H1N1 Trick or Treat

This afternoon I listened to a radio host interview a doctor about … what else … H1N1. The slant to his interview was “Are children at risk of contracting H1N1 when they go trick or treating?”

The host asked the doctor questions like: “Can H1N1 be transmitted through candy.” “Are children at risk by touching a door knob that a bunch of other kids have touched?”

And my personal favourite question: “Could a 'bad guy' use Halloween candy to deliberately spread H1N1?”

I think the doctor was as frustrated as I was with the way the interview was going and he gave a calm and courteous, but firm “No” answer to all these questions.

I wish the media would stop.

If the media really wanted to do service to the public they would talk about how eating a whole bunch of sugar laced with food colouring, preservatives, and artificial stuff wreaks havoc on a child’s immune system.

And not only does all that crap food almost instantly deflate immune function, but researchers now say that repeated high spikes in blood sugar greatly contributes to one’s risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes.

Oh ya ... don't forget the damage that sugar can do to your child's beautiful second set of newly forming teeth!

If you really want to protect your children this Halloween, limit the amount of candy they eat to one treat per day for a just a day or two, then quietly throw the rest in the garbage.

Want to know more? See "What's so bad about junk food."