Celebrate Halloween in Health

While it can be said that most children love Halloween because of all the candy, it's fair to say that most adults revel in their share of candy as well. Halloween marks the beginning of the holiday season. For most adults this means a decreased immune system, and an increase in weight gain, inflammation and adrenal stress. 

However you celebrate your celestial season, it's easy to find yourself overindulging in refined sugars and carbohydrates This includes sodas, candy,and anything with white flour (breads, chips, cookies). It also includes the ingredients in your candies and desserts, such as brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, malt sugar, dextrose, lactose, cane sugar, and molasses. 

The chemical structure of refined sugars and carbohydrates have one (single) or two (double) sugars. Single sugars include fructose (found in fruits) and galactose (found in dairy products). Double sugars include lactose (found in dairy), maltose (found in beer), sucrose (table sugar). Refined sugars and refined foods, such as white flour, sugar, and white rice, lack vitamins, minerals, and fiber. 

Overconsumption of these nutrient-lacking sugars and carbohydrates can lead to blood sugar imbalance (hypo- and hyperglycemia) and trigger inflammation setting off a host of symptoms and other health concerns. The holidays keep us busy and surrounded by tasty treats, but it's important to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle so you can avoid risking symptoms such as:

• Depression
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Muscle Pains
• Cold Sweats
• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Difficult Menstrual Cycle
• Confusion
• Failing Memory
• Blurred Vision
  

Health concerns associated with these symptoms are infertility and sexual dysfunction, polycystic ovary syndrome, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Halloween can be a catalyst for any of the above, and lets be honest, your office most likely doesn't have organic and unrefined options. However, knowing it's ok to indulge once in a while, below are some healthier and hypoallergenic options.

The following candies are stated as gluten-free by the manufacturer and a review of their ingredients indicates that they do not contain any ingredients that indicate peanuts, tree-nuts, eggs, soy or dairy. There may be cross contamination risk for some products which are made at facilities that are not allergen free. Some are vegan, others use gelatin. Most of them contain artificial dyes, corn starches and high fructose corn syrup.

• Smarties (all products are made free of the top eight allergens, and those with the UPC code beginning with 0 11206 have not been rebagged to create cross contamination; all Smarties are vegan)
  
• Skittles (vegan, gelatin-free, no allergenic ingredients)
  
• Starburst (contains gelatin)
  
• Mike & Ike (the company website states the modified food starch is from corn) gelatin-free
  

According to the Tootsie Roll website, the following candies are gluten-free and nut-free. Most contain dairy and others have dairy and soy cross contamination risk which they generally mention. 

• Andes Mints (contains dairy & soy) Note: Andes Cookies contain gluten.
  
• Tootsie Pops
  
• Junior Mints (contains soy, milk and egg)
  
• Junior Caramels (contains soy and milk)
  
• Dots (dairy and soy not mentioned)
  
• Crows Licorice
  
• Sugar Daddy (contains soy and milk)
  
• Sugar Babies (contains soy and milk with possible egg cross contamination)
  
• Charms Blow Pops (dairy & soy cross contamination risk)
  
• Charms Flat Pops (dairy & soy cross contamination risk)
  
• Charms Mini-Pops (dairy and soy cross contamination risk)
  
• Razzles (nothing mentioned about dairy or soy)
  
• Cella Chocolate Covered Cherries (contains dairy & soy)

The following is a list that ALL of the following candies contain gluten and most also contain dairy and soy. The manufacturer explicitly warns against eating them if you cannot tolerate gluten:

• Nestle Crunch
  
• Twizzlers
  
• Good N Plenty
  
• Milky Way Original
  
• Kit-Kat bars
  
• Twix Bars
  
• M&Ms Pretzel
  
• Sweethearts
  
• 100 Grand Bar
  
• Wonka Nerds
  
• All Butterfingers EXCEPT original flavor regular size
  
• Everlasting Gobstoppers
  

Hopefully these lists help make the ingredients of your Halloween candy a little less spooky. Some all-natural and organic brands include Surf Sweet Spooky Spider gummies that are gluten free and made with 100% fruit juice, and Yummy Earth Lollipops that are gluten free, vegan, allergen-free and made with organic ingredients! Know that throughout the holiday season there are simple solutions to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle. 

• Maintain balanced blood sugar. Symptoms of imbalance include irritability between meals, sugar cravings, unexplained weight gain, and "roller-coaster" emotions
  
• Support your adrenals with a proper diet and plenty of rest. Adrenal fatigue symptoms include difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and afternoon fatigue.
• Stabilize and support serious disorders such as heart disease, diabetes, and autoimmune conditions.

For more information on how to make your hectic holiday season more manageable, contact me today for a 15-minute free consultation! 

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Happy Halloween!

References:
Farrell JJ. Digestion and absorption of nutrients and vitamins. In: Feldman M, Friedman LS, Brandt LJ, eds. Sleisenger & Fordtran’s Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2010:chap 100.

Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010. 7th ed. Rockville, MD: United States Department of Health and Human Services and United States Department of Agriculture; 2010.

http://nestle-consumerservices.casupport.com/eglutenfree.pdf

http://www.thehersheycompany.com/brands/special-nutrition.aspx#/Gluten-Free

http://www.tootsie.com/health.php?pid=165

http://www.smarties.com/product/gluten-free/