Trick or treat, watch your sweets: The Halloween candy sugar rush
The urge to eat Halloween candy throughout the holiday and beyond might be hard to fight. While delicious, the sugar rush will result in an eventual crash, leading to a multitude of uncomfortable symptoms. Primary care physician Dr. Mike Ren explains.
A sugar rush, also known as a sugar high, is a temporary spike in blood sugar that leads to feeling increased energy, energetic mood and alertness. The usual staples causing this are items with artificial sugars: candy, soda, pastries and ice cream.
“This is very temporary, and usually you will feel a crash,” said Ren, assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Baylor. “Symptoms associated with a crash include fatigue, maybe hunger even though you just ate sweets, irritability, brain fog, the shakes, and anxiousness, and a headache can occur a few hours later.”
While the amount of sugar leading to a sugar rush is hard to quantify, it is dependent on the person. If someone is disciplined and normally does not consume high-fructose corn syrup or artificial sugar, two big candy bars might result in sugar rush. One who is accustomed to eating an unhealthier diet filled with sugars might have a defense mechanism.
“When you’re constantly eating sugars, your body is used to it, so it’s going to take more for you to feel a sugar rush and subsequent crash,” Ren said.
High sugar consumption is associated with risks. In the short term, when you eat a lot of sugar, your blood sugar spikes. This causes the body to produce insulin, and that eventually drops the sugar, leading to the crash. If you frequently do this, the body becomes accustomed to it and keeps making insulin this way, resulting in insulin resistance, such as type 2 diabetes. This can cause weight gain, liver disease and heart disease as constant sugar damages blood vessels. For those with an existing diagnosis of diabetes, large intakes of sugar can be dangerous and due to the body’s inability to regulate it, and it might result in a trip to the hospital.
Ren recommends enjoying your Halloween candy in small amounts: have two or three pieces with a meal as dessert instead of a few pieces every hour.
“Keep your sugars combined with some protein and other foods that are not so high in sugar. That way, your body is absorbing little bits of the sugar and protein. This leads to a slower absorption so you’re missing out on the sugar rush part, but you still get to enjoy your favorite candy,” he said.
Sugary drinks often are the culprit. While candy is filled with sugar, sugary drinks like sodas and the seasonal lattes that so many people enjoy often contain just as much if not more sugar than the average candy bar.
“Oftentimes, the liquid sugar is worse for you. On top of that, you absorb it faster. It’s easier for your body to digest something that is already in liquid form,” he said.
If you or your child is experiencing a sugar rush, Ren encourages hydration. Drink water and stop eating sugar. If you just ate it, eat nuts or something with protein and fat that does not have sugar. Try to avoid protein bars as they often have added sugar as well; instead, go for trail mix or nuts low in sugar. He also recommends resting.
“Our bodies can handle fluctuations – that’s what they’re made for. It’s the repeat offenders that are more at risk,” Ren said. “If you or your kid only do this once or twice after Halloween, it’s not that worrisome. If you have other symptoms, like vomiting or feeling lethargic, that might be a reason to go to the hospital, but that should not happen in most cases,”
By Homa Warren
