Dr. Joel Fuhrman has written an excellent article regarding our culture's obsession using rich, disease-promoting foods for celebrating special occasions, especially for Halloween.
Dr. Fuhrman states in his article, "As parents we must protect our children from harm and give them the best opportunity in life to have a happy and healthy future. Science suggests this candy feast does the opposite. Scientific studies document that eating candy increases a child's risk of later life cancer, ADHD, aggression, emotional and psychiatric diseases, and decreases intelligence. It may even increase the likelihood of violent criminal behavior, and will invariably result in eating patterns that can lead to a troubled and painful later life." Dr. Fuhrman goes on to say, "Consider a recent study on children who were fed junk food. They were tested as teens and it was found that they have lower IQ's, reduced attention span and smaller hippocampus on MRI. That means it permanently damaged a part of their brain that is involved in learning and performance."
Dr. Fuhrman addresses the question, "Why is feeding toxic substances to our children celebrated with a holiday?" He responds by saying, "Many adults in our country are addicted to sweets, white flour products and other junk food. Most are completely unaware that they are addicted or worse deny it; this may eventually ruin their lives and place them in a position of suffering later in life. People who are addicted to a substance frequently lose the ability to think logically. Instead of making decisions based on science and logic, they seek denial, rationalizations and excuses that consciously and subconsciously permit them to continue their preferred addiction. Food can be so addicting that parents may subconsciously sacrifice the health of their children by feeding them unhealthful foods. This allows parents to delay their own change to a healthy diet and avoid dealing with and facing the awareness of how dangerous, candy, junk food and fast food are. Not just Halloween but most holidays in America send a psychological message and teaching point to our children — the future leaders of our society. It says that pleasure-seeking, self-abuse with alcohol, junk food, and disease-causing substances that trigger addictive highs in the brain are okay, normal and desired. Seeking to get high on dangerous substances is not normal, it is a mass pathology. Highly processed candy bars and doughnut holes did not exist hundreds of years ago and the human body is not equipped to deal with such concentrated sources of sugar and chemicals. Candy and sugar is the gate way drug, meaning that for many, it leads to cravings and more brain stimulation with alcohol and drugs."
Dr. Fuhrman poses some very poignant facts for parents to consider. After reading Dr. Fuhrman's article, you may want to consider choosing some of the healthier options that he suggests. Read the article, "Just Say No to Candy!" by Joel Fuhrman MD, here.
For more information regarding raising healthy children, see below
(1) Treating Kids to a Healthier Halloween
(2) Who's Influencing Your Children?
(3) What are the health consequences for children who consume the Standard American Diet?
(4) Today's Children Not Expected to Outlive Their Parents
(5) Sick Before Their Time: More Kids Diagnosed With Adult Diseases
(6) Atherosclerosis Begins in Early Childhood
(7) Junk Food Promotes Lower IQ Scores
(8) Heart Disease Starts in Childhood
(9) Plant-Based Nutrition for Kids
(10) A Child Needs a Healthy Diet to Build a Healthy Brain
(11) Dr. Carney's Children's Health Pinterest Board
(12) Books for Treats
(13) Great alternative to handing out candy - kids love stickers