Why Halloween can be scary when you have diabetes

Halloween can be a scary time — and not just for the ghosts and ghouls that come out at night.

If you have , all the extra sugar that’s part of the festivities can lead both children and adults into .

“For someone with diabetes, managing food intake requires self-discipline and planning,” says Brenda Braslow, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator in Indialantic, Florida, and a consultant for MyNetDiary. “When surrounded by mounds of Halloween candy in the stores, workplace and home, it’s especially challenging to be disciplined.”

For children with diabetes, it can even become upsetting as they watch friends eat candy without thinking twice about how much they eat, says Sandra Ar茅valo, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator and director of nutrition services for Montefiore Health System’s Community Programs in Bronx, New York.

The good news is that if you have diabetes, you don’t have to feel left out of the Halloween fun. You can have some candy — you just have to give some thought to how you’ll indulge. Here are some ways you can mindfully master Halloween’s sugary, high-carb temptations.

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"Fun Size" and "Mini" candies are candy favorites. (AP Photo/Dan Goodman) — **Stick to a limited number of snack-size candy bars**. Many snack-size candies have 15 to 30 grams of carbohydrates, and that’s equal to one to two carb servings, Braslow says. “Many adults with Type 2 diabetes aim for about 30 to 60 carbohydrates per meal, depending on their body height and weight. They can then lighten up on the carbs at dinner to make room for a little extra carb from the candy,” she says. If you’re a parent of a , you can ration snack-sized candy in a similar way. Lighten up on their lunch — making sure to add more vegetables and fiber — and let them have a piece of trick-or-treat candy after the meal, for example. If your child has Type 1 diabetes, remember to adjust insulin accordingly based on carb consumption. One caution: Ellie Kagan, a pediatric nurse practitioner and diabetes educator at in Baltimore, notes that with snack-size candy, it sometimes can be hard to track how much you’ve eaten. “Don’t forget to add up the bite sizes,” she says. (AP Photo/Dan Goodman)

The good news is that if you have diabetes, you don't have to feel left out of the Halloween fun. You can have some candy -- you just have to give some thought to how you'll indulge. Here are some ways you can mindfully master Halloween's sugary, high-carb temptations. (Thinkstock) — **Savor your Halloween treats.** When you decide on a Halloween sweet treat, fully enjoy it without feeling guilty. “Depriving yourself when you really want a treat never works,” Braslow says. In fact, depriving yourself can lead to overindulgence and then feeling lousy afterward. (Thinkstock)

Choose your trick-or-treat giveaways carefully. That can help you or your child avoid too much temptation with extra candy around the house. Some candy ideas that are more diabetes-friendly include sugar-free lollipops, gumballs and small candy bars with dark chocolate and peanuts. (Ar茅valo suggests the latter because it at least provides antioxidants with the chocolate and protein with the peanuts.) Other healthier trick-or-treat options include whole-grain cheese crackers, pretzels, popcorn and trail mix. Toys such as small rubber balls, containers of play dough, glow sticks, stickers, colorful pencils and similar items could also make your house popular among trick-or-treaters. (Thinkstock)

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