..Hi, I'm a 'newbie' {new to this site}..which I found mentioned
on someone's chess blog.. can't remember who{?}
..Though I've been here as a non-member for several weeks, since
writing software code, which is my profession, isn't terribly
different than periodically posting here.. perhaps I can give
you guys and gals{?] some comic-relief from that other frequent
poster, whose name escapes me, at the moment.
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Everyone knows that kids go berserk after they've had too much
candy. Apart, that is, from scientists.
For many researchers, tales of Halloween-night wild sugar highs,
and subsequent moody sugar lows, have little basis in nutrition
science. Some suspect that parents are only seeing what they want
to see. Others say candy might indeed be giving children a short-
lived burst of energy, but not because of sugar content.
 
Karen Ravn explains in the Los Angeles Times, that because glucose,
a byproduct of sugar, is one of the body's two main sources of
energy, it seems reasonable to think that sugar is behind sudden
mood changes.
..But in reality, our bodies have a host of mechanisms that keep
glucose levels stable in most people. Numerous studies since the
1970s have been unable to find any difference in children's be-
havior from high-sugar diets.
 
..Furthermore, recent studies suggest that when glucose levels in
the blood are kept abnormally high, far from energizing people,
it makes us sleepy!
..Recently, some researchers have said, those earlier studies were
looking for a candy link in the wrong place. Instead of sugar, caf-
feine in sodas and candy might be the culprit behind sudden mood
swings.
..Another view holds that eating too much of a carbohydrate found
in foods such as potatoes, white bread and some cereals, leads to
rapid rises and falls in blood sugar, which could affect behavior.
 
Dr. David Ludwig, professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical
School, led a study of obese boys.. that found that meals con-
taining a relatively high proportion of these carbohydrates were
associated with increased hunger and a faster heart rate. Com-
bined, those effects could be enough to turn the mellowist trick-
or-treater into a Halloween monster.
 
{comment: This will probably be my one-and-only copied post on
nutrition; only because in an hour or so, my own young kids will
{thankfully} not be going door-to-door {unlike others}, but in-
stead, will be attending a private school-sponsored "party"}.