stay healthy, move more and eat healthier.  Be proud of yourself.

 

Unfortunately, the average person gains more than a pound this time of year.  A typical holiday meal contains more than 3,000 calories and many of us have more than just one of these meals between Thanksgiving and New Years.  When you are eating healthy, you recognize how much better you feel!  So don't let the this time of the year change that or derail all the good you have done so far. 

Please check out the link below that gives us pointers on how to stay on track and still eat healthy during this Holiday Season:
https://blogs.webmd.com/diabetes/2015/12/5-holiday-eating-tips-that-are-actually-doable.html

Here is another link below for healthy/diabetes friendly recipes for the Holidays:
http://www.diabetes.org/mfa-recipes/recipes/holiday.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

We wish you all the best this Holiday Season and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact your Diabetes Educator, Nutritionist/Dietitian or Endocrinologist.  We are always here to help you get through this stressful time of the year.

Meet Diane, our new dietitian/nutritionist.

We would like to take the time to introduce our new Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, Diane Alpern, RD.  Sadly, our dietitian for the last 5 years, Catherine Lukas has left us to relocate to the Eastern side of the state.  We miss her, and wish her all the best. Diane has been working with Valley Medical Group since June and she comes to us after serving our community for 5 years at The Food Bank of Western MA.  While there, she developed an expertise in assisting individuals on a limited income to afford, shop for and prepare nutritious meals for themselves and their family.  She has been gradually becoming credentialed for most insurance companies at VMG.  The current list of  credentialed insurers include:

HNE (including Medicare and Medicaid replacement plans)

Tufts Health Public Plans

MassHealth (if Primary Care is VMG provider and not seeing them the same day as nutritionist)

BMC Healthnet

Medicare – If you have diagnosis of diabetes or kidney failure

Unicare-GIC

Fallon Health Plan

Blue Cross (any state approved – it is submitted through BCBS-MA for billing)

Fallon Health Plan (but not Fallon Medicare plan)

Harvard Pilgram

CIGNA

She speaks Spanish and is able to provide consultation in Spanish, which we consider to be a huge asset!  She is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to inexpensive recipes and resources for people on limited income to eat healthier.  She has personal experience and familiarity with Weight Watchers.

Here at VMG she does individual appointments and she is is also involved in the Diabetes SMA in Northampton and Easthampton and the Weight Loss SMA in Easthmapton (SMA stands for: Shared Medical Appointment).  For fun, Diane loves to sing and is a member of Rock Voices in Northampton & Hadley.

She is in Northampton on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Easthampton on Mondays and Thursdays.  If you are interested in scheduling an appointment, please call our Northampton office at: 413-586-8400 and our Easthampton office at: 413-529-9300.  

Diane looks forward to meeting you all!

March is National Nutrition Month!

Get ready for National Nutrition Month! March's theme this year is "put your best fork forward" - emphasizing that "Making just small shifts in our food choices, can add up over time".

I want to emphasize the message that eating right doesn't have to be complicated. Changing your routine in small ways that you can enjoy and sustain is the best way to improve your eating habits for life. 

Key Messages:

1. Create an eating style that includes a variety of your favorite, healthful foods.
2. Practice cooking more at home and experiment with healthier ingredients.
3. How much we eat is as important as what we eat. Eat and drink the right amount for you, as MyPlate encourages us to do.
4. Find activities that you enjoy and be physically active most days of the week.
5. Manage your weight or lower your health risks by consulting a registered dietitian nutritionist. RDNs can provide sound, easy-to-follow personalized nutrition advice to meet your lifestyle, preferences and health-related needs.

For more information, check out www.eatright.org, and watch the blog for updates and tips throughout the month of March!

Holiday Season Strategies

Let's discuss our strategies for staying healthy through the holiday season. How do you stay on track, while still enjoying and savoring the holidays? Please share your strategies in the comments below!

Here are some of our suggestions:

• Beware of "Tiny Tastes" - check out this handout from UNL extension educators. This is a great example of how little nibbles and samples throughout the day can add up to, in this example, 635 calories per day!! There are 38 days this year between Thanksgiving and New Years. If you ate 635 extra calories per day for 38 days, that is 22225 calories. If there are 3500 calories in a pound... that equals 6.35 pounds you would gain above normal over the holiday season this year!!!

http://food.unl.edu/documents/Tiny-tastes.pdf

• Keep monitoring yourself - if you weigh yourself regularly, monitor your blood sugars, or measure out your portion sizes - keep using those tools! Even if you decide to have an extra treat, these regular reality checks will help keep you on track. 
• Be choosy - when it comes to treats, we want you to savor your favorites! Think about that one item (perhaps two?) that you look forward to all year that is very special, and make sure you have a small serving. But skip the other stuff that is not that meaningful to you, or that is ordinary or available all year. 

• Be a role model - be the one who contributes a healthy colorful dish to your holiday gatherings, and others may be grateful to have a healthy option too! Examples might include roasted brussel sprouts or roasted root vegetables, whole grain based side dishes, an unsweetened beverage or fresh fruit for dessert. You are probably not the only one who is trying to stay healthy this holiday season, but if you are - at least you will have one healthy dish to rely on! 

