Every year, we’re swamped with warnings about overindulging at Halloween.
That tempting bowl of candy by the front door for the trick-or-treaters. The kids’ goodie bags.
Hmm…what did they get this year? The leftovers at work.
Rather than a “Don’t do” list, let’s look at this from a different perspective.
Spectrum Health’s Gregory Deines, DO, who specializes in diabetes care and management, shares a few thoughts about what you and your family can do in regard to eating sweets and avoiding spooky blood sugars.
Dr. Deines’ suggestions:
1. Yes, eat some candy, but in moderation
Try portioning out 100 calories worth of candy and limiting yourself to one portion a day (or even less). Sometimes just a taste of the sweet is all we want anyway.
After a few days or a week, get the candy out of the house. Take it to work or a group function, throw it away, or donate it to Operation Gratitude.
2. Eat your treats in combination with less sugary foods
For example, pair a small bag of Raisinets with a small handful of almonds.
Even small sweets can have a big impact on blood sugar. The high sugar content in candy packs a powerful punch on blood sugar levels, causing those levels to spike upward, but then drop almost as quickly.
Consuming candy with a non-sugary food will help level out that spike and drop.
3. Earn some of those treats
In other words, get moving.
A 175-pound person would require 10 minutes of cycling to burn off the calories from just one Reese’s peanut butter cup, which has 90 calories, 5 grams of fat, and 10 grams of carbohydrates.
A more active lifestyle helps balance the scale.
This doesn’t mean we need to join a spin class, but increasing our activity could include simple actions. Enjoy an extra 15-minute walk, take the stairs a few flights instead of the elevator, or get outside and rake those rapidly falling leaves. It all helps.