What Halloween candy has the most sugar? A Manitoba dentist drills into the nutritional facts

Posted on October 31, 2024 by Peggy

Before the trick-or-treating sugar rush sets in, a Manitoba dentist is reminding parents and caregivers just how much candy kids should consume on All Hallows’ Eve and beyond.

Doctor Kelly Regula said the American Heart Association’s guidance is to consume no more than six teaspoons of refined sugar a day.

So, when kids and parents start diving into the treat bags in search of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup or some Swedish Berries, you can quickly surpass the cap.

“You can easily get that and overconsume,” she said in an interview on CTV Morning Live Winnipeg.

Still, not all candy is created equally when it comes to sugar content.

For example, a small bag of chips has on average about one teaspoon of sugar, while a small bag of gummy candy has about three times as much.

Five snack-sized boxes of Smarties, meanwhile, have about five teaspoons of sugar, while a full-sized Kit Kat has about six teaspoons.

“I know a lot of children like it when the houses hand out full-sized bars but if you think about it, that’s your daily limit.”

Juice boxes are also sneakily high in sugar, Dr. Regula added, containing about six teaspoons a pop, and without the fibre you’d get if you ate an apple.

Speaking of pop, juice pales in comparison to a can of soda, which contains on average about 10 teaspoons of sugar.

Similarly, Dr. Regula said not all candy is created equally when it comes to dental health. Gummy candy can be particularly treacherous to teeth and gums, as it lodges into those grooves and stays there.

“The longer that sugar sits in your teeth, the greater the risk of tooth decay.”

Regular flossing and brushing remain your best line of defence, Dr. Regula said.

Additionally, she recommends trading some of your child’s candy for something else they want, like a book or Roblox.

All finger waging aside, Dr. Regula recommends allowing kids to go nuts on Halloween and indulge in all the tasty treats they worked so hard to score before adding some guidelines.

“We indulge this night because it is Halloween, and we all look forward to it.”

• With files from CTV’s Rachel Lagacé

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