Tick or Treat?!

Posted by Dr. Della Parker     on October 31, 2015

Trick or Treat?!

Trick please! Well, maybe not, that spike in adrenaline isn’t so great for those struggling adrenal glands. But it would beat the hell out of eating all that sugar! Sugar, that wonderfully tasting poison. This is the topic of today’s Halloween blog.

It tastes delicious and kids go crazy for the stuff. Great bribery tool to get kids to eat dinner, get their butts in the car, pretty much to get them to do anything. Problem is they act a fool right after eating it. And how the heck do you celebrate this kid centered holiday without the stuff? I will blab unscientifically about what sugar is doing to our bodies, some great alternatives, and some ideas to squash that never ending load of Halloween candy.

Sugar is poison to our bodies, literally.
While we all wonder if they will ever find a cure for cancer, we consume pounds of the very substance that causes it, every year. When our cells come in contact with sugar in a laboratory setting, our cells go crazy and start behaving like stupid cancer cells. I get it, there are lots of things that cause cancer. The whole world is full of harmful chemicals. We should never leave our homes! But Sugar is seriously some bad news.

The skinny on sugar is that it definitely won’t keep you skinny! Throw calorie counting out the window. It’s sugar that gets stored as fat, not fat. Sugar also creates inflammation in the body. Inflammation is the cause to all chronic diseases. Chronic diseases like eczema, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, tendonitis, hepatitis, and any other “itis”, the list goes on. It also paralyzes your immune system. This gives life to autoimmune disease which is rampant, likely due to sugar consumption. It is also why most of our kiddos will come down sick shortly after this sweet holiday. The stuff is addictive! It changes brain chemistry.  Decreasing the ability to focus, contributing to depression, all while making you want more, more, more! I haven’t even mentioned the detriment sugar has on your dental health. There I just did.

Get it? Sugar is bad for us. But it is so good… What are some substitutes?
Well, the best thing to do is to get the poison out of your regular diet! This will actually make more healthful sweeteners taste more satisfying. I’ve made a list for quick reference.

Better than cane sugar list: raw honey, molasses, dates, fresh fruit, 100% stevia, maple syrup.
Not better list: brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, agave (yep! Once it is all bottled up, it’s pretty much the same as that nasty corn syrup), aspartame, sucralose, all other “fake sugars”.

But it’s Halloween!
Kids get giant bags of candy that can last months… if you let it. One piece a day until eternity, bad idea! Here is my Naturopathic medical opinion, as a mother of 2. Let them enjoy the holiday. Eat up kiddos, you’re gonna feel like crap after just a few pieces anyway… then nighty night! Once night time comes you have a couple options. Switch witch! There is a book all about it, but you can make up a story too.  Point is the switch witch comes at night and switches out the candy for a toy. Or it’s the tooth fairy that comes and jacks the stuff, she wants to prevent dental decay! Whoever it is, they came and took away the candy. Done and done. What you do with the stuff is up to you. Take it to work and pawn it off on less health conscious people. Or throw it in the garbage and stop the spread of cancer (I know very dramatic). Just get it outta the house so you and the kids won’t be tempted. Trust me the kids may be a little PO’d at first, but they will get over it, and you will prevent a lifetime of inflammation and ADD.

You’re welcome!