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Sugar count in candy might make you rethink keeping excess Halloween treats around

Adults are only supposed to have 25 grams of added sugar a day and doctors said many people sometimes eat that much in one sitting!

Endocrinologist Dr. Archana Sadhu with Houston Methodist Hospital said moderation needs to be taken more seriously as sugar-related health complications are on the rise.

“We’re not just talking about sugar. We’re talking about all the cascade of events that happen around consuming excess calories and that type of calories they are that directly play into sugar,” Dr. Sadhu explained.

Some of the health complications include high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney disease, high cholesterol, and cancer.

Nerds, Sour Patch Kids, and Swedish Fish candies are made of 80-90+ percent sugar.

While the Halloween staple, candy corn, contains 74% sugar.

Many people are tempted to go for low-calorie options like hard candies (or dark chocolate, which contains healthful antioxidants) but those are about 50% sugar in a handful of pieces.

The best option for sugar count is surprisingly Twizzlers at 38 grams (per 100 grams) coming in with less than half of the sugar others have.

Even if you dismiss sugar content for special occasions, like Halloween, Dr. Sadhu said most people are consistently eating too much sugar on a daily basis. She said examining sugar quantity should be more important than counting calories.

“Even foods that we consider healthy such as a serving of cereal... we think Honey Nut Cheerios is a great breakfast? Already has 30% of our daily intake, and then you know just condiments, even a Yoplait yogurt has about 25% of our daily intake. So, even healthy foods we’re getting too much sugar and then you add extra foods like cookies, cakes, and candies and we’re well above the top,” Dr. Sahu said.

According to one study by Snusboss, the following popular candies contain this much sugar per 100 Grams:

Rank; Product Name; Sugar Content per 100 Grams

1) Nerds Candy 93

2) Sour Patch Kids 80

3) Swedish Fish 77

4) Candy Corn 74

5) Skittles (Original) 73

6) Sugar Babies 73

7) Sweet Tarts 73

8) Charms Blow Pops 72

9) Werther’s Candies 69

10) Dum Dum Pop 69

11) Air Head 69

12) 3 Musketeers 67

13) York Peppermint Pattie 67

14) Tootsie Roll Pop 65

15) M&Ms (Original) 63

16) Rolo Candy 63

17) Heath Bar 61

18) Mars Bar 61

19) Jolly Ranchers 61

20) Toblerone Bar 61

21) Mike and Ike 60

22) Milky Way Bar 59

23) Laffy Taffy 59

24) Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar 58

25) Nestle Crunch Bar 58

26) Whoppers 57

27) Hershey’s Kisses 56

28) Dove Milk Chocolate Bar 56

29) Starbursts 55

30) Kit Kat 54

31) Baby Ruth Bar 54

32) Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Bar 54

33) Reese’s Pieces 53

34) Salt Water Taffy 53

35) Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup 52

36) Peanut M&M’s 52

37) Snickers Bar 52

38) 100 Grand Bar 52

39) Tootsie Roll 52

40) Hershey’s Krackel Bar 51

41) Twix Bar 50

42) Andres Chocolate Mints 50

43) Mr. Goodbar 50

44) Funables Fruit Snacks 50

45) Ring Pop 50

46) Dove Dark Chocolate Bar 47

47) Almond Joy 47

48) Haribo Goldbears 47

49) Sour Punch Twists 47

50) Mounds Bar 44

51) Whatchamacallit Bar 44

52) Twinkie 42

53) Butterfinger 41

54) Red Vines 40

55) Twizzlers 38

Sources include YouGov and Walmart.


About the Author
Haley Hernandez headshot

KPRC 2 Health Reporter, mom, tourist

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