Growing up, I wasn’t allowed to celebrate Halloween, but my mom always bought Halloween candy for a movie night. As I got older and spent some Halloweens with my dad, we would pass out Halloween candy for neighborhood kids and he usually had an abundance left over that we would snack on for quite a while. I would say most people probably associate Halloween with two things: dressing up and candy.

It seems like an age-old problem that kids eat too much candy on Halloween. These days you don’t even have to worry about being made out like the dentist family in Willy Wonka that banned their kid from eating Halloween candy. We all know it’s problematic and, though most of us still partake and let our children partake, there is a background understanding that it’s terrible for us and not to be a daily habit.

Not only is it common knowledge that too much sugar is bad for us and our teeth, but most of us also know that most of the candies you find at the grocery store are full of terrible amounts of sugar as well as a long list of other questionable ingredients.

These days, there are even a few new options for candies that are supposed to be healthier versions of some of the candies you love. Today we’re going to dive into some of the problems with candy as well as information about the current alternatives and best practices around candy consumption.

Here’s what to expect from this article:

A recap on sugar

Are there heavy metals in candy?

The sugar problem

As stated, we all know candy, as well as sweetened foods and drinks in general, are generally considered bad for your health, both general and oral. Since it’s common knowledge at this point and widely accepted, I won’t get deep into the research. It abounds. But I will overview some key points.

First of all, refined sugar is very easy for your body to break down. This is because of the chemical nature of the molecule, but basically it’s what the body uses to fuel itself and it turns all carbohydrates into basic sugar for the purposes of creating energy for the body to use. So sugar itself isn’t necessarily the devil. Your body NEEDS sugar. But when sugar is consumed in excess or when foods high in sugar and little other dietary needs are consumed, it can cause problems.

Like I said, sugar is easy energy because it’s already in the form your body needs to make energy. If you were to down a handful of sugar, it processes through the body easily. When you eat a loaf of whole grain bread that contains sugar but also protein, fat, and a lot of fiber, these other elements all slow the digestion of sugar, which is a good thing. You need all those other dietary elements, but they also are what helps you stay fuller longer. Since they take more time to break down, they stay in the system longer, leading to satiety.

And that is the main problem with sugar in most people’s diets. Highly processed foods with added sugars (think donuts, sweetened coffees, sodas, cakes, etc.) are mostly sugar with little actual substance and therefore do not keep you full for long, making you more likely to go back for more and more.

Sugar has also been equated with an addictive substance. Though that’s not exactly right, it’s the easiest and clearest way to understand it. Essentially, when the brain gets used to having a lot of sugar, it wants to maintain that level, because sugar intake is associated with dopamine levels. If you try to ease off sugar when you’ve gotten used to eating a lot of it, your brain can interpret that as a negative experience, possibly sad or painful, because you’re getting less dopamine from it.

We also know that excess consumption of sugar leads to several negative health outcomes. Overconsumption of sugar, especially in combination with poor toothbrushing is frequently linked with higher incidences of dental caries (the step before cavities) in children. Interestingly enough, it also appears that consumption of ultra-processed foods may be associated with increased number of dental caries in adolescence even when results were adjusted for oral hygiene habits. Of course, sugar isn’t just related with dental conditions but also issues like heart disease, inflammation, liver disease, diabetes, and a host of other issues.

All of these points are meant to illustrate why it’s generally advised to limit your sugar from a physiological and chemical standpoint. I tried to do it as quickly as possible but it’s all such important information to understand!

Candy consumption and heavy metals

One review of candy consumption in Nigerian children evaluated the levels of heavy metals found in fifty common candies and sweets and found that individual candies had more lead than accepted permissible levels and that overall consumption of chocolates and candies causes higher levels of consumption of cadmium and lead than accepted standards and recommendations. This is just one example of findings that candies can tend to contain higher levels of heavy metals than deemed safe.

For example, researchers in California discovered excessive levels of cadmium and lead in a lot of chocolates, which was such a widespread issue that it launched a whole investigation into the cause of this. If you have time, I recommend you read this report on the cause of elevated cadmium and lead levels in chocolate because it is really interesting and informative.

