By Cindy MacMillan

Halloween is just around the corner and children everywhere are looking forward to breaking all their parent’s rules…from going outside without a coat on to running through the streets after dark.  The biggest rule they are going to break is the “no sugar before bedtime” rule.  On Halloween, a truly scary amount of sugar and junk food is bought, collected and consumed by kids and adults alike.  During the month of October, nearly $600 million worth of candy and confectionary items are sold across the country.1

The whole idea of Halloween makes me shudder.  As a nutritionist, I know the damage that sugar can do.  Here are just a few examples:

Over a long period of time a high sugar diet can and will:

• suppress the immune system by immobilizing the white blood cells
• upset the body's mineral balance
• contribute to hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, concentration difficulties, and crankiness  
• cause drowsiness and decreased activity
• interfere with absorption of calcium and magnesium
• contribute to weight gain and obesity
• increase the risk of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis
• contribute to diabetes
• cause food allergies

Despite all of this, we still celebrate Halloween.  I have to admit that I have never had the heart to tell my kids that they are not allowed to join their neighbourhood friends to run wild through the streets and come home with pillowcases full of candy.  After all, it is just one night, right?  To make myself feel better, I have come up with ways to mitigate the effects of all that sugar and keep things from getting too scary this Halloween.

1. Make sure the kids eat dinner first but don’t order pizza like the rest of the neighbourhood.  After all, delivery pizza is usually white flour (which is like white sugar to your body), sugar- laden tomato sauce covered with high saturated fat cheese.  Instead feed the kids a healthy homemade meal.  Make sure that they get some protein to keep blood sugar stable, leafy green vegetables for fibre, vitamin C and antioxidants.  This will help to offset the immune suppressing effects of sugar in order to avoid the inevitable post Halloween sniffles.
2. If the kids are too excited to eat (I know how they get on Halloween) make them a fruit smoothie. Flood their bodies with antioxidants vitamins and add some protein powder so they feel full.  They can drink it standing up because we know that they will hardly be able to sit down.
3. Carve up your pumpkin a few nights before Halloween.  Collect the seeds and wash them.  Soak them overnight.  Season them with delicious warming spices and roast them (see recipe below).  Pumpkin seeds are an excellent source of minerals like magnesium, manganese and phosphorus as well as iron, copper, protein, and zinc.  Increasing magnesium intake will help keep the chocolate cravings at bay!
4. Halloween night can be a learning opportunity for your kids.  If your little goblin has done too much gobbling, take the time to talk about why his tummy hurts, or why he can’t stop punching his brother.  Help your kids to start listening to their body’s messages and make the connection that the foods we eat really do affect the way we feel and the way that we act.

In my experience, the novelty of the candy wears off pretty quickly for kids.  If at all possible, get it out of the house as soon as possible.  Some parents offer to buy it from their children – if they agree, be sure to give it away or throw it away.  Some dentists are now offering to buy candy from children for a dollar per pound (read the article). If your kids are the young enough, have them leave it on the front steps for the “candy fairy” who has been known to come in the night leave a new toy in its place.

 
Try to remember that this is just one night!  Leading up to Halloween, try to keep the 80/20 rule in mind.  If we do our best to be healthy 80% of the time then there is a little room to have fun once and a while.

Pumpkin seeds are like the antidote to the mountains of candy collected and consumed on Halloween. Because the refined sugar found in Halloween candy contains no fibre, no minerals, no proteins, no fats and no enzymes, the body must steal vital nutrients like calcium, potassium and magnesium from the healthy cells throughout the body to metabolize all of those empty calories.  Eating too much refined sugar depletes the body of valuable stores of vitamins, minerals and enzymes necessary for every single mechanism in the body. 

Luckily, pumpkin seeds are very rich in nutrients - especial the trace minerals that are pulled from your body in order to metabolize all that sugar.  If you eat a single ounce of pumpkin seeds, you are providing your body with a quarter of your recommended daily iron intake, a third of what you need in the way of magnesium and phosphorus and almost half of your daily requirement for manganese. 1

It is important to note, however, that pumpkin seeds are very high in phytic acid.  Phytic acid binds to minerals such as calcium, zinc, iron and magnesium in the digestive tract and reduces our body’s ability to absorb them.  To reduce the amount of phytic acid in pumpkin seeds and increase our ability to absorb all of the beneficial nutrients these little seeds have to offer, all you have to do is soak them for 24 hours before you roast them.  In order to preserve the healthy oils, roast them at a lower temperature (approx. 160 – 170 degrees F) for a shorter period of time.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds with Chili, Cumin and Lime

Ingredients:

• seeds from one large pumpkin (approx. 1 cup)
• 2 tsp sea salt, separated
• juice and zest of one lime
• ½ tbsp ground cumin
• ½ tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Directions:

1. Remove seeds and pulp from pumpkin.  Separate seeds from pulp as much as possible and rinse well.  Cover with warm water, add 1 tsp sea salt and set aside to soak for 24 hours.
2. Rinse, drain and pat to dry.
3. Preheat oven to 170 degrees F
4. Whisk coconut oil, lime juice and zest, spices and remaining tsp of sea salt.  
5. Toss pumpkin seeds into spice mixture until fully coated.
6. Spread seeds out in a single layer on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Roast in oven for 15- 20 minutes, turning once at about 10 minutes.
7. Makes about one cup
8. Preparation time: 24 hours (soaking), 5 minutes (preparation), 15 minutes (bake time)
9. Substitute with your favorite spices…cinnamon, allspice and ginger, curry powder or sea salt and cider vinegar.

References:

1 www.retailcouncil.org

2 www.whfoods.com The world’s Healthiest Foods