Sajila Nudrat | Health Editor
Featured Image: Sugar may seem harmless, but it certainly is not. | Courtesy of Pixabay
With Halloween upon us and the galore of candy it brings, the holiday can be a safe haven for the sweet-toothed person. Yet all that sugary goodness is only ‘good’ in name.
Halloween is a billion-dollar holiday, second only to christmas in both shopping and sugary treat consumption. On average, a person will spend $42 on candy. In 2014, Canadians spent $397 million on candy, confectionary, and snack foods.
While Halloween spending habits may be scary in their own right, what should be even more terrifying are the health determinants that follow a night of binge-eating junk food.
Studies have shown sugar consumption is the cause of many chronic diseases, namely diabetes, and a major factor in obesity. An overconsumption of sugar can also increase an individual’s risk of heart disease, cancer, and even depression.
Whereas a healthy diet can improve a person’s mood, a diet that is high in sugar can have the opposite effect. Researchers believe that blood-sugar swings and inflammation may be responsible for sugar’s harmful impact on mental health.
An excess of sugar in a person’s diet may also accelerate the skin aging process, lead to a fatty liver, and cause acne breakouts.
The average child consumes three cups of sugar on Halloween and they don’t have upcoming finals to worry about. That is about 384 grams of sugar, way more than 25 grams—the daily recommended amount.
This isn’t to say that a person should close their doors, shut their windows and hibernate until the holiday is over; a little bit of indulgence is okay, as long as it is in moderation. No matter how tempting it may seem to eat all one’s problems away with a packet of mini Kit-Kats—don’t. The best way for an individual to watch their sugar intake is to avoid giving into their impulses. No matter how great the sales are on post-Halloween sugar, refrain from buying the whole stack and just stick to one or two packs. Stocking up on candy will only lead to a dark path; and not the good kind with witches and warlocks but the kind with type 2 diabetes—which should be a much scarier thought.
I was diagnosed as type 2 last year, my weight was 125kg, my doctor wanted me to start insulin and encouraged a diet with an alarming amount of carbs, so I went to boots and bought a blood sugar tester that I used every day, and started on a Atkins type diet. I.e no carbs….. and when I say no carbs I really mean none. So lots of meats and fish, eggs etc. I also got some useful information here http://mydiabetesway.com/7-steps-to-health-and-the-big-diabetes-lie-review I gradually started loosing weight at a rate of 3kg per month and Im now 94kg, I have never taken insulin and in a few months I will be my target weight. my lifestyle can never go back to carbs, but I can have some nowerdays without my blood sugar increasing, so if I want a curry I can have a Nan bread with it but no rice chips etc. And to be honest when you cut out carbs you can eat a lot of really tasty things that help lose weight a fry up without the beans is fine, lamb chops and kebabs without the bread etc. The only downside is because of the extra fat intake I need to be doing daily cardio. I really believe doctors are offered too many incentives by drug companies and tend to love writing prescriptions instead of encouraging a positive change in our lifestyles.