It's that time of year when autumn leaves are falling, the air turns brisk and biting, and people start thinking about Halloween. I don't know about you, but I'm never too old for donning a costume and holding out a hand for treats. But as a healthy living advocate, the problem I have with Halloween is all the candy.
There are plenty of concerns about the safety of kid's candy; but beyond urban legend,lead and GMOs are at the top of the list of ingredients in candy that can do harm.
As GMOs are in approximately 70 percent of packaged products in the grocery store, the vast majority of traditional candies and chocolates contain them. If, however, you’re unsure if certain Halloween treats have GMOs in them, keep this list in mind:
Ingredients Commonly Made With Genetically Modified Organisms:
- Sugar (not specified as cane sugar)
- Anything ending in “ose” (high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, glucose)
- Aspartame (brand names are Nutrasweet and Equal)
- Corn starch and modified food starch
- Anything containing soy and soy products not certified organic
- These oils: soybean, cottonseed, canola, and vegetable
- Food additives and artificial ingredients including caramel color, xanthan gum, and citric acid
Simpler put, if it’s made from corn, soy, sugar beets, or canola, chances are that crop was genetically modified. More than 86 percent of these crops grown in the United States are GM varieties. Steer clear of GMOs this Halloween while still giving kids something that tastes delicious and you’ll be the most popular house on the block.
Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/5-non-gmo-halloween-treats-to-feel-good-about-sharing.html#ixzz2jABis1eQ
According to an infographic circulating in the social-sphere from The GIVE Project usinginformation from The Green Halloween and Non-GMO Project, the top 10 GMO ingredients in Halloween candy are as follows:
- Sugar (GMO sugar beets)
- High fructose corn syrup (GMO corn)
- Corn starch (GMO corn)
- Soy lecithin (GMO soy)
- Soybean oil GMO soy)
- Modified food starch (GMO corn)
- Fructose, dextrose, glucose (GMO corn)
- Cottonseed oil (GMO cotton)
- Canola oil (GMO canola)
- "Other" ingredients: isolates, isoflavones, food starch, vegetable oil
The infographic points fingers at popular items including the beloved Hershey's Kiss, Snickers, Kit-Kat, Twix bar, Butterfinger, Mike & Ike, Reeses, M&Ms -- and the list goes on. They say it includes pretty much every mainstream candy bar made in the U.S. According to the Green Halloween organization's "Guide to a Non-GMO Halloween," over 80 percent of the packaged food in America contains GMOs. And that includes candy.
What a lot of people are asking themselves is -- if I have to get rid of these conventional candies, what can I replace them with?
A lot of advocates would argue that we should try and shift the cultural values away from one that prizes candy. EatRight.org says that when kids are presented with a choice between treats and toys, they prefer the toys.
 |
| https://www.facebook.com/GMOFreeUSA |
Dr. Kevin Strong, founder and CEO of Dunk the Junk, a national organization to get kids to switch from soda and junk foodto healthier options, suggests cool fruits such as clementines, starfruit, and ugli fruit if your budget allows. However, when pressed on the issue of candy, he concedes that some choices are "healthier." Those are candies containing nuts or coconut, which contain protein. Strong explains:
The protein in the nut will help offset the sugar crash as these nutrients have a longer metabolic life. One of the reasons the junk food epidemic has become so severe is the decline of protein and fat in many diets. We are lacking nutritional endurance -- sugar blast, crash, sugar blast, crash, sugar blast, crash. Smooth out the ride with some more protein and your pancreas and liver will thank you dearly.
Personally, I'm glad to hear that there is a time, place and even a healthier way to consume candy. It's not every day and it's not all the time. When I select treats, I try and eat them after a balanced meal and to keep out the artificial ingredients, GMOs and other toxins in order to minimize the burden of what my body has to metabolize.
As for your choices? Either 1.) you can carry this ingredient list around with you and screen all candies before buying them, 2.) you can try to stick with organic items (which can't guarantee non-GMO or better for you, but they should be a start), or 3.) you can carefully look for items that display the "Non-GMO Project" label. Annie's items are non-GMO.
1. Endangered Species individually-wrapped chocolates -- in dark chocolate,rainforest mint, chocolate cashew and more. These chocolates are good-tasting (some even have nuts), individually-wrapped, and reasonably priced. The company donates 10 percent of net profits to supporting species, habitat and humanity.
2. Maple candies -- the positive thing about these treats is that they're 100 percent made from organic maple syrup, which has some potential health benefits, and is nutritionally better and less processed than refined sugar. However, it's also still a very sweet sugar to your system. And these candies are not individually-wrapped, so you'll have to save them for trick-or-treaters you know well.
3. Yummy Gummy Candies -- this is a candy that's free of common allergens like peanut, gluten and soy and is also free of dyes, corn syrup, GMOs and more.
5. Trader Joe's Organic Pops -- these are individually-wrapped lollipops that use natural food coloring from vegetable colors, specifically red cabbage, purple carrots, tumeric and annatto, to keep their candies real.
Just do me a favor and remember that candy consumption should be kept to a minimum. As the saying goes, "All things are good in moderation..."
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-ziff/healthy-halloween-candy_b_2012084.html)
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-ziff/healthy-halloween-candy_b_2012084.html)
It’s that time of year when Halloween costumes are being conjured up and the kids are making their Halloween plans. Begin your planning now to help ensure that your children have a Halloween that is both fun and healthy. Kids love Halloween because it is full of wonderful sweet treats and surprises. Unfortunately, these treats are often loaded with unsafe ingredients that would make even the most frightful ghoul scream. Green Halloween and theNon-GMO Project have teamed up to help you sort through the junk food and source fun treats that are free of Halloween horrors!
 |
| Especially Monsanto. Just say to GMO! |
No comments:
Post a Comment