The Power Within… Just Change Your Mind

The Sweetness of Halloween

Its going to be a very scary weekend, with all the ghosts and goblins out for some trick or treating and losing an hour of sleepjust plan on being out-of-sorts next week. I was looking for a topic that would suit the upcoming holiday and I thought Id look into the history of trick or treating and then discuss some interesting facts about sugar. Particularly, since this is such a sweet holiday.

The contemporary trick or treat custom resembles an ancient Irish practice associated with Allhallows Eve. Groups of peasants went from house to house demanding food and other gifts in preparations for the evenings festivities. Prosperity was assured for liberal donors and threats were made against stingy ones. These festivities were in celebration of the next day called Hallowmas or All Saints Day, which is on November 1. This is a Roman Catholic and Anglican celebration with Pope Gregory III, who assigned this date as a day of celebration with feast after he consecrated a chapel in St. Peters basilica to all the saints.

These celebrations have also been associated with harvest. The end of October signifies the end of summer the end of the harvest. As winter approached it was commonly believed that the spirits of the departed would visit their kinsmen in search of warmth and good cheer. Wearing of masks and rituals were to ward off the evil spirits as they celebrated the harvest and prepared for the darker, colder winter months that lay ahead.

These traditions were brought over to the United States in the 1800s as more and more immigrants came to the US. The celebrations have continued to be fun and treat filled ever since.

Today, as we all know, the Halloween Celebrations bring with them many sugar filled treats. Sugar has been on our tables for 10,000 years. Sugar has created empires, toppled careers, fueled holidays, launched military campaigns, powered economies and has been an ingredient for love around the world. So what is sugar? Why is it so important in our lives? Is it really a misunderstood food item? Is it accused of many health issues unnecessarily?

Well, its grown from the earth, nourished by the sun and soil. Sugar is the same carbohydrate that is found in an apple, pear, a potato or rice. Sugar is handled by the body the same way that it processes fruits and vegetables. Sugar has only 15 calories. Sugar is natural, artificial sweeteners are not. In fact sweetness is the only thing that sweeteners and sugar have in common.

Straight, wholesome sugar has many wonderful benefits that sweeteners dont have. Sugar contributes to and enhances flavor, aroma, texture, mouth feel, body and browning of foods. It balances flavor, it preserves food and provides necessary moisture to help keep foods fresh. Artificial sweeteners dont do any of these things.

Sugar has many non-food uses too. The pharmaceutical industry adds sugar to hold ingredients together and prevent chipping in tablets and as part of the time-release coatings on medications. Sugar has been used to help heal stubborn wounds, doctors think that it may prevent harmful bacteria from growing as well as provide nutrition for damaged tissues. Can you believe they are found in beauty products tooto exfoliate, adding beauty and softness to the skin.

So, why the bad rap? Sugar is blamed for much of the obesity epidemic happening in this country and I dont think its a fair accusation. Realistically, everyone should be eating more natural sugar and less of the artificial sweeteners. I dont believe that sugar, by itself, is making people obese, giving them diabetes and clogging our arteries. I believe that sugar is guilty of making all the other processed foods taste better; therefore we are eating more which create those conditions. We are eating more because everything looks better, smells better, tastes better and has better consistency thanks a lot to the sugar that is used.

The guilt lies with us and our own abilities to control our eating habits. So be cautious this weekend, not only for the ghosts and goblins, but for how much you are eating. Enjoy some sweet things; it can be a hauntingly wonderful experiencewhen enjoyed in moderation.

Deborah Holmes

October 28, 2008