10 Halloween Candy’s that Should Scare YOU!
Candy is meant to be a treat, but even when consumed in moderation some candy push your body to it’s health limits. To have your sweets and stay healthy, it’s important to limit candy that’s particularly high in sugar, unhealthy fats and artificial ingredients. Stop reading if you are to scared to know the 10 candies that can really spook your health.
Naturally colorful foods are highly nutritious, but Sour Patch Kids definitely don’t grow on trees. The fruity flavors and colors dont come from actual fruit. Made of mostly sugar and corn syrup, these sweet and tart candies also contain artificial flavors and colors. The United States Food and Drug Administration maintains that artificial additives like Yellow 5 are safe, but the science is mixed, so some food companies are responding to consumer concern by removing these food dyes and turning to natural alternatives.
Candy Corn is another sticky, sugary, tasty and full-of-fake-ingredients treat. For many of us, Halloween just isn’t right without candy corn. From a dietary standpoint, though, they’re more likely a trick than a treat. Even brands that list “real honey” as an ingredient contain 28 grams of sugar and several artificial colors in just one serving of 19 pieces. Because they’re chewy, candy corn may also stick to your teeth, raising the risk for cavities.
The downsides of Butterfingers can really linger. Each “fun size” bar provides 85 calories and four grams of fat. And you’ll get 8.5 grams of sugar from the crunchy yet sticky center, which is also likely to get stuck in your teeth. Nestlé committed to removing all artificial colors and flavorings from their chocolate products by the end of 2015, and apparently they're not big on keeping promises. The bars contain a list of artificial ingredients, such as TBHQ and citric acid.
Don’t let the “low fat” marketing fool you. What they lack in fat they make up for in sugar. Twizzlers consist almost entirely of sugar (along with some refined flour and artificial additives to keep things interesting). One piece provides five grams of sugar. But who eats just one? Since it’s also a chewy treat, the sugar will likely stick where it’s least welcome -- all over your teeth and gums.
BABY RUTH: Don’t be fooled by the healthy, protein-packed peanuts that cover this bar. Sugar is the number-one ingredient in these babies: Just one “fun size” bar has 10 grams. Baby Ruth is part of the Nestlé family, meaning that they should have dumped all artificial ingredients by now, right? Wrong. Baby Ruth bars still contain many of the same artificial chemicals they did two years ago.
FUN DIP: Fun Dip is only fun if your idea of a good time is a visit to the dentist and having blood sugar imbalances. The sweet stick and dip are almost 100 percent sugar. The rest is made up of artificial flavors and colors. One snack-size pouch supplies 13 grams of sugar. You might as well just dip your tongue directly into a bowl of the white stuff!
3 MUSKETEERS: Another clever marketing ploy: 3 Musketeers are marketed as a “lighter” way to enjoy chocolate. Lighter than what? A single candy bar has five grams of saturated fat and more sugar than three Krispy Kreme doughnuts! Hydrogenated palm kernel oil and/or palm oil is listed as an ingredient -- more than 80 percent of the fat in palm kernel oil is saturated.
Milky Way: The amount of sugar in this candy bar is out of this world. While the “fun size” should help with portion control, a serving of these smaller bars still pack in 21 grams of sugar. They also contain hydrogenated palm kernel oil, which is bad for our hearts, the climate and orangutan survival. Plus, the caramel and nougat are prime candidates for sticking to your teeth and causing cavities.
Starburst may suit gluten-free diets, but they aren’t without risk. The ingredient that makes the fruity squares “unexplainably juicy” isn’t as healthy as it sounds. The first three ingredients listed? Corn syrup, sugar and apple-juice concentrate -- also known as sugar, sugar and sugar. There are 22 grams of sugar in just nine pieces.
WHOPPERS: Sugar, corn syrup and hydrogenated palm kernel oil are the first three ingredients listed in these little malted balls. One serving (18 pieces) will whop you with 24 grams of sugar and seven grams of saturated fat.