5 Steps for a Healthier Halloween Season
Every year, millions of children look forward to bringing home a bounty of Halloween candy after a night of trick-or-treating. Some adults look forward to it just as much, if not more than our children!
The excitement is enough to keep us upbeat and motivated all October, but with cold weather around the corner, it’s important not to let down our guard entirely. Read on about some tips and best practices for trick-or-treating this year.
See Halloween Candy as an Opportunity to Discuss Better Health Habits
We often associate the holiday season with a time for indulgence. We give ourselves more room to eat unhealthy foods and special treats, all in the name of fun and family. This is especially true for Halloween candy, which gets a lot of attention from nutritionists around this time of the year.
By being creative and thoughtful, we can improve our health and our families’ health by building some better habits into this well-loved holiday. Halloween candy gives us a great incentive to begin introducing positive changes to our fall routines, especially trick-or-treating.
5 Steps for a Clean and Healthy Halloween Season
As Halloween approaches, here is a recommendation for how to encourage healthier living paired with the fun and excitement of a well-loved holiday:
1. While trick-or-treating, clean your hands regularly with alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
Although trick-or-treating tends to occur outdoors, you are still likely to encounter several high-touch surfaces. If children can grab their own Halloween candy out of a bowl, know that several other children may have already touched the candy. Be sure to bring a portable hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol to use after each time you or your child rings a doorbell.
2. Avoid eating collected Halloween candy until you return home.
Because trick-or-treating does involve coming into contact with several potentially contaminated surfaces, avoid eating candy until you have returned home. The CDC recommends washing hands before and after eating. As such, trick-or-treating ideally shouldn’t be combined with processes where hands might come into contact with the mouth or face.
3. Upon returning home, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.
Always keeping your hands clean, especially before eating, is essential. Before digging into your Halloween candy, wash your hands or sanitize them if soap and water aren’t available.
4. Toss out candy that appears dirty.
UC San Diego Health research has shown that while the chance of getting sick from touching contaminated Halloween candy is low, it is not zero. Pay attention to the candy collected and consider trashing candy that appears dirty.
5. Put brushing teeth and flossing front and center after eating Halloween candy.
Hands are not the only part of our bodies that should be kept clean when eating Halloween candy. Also, make sure to stress the importance of dental hygiene, especially after eating sticky sweets, like caramels, that are likely to leave residue on the teeth.
Be Better for the Halloween Candy Your Family Eats This Fall
We can all have mixed feelings about a night of indulging in tasty treats, but the reality is that if we’re going to participate in Halloween, we deserve to feel good about it. Follow these tips to make your Halloween just as much about being clean and healthy as it is about enjoying tasty Halloween candy!
