A Healthy Halloween: Health and Wellness Blog

According to Dr. Sears, simple sugars, including glucose, table sugar, fructose, and honey caused a fifty percent drop in the ability of white blood cells to engulf bacteria.

Eating or drinking 100 grams (8 tbsp.) of sugar, the equivalent of two and a half 12-ounce cans of soda, can reduce the ability of white blood cells to kill germs by 40 percent. The immune-suppressing effect of sugar starts less than thirty minutes after ingestion and may last for five hours.

Plus, the more sugar you eat, the more sugar you want. Even worse: while the risk of developing diabetes lies more in the genes than in the diet, the old grandmother's tale that too much sugar causes diabetes does have scientific support. If diabetes does not scare you, just look at the long list of complications associated with diabetes.

I have no desire to catch the cold or flu we discussed last week, crave more sugar that does not fit in my Healthy Weight Pledge we discussed in August, or increase my risk for diabetes, especially considering it runs in my family.

As a healthier alternative, last year I give stamps and erasers – even the older kids loved them. I also like the idea of stickers, raisins, and toothbrushes. Some dentists will even pay kids for candy =).

Thinking outside the box during Halloween can help your family and the trick-or-treaters at your door enjoy a healthier Halloween.

Would you like some more ideas to make this a healthy Halloween? For your FREE consultation (in person, over the phone, via email), speaking and training needs, tips, or gift certificates, please contact Jessica Crouch: www.ChooseToImprove.com, Jessica@OrganizeAnywhere.com, 319-504-6689. Remember, reaching a goal with help is better than not reaching it at all: working with busy women who are passionate about making a change in their health because they are “sick and tired” of being sick and tired - mentoring them using natural health & wellness so they can save money and sick days!