• Be mindful - the holidays can be stressful and busy for many of us. Mindful eating, and mindfulness about your own needs, can help you to make better choices for yourself.  Before you eat, or as you sit down at the table, take time to notice: 
• how hungry are you physically?
• are you full? satisfied? 
• what emotions do you feel?
• what is going on around you? 
• where did your food come from? 
• What smells, colors, textures, tastes do you notice? 

What other strategies have you found helpful around the holidays? I hope you enjoy the season and take good care of yourselves!

Celebrating World Diabetes Day...

Bonnie Grenier, one of our VMG diabetes nurse educators, reminded me that we should be celebrating World Diabetes Day today, as well as American Diabetes Month this whole November. Here is some information she put together on a very important person in the history of diabetes management - the scientist who discovered insulin!

Celebrating World Diabetes Day... by remembering Dr. Frederick Banting:

November 14th is World Diabetes Day, and the birthday of a great figure in the history of diabetes research. Dr. Frederick Banting is recognized as being the first to successfully extract insulin from animal sources and use it to treat diabetes in humans. Others before him had discovered the insulin protein, and had tried to treat diabetes patients by feeding them pancreatic tissue, but without success. The insulin protein would break down because of exposure to other pancreatic enzymes in the process. 

Dr. Banting was originally from Alliston, Ontario. It was while reading articles and teaching lectures at University of Toronto in the 1920s that he developed his ideas about how to successfully extract the active insulin based on previous research about procedures to turn on and off the different types of cells in the pancreas. He and Dr. Charles Best worked together and were successful. Insulin was first extracted from dogs, pork, and beef until the late 20th centurywhen it was replaced with genetically engineered bacteria. 

Dr. Banting set up a private practice in Toronto to treat patients with diabetes in the spring of 1922. He treated Elizabeth Hughes Gossett, the daughter of then US Secretary of State, Charles Evans Hughes. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1923. In February of 1941, he died while flying a Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra. He died from his injuries the next day while en route to England at the age of 49.

Thanks Bonnie! For further reading, this information and more can be found at: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1923/banting-bio.html

November is American Diabetes Month

Did you know November is American Diabetes Month?

Click here to access resources to help you in your own diabetes management, or to help you spread awareness to help support others in their journey with diabetes. Use hashtag #ThisIsDiabetes to share your story!

Here are the facts: 
- 29 Million Americans have diabetes
- 89 Million Americans have pre-diabetes

According to the ADA: 
"Research shows that you can lower your risk for type 2 diabetes by 58% by: 
- Losing 7% of your body weight (or 15 pounds if you weigh 200 pounds) 
- Exercising moderately (such as brisk walking) 30 minutes a day, five days a week"

Don't forget, these are important steps you can take whether you already have a diabetes diagnosis, or are working to prevent one. 

To find out more about your risk, visit:  http://www.diabetes.org/are-you-at-risk/prediabetes

Healthy Food for Summer Picnics

Thanks to Meghan, a nutrition student volunteer, for today's post about healthy choices at summer picnics and cookouts!

Hot weather has arrived, and there are a lot of outdoor activities and events happening - like picnics in the park, backyard parties and barbecues to name a few. However, the popular picnic and barbecue fare isn't always the healthiest. Mayonnaise-based salads, potato chips and meats for grilling can all be high in fat, sodium and preservatives, but there are plenty of substitutions you can make for a healthier picnic outing. Here are some ideas:

1. If you’re planning a barbecue, try grilling vegetables like asparagus, zucchini or summer squash. Asparagus cooks great on the grill seasoned, drizzled with olive oil and wrapped up in tin foil as do many other summer veggies.

2. Substitute lean turkey burgers on whole wheat buns loaded up with lettuce, tomato and other veggies instead of traditional cheeseburgers and hot dogs. Lean turkey burger is lower in fat than hamburger but tastes just as good!

3. When it comes to heavy pasta and egg salads try using plain, low-fat greek yogurt instead of mayo. This will cut down on fat but also add a lighter feel and tangy flavor to your dishes to change things up a bit. White pasta can be swapped out for quinoa or whole grain pasta to cut out some starch and lower the glycemic index of your pasta salads making it great for those who are diabetic, watching their blood sugar or carb counting. 

4. To freshen up the tradition fruit salad, skip the added sugar. Instead, add in some herbs like fresh mint leaves to make it taste cool and refreshing on a hot summer day. 

5. Hummus and sliced veggies like carrots sticks, celery, and peppers make a great replacement for plain potato chips and dip. Plus, hummus is an excellent plant-based source of protein, fiber and heart-healthy fats which will help fill you up so your less tempted to keep snacking all day. 

With some quick and easy replacements, you can improve the healthfulness of your picnic dishes while also introducing some fresh new flavors. Instead of traditional picnic foods that are high in starch, saturated fat and sodium, try some lighter, healthier choices  - hopefully you will feel satisfied, energized and ready to enjoy the summer festivities!