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With the ubiquitous candy dishes filled with chocolates, candy corn, and more, we don't mean to be party poopers. And we, too, will surely “sample” some Halloween treats today and tonight!

But October 31 seems like an appropriate time for a reminder: Avoid too much sugar.

Now, that doesn't mean we have to avoid all sugar. Here's some guidance:

• Sugar 101 from the American Heart Association: “The American Heart Association recommends limiting the amount of added sugars you consume to no more than half of your daily discretionary calorie allowance. For most American women, this is no more than 100 calories per day and no more than 150 calories per day for men (or about 6 teaspoons per day for women and 9 teaspoons per day for men).”
• JAMA published the study “Added Sugar Intake and Cardiovascular Diseases Mortality Among US Adults” in 2014: Most US adults consume more added sugar than is recommended for a healthy diet. We observed a significant relationship between added sugar consumption and increased risk for CVD (Cardiovascular Disease) mortality.
• The Harvard Health Letter picked up on the JAMA piece: “Eating too much added sugar increases the risk of dying with heart disease.”
• The New York Times recently wrote “Is Sugar Really Bad for You? It Depends,” and addressed the question “How much sugar is too much?” NYT reported “One of the largest studies of added sugar consumption, which was led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that adults who got more than 15 percent of their daily calories from added sugar had a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. For the average adult, that translates to about 300 calories, or 18 teaspoons of added sugar, daily. That may sound like a lot, but it’s actually quite easy to take in that much, or even more, without realizing it. A single 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola, for example, has almost 10 teaspoons of sugar; it can add up quickly. The study found that most adults got more than 10 percent of their daily calories from added sugar, and that for 10 percent of people, more than 25 percent of their calories came from added sugar. The biggest sources for adults were soft drinks, fruit juices, desserts and candy.”
• The American Diabetes Association explains (and debunks myths) around sugar and diabetes.