What’s lurking in YOUR Halloween candy?


It’s Halloween, and what better day for me to tell you, “if you eat your Halloween candy, you will die.” Ok maybe I’m going a little extreme here. But seriously, do you realize how bad candy is? You may be thinking, “well ya, it’s sugar and of course eating all that sugar is bad.” But actually, that’s not what I’m here to tell you. Of course the sugar is bad, eating too much of any thing isn’t good. But it isn’t the sugar I’m freaked out about. It’s much more than that. Much, much more. It’s so bad, you don’t even know. It’s a silent killer and you could be slowly dying. (have I built the suspense up enough?) Ok then, here I go into explaining all the reasons why you shouldn’t eat your Halloween candy (unless of course it’s organic).

Here is the list of ingredients you will find in candy and I’ll explain what they are. I found these on Huffington post;

1) Lanolin- its an oily secretion from Sheep wool. Basically “sheep sweat”. It is used in some skin care products but it’s also masquerading as “gum base” in food products.

2) Carmine- a red food dye made from crushed, dried and boiled beetles. It’s used in red candies, juices, and ice cream.

3) Tertiary Butylhydroquinone (TBHQ)- it is a petroleum derived form of Butane used as a food preservative. It is used in lighter fluid and also Americas favorite candy bar; butterfingers.

4) Gelatin- which is a thickening agent everyone has heard of. It’s contracted from animals bones and skin.

5) Castoreum- An extract from beaver perineal glands and possibly beaver urine. It’s usually hiding on ingredient lists as “natural flavoring”. Since anything derived from plants or animals is deemed “natural”.

6) Shellac- A sticky substance made from secretions of a bug. It is used to make that shiny coating on candies like Jelly Beans. It’s often labeled as “confectioners glaze” on ingredient lists.

7) GMO’s (genetically modified organisms).
I suggest reading this site:
http://www.nongmoproject.org/2010/10/28/gmo-foods-what-they-are-and-how-you-can-avoid-them/

There is a lot of talk about GMO’s and Monsanto. I’d prefer not to get into that so read the site I posted. It talks about what GMO’s are. And if you are living in California please vote on prop 37 to allow labeling on all foods containing GMO’s. Over 50 other countries including China, Russia and India require genetically engineered foods to be labeled. America is one of the few countries that don’t label genetically engineered foods. And we need to change that. If you would like to know more about all of this, I suggest first visiting the first site I linked and also check out Dr. Mercola’s site. He has a lot of articles based on this stuff and also a ton of other really good stuff we all should know.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/current.aspx

Are you scared now to eat candy? I haven’t touched a candy bar in years. That is, the ones that aren’t organic. There are lots of other alternatives to Americas normal candy. Check out your local health food stores and Whole Foods. Lots of organic companies have come out with some great treats.

Have a happy and safe Halloween!

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