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:
- 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. - Make your own Healthy Halloween Treats, using fresh,whole, raw organic ingredients and natural sweeteners like date paste and dried fruit powders.
- 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.
- 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
Tags: food for kids, Halloween, halloween recipes, Halloween treats, Healthy halloween recipes, healthy halloween treats, healthy kids
Posted in Healthy Halloween
Halloween – The True Cost and Ways to Make it Healthy and Fun
The ghosts and goblins will be walking the streets today, carrying their special Halloween treat bags. What they carry in those bags is far more scary than they, 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? What about the 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 disease, 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 that 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. Yet 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.
So what’s your plan for keeping yourself and your family safe this 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.
I’m off to make some caramel coated apples and chocolate covered strawberries for my kids.
Enjoy a Healthy Halloween safe from the scariest part of Halloween – the candy!
Love, Health and Happy Halloween
Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo
Post below in the comments area one thing you plan to do to make Halloween safer and healthier for you and your family.
Tags: Cancer, chocolate, Dr. Ritamarie, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, Halloween treats, healthy hallowAeAen, healthy halloween treats, raw food recipes, sugar
Posted in Articles, Cancer, Raw and Living Foods, Vibrant Health
Sugar, Freedom of Choice and Whole Foods
A recent comment to my blog post “Whole Foods is Promoting Junk Halloween Treats” http://drritamarie.com/blog/2008/10/31/whole-foods-is-promoting-junkhalloween-treats/#comment-27 prompted me to clarify my stand on the Whole Foods and sugar issue. I shop at WF all the time, and they do carry lots of quality foods, especially at the raw bar downtown. It’s the most convenient place to get organic produce, and while I’d prefer to go to the Farmer’s market for all my food, it is not an option. However, to clarify, the sugar they use is not necessarily organic, and certainly no better than any other sugar. The sugar in the cookies today was not organic. Neither was the flour. It was unbleached, but still refined, meaning NO NUTRITION.
What I object to is that they sell these products to unsuspecting consumers who believe that they are healthy BECAUSE they are at Whole Foods. They may be new to the health front, and have no experience reading labels. They TRUST Whole Foods to bring them only health supporting foods.
I’ve known for years that these products were there. The bakery at whole foods is almost all refined flour products. I think there may be one bread that is 100% whole grain. I’m not sure what prompted me to speak up today, but a voice inside said “enough already.”
Someone commented that if Whole Foods took a stand and stopped carrying products with sugar in them that they’d lose customers. While I find this hard to believe, it could very well be true. I’m not asking that they stop carrying them. If they want to satisfy a small segment of the population that expects to be able to buy sugar and refined flour at whole foods, it’s fine for them to carry these products, as long as they are labeled as such. Perhaps a “transitional foods” aisle, with a disclaimer “These foods contain ingredients that have been shown to have health risks associated with them. Please read the labels and make an informed choice”
I’m tired of watching people be deceived at the expense of their health. The Halloween products were not just sitting on a shelf, they were being actively promoted to people who may not have even noticed them had the display not been there.
Maybe I’m naive, but I believe that if enough of us take a stand and let our voices be heard, we can facilitate change. Thanks for listening to my rants.
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Love and health,
Dr. Ritamarie
Learn to make healthier Halloween choices: http://www.FreshnFunLiving.com/Halloween
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Tags: Cancer, Halloween, halloween junk, Halloween treats, healthy halloween treats, Raw Foods, sugar, whole foods
Posted in Holiday Recipes, Vibrant Health
