Treats, No Tricks
October 18, 2018
Halloween can be a lot of fun, for kids and adults. First, there are the costumes. Many families make a project out of this and actually make their own. If not, store bought costumes are easy to find and offer a huge range for all interests. This is your chance to be whomever you want.Then there are the parties. Some schools even have Halloween parades, which may just be the cutest thing ever. Adult Halloween parties can also be quite entertaining, especially with themed food and treats.
Candy Is Not Dandy
And then… there is the candy. Bags and plastic pumpkins filled with chocolate bars, candy bars, sweets and treats can be thrilling. Dumping everything onto the ground at the end of the night, and trading with friends is especially enjoyable. Most parents will try to limit the intake to one or two pieces a day, though this is certainly not easy on Halloween day or night. Nor is it easy when the kids are too smart and find that “special secret hiding place” only we know about. Oops.
Some parents feel the need to do a taste test. (Wink, wink.) You know, just to make sure everything is safe. Do be careful, as those calories can add up quickly. And sugar is clearly addicting and brings along with it some major health risks.
Sugar Damage
Sugar can cause weight gain. This is one of the more obvious side effects. As the rates of obesity rise worldwide, added sugar is considered one of the main culprits. The damage that sugar can cause goes much, much deeper. High sugar diets have been linked to heart disease, diabetes, fatty liver and also inflammation and high triglycerides.
Sugar has also been associated with a higher risk of acne. Sugary foods spike blood sugar and insulin levels, which causes oil production and inflammation, which play a role in acne development. It can also create other skin issues, like accelerating the skin aging process, and sugar can increase cellular aging. You think this might just be enough to scare kids, especially teens, away from eating too much sugar, but maybe not.
Since diets high in sugar increase inflammation and may cause insulin resistance, this can also increase the risk of cancer. The physical dangers should be horrifying you more than a bunch of ghosts and witches. And that’s not all. Sugar takes a huge emotional toll by draining us of energy and even creating depression. While a healthy diet can improve your mood, sugar can completely sink it. Sugar damages the microbiome (also known as microbiota) and our friendly bacteria.
What’s crazy scary is that changing the microbiome may also affect memory and cognitive flexibility. Studying the gut-brain connection shows that the gut microbiome has a substantial impact on the brain. So how do we stay healthy and keep everything functioning properly?
Skip The Trick, And Have A Probiotic Treat
Clearly our diet has a huge impact on our health. Allowing ourselves a cheat day from time to time is fine, as long as bad eating does not become a regular habit. The better way to go, regardless of what you are eating, is to enjoy a daily probiotic. Natren has been studying and manufacturing probiotics for over three decades. There is extensive research they do in the way the body works and how it responds to probiotics. Increasing levels of friendly bacteria and keeping the microbiome healthy and diversified is essential to good health, and on many different levels, from physical to mental health.
So go ahead and enjoy your Halloween. Just remember that sometimes treats can cause bad tricks. Probiotics are a much better “candy” for your gut. Treat yourself, and visit Natren.com to explore the full line of probiotic products for the entire family. This way, there will be no boo.
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