At Root Cause Medical Clinic, we know that Halloween is a fun holiday. Kids are super excited about their costume (adults can get excited about theirs too!) and the adventure of walking around one’s neighborhood in the dark and viewing the costume creations of others is a big deal as a child. Getting to go from house to house and have someone dole out a handful of candy, just because you showed up, is something that happens only one day a year. When you think about it, what could be more fun than that?

While it’s pure joy at the moment, for a parent it can be followed by the fear of what’s in that candy and the concern of whether your child will get sick, hyperactive (or worse) during the next several days.

There’s a “good” scary and then there’s downright “bad” scary, and the latter has everything to do with eating something you’re sensitive to and paying the price with a variety of unpleasant symptoms.

It’s quite a dilemma to try to keep the fun alive while simultaneously keeping your children (and yourself) healthy. So let me provide some ideas that have worked well over the years.

A Very Important Point to Consider:

BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE HOUSE WITH YOUR CHILDREN, EAT A SATISFYING MEAL THAT IS ENJOYED BY ALL SO THAT YOU ARE NOT TRICK OR TREATING WHILE HUNGRY.

You can even give your child a favorite cookie or treat before they leave the house so that they’ve already had a healthy dessert. As an adult, you know that a full tummy doesn’t tend to be interested in more food. Having an enjoyable dinner will make them much less likely to try to eat some candy they receive before you’ve gotten a chance to check it out.

LEAVE THE HOUSE WITH A FULL BELLY!

There Are a Lot of Fun Aspects to Halloween:

• Wearing a costume
• Receiving candy from a multitude of neighbors. The receipt of wrapped candy is not a problem; it’s the consumption we have to be careful about (more on that later)
• Coming home with a heavy bag of goodies

Running around the neighborhood dressed as your favorite alter-ego and gathering candy is completely innocuous. The struggle comes when the child gets home and wants to check out their loot.

Tips for a Happy Halloween After Trick or Treating is Done

First, you need to have a strategy AND, this is critical, the strategy must be agreed upon prior to going out for the candy. Without your child’s agreement prior to trick or treating, this plan won’t work.

Here are 6 practical ideas:

1. All candy is traded in for a toy(s) of your child’s choice. Obviously budget constraints are also agreed to beforehand.

2. There is a certain quantity of candy (safe varieties only, of course) that can be consumed that night and for the following few days. Then the candy consumption ceases.

3. Candy is collected from neighbors because it’s a fun activity, but the candy eaten has already been purchased by you and the child agrees to only eat that safe candy.

4. Instead of consuming any candy, a favorite cookie, brownie, cake, etc. is purchased or baked that replaces the candy consumption because it is safe and the child likes it.

5. A fun activity is planned with your child in lieu of candy consumption. An afternoon doing their favorite activity is planned with some extra “bells and whistles” and this is something that is exciting and fun for your child. We used to call it “special time” in our family and while my children are now adults, they still remember “special time” and how much they enjoyed it.

The other fun rule of “special time” is that it is with one child at a time. Some of the specialness of it involves that the child has you all to him/herself. Yes, this takes some planning, but you’ll find it enjoyable for you and your child. You may find it interesting…the things you can learn about your child when your other offspring aren’t present. Of course, if you don’t have a lot of children close in age, this is less of an issue. Personally I had three children in four years so “special time” was memorable.

6. There is also the option of learning what candies are free of the sensitive ingredients you are trying to avoid, such as gluten and dairy, and consuming only those. I would caution, however, that just because candy is gluten-free or dairy-free doesn’t mean that it is good for you. The types of candy that are purchased for Halloween are cheap and therefore unhealthy, in the main. They are loaded with high fructose corn sweeteners, GMO ingredients, artificial flavors and colors, preservatives, rancid nuts, etc. As a clinician specializing in nutrition and root cause medicine, I would be remiss to not caution against consuming these little disease time bombs!

My vote is to have fun collecting the candy and have a good plan for enjoying a safe, healthy treat of your own making or purchase. Or plan a visit to the toy store or other exciting “adventure” of your child’s choosing.

We at Root Cause Medical Clinic, hope you find this helpful. There is no reason not to have fun with your little ghost or goblin and there’s also no reason for Halloween to turn into a sugar battle or result in illness. With a little planning, it can be a happy AND healthy experience.

P.S. These rules go for you too, Mom and Dad! Don’t cheat on your healthy eating plan either. Get that bad candy out of the house fast – temptation can be vicious.

While I’m not a fan of any Halloween candy due to its unhealthy ingredients, I have included an extensive list here from celiac.com (for which I write articles) of candy that does and does not contain gluten and certain other ingredients you may be avoiding. It’s an exhaustive list and can act as a quick guide if you are choosing to consume some candy.