Essentially, it seems that a lot of the cadmium content comes from the soil, which cocoa trees are absorbing. Contrary to this, the concentrations of lead appear to come not from absorption by the tree but by contamination by the cocoa nibs during the drying process and other handling. Both levels are related to soil contamination, which is yet more evidence of how big of an issue soil contamination is and how much we need to improve our agricultural practices globally as well as the very real issues with fossil fuel consumption (cadmium comes mostly from refining petroleum). But these are topics for another day…

If you’re wondering why this is allowed to happen and why these products are allowed to come to market, it’s because the law makes exceptions for products that have high levels of unsafe ingredients through natural means. In this case, the high levels of cadmium in chocolate is permitted because the tree is up taking it straight from the soil and it is not being added somewhere in the manufacturing process. This doesn’t make it less dangerous or more acceptable, but it is the way the law works.

Though it is mostly chocolate products that have this high level of heavy metals (especially dark chocolate as it contains a higher concentration of cocoa), some non-chocolate candies have too-high levels as well. It’s mostly the chocolate though! Which is heartbreaking for us chocolate lovers.

The research is somewhat mixed on the impacts of heavy metals on health as well as the link between heavy metals like lead and cadmium and cancer risk. Though some studies show contrary findings, there are a large number of studies showing links between heavy metals (especially cadmium) and a few different kinds of cancers. Heavy metals have also been significantly linked with heart disease. A large part of the issue with heavy metal exposure, cancer risk aside, is that the accumulation of most heavy metals is considered “chronic” because the body cannot eliminate them as it would with other compounds or toxins (like alcohol). Additionally, heavy metals are understood to cause oxidative stress, which generally wreaks havoc on the body by contributing to disease progression and increasing the rate of the general aging processes.

So. Finding heavy metals in candies is concerning, especially considering the height of the levels that are found. Even more so considering that a lot of candy is consumed by children who are very vulnerable to attacks on their immune system and the effects of oxidative stress.

Additionally, if you consider that a lot of Halloween candy is chocolate (albeit usually not dark chocolate) and kids (and adults) tend to eat way more than “a serving” of it, heavy metals in candy is kind of depressing.

Other sketchy ingredients in common candies

There are several other ingredients that you may want to avoid in conventional candies, though some people do not care about these as much. A few of these ingredients are generally understood as bad and have decent evidence, others have less evidence but are considered bad by quite a lot of people. I’m not going to go deep into the evidence here because there’s not enough space for that and these could all have their own posts, which I may provide some day.

High fructose corn syrup

I avoid high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) 98% of the time. A lot of people do. I plan to do a more thorough exploration of the science around HFCS in the future, so I’ll just provide an overview here.

Essentially, HFCS is very similar to sucrose (table or cane sugar) but has slightly higher levels of fructose. The main potential issue with is is that the fructose and glucose molecules are separated in processing, and this makes it easier for the body to absorb (it’s also what makes it such an effective sweetener).

However, though people say it all the time, there’s not any solid research that HFCS is worse for you than sucrose. In fact, there’s very little even preliminary research that says this and most studies find the substances affect the body the same.

There is a correlation between the introduction of HFCS in the mid 20th century and the rise of obesity that we shouldn’t ignore, but we can’t point to HFCS and say that it is for sure the cause. One theory may be that because HFCS is so cheap and effective at sweetening, companies are willing to use more of it to make their foods more palatable, thus increasing the overall sugar individuals are consuming as well as leading to an increase in desire for sweeter products. HFCS is also typically made from genetically modified corn, which is a big deal for a lot of people!

So, though there may be negative effects of HFCS consumption, it is not a proven fact. Many choose to avoid it because regular cane sugar is more “natural” and has a more normal process through the body..

Artificial food coloring

Artificial food tends to be very controversial and divisive. Some people hold staunchly that artificial colors are terrible for you while many others claim they are fine. The problem arises mostly from the fact that synthetic dyes are mostly petroleum-based, including the currently FDA-approved food colors.

As we’ve seen with other products like candles, petroleum based products can come with some concerns as petroleum contains toxic chemicals. However, the filtering and processing for various byproducts are supposed to reduce these levels.

When it comes to food dyes, yes, they contain toxic chemicals. However, the levels of these chemicals do fall within “safe” limits. There are some animal studies that show negative impacts of these dyes, such as tumor development, and some report links to hyperactivity and hypersensitivity in children that consume dyes.

As I say so often, “it’s important to note” that there is no strong evidence for these claims. There is preliminary animal research and some allegorical or corollary evidence that some of these effects occur, but rigorous academic research has not been able to produce the same results. At the same time, there’s not a lot of evidence that food coloring is safe, but that’s a difficult stance to prove anyway.

