It’s spooky season! Whilst Halloween sweets have never been heralded as healthy, some treats have a higher sugar content and number of calories. Some sources have even estimated that children consume between 3500-7000 calories from Halloween sweets each year. But what can you do for your health when a holiday is centred completely around sweet treats? The answer is, a lot! We spoke to nutritionist, Donia Hilal from Personalised.co who outlines the best and worst Halloween sweets, and what ingredients you should be looking out for!
How bad are Halloweens sweets for you?
Moderation is key to overall health, and there are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods – however overconsumption of sugar can lead to a variety of issues including weight gain, dips in energy levels and hyperactivity in children.
What unhealthy ingredients should you look out for in Halloween sweets?
What many people don’t know is that sugar is often labelled in many different ways on the packet. Some key ingredients to look out for include glucose syrup, glucose, brown rice syrup, beet sugar, cane juice, fruit juice concentrate, corn syrup and invert syrup.
What happens to our bodies when we eat too much sugar?
If Halloween is the only day where you overindulge in sugar, the chances are you will be ok. Our taste buds adapt to what we give them, so if we are constantly eating too much sugar, we may end up entering a vicious cycle of craving even more sweets. As mentioned, regular overconsumption of sugar can lead to a variety of issues including weight gain, energy dips and hyperactivity in children.
Do you have any healthy Halloween sweet suggestions that we can find at the supermarket?
I would recommend checking the sugar content on the nutritional information. This can be found on the back of packet and ensures you are choosing the healthiest option for Halloween treats.
In an article posted on everydayhealth.com, nutritionists listed what’s considered to be the healthiest, and the least healthy sweets available in supermarkets.
Among the ‘healthiest’ are:
- Milk Chocolate Buttons
- Dark Chocolate Bites
- Peanut M&M’s
- Snickers
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
The sweets that make the un-healthy list are:
- Candy Corn – an American classic Halloween candy.
- Smarties
- Gummy Bears
- Jellybeans
- Airheads
Do you have any healthy Halloween sweet recipes that we can make at home?
Here are some healthy ‘Halloween at home’ recipe suggestions:
– Frozen banana dipped in dark chocolate. Add dark chocolate chips for eyes to make ghoulish ghosts!
– Healthy baked cinnamon apple rings. Arrange these on a plate with pretzel sticks for legs and dark chocolate chips for eyes to make a snack that looks like a spider.
– Pumpkin bites. Before freezing, use a cocktail stick to carve spooky faces into your pumpkin bites.
