A little planning and a lot of restraint can add up to a healthier Halloween for you and your kids!

Obsessed with Rockets, miniature chocolate bars and licorice? These sugary treats are on the minds of kids everywhere, but adults too often get caught up in the flurry of sugar that is Halloween.

Although noshing on the odd Halloween treat may not seem like a big deal, it really adds up when you consider that the average North American, according to experts, consumes 22 teaspoons of sugar daily — which amounts to about 156 pounds a year.

Excess sugar equals extra empty calories, fatigue, raised insulin levels and weight gain.

Here are some tips that will help adults and kids alike have a healthier Halloween:

Donate half your loot

Make Halloween synonymous with doing a good deed: donating half of your (kids’) candy to a hospital. Your kids will be thrilled that they get to keep their favourite treats. They’ll also gain a sense of purpose by giving some of their loot to sick kids who were unable to do their own trick-or-treating.

Think orange

Cheddar cheese sticks and baby carrots are as orange as the scariest jack-o’-lantern — and they happen to be nutritious. Hand these out to Halloweeners who come to your door to help curb cavities and keep little bodies fit. Your own children will benefit too if you make cheese and carrots a Halloween staple around the house. (You can buy miniature bags of baby carrots at most grocery stores.) Dentist’s tip: Eating cheese as a snack can prevent cavities by reducing the acid level in the mouth and by adding minerals back into the teeth.

Toy crazy

Instead of giving trick-or-treaters caramels, licorice and chocolate bars on Halloween night, why not give away treats that are sweet — but in a whole different way? Try handing out Halloween-themed notepads, scary jewellery or orange pens–all available at dollar stores and party-supply outlets. Some Winnipeg parents have even been known to hand out Play Doh. Kids will welcome these neat and unusual items. Buy extras and offer to have a candy-for-non-edible-loot trading session with your kids.

Go gummy

Say yes to gum, particularly the sugar-free variety that’s made with xylitol, a sugar substitute typically derived from birch trees. Experts say xylitol prevents cavities by starving mouth bacteria. These cavity-causing germs cannot metabolize xylitol and die off. It’s so effective that dentists in Europe consider it an essential tool in the fight against tooth decay. If you’re not sure if a gum contains xylitol, check the ingredient list. Can’t find gum sweetened with xylitol? Any sugar-free gum will do. It turns out that all gum plays a role in preventing cavities mechanically by stimulating saliva that washes cavity-inducing mouth acids away. One caution: Eating too much sugar-free gum at once can cause stomach upset in some people. As well, keep xylitol away from dogs; it can make them very sick.

Avoid sticky treats

Dentists say that although most Halloween treats can rot teeth, there are some that are worse than others. Stay away from sugary, sticky candies — the kind that hang around long enough to lower the pH level in your mouth and shoot holes in your tooth enamel. Culprits include toffees, caramels, lollipops and other hard candy.

Pick more nutritious fare

While it’s not wise to count most Halloween treats as health foods, some do have nutritionally redeeming qualities. For example, milk chocolate — while full of sugar and artery-clogging saturated fat — does contain milk, which in turn, contains calcium. Dark chocolate contains flavenoids that scientists say prevent disease.

Make it last

Store your kids’ big bag of candy high up on a pantry shelf so when they want a treat, they have to ask. The benefits? You can dole out a reasonable portion of treats at a time so they won’t overdose on sugar. Plus, your kids will be able stretch out the Halloween fun for weeks if they only consume a couple of treats a day.

Trick or treat on foot

Although you may be tempted to drive your little ones from door-to-door on Halloween night, a more healthy option is to bundle up and walk with your kids from house to house. Every little bit of exercise counts–for you and your child.

Don’t leave on an empty stomach

Have a healthy, filling meal before you and/or your kids go out to collect loot. Trick or treating on an empty stomach can lead to overeating Halloween candy.

By: Shamona Harnett / Healthy Living

Winnipeg Free Press