Candy is candy — sweet, delicious and, unfortunately, not the healthiest choice. Scott Sehnert, an MSU nutritionist for the Spartan Nutrition & Performance Program, offered some advice about how to satisfy your sweet tooth without overindulging this Halloween.
If you’re hungry and really craving something sweet, try eating a meal or a piece of fruit first. “You’re probably hungry for a reason,” Sehnert said. “Then enjoy a few pieces of candy after, instead of only eating candy.”
When the option is there, aim for sweets with whole grains. If you’re a cookie monster, cookies made with whole grain have more fiber than those made with white flour.
The toss-up between hard candy and chocolates is what Sehnert calls a “double-edged sword.” The chocolate tends to have more saturated fat while the sucker has more sugar. It’s a matter of avoiding sugar or aiming for fat-free foods.
There’s hope for chocoholics. Sehnert said the hype about dark chocolate isn’t false — there’s substantial research that it has health benefits.
No matter what it comes from — high fructose corn syrup or sucrose — sugar is the main ingredient in many candies. While sugar often is blamed for obesity in the U.S. because it contains glucose molecules, Sehnert said limiting how much candy you eat will likely prevent any health issues.
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