When The Halloween Treats Become Tricks and Healthy Alternatives

What the children carry in their unique Halloween treat bags—which might potentially deprive them of their most valuable gift—is far scarier than they understand when they parade through the streets on October 31st dressed as goblins and ghosts.

Every year, Americans spend over two billion dollars on Halloween sweets!

That's $2,000,000,000!

Just let that sink in for a moment.

That is the amount needed to feed 303,030 children in Ghana, Africa for a year, or send 20,000 students to a respectable four-year college. With $2 billion, how many victims of hurricanes or earthquakes could be helped?

The Scary Hidden Costs of Our Halloween Celebrations

Sickness from sweets. Millions of dollars are spent on medical expenses, dental care, missed productivity, and emotional discomfort that arise from overindulging in candy on October 31st.

Obesity in children. Halloween has a huge negative impact on our health and the health of our children. Since 1980, the number of children who are obese has tripled, reaching 13 million today. The amount of sugar consumed during Halloween and the rest of the year contributes not only to obesity but also to major debilitating diseases like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. The annual medical costs associated with obesity are estimated to be $168 billion. I am pleased to be a part of the Childhood Obesity Project, which was established to educate parents and caregivers about how to prevent and reverse this epidemic.

Poisonous brew. The ingredients in most Halloween confections are scarier than the costumes: they are loaded with artificial colors and preservatives, sugar, and oils that are harmful to health. Pure Fun Candy, an organic line of cane juice sweetened candy colored with vegetable and fruit extracts, claims that the FDA does not even require testing of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives.

And while I don't advocate the regular use of cane syrup (remember it's still sugar and can contribute to cancer, diabetes and nutrient imbalances), or endorse that product in particular, it's nice to know there are companies who at least are attempting healthier alternatives.

Behavioral disorders. 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.

My kids are all grown up now, at ages 17 and 21, 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 young men who'll be spared the ravages of health destruction caused by sugar and processed food addiction.

As I observe the physiques of the younger generation, the high school kids in particular,  the belly fat and brain fog that results from over reliance on processed sugary foods is apparent.

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

Love, Health and Happy Halloween

Comment below: What healthy Halloween alternatives have you discovered? Tell us your Happy Healthy Halloween Story!