Healthy Halloween Treats for Kids: How to Avoid the Frightening Health Costs of Candy

- by Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo

Whenever the ghosts and goblins walk the streets On October 31st, carrying their special Halloween treat bags, what they carry in those bags is far more scary than they realize, for it has the potential to rob them of their most precious gift–their health.

Americans spend close to two billion dollars every year on Halloween candy!

That’s $2,000,000,000!

That’s how much it would cost to send 20,000 students to a decent college for 4 years, or to feed 303,030 kids in Ghana, Africa for a year.

How many hurricane or earthquake victims can be assisted with $2 billion?

The Frightening and Hidden Costs of Halloween

The dentist bills, doctor bills, lost productivity and distress that ensues as a result of gorging on candy every October 31st add up to millions.

The cost of Halloween on our health and the health of our kids is staggering. Since 1980, obesity rates in children have tripled. Today, 13 million children are obese . The amount of sugar consumed at Halloween and throughout the year contributes not only to obesity but to serious debilitating diseases like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Annual obesity-related medical costs are estimated to be $168 billion.

The ingredients in typical Halloween confections are scarier than the costumes. In addition to sugar and health-damaging oils, they are filled with artificial colors and preservatives. And, according to Pure Fun Candy, producers of an organic line of cane juice sweetened candy colored with vegetable and fruit extracts, the FDA doesn’t monitor artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives or even require that they be tested.

Research published in the Lancet, one of the most respected medical journals, concludes that food additives affect brain chemistry in children, resulting in hyperactivity and ADHD-like behavior.

Lancet 2007, Nov 3:370 (9598) 1560-7 “Food Additives & Hyperactive Behavior in 3 Year Old and 8/9 Year Old Children in the Community: a Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo Controlled Trial.” McCann D, Barrett A, Cooper A, Crumpler D, Dalen L, Grimshaw K, Kitchin E, Lok K, Porteous L, Prince E, Sonuga-Barke E, Warner JO, Stevenson J. School of Psychology, Dept. of Child Health, University of Southampton, UK. 300 Children Studied.

This research prompted Wal-Mart in the UK to ban these additives in children’s foods. Yet American kids continue to consume them in record amounts, especially at Halloween.

Safe Strategies for Happy and Healthy Kids at Halloween

Here are some suggestions, taken in part from Healthy Halloween Treats:

1. Pull your spending power away from the $2 billion spent on candy. Hand out trinkets like pencils and pads, party favor toys, boxes of raisins, or quarters. If you feel you MUST give candy, try some of the Pure Fun Candy organic products. There’s a 3 page list of healthy alternatives in the book Healthy Halloween Treats.
2. Make your own Healthy Halloween Treats, using fresh,whole, raw organic ingredients and natural sweeteners like date paste and dried fruit powders.
3. Swap the candy your kids collect for trinkets, money, or toys. The book Healthy Halloween Treats has pages of suggestions for new Halloween rituals that the kids find fun.
4. Teach your kids to Trick or Treat for Unicef, or another charity of your choice. It will teach them the magic of giving.

Shifting attention away from the candy, and into the true meaning of the holiday is a great way to get your kids involved. In my Healthy Halloween Treats book, I share some of the activities and stories my kids and I have shared.

They are now 13 and 17, and so they won’t be trick or treating this year. The gift I gave them by not participating in the candy madness and teaching them the value of good nutrition has resulted in two very strong, bright and healthy teenagers who’ll be spared the ravages of health destruction caused by sugar and processed food addiction.

As I observe the physiques of other kids their age, the belly fat and brain fog that results from over reliance on processed sugary foods is apparent.

Enjoy a Healthy Halloween, and keep your kids safe from the scariest part of Halloween – the candy!

Love, Health and Happy Halloween

Dr. Ritamarie

Green Smoothie Power

I’m heading back to Austin after a very exciting extended weekend in Tucson. Not only did I have great family time, but I attended a business strategy retreat that has me buzzing with excitement. Within the next month I will begin to unveil my plans for a program that is unique, affordable and deeply empowering. I can’t reveal the details yet, but over the next few weeks, some of it is sure to leak.

My 8 month old nephew Jason had another green smoothie today, and he enjoyed it immensely. It was so heartwarming to listen to his squeals of delight as my sister, his grandmother, fed it to him with a spoon. I am coaching her to continue to give him green smoothies daily to provide him with an abundance of nutrition and a powerful immune system.

