Halloween Candy and your Kids: Enough is TOO Much

For most kids, Happy Halloween also means eating too much sugar. This can lead to many health problems for your kids, experts say.

Health Problems of Eating too Much Halloween Candy

Eating too much Halloween candy can cause:

-          Severe stomachache

-          Constipation

-          Hyperactivity

-          Obesity

-          Tooth decay

The hyperactivity may be the worse health effect of eating too much candy. If your kids fill up on candy, the sugar goes straight to the bloodstream. This makes them bounce of the walls with too much energy. But this sugar is also empty calories, which makes them crash as soon as the sugar high abates.

Protecting your Children’s Health this Halloween

Although you needn’t (and shouldn’t) totally deprive your children of their hard-earned Halloween candy, there are some easy steps you can take to minimize negative health effects.

-          Make sure your children eat a balanced meal before eating Halloween candy.

-          Set limits on how much candy your children can collect. For instance, only allow them to visit a set number of houses when trick-or-treating.

-          Ration out their Halloween candy.

-          Have your children pick which candy they want to keep and either give the unwanted pieces to other trick-or-treaters or bring it to work for your coworkers.

These are some great ways to limit your kid’s consumption of Halloween candy. Experts caution, however, that you do not add this one to the list: letting your kids binge on candy for 2 days until it’s all gone. This can cause your children to develop eating habits that may eventually lead to obesity.

Listeria Outbreak from Cantaloupe Kills 21

Deaths from the recent Listeria outbreak has reached 21, according to the CDC.  This runaway killer, thought to be caused by Listeria-infected cantaloupe, has been raging since early September.

So far, the Listeria infection has spread to 24 states and has sickened more than 100 people. Health officials believe that the infected cantaloupes were grown at Jensen Farms in Colorado. The first recall for these cantaloupes was issued on September 14 by Jensen Farms.
Unfortunately, the problem had spread far beyond Colorado. 

A second recall was issued by September 23 by Carol’s Cuts LLC in Kansas, who had sold products made from Jensen Farm’s cantaloupes. Still a third recall was issued by Fresh Fruit Up in New York, who had shipped out fruit that included Jensen Farm’s cantaloupes.

More recalls will probably be forthcoming.

And how, exactly, did those cantaloupes pick up listeria?

According to Medline Plus, Listeria is a “foodborne illness” caused by bacteria in water and soil. Unlike other bacterias, Listeria monocytogenes grows even during refrigeration.

Yes, but what did Jensen Farms do (or not do) with their cantaloupe to cause this Listeria outbreak? I would really like to know.

In the meantime, I’m really glad that I hate cantaloupe!