A Halloween without Candy?

A Healthy Halloween?

I know it is silly, but I have received so much joy from watching these little kids in this commercial. I can’t tell you how many times I have watched it. It must have been an absolute riot to have been on the set for this one.

It’s short. If you haven’t seen it yet, do yourself a favor and watch it now. It’s amazingly funny. And cute.

It’s tongue-in-cheek, of course. Crest and Oral-B do a fantastic job promoting candy so that all the good moms and dads of the world will be sure to make the little kiddies brush their teeth extra-well after delighting in their Halloween spoils. Naturally, the companies would hope that those kiddies would be using some type of Crest toothpaste on an Oral-B toothbrush. That’s how advertising works. 😉

But this commercial indirectly brings up a good point.

The Health Food Wars

I’m referring to the “health” food and “junk” food campaigns that litter our moral and dieting landscape here in the United States. We have too many diets, too many dieting books and programs, and way too much processed foods on our shelves and in our bellies.

Candy is certainly not the best thing to eat, but it does have its place. And governments and lobbyists are not the ones to determine what place candy has in our lives. That’s the job of families, of mothers and fathers.

Apparently, there is an epidemic of obesity in our nation. That is not a good thing. And politicians and health agencies across the country want to pin it on something. They want someone or something to blame. But it’s not that easy.

Ultimately, I think the food wars that we have here in the United States really simmer down to one salient point: We have made food an enemy. And how have we done that? By taking it out of its proper context, which is a meal shared with family and friends.

We Were Made for Communion

In the busyness of our day-to-day lives, we eat on the run. And we eat alone. In the car. On a 15 or 30 minute lunch break. Walking from one meeting to another. But we were not made to eat that way.

God made us for communion. In the deepest part of ourselves we yearn for communion with each other and with God. If you look at scripture, it becomes glaringly obvious that the most natural way that we experience communion (with each other and with God) is around the table.

If our nation were to repent, and we returned to preparing fresh home-cooked meals using real ingredients, and we shared those meals with family and friends around the table, I believe that many of our food-related health problems would disappear.

Am I a scientist and can I prove that?

No.

But I do know something of Natural Law and how we were created by God.

St. Thomas Aquinas – and a whole slew of other saints, theologians, and even pagan philosophers (like Aristotle!) – recommended “moderation in all things” in order to achieve and maintain happiness. That’s a good rule to live by. But when it comes to eating, I would also recommend – as often as is possible – keeping food in its proper context: a shared meal.

What Say You?

Are you going to have a “healthy” Halloween this year? Or are you going to indulge in your favorite Halloween candy?

By the way, I’d love to know what your favorite Halloween candy is. Let me know in the comments below!