As for me, I’m excited to be doing another green smoothie cleanse next week, I lead a group cleanse every two months or so and I participate fully. Form, it’s the perfect way to give my body a rest from eating on the run, eating too late at night and not sleeping enough. I always feel lighter, more energetic and happier after I complete a Green Smoothie Cleanse. The group support helps me to follow through. I always keep my commitment to others. On my own, I sometimes fail to follow through.

Here’s the green smoothie recipe similar to what I made for 8 month old Jason:

• 1 Peach
• 1 cup pitted cherries, fresh or frozen
• 1 Apple
• A couple of handfuls of spinach
• A couple of leaves of kale
• 1 cup water

Blend and Taste. Add more fruit if needed. Thin with water if desired.

Enjoy a fabulous day.

Love and Health,

Dr. Ritamarie

P.S.  I wrote this on Monday Sept 29 at the airport and just got it posted today.  I am hosting a FREE teleseminar today called “Simple Strategies to Creating Vibrant Health, In Spite of Day to Day Challenges” You can sign up by going to:

http://www.drritamarie.com/greens_teleconference.htm

Green Smoothies for Kids

I had so much fun today.  I’m in Arizona, visiting my sister Barbara and brother Frank.  This morning, at my Barbara’s house, after a 2 1/2 hour brisk walk, I made us a big blender full of green smoothie….kale, dandelion greens, spinach, peaches, cherries,mango, banana, lime and ginger.  It was strong, but tasty.   My sister and I fed part of it to her grandson Jason, age 8 months.  He loved it.  So much so that I had to take pictures.  I posted them on my Green Smoothie Cleanse page  http://www.drritamarie.com/GreenCleanse.

In the afternoon, we went to my brother’s house.  We were talking about green smoothies, and my nephew Anthony, age 9, was fascinated.  He wanted to make one right away.  After a trip to the grocery store to buy ingredients, we got started.  He had his own ideas, and it was exciting to experience his creativity.  We made 3 different smoothies.  He decided that he wants to make them regularly and take them to school.

My sister-in-law Terese called me later to say that Anthony and Frank made another smoothie after we left, so he could have one for the next day.  Frank and Terese also liked them and plan to start drinking them more regularly.  Frank may even join in on my next Green Smoothie Cleanse October 5 – 12.  For more details go to http://www.drritamarie.com/GreenCleanse

It felt great to successfully introduce my nephews to green smoothies. Getting kids started on them so young is guaranteed to improve their health dramatically.

I’ll post Anthony’s recipes on the Green Cleanse Forum, which is one of the benefits that participants in the Green Cleanse Program .

Have a beautiful Day.

Making Healthy Food a Hit with Kids

I am so excited to announce a class on a favorite topic of mine–diet and nutrition for creating healthy, happy kids!

By the end of this 3 hour, hands on class, you will be able to feed your kids quick and easy meals that provide them with the nutrients they need to be happy, healthy and well adjusted , identify and avoid nutrient depleted, health depleting foods, create a strategy for dealing with the perpetual stream of birthday parties and food centered events in a health promoting way ,
have your kids asking for more nutritious food, make a plan for keeping your family healthy and know your options for handling minor health issues in a non-invasive way that supports your child’s natural defenses.

In this class you will learn information and techniques to help you to get started on good nutrition habits that will benefit your children for a lifetime. Basic facts and nutrient tables are provided to help you choose foods that contain all the vitamins, minerals, fats and proteins that the growing baby and child so desperately need. Shopping tips, suggestions for stocking the pantry and simple recipes are included. Several recipes will be prepared and techniques for modifying recipes to suit your child’s individual tastes are demonstrated.

The class will be held on Wednesday, September 26, beginning at 10:30 AM on and lasting for approximately 3 hours.

Register and pay for the class by September 20 and receive the following BONUSES, most downloadable upon receipt of your payment:

- Digital collection of 5 popular RECIPES for Kids (pdf download)
- Special Report: Why Does it Matter What Kids Eat? (pdf download)
- Stocking your Healthy Pantry Class Notes, including charts and shopping guides (pdf download)
- A sample of healthy raw chocolates, special recipe, created and made by Kevin Claver, age 9 (get these the day of the class)
- A coupon good for $10 towards another class attended through the end of December 2007. (get this the day of the class)

Tuition: $75 . Price includes tasters, a how to and recipe guide, hands on experience, samples to take home for your children to try, and bonuses if you sign up and pay for the class by September 20.

Where: Northwest Austin off 2222 near 360. Directions provided with registration confirmation

When: Wednesday September 26, 2007, 10:30 AM – 1:30 PM

To register

email drritamarie@drritamarie.com

or

call 512 349-9677

I hope to see you there.

Healthfully Yours,

Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo