Photo by James Cook
Have you heard about any of the new studies out lately showing the deleterious effects of sugar on our bodies? They are seriously chilling. Sugar has been linked to heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and even cancer. Whoa.
Here’s an article in the New York Times called “Is Sugar Toxic?”
And this article from Time magazine “Too Much Sugar Increases Heart Risks” is also informative.
Not to mention the problems with sugar and teeth, if nothing else we are sure that sugar causes cavities and according to LA Dental Town dental health has profound impacts on your health overall as well. So with all this new information about the negative effects of sugar on our bodies, I’ve been strategizing about how we can have a fun and healthy Halloween, WITHOUT binging on sugar.
When I was a kid I loved trick or treating, but there were all those scares about razors in baked goods and whatnot and the recommendation was not to eat anything that wasn’t in it’s sealed individual package. Then again, I have some vivid memories of bobbing for apples and having Halloween parades at school, so maybe this holiday doesn’t actually have to be centered around snack sized sugar bombs.
As I was pondering what to do about Halloween and how to keep our celebrations healthy, Julia asked to have a party. “That’s it!” I thought to myself. The perfect way to keep sugar out of our Halloween celebrations is to provide healthy alternatives and our very own Halloween party.
We can dress up in costumes, carve or paint pumpkins, roast pumpkin seeds, bob for apples, listen to creepy music, make our own masks, and serve savory delights with a Halloween theme. “Pumpkin Soup” by Helen Cooper has been a popular book at our house lately, so perhaps we’ll make some!
OK, the truth is, this party won’t be happening this year, but I’m excited about hosting it next year for all the families we love and who are also conscious of healthy living. For this year we can definitely avoid trick-or-treating, since Julia doesn’t know what it is yet.
But for those of you whose children already know about and are looking forward to trick-or-treating this year, you might want to try participating in a dentist office candy buyback. Here in Bend, OR there are some dentists that will pay kids $1 per pound of Halloween candy that they then send to troops overseas.
I’m not sure how I feel about passing the health detriments of candy on to our service men and women abroad, but I’m guessing they will at least enjoy the treats. And any amount of pleasure we can offer them is so little in exchange for the services they provide.
Alternatively, my friend has struck a deal with her son that he may choose 5 pieces of candy to keep and eat and if he hands over the rest, she will buy him a toy in exchange. Apparently her son didn’t go for it last year, but this year he’s ready to trade in his candy for Legos! Sounds like a win-win to me!
I’m curious, how do you handle Halloween at your house? Do your kids participate in trick-or-treating? Is it horribly mean of me to try to shelter my daughter from it for as long as possible? Am I making a big deal out of nothing, or do you agree that sugar consumption is something we should be taking a good hard look at in ourselves AND in our children?
I always love it when you share your thoughts, so please leave a comment.
And have a Happy Halloween!
Warm hugs, Shelly