Trick-or-treating is an American tradition that most of us love, especially kids. I support safe, supervised trick-or-treating, but have a suggestion for how to deal with all the candy your kids get on Halloween night. Start a new tradition and make November 1st the night the “Sugar Sprite” comes to visit. Have the kids pick out a few favorite (or parent approved) treats to keep and then leave the rest of the Halloween loot for the sugar sprite. The sugar sprite (OK, really the parent) trades Halloween candy for an awesome new toy! Everybody wins when the candy disappears.
Candy is full of junk, as we all know. Don’t even get me started on the artificial colors, but sugar in any form impairs the immune system and this is probably the worst time of year for kids and adults (let’s be honest here) to be eating a lot of it. The cold and flu season is upon us and reducing our intake of sweets is an important way to prevent illness. Pumpkin seeds, baked apples and squash are healthy foods to celebrate the season with instead. Moderation is key, so if you can’t keep the candy from your kids or yourself, limit it to one small sized treat daily and remember to brush your teeth afterwards to prevent tooth decay.
In celebration,
Margaret Philhower, ND
