With just a week to go until one of the biggest days of the year for all things sweet, stores are stocking the candy aisles for customers generous and stingy alike.
But as you prepare for the “treat” half of trick-or-treating this Halloween, it’s important to remember that not all sweets are created equal. And some options are a smidge healthier than others.
One handy tip when doing your due diligence on the delectables going into your shopping cart is to look at the very first ingredient listed on each option. That will be the most prominent ingredient.
Since it’s all varying degrees of unhealthy to eat a lot of any candy, let’s forego trying to name the best and talk about the most unhealthy options out there.
One of the most divisive candies every spooky season is candy corn, but whether you’re all-in or all-out on the little autumn-colored pyramids, one thing that’s not debatable is the sugar content. Candy corn is 140 calories per every 19 pieces, and all of those calories come from sugar in various forms.
Juice-filled gummies may have the allure of being good for you because juice, but be wary. The miniscule drops of juice found in each candy does nothing to offset the amount of corn syrup and artificial ingredients present.
Taffy can prove hazardous to your teeth, according to most dentists, because of their propensity for sticking to your chompers, creating a reef in your sea of saliva for bacteria to stick to and create cavities.
Despite the presence of the word “milk,” malted milk balls do nothing to strengthen your bones. Guess what? They’re mostly sugar. (Shocker, I know.) Incredibly, looking at the ingredient list, there’s no mention of chocolate at all. Instead, there’s a lot of artificial additives in these little unhealthy orbs.
Much like taffy’s stickiness makes it a hazard to your teeth, so does the stamina of a lollipop, which sits in your mouth for long amounts of time, drooling its candy coating all over your pearly whites. And when there’s candy in the center of the lolly, that’s a two-pronged attack on the well-being of your teeth.
Sour candies use a different method to go about decaying your teeth, using not just sugar but a high acid content to break down your enamel.
Finally, there’s candies like Pixie Stix, which are essentially just pouring colored sugar straight into your mouth.
As with most things in life, moderation in your snacks is a big key in surviving Halloween with your teeth and gut in tact, whether you’re 3, 83 or anywhere in between.
Because on October 31, treats can turn into tricks with little warning. (That’s what makes them tricks.)