This means that you probably don’t need to freak out about food colors, but it may also be a good and fine idea to limit your exposure to food coloring if eliminating certain toxins from your die, despite “safe guidelines,” is important to you. I also always encourage you to try eliminating things like this to see if it improves something like hyperactivity in your child, and making your decision that way.

This is another one of those things I do tend to avoid but am not super strict about.

Sugar substitutes and alcohols

I feel like such a broken record saying “this is another thing that people say is harmful but has no real evidence,” but here we are. It seems that sugar substitutes and sugar alcohols are mostly harmless. Though animal studies have found certain cancers to be related with sugar substitute use, the same results do not occur with humans. Additionally, if someone is able to significantly reduce their sugar intake through use of these substitutes, they will experience reductions in risk for the many negative health outcome that come with excessive sugar intake.

Though sugar substitutes and alcohols have no nutritive value, including no vitamins and minerals, which could be problematic, there is simply no evidence that they cause harm. The only caveat is that sugar alcohols can cause GI issues like bloating and diarrhea if consumed in excess.

If you’re interested in the argument against artificial sweeteners, here’s a good one.

Preservatives

There are quite a few food preservatives “generally considered as safe” by the FDA that producers are allowed to include in their products, but that many consider to be toxic. Some of these include propyl paraben, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), propyl gallate, and sodium benzoate. You may recognize some of these or parts of these if you’ve read other articles by me. Hey toluene, we see you.

The truth is that the evidence on the impact of these preservatives on humans is mixed. There is good animal, laboratory research to show the dangers of these preservatives, but they have not all been consistently replicated with humans. Doesn’t mean they are safe but it is relevant.

Some of these preservatives are linked to negative health outcomes, endocrine disruption, or behavior issues, and some are linked to cancer development.

Generally, I’d recommend avoiding these if you can. It can be difficult to do if you don’t make all your food for scratch or if your budget is limited. Just do your best. Broken record x5: don’t freak out, but I do recommend limiting exposure where possible.

Palm oil

I’m not sure how many people care about palm oil or if it’s a niche concern. This is another ingredient I plan to provide a more thorough review on, but for now, my main take on it is that you probably don’t need to worry about palm oil.

Some people cite concerns over the saturated fat content, which is thought to raise bad cholesterol. While it is true that you should limit your saturated fat consumption, the amount of palm oil most people consume is unlikely to cause issues unless you’re also eating tons of butter and just an excess of fatty food in general.

A few other concerns I’ve seen are a European research based concern that the heating of palm oil may produce a byproduct that is carcinogenic. However, this has only been shown in limited animal studies and not shown in humans. Something to keep an eye on but not really evidence that this will harm humans. Additionally, palmitic acid is thought to potentially add to inflammation and insulin resistance, though there isn’t thorough evidence of this either.

Unrefined palm oil (red palm oil, not commonly used) is actually really high in antioxidants and some vitamins. Even refined palm oil contains smaller amounts of these things.

So all in all, palm oil probably doesn’t need to be a major concern but there are definitely better alternatives out there, such as avocado and olive oil, if you are concerned about some of the things mentioned. Unfortunately, palm oil is in pretty much every processed good it seems like, since it is so cheap to produce.

One last note on palm oil, there are a lot of concerns over the deforestation occurring in Indonesia and Malaysia, where most palm oil comes from, due to palm oil harvesting. This is a very legitimate concern and may be why a lot of people choose to avoid the oil.

A loosely related note on moderation and autonomy

One interesting note is that just restricting access to potentially harmful foods, including traditional candies and sweetened snacks and beverages, may not have quite the beneficial impact one would expect. Some research has found that restriction in and of itself (though it may have the impact of reducing heavy metal exposures and over-consumption of sugars in early childhood and maybe adolescence) may not lead to healthy, safe practices over the lifetime or even at some of these earlier years. Part of the problem, as we see in many areas, is that simply not letting your kids have something doesn’t teach them why they may want to avoid certain products of make certain choices for the benefit of their health.

I’m not here to give parenting advice, but I do see that it is generally advisable to educate your kids on your choices and thought processes to help them learn and become independent adults that will someday be in charge of controlling their own health and wellness. After all, unless you’re crazy, you’re not going to be at their doorstep when they come home from the grocery store to block any bad candy from entering their house.

