Have a Happy, Healthy, Halloween

Halloween can decline from the promise of allowing just one or two treats, into a spiral of sugar-laden, hyper-active, children. Whilst it is commonly understood that an occasional treat every now and then is unlikely to do any harm, Halloween can often be a challenging time for parents trying to limit their children’s intake of sugar and food additives.

Hold off the sugar… where possible

Based on the WHO Guidelines, Australian children’s free sugar intake should range between 320kJ/day and 440kJ/day, depending on age and gender – this is the equivalent of 19g and 26g of sugar a day [1]. It’s easy to consume 2-3 times this amount in one Halloween party alone; after all, a single serving of popular confectionery contains 12.4g and that’s just 2 sweets!

In young children it is well known that a high sugar intake leads to a greater risk of dental cavities, particularly if consumption of sweets – both jelly and hard – is high. A high intake of sugar, albeit over time, is also linked with a number of health concerns including type 2 diabetes, obesity, dental cavities and heart disease, amongst many others. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 23% of Australian children aged 2–4 are overweight or obese [2].

Steer clear of artificial additives

Many of the traditional Halloween treats come in array of different colours and are laden with artificial additives – be it colours, flavourings and preservatives. However, it has been found that some additives have some side effects in children in particular. A study concluded in the United Kingdom found that a mixture of colourings and the preservative sodium benzoate (211) could be linked to increased hyperactivity in some children. The colours studied were tartrazine (102), quinoline yellow (104), sunset yellow FCF (110), carmoisine (122), ponceau 4R (124) and allura red AC (129). Within the EU, foods containing these colours are now labelled with a mandatory warning: “May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children” [3]. What’s worrying is that these colours are completely unnecessary in food products, yet they can still be used in Australia. In fact, FSANZ say dietary exposure to added colours in food and beverages doesn’t pose a public health and safety concern for children in Australia [4]. Therefore, it is best to steer clear of products full of artificial ingredients for the night.

Thinking ahead and having some tricks up your sleeve may alleviate some of the pressure on the night. A few tricks to help your little ones consume less sugar are:

  • Have a good dinner before heading out to trick-and-treat to stave off the hunger pangs.
  • Make a few savoury snacks – our grissini sticks, rice crackers and Dinosaur, Turtle or Elephant puffs provide a good alternative. The sea salt grissini have just 0.7g sugar per serving whilst our Cheese and Leek Dinosaur Puffs have no added sugar and just 0.1g per serving.
  • Use fruit as part of the snack or use dried fruit in the decoration. See our 6 spooky recipes article for ideas for a healthier, happier Halloween.

We would love to hear what worked for you on the night, please drop us a comment using the box below.

References:

  1. World Health Organisation (WHO) Guideline on sugars intake for adults and children, 2015. http://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/guidelines/sugars_intake/en/
  2. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. http://www.aihw.gov.au/who-is-overweight/#children
  3. https://www.choice.com.au/food-and-drink/food-warnings-and-safety/food-additives/articles/food-additives-you-should-avoid
  4. Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) information on additives, updated May 2016. http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/additives/additiveoverview/Pages/default.aspx

 

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