Be Mindful
When perusing the labels, you'll find most candy varieties contain high fructose corn syrup or other sweeteners. There's a reason why the USDA suggests eating sweets sparingly: They're full of sugar, saturated fat and not very many nutrients (that's why they're called "empty calorie" foods). If you're having some, buy the smallest kinds or the mini-sized packs to keep from overdoing it.
Sugary Candy
Don't fall for those labels claiming a candy is a fat-free treat; sugar is naturally free of fat. All that sugar, however, will rack up those calories. Check out the comparisons below:
- Twizzlers (4 pieces): 160 calories, 19 grams sugar
- Gummi Bears (10 pieces): 87 calories, 13 grams sugar
- Candy Corn (8 pieces): 140 calories, 28 grams sugar
- Starburst (8 pieces): 160 calories, 23 grams sugar
And look at the serving size — most likely you're not meant to eat the whole bag!
Chocolates
A large Hershey's Symphony milk chocolate bar (2.4 ounces) contains 361 calories, 21 grams of fat and 12 grams of saturated fat. Down the entire bar and you've just eaten 60 percent of the recommended saturated fat for the entire day. Many companies have the "fun sizes," which are smaller portions of the same bar. Even eating two or three of those is less calories than one large bag (we still recommend sticking to one mini bar).
Seen some of those commercials where a chocolate bar claims to be lighter? My 3 Muskateers bars never float! Well, here are the nutrition facts on some of those “lighter” options. Which would you choose?
- 3 Musketeers Bar: 260 calories, 8 grams total fat and 5 grams saturated fat
- 3 Musketeers Mini Bars (3 fun-sized bars): 190 calories, 6 grams total fat, 4 grams saturated fat
- York Peppermint Patty (1 piece): 140 calories, 2.5 grams total fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat
- Plain M&Ms (1.69-ounce pack): 240 calories, 10 grams total fat, 6 grams saturated fat
Peppermint Patty lovers are in luck — it has the least amount of calories and fat. If peppermint isn't your thing, choose the 3 Musketeers minis, which have fewer calories than a chocolate bar or a regular-sized pack of chocolate candies. When you go shopping, pick up your two or three favorite options and compare nutrition labels just as we've just done above.
Also, learn about the health benefits of dark chocolate. But be mindful that companies want to sell their chocolate and may slap hyped-up health claims on their products. Stick to a small portion (more is not better).
