Halloween is probably our sweetest holiday.

Easter has chocolate eggs and Christmas has fat-rich eggnog. But Halloween has all things sugar.Nothing says Happy Halloween quite like a bag full of Snickers and M&M's.But sugar might not be our biggest concern. I did some research on nutrition and stumbled on a list of six things you should never eat.Not surprisingly, the list contains the things I enjoy. Maybe you do, too.1. Soda - Surveys show that each of us drinks 51 gallons of soda a year. It's placed atop the junk food list because it's loaded with empty calories and artificial ingredients. Some say diet sodas are even worse than sugary ones because of aspartame. Aspartame supposedly can lead to all kinds of illnesses and its effect is cumulative. So soda in any form is a no-no.2. French fries - They're the king of trans fats. And cheese fries are even worse, as many as 2,900 calories. A potato itself is a carb and probably not too bad. But once we slice it up and deep fry it, it turns into the poster child of junk food.3. Chips - Bet you can't eat just one. The old-time potato chips we grew up with contain trans fats and lots of salt. But in fairness, there are many chip makers nowadays producing healthier options. Plus there are things like sweet potato chips and varieties that might not be quite as bad.4. Mozzarella sticks - If you're going to give up one item, this might be the one. Mozzarella sticks are small cheese logs, breaded and then immersed in oil. Essentially they're fat fried in fat. They'll clog your arteries simply by looking at them.5. Doughnuts - Again, high in trans fats and tons of sugar. We supposedly eat 35 doughnuts a year. That figure surprises me because I'd guess it to be much higher. I probably could eat 35 doughnuts in a month.6. Ice cream - The final item on the list is the one we'll never give up. Ice cream is loaded with fat. We already knew that. But who wants to relinquish their hold on Baskin-Robbins, Turkey Hill, Breyers and all of those popular brands? My favorite flavor is cashews and raspberry made at a local dairy bar.Somebody once told me that ice cream has no calories as long as nobody sees you eat it. Sounds good to me.The one thing I notice in the list is that most of the items are off limits because of high fat content.Fat has become synonymous with evil. Yet some chefs disagree.I remember watching Julia Child on television years ago. She said "fat carries flavor." In other words, the more fat, the more flavor.And the more sugar, the more calories.So sugar and fat are where it's at.Julia Child cooked with both. She used real butter and lots of it. But let's face it, she knew how to create tasty concoctions and helped to break America's 1960s obsession with TV dinners.I don't think her high-fat cooking did any harm. She lived to age 92.They say her final meal was French onion soup. Something tells me she probably enjoyed it with half a loaf of bread and a stick of butter. And why not?Don't get me wrong, it's probably a good idea to cut down on fat intake. And mozzarella sticks should probably be outlawed.But given a choice between a doughnut or a carrot, most humans would still take the doughnut.Bugs Bunny would take the carrot. But think about it, bunnies don't live as long as humans. So maybe there's a lesson there.And as someone once said, good health is nothing more than the slowest rate at which we die.Before that happens, treat yourself to an ice cream cone and learn to live a little.