I’ll also add as a personal note, that my experience when hitting adulthood was that (in many areas, but we’ll speak to junk food consumption here) by having the autonomy in my dietary choices as a teenager, I developed an understanding of how certain foods made me feel and made choices that others didn’t. I remember thinking as a kid that when I was a “grown-up” I would buy all the candy I wanted and sit on the couch and VEG. But I never did that… I certainly overindulged on occasions when candy was available in abundance or certain events were happening, but I never went and bought more than a modest amount of candy. I also grew to dislike overly sweetened things like ice cream and milk chocolate and cakes and pies.

Who knows if any of this really has anything to do with how I was raised or whether it can be chalked up to individual differences in tastes and decision making. However, I can say without a fact that feeling a sense of awareness over how food made me feel and how I chose to fuel my body helped me to learn what worked for me and what didn’t and ultimately led (and leads) to healthier choices more often than not.

Personally, I’m going to promote “better” choices in my household and try to model by example. However, I’m not going to stop my kids’ grandparents from one of their favorite practices of carrying packets of m&ms in their pockets when they visit.

What does any of this have to do with Halloween candy?

Well obviously sugar is found in excess in candy. But a lot of these other ingredients are found in candy as well. Let’s look at some popular Halloween candies and discuss the ingredients.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

INGREDIENTS: Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate, Skim Milk, Milk Fat, Lactose, Lecithin, PGPR), Peanuts, Sugar, Dextrose, Salt, TBHQ, Citric Acid.

First of all, a single Reese’s peanut butter cup contains 22g of sugar, with 20g of that coming from added sugar. That is nearly HALF of your recommended sugar intake for an entire day. Maybe you’re better than me and you can eat one Reese’s cup and walk away, but I have a feeling most of you aren’t… This is why you feel like CRAP after eating these, even though they’re SO good. One cup also contains 22% of the recommended saturated fat intake, which we discussed is very important.

Additionally, we don’t like to see TBHQ (a pretty nasty preservative we discussed above). A little note on PGPR, it is an emulsifier, which just helps with the consistency of the chocolate. Studies have shown that PGPR seems to be safe with no adverse health impacts, but it can cause inflammation and GI upset in some people. It’s not my favorite ingredient and I prefer to avoid it if I can.

Hershey’s Chocolate Bar

INGREDIENTS: Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Milk, Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Milk Fat, Lecithin (Soy), PGPR, Natural Flavor).

Let’s just look at mini milk chocolate Hershey bars, the kind you would expect in a Halloween bowl. Two of these contain 15g of sugar, 13g of that being added sugar, which is about a quarter of the recommended daily sugar intake. 2 pieces also contain 23% of your saturated fat allowance.

At least these don’t appear to have any gross preservatives, though they do contain PGPR.

Twix

INGREDIENTS: Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate, Skim Milk, Lactose, Milkfat, Soy Lecithin, PGPR, Artificial Flavors), Enriched Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Sugar, Palm Oil, Corn Syrup, Skim Milk, Dextrose, Less Than 2% - Salt, Cocoa Powder, Soy Lecithin, Modified Corn Starch, Baking Soda, Artificial Flavor.

A fun size Twix has 8g of sugar, 7g being added, which is around 15% of daily sugar allowance. Fun size Twix also contains about 10% of daily allowance of saturated fat. Based on these stats, Twix may be a slightly better option than a lot of candies. Still junk, but nearly as much sugar and fat as other candies.

Some ingredients you may not prefer are palm oil, corn syrup, modified corn starch, and artificial flavors. Overall, not terrible.

Starburst

INGREDIENTS: Sugar, Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil; Less Than 2% Of: Citric Acid, Tapioca Dextrin, Gelatin, Apple Juice From Concentrate, Modified Corn Starch, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Colors (Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1).

Starburst claims a serving size is about 6 pieces, which seems like an amount a lot of people could put down in a quick sitting. This equates to 16g of sugar, 32% of daily allowance, and 13% of daily saturated fat allowance.

One of the biggest downsides of Starburst is that they’re basically just sugar and some oil. Though other candies aren’t good for you, at least they have a gram or two of protein and a tiny bit of fiber to help the sugar go down. Not Starburst. Additionally, they’re full of artificial colors, which is a problem for a lot of people.

