A Diabetes Friendly Halloween

It’s that time of year again where the leaves start falling, the weather starts getting a little cooler, and the holidays start approaching. Over the course of our next blogs, we will be discussing healthy lifestyles and diet choices throughout the winter and holidays that are just around the corner.

If you have Grandchildren, then I am sure you are aware how excited they are for one of the “sweetest” events of the year, Halloween. With all of the candy that you have prepared for trick-or-treaters, surely you will have a few left over. Eating the left-over candy can be very tempting. It’s okay to indulge in a few fun-size sweet treats, but its important that you keep things at bay, especially if you suffer from diabetes.

The following tips will help you fight the crave or still enjoy your favorite candy, even if you have diabetes:

1) Portion Control

I’m sure this is something most of our readers have heard time and time again. Keeping everything in moderation is very important. It’s never a good thing if you overdo a bad thing. As mentioned previously, if you want to have a few pieces of candy, that’s completely fine. But if you’re attending a Halloween party, be sure to stay away from treats that you can’t keep your hands off of.

2) Bring Healthy Snacks to the Party

If you’re joining a few relatives or friends for a Halloween party, it’s not a bad idea to keep a bag of healthy snacks handy in case you start craving sugar. As our insulin levels drop, our body starts craving sugar. This usually happens if we have gone too long without eating, and our mind will have us crave something sweet. In order to keep insulin levels at bay, it’s important to eat healthy small meals every 2-3 hours. This will keep your insulin at a normal level and you won’t have to deal with spikes when you eat something sweet. In fact, eating sugar while hungry will only make you crave more sugar. Thus, carry a bag of healthy snacks in case you have an urge to eat something you probably shouldn’t be eating.

3) Purchase Candy You Don’t Really Like

If you’re preparing candy for your trick-or-treaters, sometimes it’s not a bad idea to get the ones you don’t really like. This will help you avoid any temptations and you can easily get through the night.

4) Try Sugar Free

There are great sugar free options out there that you can try. If you absolutely have to have your hands on something sweet, we highly recommend getting a bag of sugar free candy that is available to you.