Halloween is right around the corner, which means costumes, spooky decorations, and most importantly, candy. Instead of worrying about haunted houses and ghosts, we should be thinking WT* is in our candy because that is actually scary. While we all know candy isn’t the healthiest, what’s lesser known are the potentially toxic ingredients that could be hiding in our favorite Halloween sweets. We may glance at the nutrition label, but we, myself included, continue eating and think “it’s just an occasional treat” or “how bad can it really be”? Well, I hate to be a buzzkill, but It’s NOT good.
Luckily, it’s not ALL bad news and I’ll share some healthier swaps so we can all satisfy our sweet tooths. First, let’s discuss some of the harmful ingredients that are lurking in most of our sweet treats:
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)
We’ve all heard of GMOs being bad, but why is that? So, it’s a complicated problem – check out this awesome video by Slow Food and see why protecting our seeds is soooo important (we will explore this topic another day). Consuming GMOs has been linked to serious heath issues such as: cancer, asthma, allergies, reproductive issues (infertility & hormonal imbalances), autism, and leaky gut. An example of a GMO additive is Soy Lecithin. I am sure you’ve seen it, it’s in pretty much everything, especially chocolate. Soy Lecithin, is used as an emulsifier and lubricant to help the chocolate bind and be extra smooth. Doesn’t sound too bad right? Unfortunately, soy is one of the most genetically modified crops out there and it is hard to find organic soy. Even if you are okay with consuming GMOs, the soy lecithin manufacturing process is concerning. It is made by extracting the oil from raw soybeans using a chemical solvent called Hexane, an industrial solvent found in cleaners and degreasers…yuck! Fortunately, it is relatively easy for us to identify and avoid GMO-based foods when shopping. All we have to do is check our labels and look for the Organic or Non-GMO Project labels.
Partially Hydrogenated Oils (Trans Fats)
By now, we’ve all heard about trans fats and how these are the worst kind of fat. This fat increases heart and blood vessel diseases by increasing your bad cholesterol (LDL) and decreasing the good cholesterol (HDL). Partially hydrogenated oil, another common name on our ingredient lists, is simply the manufactured form of trans fat. These oils are found in most mainstream chocolates – yikes.
Artificial Colors
While it’s no surprise the bright, bold “fruit” candies are loaded with artificial colorings, I’ll admit I did not even consider they could be in our chocolates as well. It sounds counterintuitive that chocolate, which comes from naturally brown cocoa, would need any dyes to stay, well, brown. It turns out these artificial dyes are added to make the chemical components of the product look more real and enticing to eat – CRAZY! In other words, these chemicals cover up the other chemical-based ingredients to make them look more real. It’s not just chocolate, artificial food dyes are commonly hidden in other seemingly colorless foods including baked goods, ice cream, salad dressing, soda, pickles, and sausages. In fact, the use of food dyes has increased by 500x in the last 30 years.
Food dyes have been linked to a number of health issues including asthma, allergic reactions, inflammation, immune system disruption, hyperactivity, tumors, and even cancer. Here in the United States, the FDA still allows most of these ingredients to be consumed whereas they are banned across most of Europe. Fortunately, armed with knowledge like this, consumer sentiment is growing and we are starting to see legislation moving in the right direction for our health. In the meantime, here are the most common ones to look out for while shopping:
- Blue 1 (found to inhibit nerve cell development)
- Blue 2 (linked to brain and bladder cancer)
- Green 3 (linked to bladder cancer)
- Red 3 (linked with thyroid tumors)
- Red 40 (most widely used dye associated with allergic reactions and tumors)
- Yellow 3 (linked to allergic reactions)
- Yellow 5 (linked to behavioral changes such as irritability and depression)
- Yellow 6 (associated with adrenal gland and kidney cancers)
High Fructose Corn Syrup
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is a chemically-made sugar made from corn syrup. It is directly linked to rising rates in obesity, metabolic dysregulation, and other complications with weight gain such as diabetes and heart disease. The sneaky thing about HFCS is that it is in so many foods, making it very easy to over consume without even realizing. You can find HFCS not only in our favorite candies but also in sodas, fruit juices, cookies, muffins, crackers, salad dressings, granola/granola bars, nut butters and some breads. We should try and avoid HFCS as much as we can because it is everywhere.