Tootsie Rolls

INGREDIENTS: Sugar, Corn Syrup, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Condensed Skim Milk, Cocoa, Whey, Soy Lecithin, Artificial & Natural Flavors

5 Tootsie Rolls (I have no idea what a normal amount is since I don’t like Tootsie Rolls) contains 17g of sugar, 16g of that added, which is 32% of sugar allowance. They also have 8% of your saturated fat allowance. That’s a lot of sugar in 5 tiny tootsie rolls.

The ingredients are not great but pretty standard, mostly straight sugar. What’s concerning is the hydrogenated soybean oil. I didn’t cover hydrogenated oils in my list of questionable ingredients because it’s banned by the FDA and a lot of other countries’ food safety governing bodies. I’m not really sure how Tootsie Rolls still fly in US markets… but here they are.

Partially hydrogenated oils are bad because they are artificially created saturated fats (called trans saturated fats) that are just so hard for the body to break down. It’s been understood that they are terrible for your health, certainly raising bad cholesterol and lowering the good. It’s so well understood that the FDA did completely ban them from food production. So again, not sure how Tootsie Rolls still use this.

Skittles

INGREDIENTS: Sugar, Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil; Less Than 2% Of: Citric Acid, Tapioca Dextrin, Modified Corn Starch, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Colors (Red 40 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Blue 2 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Titanium Dioxide, Blue 1 Lake, Yellow 6, Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1), Sodium Citrate, Carnauba Wax.

Skittles says a serving size is about 27 pieces, which seems normal and I would estimate is probably like 2 Halloween size packs? This amount of Skittles contains 21g of sugar, 42% of daily allowance, and only 5% of the saturated fat allowance.

The ingredients again are not great. Hydrogenated oil is not good for you and there are a lot of artificial colors, including titanium dioxide, which some consider deleterious. The research on this substance does not indicate that it is toxic when consumed but it is toxic when inhaled, and there is some concern that genotoxicity cannot be ruled out.

Summary / TLDR

Halloween candy is nostalgic, delicious, and probably not so good for you. The sugar content alone is problematic, especially since we have well documented data on the serious, negative health impacts of sugar. Eating too much sugar can damage your teeth, gut, and skin, and can lead to a whole host of physical diseases and cognitive declines.

As if that weren’t bad enough, your favorite candies also contain way more heavy metals than most people are comfortable with (if they know about it). Though overall it’s thought that the levels of heavy metals falls below what can be considered safe, that is only in reference to eating at or below the recommended amount, which is not what most people do with candy in general, and especially around Halloween.

Beyond this, there are several ingredients common to most processed foods, including popular candies, that are questionable if controversial and considered by many to have potential negative health outcomes. Some of these include HFCS, artificial coloring, sugar substitutes, preservatives, and palm oil, though we discussed that some of these concerns are more hyped than the evidence should permit.

Bottom line, popular Halloween candy is not good for you, especially at the rate that most people eat it. You probably already knew that. Sometimes, though, I find that understanding why something might be bad for me helps me reduce my intake of it more than just a general understanding that it’s bad.

So what can you do about it? Number one, limit how much candy you consume. If you can’t avoid it altogether or find better alternatives, which we will be covering soon, limit how much you eat in a sitting. This can be so hard. I mentioned my Reese’s kryptonite. However, it truly is basically like eating poison to eat more than one or two servings of most candies, especially if you’re doing this on a regular basis.

Try grabbing the one or two servings, tucking the bag away and out of sight, and then sitting down with your treat and an activity. As we all know, if it’s sitting right next to us, we’re going to go back for more.

As for Halloween itself, that might be something you decide to just buckle down and take the hit on. As we discussed, it’s not always super practical or effective to just cut you or your children off from the candy. However, it may be worth trying to have a discussion with your kids about all of this and especially trying to help them become more aware of how eating 4 Reese’s, 7 Kit Kats, 3 bags of Swedish fish, 2 packs of m&ms, some smarties, 8 Starburst, and a pack of Milk Duds makes them feel like absolute garbage.

I find when it comes down to making better health choices, knowledge is just one part. Typically you have to get your brain on board, you have to want the change, before you’ll be able to make it happen. After all, until the pain of staying the same is worse than the pain of changing, you probably won’t.

I hope you found this somewhat depressing review on Halloween candy helpful and challenging but encouraging! I know it can be a difficult time to make good health choices, but it is so possible. If you’re ready to try some healthier candy options that are still so good, check out this post for my top recommendations.

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