When my coworker thoughtfully asked me for healthier Halloween snacks ideas, I suggested what any clever dietitian would: packaged nuts, seaweed snacks and fortune cookies (see below for my top ideas). The candy bowl at work filled with the usual Halloweenies, despite my best suggestions: Milky Ways, Snickers, etc. To counter the temptations, I’m creating clever strategies to steer clear of the candy bowl, minus the occasional indulgence (see below for awesome tips).
People get killer-serious about Halloween, as though suggesting sugar moderation will raise the dead. “Halloween only arrives once per year. . . a little candy never hurt anyone.” But who eats just a few pieces? Kids bring home pounds of candy on Halloween night. In preparation for each holiday, we consume candy all month. A piece here and there . . . the amount that we actually eat all month is lost on us. The clincher is that it adds up all year long.
Enter cavities, overweight, diabetes, nutrient displacement, sugar addictions, self-image issues and mood swings.
Let’s raise sensibility back from the dead. Americans consume POUNDS of sugar, per person, per year (estimates vary according to who you consult). Sugar used to arrive in our beverages. According to the CDC, about 60% of added sugars now shows up in our food. Take a backseat, soda pop. Sugar is sneaking into bed with nearly every processed food Americans eat – it’s in breakfast cereals, bread, juice, yogurt, granola bars, low-fat products – foods that are supposedly healthy.
A spooky addiction. Physicians like Dr. Lustig are cooking up major concerns about our addictive sugar consumption. He explains that sugar is not just empty calories, but it is damaging calories. Like a bad witch’s poison, it curses its consumer with chronic diseases, like severe addiction, cancer, high blood triglycerides, diabetes and obesity.
For the first time in history, chronic disease rates pose greater risks than infectious ones.
In 2008, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese, according to the CDC. This heavy reality suggests one thing: we cannot afford to take our candy holidays lightly – whether it is Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s, Easter, or any other day of the year. Mark Bittman, in his New York Times column, aptly notes that,
Sugar addiction is the biggest public health challenge facing the developed world.
We are unleashing zombies and ghouls on our own sweet health. It’s an expectation to eat sugar year round, and binge at holidays. While it’s reasonable to eat sweets on special occasions, it’s clear that we overindulge in sweet foods chronically. And sugar-addicts become monsters when deprived of their sweet drugs.
Our attitudes and behaviors toward sweets teaches our children about how much to value their own health and how to restrain (or not) from senseless consumption.
Smart strategies to avoid being tricked into overeating treats this year:
- Decide and commit in advance how much you will permit yourself and your children to consume. Don’t rely on willpower to help you overcome the tempting bowls of candy.
- Eat it sloooowwwwly. Enjoy it fully so that you are satisfied with less. Don’t slay vampires while chomping Mike & Ikes.
- Try activities that aren’t centered around food, such as games, contests, story-telling, and art. Provide a variety of nutritious foods so that you and kids can fill your bellies.
- Eat nutritious food before going to the parties. You and your kids will be less tempted by junk when you aren’t hungry. You may need the nourishment to chase off goblins waiting at your car.
- Keep your blood sugar stable. I’m most susceptible to gorge at the candy bowl when my blood sugar drops. Bring snacks with you to keep yourself from getting too hungry.
- Educate yourself. Seriously, you need to understand that excessive sugar is as damaging to your health as a vampire with rabies. When you understand the consequences, as a sane and self-loving person, you are waaaay less likely to injure yourself with senseless over-consumption.
Smart Halloween treats that won’t turn tricks on you:
- Ginger candy
- Mini-carrots (the snack-sized bags)
- Chewing gum or breath mints
- Mini-boxes of raisins or cranberries
- Tea bags, instant coffee, or healthy hot cocoa (this works great for adults)
- Snack-sized crackers, popcorn, granola, pretzels, etc.
- Mini-fruit (like the mini oranges or small apples)
- Mini dried jerky or fruit boxes
- Individual trail mix or nut packs
- String cheese
- Fortune cookies
- Individual seaweed packets (I’ve found them at Costco and Trader Joe’s)
- Toothbrushes, toothpaste, or dental floss. =-)
Okay, I want to hear YOUR reactions. Tell me . . .
- What is ONE THING that you will implement TODAY to reduce your candy intake?
- What is ONE THING you are willing to try to redirect your family’s sugar intake?
