Lots of candy is given out on Halloween.
But how much do chocolate, gummy bears and the like become dangerous?
Frankfurt - On October 31, it's Halloween again.
For one evening the doorbell rings every minute and children's hands help each other from lavishly filled bowls with all kinds of sweets.
After the raid, the reward comes and the first delicacies are eaten on the way home.
A bag of gummy bears is followed by a chocolate bar and so it goes on until all of the Halloween booty is gone.
Although we know that sugar is harmful, many people find it difficult to hold back on sweets.
But from what amount of sugar does it become dangerous?
How many sweets on Halloween is still healthy?
Sweets on Halloween: what sugar does to our bodies
A healthy and balanced diet is important for your own wellbeing.
Halloween, on the other hand, is one of the days of the year when you shouldn't count calories.
It only becomes questionable when the exception becomes the norm.
Especially when it comes to sugar, there is a real overconsumption worldwide.
The World Health Organization recommends a sugar intake of no more than ten percent of the daily energy requirement. That would correspond to 50 grams of sugar with a daily requirement of 2000 kilocalories. A study by the German Nutrition Society shows that this recommendation is exceeded across Germany across all age groups. It is particularly critical with adolescents and children. There, the daily sugar consumption would be around 17.5 percent of the daily energy requirement, instead of the recommended ten. If you want to try to consume less sugar, you can try to change your diet.
Excess sugar is harmful to health.
But what happens if we don't consume enough sugar?
Glucose is the main source of energy for the brain and muscles.
All cells must be supplied with sufficient sugar in order to function fully.
Hypoglycemia, also known as hypoglycemia, can be life-threatening if the sugar supply to the brain is no longer guaranteed.
However, hypoglycemia rarely occurs in healthy people.
Diabetes and other metabolic diseases are often the trigger for the glucose deficiency.
Sugar shock on Halloween: From this amount it becomes dangerous
So too little sugar can be fatal.
But is there also an overdose?
The answer is yes.
Just as there is hypoglycemia, there is also hypoglycemia, colloquially often referred to as sugar shock.
But here, too, the following applies: Those who do not suffer from a sugar or metabolic disease can practically not experience a sugar shock.
In a recent video on YouTube, the American Chemical Society answered the question of how much candy a person would have to eat to die from it.
The experts refer to the so-called “median lethal dose”, or LD50 for short, a guideline sugar value that would be fatal for the majority of people.
This guideline is equivalent to 13.5 grams of sugar per pound of body weight.
For a person weighing 180 pounds (approximately 82 kg), the LD50 would be 2440 grams.
A quick intake of almost 2.5 kilograms of sugar would most likely be fatal.
It is important to consider:
The "median lethal dose" assumes that the sugar is supplied to the body within a very short time.
Halloween Candy: How Much Chocolate and Gummy Bears Are Deadly?
Gummy bears and chocolate are among Germans' favorite sweets.
On Halloween, too, they end up in the loot bags of the wandering children.
A chocolate bar contains an average of around 52 grams of sugar.
According to the “median lethal dose”, a person weighing 82 kilos could eat around 47 bars of milk chocolate before he dies.
A single gummy bear has about 1.25 grams of sugar.
This means that the 82-kilo person could eat golden bears in 1952 before his body fails.
In order to calculate the maximum number of gummy bears or chocolate bars you can eat, the following formula must be used:
For the deadly number of gummy bears:
your own body weight (in pounds) multiplied by 13.5 divided by 1.25
For the deadly number of chocolate bars:
Your body weight (in pounds) multiplied by 13.5 divided by 52
Of course, the LD50 is more of a fun calculation than a serious benchmark.
Halloween candy is there to be enjoyed.
And on October 31, you can reach deeper into the gummy bear bag than usual. (Aa)
