Well, we did it. We made it through another year of scary ghosts, creepy goblins and the occasional blood sucking vampire. And while the "tricking" may have ended without incident for most, I am willing to bet the "treating" is still going strong in the majority of households. And it's no wonder looking at the enormous stash our kids seem to haul home every Halloween night. Is it me, or does that pillow case seem to grow each year? Without going into how many snow banks my brother and I had to trudge through or the torrential rains we had to endure just to get to school, which was of course, two miles away, I will say that when we were kids, we never came home with the amount of candy our kids do today. I remember thinking I'd hit the jackpot when I found two mini size bags of potato chips amongst the array of single candies lining the bottom of my small plastic pumpkin pail. I am just blown away as I watch household after household doling out full 1 litre bottles of soda or even 12- ounce cans, full size chocolate bars and bags of chips and even big bags of skittles or Hershey kisses.
I'm not sure what triggered this gluttonous thinking on our parts but one thing for sure is we are certainly not doing our kids any favours. Have you ever heard the saying "killing them with kindness?" Well, if the shoe fits
I can hear the moans and groans as I write this "Come on they're kids. They deserve a little candy now and then." And surprisingly, I have to say I agree to some extent but I guess it all boils down to your definition of "now and then" and of course how much, and more importantly, the type of candy our precious darlings actually "deserve".
What we term candy today and what our grandparents called candy are now two very different things. Apart from the sheer magnitude of candy choices lining store shelves, what goes into today's candy is nowhere near what it was even a few decades ago. If you looked at the ingredient list of the taffy your grandparents ate for example, it would simply state: sugar, butter, vinegar, water, salt and vanilla extract. Now, look at the same taffy label today. The list actually contains almost 10 times more ingredients, most of which I wouldn't even begin to try to pronounce. So, why add all these extra ingredients? In a word money. Isn't that what it usually comes down to?
Old fashioned candy, the kind made with real ingredients, not some laboratory concoction, does not keep. Things like real, fresh churned butter eventually go rancid if left on a store shelf for a year or so, like many candies are. It also costs more than a little dab of hydrogenated vegetable oil mixed with the food dye "du jour", so money wins out over both taste and quality and of course, our children's health.
Last Halloween, parents were warned, albeit after children had already become sick, that many brands of candy were tainted with melamine, a highly toxic carcinogen typically used in industrial products such as resins, foams, cleaning products, fertilizers and pesticides. Candy manufacturers worldwide were forced to recall their toxic candies including such staples as Cadbury, Nestle and Mars, companies we have grown to trust.
And if it isn't the candy itself, we are now finding out the wrappers used to cover these poisonous treats are often made from materials containing PFCs, another highly toxic carcinogen. Unfortunately, regulating bodies allow manufacturers to use an array of chemicals in candy (and every other food we eat). And it isn't until something happens, like the melamine scare in 2008, that something is done. So, once again, it seems to fall back on parents to play "bad cop" and monitor the candy our children eat.
Let's face it. We will never stop our kids from ever eating candy, and I wouldn't suggest we do, after all, it's a rite of passage of sorts. I would however suggest as parents we sort through what candy we allow them to eat and when. In our house, as soon as the Halloween candy comes in the door, we do a preliminary search, removing the obvious offenders such as anything with red food dye, MSG, aspartame and tartrazine. Often times, the labels don't indicate these dangerous products but if it says artificially sweetened for instance, you know it contains aspartame or something similar that is just as dangerous. As it stands now, food manufacturers in Canada are not required by law to actually list the exact ingredients. Simply stating food colouring or artificial flavouring will suffice. Health advocates are pushing the governing agencies to amend these laws but in the meantime, it is up to parents to do their research.
Here are some of the worst offenders:
Propyl Gallate, Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT): chemicals shown to cause cancer in laboratory studies. Often found in chewing gum.
Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet) and Acesulfame-K: shown to cause brain tumours, thyroid cancer and leukemia. Typically in sugar-free foods.
Blue 1, 2; Red 3; Green 3; Yellow 6: Food colorings linked with thyroid tumours, bladder cancer and tumours of the adrenal glands and kidney.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG): MSG is used as a flavour enhancer in many packaged foods, including potato chips. It is a neurotoxic chemical shown to directly harm nerve cells, over-exciting them to the point of cell death.
Personally, I also avoid any candy manufactured in countries such as China or Taiwan simply because regulations are not as strict and often things slip by, such as the melamine in 2008. These candies are obviously cheaper, but I think it is better to be safe than sorry, especially when it comes to our children.
Good Alternatives:
You can easily find organic candies now. Many companies market organic brands of candy that actually don't cost much more than regular candy, which is full of dangerous additives, colourings and preservatives. Homemade candy is also a great alternative. After the Halloween stash is gobbled up (my kids are allowed three days then it's trash), try some healthy alternatives to candy like popcorn or fruit juice popsicles. Eventually, you will find your kids don't crave the "bad candy" as much.
Cynthia McMurray is a professional natural health writer. She has written numerous books for leading
health professionals and was the founder and publisher of a national
natural health magazine. She is currently writing in-depth health
manuals for a large international health and wellness company. She is also the founder and publisher of Bryler Publications (www.brylerpublications.com).
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
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