Synthetic Growth Hormones & Antibiotics
Most chocolates contain regular milk from conventional dairy farms. Unfortunately, most conventional milk is contaminated with synthetic growth hormones (rBGH) that were originally injected into the cows and ultimately transferred into the milk used for the chocolate. This conventional milk is associated with breast, colon, and prostate cancers. To avoid this issue, look for chocolates made with organic milk. When you have an option, try and choose organic chocolate when possible.
Preservatives
Have you ever thought about how some candies can sit on the shelf for decades? The answer is chemical preservatives. Commonly used ones are sodium benzoate, sulfites (sulfur dioxide), polysorbate 60, 65 or 80, nitrites, PGPR, TBHQ, and BHT/BHA (Cheez-its, Pop-Tarts & Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups). The names alone sound scary, right? TBHQ for example stands for tertiary butylhydroquinone…huh?? These preservatives are linked to many terrible health problems such as tumors, liver enlargement, neurotoxic effects, convulsions, and paralysis in laboratory animals. No thank you.
Artificial & “Natural” Flavors
Artificial flavors are chemically made in a lab by food scientists to make food have a desired smell and taste and to make these foods more addicting. For example, a box of traditional blueberry muffin mix may contain artificial blueberry flavor and dyes to simulate the taste and look of real blueberries. Even “natural flavors” are technically derived from a natural source such as a plant or animal, but they are anything but natural. Natural Flavors can consist of complex chemical compounds made up of preservatives, emulsifiers, solvents, and flavor modifiers.
Candy Swaps
Now for the fun part 😉
Skittles —-> YumEarth Organic Giggles
Sour Skittles —-> YumEarth Sour Giggles
Starbursts —-> YumEarth Organic Chewys or Solely Organic Whole Fruit Gummies
Trolli Gummy Worms —-> Smart Sweets Gummy Worms
Twizzlers —-> Smart Sweets Red Twists
Sour Patch Kids —-> Smart Sweets Sour Blast Buddies
Haribo Gummy Bears —-> Surf Sweets Gummy Bears or Annie’s Organic Fruit Snacks
Tootsie Pops —-> YumEarth Organic Pops
Laffy Taffy —-> Numa Banana Taffy
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups —-> Skinny Dipped Peanut Butter Cups or Justin’s Organic Peanut Butter Cups or Unreal Dark Chocolate Peanut Cups
Milky Way —-> Little Secrets Creamy Nougat Bars
M&M’s —-> Unreal Milk Chocolate Gems or YumEarth Choco Yums
Peanut M&M’s —-> Unreal Dark Chocolate Peanut Gems
Snickers —-> Unreal Peanut Caramel Nougat Bar
Twix —-> Little Secrets Cookie Bar
KitKat —-> Little Secrets Crispy Wafers
Hershey’s —-> Endangered Species Dark Chocolate
Almond Joy —-> Unreal Dark Chocolate Coconut Bar
Crunch —-> Nib Mor Dark Chocolate Bar or Hu Kitchen Almond Quinoa Chocolate Bar
Lindt Truffles —-> Alter Eco Assorted Truffles
Whew, I hope this information doesn’t scare or overwhelm you, but rather give you the power to be an informed consumer. Every time we make a purchase, even as small as a candy bar, we are making a conscious decision and voting with our dollars. Manufacturers are ultimately profit-seeking businesses and will eventually cave to the demands of the consumers. There is encouraging evidence that consumer pressure does influence change! I hope this information helps you decide what is best for you and your family. Let’s choose wisely and take a stand together against big candy companies. If you resonate with this post, please share it with your friends and family.
Happy Halloween!
Gina
Please note that some of the links on the site are affiliate links and at no additional cost to you, we earn a commission. Know that we only recommend products we own, want, and stand behind.