Halloween Tricks!
And the award for the best costume goes to. Halloween candy! When you look at familiar wrappers that remind you of the days when you were emptying out your own trick-or-treat bag and dividing up your loot with glee, those wrappers may mask some big changes that have happened to the candy inside. Chances are that when you were a kid, your favorites weren.t made with genetically modified, partially hydrogenated (trans) fats or with high fructose corn syrup. In fact, many of the foods our kids eat today may look like the foods we ate as kids, but contain cheaper, chemical ingredients. Thankfully, there are lots of bars and other candies that are made without these cheap substitutes and with real food ingredients that your kids will love . including a few from the major manufactures. If we choose to let our kids enjoy the great annual candy binge, let.s let the treats they love and remember include high quality real candy. Because childhood is also different today than when we were kids.. Middle aged conditions such as high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, abnormal blood glucose, and waist size over 40 inches were very uncommon in kids just twenty years ago. Today, one large study found that two thirds of American high school students already have at least one of these conditions! And, what we used to call adult onset diabetes is now the most common form of diabetes as early as elementary school. I.m a high quality chocolate fan. When we hit the intersection of treats loved by kids, without the cheap substitution tricks, we all win.
What your take on trick or treating?
Alan Greene MD FAAP
| October 31st, 2007 at 11:23 am
At our home, we look for candy to hand out that passes the kids. pleasure test and is made from real (and better yet, organic) ingredients. We.ve used organic chocolate bars from Trader Joes or Whole Foods, and Newman.s Own peanut butter cups, caramel cups, or peppermint patties. Endangered Species Bug Bites have been a hit with the younger kids . bite size chocolate with trading cards.
| October 31st, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Trick or Treating is a mixed message holiday here, we like our girls to enjoy the joy of dress up and make believe, but are uncomfortable with going door to door for candy (which honestly they are not begging for anyways) so the way we still are involved in the festivities and not feel like they have missed out, we take them only to their grandparents who like to give out carrots and raisins. The fun of dressing up makes up for the candy rush and crash they will miss.
| October 31st, 2007 at 5:45 pm
I remember the Halloweens of the past, when kids of all ages would get dressed up and hit the streets for trick or treating - I remember coming home and dumping out the pillow case onto the floor and the enjoyment of sorting the candies into different categories… funny though I don’t remember eating that much of it - it just kind of went away to no man.s land I suppose. I do remember when chocolate did not taste waxy - I also remember a time when treats for kids did not have to be checked and rechecked for nasty stuff someone might have hidden in them. How sad that our world has changed so much that now we also have to watch out for what the manufactures of these products put in treats meant for children. They all should be ashamed! Thanks for bringing this to light Dr. Greene - from now on we are on the lookout for Organic chocolate!
| November 1st, 2007 at 10:56 am
Well as for Halloween for me and my childern… I guess we are a little different. I never allowed my children to get too involved in Halloween for a few reasons. One being the way I was brought up. My dad is a preacher so for religious reasons I never did my Trick or Treating. And as an adult I just dont like the idea of being apart of it therefore I dont hand out candy either. I didn’t / don’t like all the sugar that my kids get or would have gotten on Halloween.
Do I feel that the missed out because of this? No not really. We always tried to do something else that they might want to do… go to the mall or the movies or bowling or something. Whatever it was that they wanted to do.
And I have never been very trusting of my childern with strangers , so why would I trust these people to give my children candy and what not…
I’m not judging other people who do the Halloween thing… it’s just not something I chose to do is all.