Gut-Friendly Halloween Candy
What to Avoid, Healthier Candy Options & a DIY Recipe
While many traditional candies are packed with artificial colors, sweeteners, and sneaky gut disruptors like sugar alcohols, vegetable oils and emulsifiers - that doesn’t mean you can’t participate in the Halloween fun!
Read on to get my take on healthier & GUT FRIENDLY Halloween candy.
Featuring my most up to date, research-backed and practical tips when it comes to Halloween candy ingredients to avoid, healthier candy options to choose instead and my go-to DIY Chocolate PB Cup recipe!
Sneaky Gut Disruptors In Candy:
For those with chronic gut issues, the ingredients in most mainstream candies can wreak havoc on the gut microbiome…resulting in symptoms like bloating, gas and belly pain. Let’s get more specific on what to watch out for:
Artificial Colors: Especially blue 1, yellow 5/6, red 40 - linked with triggering inflammation (especially colonic inflammation), allergic reactions and cancer (1).
Artificial Sweeteners & Sugar Alcohols: Key sweeteners to avoid = aspartame, sucralose, erythritol; sucralose has been shown to negatively shift the composition of the gut microbiome. Sugar alcohols like erythritol have been linked with poor cardiovascular outcomes (3) along with bloating, gas and diarrhea (2). Not to mention, artificials like sucralose = a known neurotoxin and carcinogen, yikes! (3,4).
High-Fructose Corn Syrup: Most of us know this offender by now - it’s been linked with numerous health issues from diabetes to fatty liver disease. To get even more specific: it’s profoundly blood sugar spiking, difficult to digest (can cause more gas and bloat) and has been shown to significantly increase body fat content and alter the intestinal microbiome (5).
Ultra Processed Oils: Words to look for = canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, vegetable oil, peanut oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, anything with the word ‘hydrogenated’ before it; these oils can damage our cell membranes and are easily oxidized - both result in increased inflammation! (6). More of my take on seed oils here.
Emulsifiers/Thickeners: key players to watch out for = polysorbates, carboxymethylcellulose, carrageenan, soy lecithin, mono and diglycerides, locust bean gum, guar gum, polyethylene glycol; these are highly processed additives used to mix and stabilize candy. These are damaging to the gut mucus layer and can increase gut permeability (aka leaky gut) (6).
Ok whew, I promise not all candy is created equal. Keep scrolling to find the gut-friendly brands I recommend!
Always Read The Ingredients List!
Key offenders here=
hydrogenated oil
corn syrup
artificial flavors (basically a broad umbrella statement for who knows what)
artificial colors
What Makes A Candy Healthier & Gut-Friendly?
A lack of the ingredients mentioned above
A relatively simple ingredients list
Non gmo and organic where possible
Less processed sweeteners like cane sugar, honey, maple sugar/syrup, coconut sugar
The options below all have <10 grams added sugar per serving (notice that skittles above has !45 grams of sugar! per serving)
Heathier, Gut-Friendly Halloween Candy:
1. HU Kitchen Dark Chocolate Almonds
Why it’s better: HU Kitchen chocolate is made from organic cacao, coconut sugar, and cocoa butter—no processed sweeteners, emulsifiers, or refined sugars. This brand is an all around win!
2. SKINNY Dipped Dark chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Why it’s better:: Skinny dipped uses simple ingredients and unlike other brands of peanut butter cups, they are lower in sugar and free of any added oils.
3. YumEarth Organic Lollipops
Why it’s better:: These lollipops are made with organic fruit extracts and contain no artificial colors or high fructose corn syrup. They are a great candy option for kiddos with sensitive tummies!
4. SIMPLY Fruit Gummies
Why it’s better: These are sweetened with fruit juice and contain added fiber which makes these much less blood sugar spiking than typical fruit gummies - they also have zero added colors.
5. SmartSweets sour Gummies
Why it’s better:: SmartSweets are free of sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners - they use stevia leaf and are high in fiber!
Particularly sensitive to anything processed that comes in a package? I recommend making my Healthy Peanut Butter Cups recipe below!
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References:
Kobylewski S, Jacobson MF. Toxicology of food dyes. Int J Occup Environ Health. 2012 Jul-Sep;18(3):220-46. doi: 10.1179/1077352512Z.00000000034. PMID: 23026007.
Ruiz-Ojeda FJ, Plaza-Díaz J, Sáez-Lara MJ, Gil A. Effects of Sweeteners on the Gut Microbiota: A Review of Experimental Studies and Clinical Trials. Adv Nutr. 2019 Jan 1;10(suppl_1):S31-S48. doi: 10.1093/advances/nmy037. Erratum in: Adv Nutr. 2020 Mar 1;11(2):468. doi: 10.1093/advances/nmz112. PMID: 30721958; PMCID: PMC6363527.
Witkowski M, Nemet I, Alamri H, Wilcox J, Gupta N, Nimer N, Haghikia A, Li XS, Wu Y, Saha PP, Demuth I, König M, Steinhagen-Thiessen E, Cajka T, Fiehn O, Landmesser U, Tang WHW, Hazen SL. The artificial sweetener erythritol and cardiovascular event risk. Nat Med. 2023 Mar;29(3):710-718. doi: 10.1038/s41591-023-02223-9. Epub 2023 Feb 27. PMID: 36849732; PMCID: PMC10334259.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10937404.2023.2213903#abstract
Wang X, Zhu L, Li X, Wang X, Hao R, Li J. Effects of high fructose corn syrup on intestinal microbiota structure and obesity in mice. NPJ Sci Food. 2022 Mar 2;6(1):17. doi: 10.1038/s41538-022-00133-7. PMID: 35236837; PMCID: PMC8891263.
Whelan K, Bancil AS, Lindsay JO, Chassaing B. Ultra-processed foods and food additives in gut health and disease. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2024 Jun;21(6):406-427. doi: 10.1038/s41575-024-00893-5. Epub 2024 Feb 22. PMID: 38388570.
