Sweet Stuff

Halloween is a spooky time and not because of goblins, ghosts or ghouls. Oct. 31 is downright frightening because it is a nationally accepted Sugar Overload Day.
Around Halloween, just about everyone “forgets” the truly scary facts: Kids have been growing more and more obese, even developing type 2 diabetes—conditions that researchers attribute to such unhealthy activities as over-consuming sweets and refined carbs and lack of exercise.
Despite the dangers to our children’s health, every Halloween, it’s accepted—even encouraged—to pass out gobs of sugar-filled candies that could harm the health of our neighbors’ kids.
But every time you give candies to youngsters who come knocking on your door to playfully trick-or-treat, you’re tricking them, not treating them.
Indeed, the average child easily wolfs down about 20 to 40 teaspoons of sugar and more than 500 calories on that one night alone. Then, for days or weeks afterwards, the typical kid is still pigging out on leftover candies.
Research at Harvard, Yale and other institutions have discovered that eating fewer sweets and skipping the soda and other sugary drinks could help children and adults alike lose weight and reduce their risks of getting type 2 diabetes.
This Halloween, I invite you to quit encouraging sugar gorging and instead to begin to take some steps to make Halloween more healthy. Here are 6 tips to create a healthier holiday.