TURN HALLOWEEN INTO A SCIENCE EXPERIMENT, URGES TOP NUTRITIONIST
- Charlotte Bolt
- Oct 31, 2025
- 2 min read
This Halloween, Australia’s leading paediatric nutritionist Mandy Sacher isn’t telling parents to cancel the fun — she’s telling them to study it.
The founder of Real Food Rating says the sugar-fuelled chaos that follows trick-or-treating is the perfect live experiment to see what really happens when kids consume ultra-processed sweets.
“Halloween is the perfect opportunity to create a science experiment,” Sacher says. “Let your kids enjoy the sugar, but then watch what happens over the next 24 to 48 hours.
"You’ll see how their mood, sleep, focus and energy crash. And it’s not their fault. It’s the chemical cocktail hidden in their food.”
IT’S NOT JUST THE SUGAR
While most parents blame sugar for post-Halloween meltdowns, Sacher says the real culprit is the combination of sugar with artificial dyes, preservatives and emulsifiers.
“Sugar is just the start,” she explains. “When you mix it with additives and colours banned in parts of Europe and the US, you’re giving your child a dose of legalised toxins.”
She points to the increasing evidence around common additives:
Artificial colours (102, 110, 129): linked to behavioural and sleep disturbances.
Sulphur dioxide (220): associated with gut irritation and asthma-like symptoms.
BHA/BHT (320–321): linked to endocrine disruption in animal studies.
Emulsifiers (433–466): may damage the gut barrier and microbiota.
Aspartame (951): may trigger oxidative stress and gut dysbiosis.
“Sugar feeds harmful bacteria, emulsifiers strip the gut’s protective layer, and preservatives inflame it,” Sacher adds. “That’s why after a night of colourful sweets, children are wired, teary and exhausted.”
WHAT THE SCIENCE SAYS
Research backs her up. A 2024 PLOS Medicine study linked common emulsifiers such as E471 and E407 to cancer risk, while others show E466 and E433 can disrupt the microbiome.
The EU banned titanium dioxide (E171) in 2022 due to genotoxicity concerns, and WHO’s IARC classified aspartame (E951) as possibly carcinogenic in 2023 — though it remains legal in Australia under FSANZ.
“This isn’t about bad parenting or naughty kids,” Sacher says. “It’s about a system that allows chemicals to hijack our children’s bodies and brains.”
HOW TO MAKE HALLOWEEN HEALTHIER
If you’re not up for the science experiment, Sacher says there are simple ways to make Halloween a little less toxic:
Feed kids real food first. A balanced meal helps stabilise blood sugar.
Choose chocolate or home-baked treats. They contain fewer additives.
Avoid “sugar-free” sweets. They often hide artificial sweeteners and emulsifiers.
Bring water bottles. Hydration helps flush excess sugar and dyes.
Teach label reading. Awareness is empowerment.
Play swapsies. Offer prizes for trading lollies for non-candy rewards.
Skip sugar for toddlers under two. Give toys or toddler-friendly snacks instead.
A LESSON IN REAL LIFE
Sacher’s message is simple: use Halloween to open your eyes. “When you compare a child who ate plain chocolate to one who ate neon gummies, the difference is unmistakable,” she says. “That awareness is the start of change.”
