The nutritional value of sweets and how much you can eat sweets without breaking the diet.
Let's face it: the calories in candy are empty calories that don't do any good. However, not many people eat candy because of its nutritional value. Rather, the goal of candy is simply to enjoy a sweet treat that may well be part of a healthy diet.
Some nutrition experts even claim that an occasional treat of candy can help you feel less deprived and more positive about food, which can help you maintain healthy eating habits.
Eating isn't just a way to energize yourself - sometimes it's just a treat. Nutrition experts understand this, so they have developed recommendations for consuming empty calories (such as candy) to help you meet the need for sweets and not fly off the diet.
Standards have been developed to help you measure the number of empty calories you can get every day as part of a healthy diet. Each recommendation assumes that empty calories are additional calories consumed after you have reached the recommended amount of other important nutrients and food groups.
Recommended limits are based on age and gender.
* Small children (2-8 years old): 120 calories per day.
* Older children (9-13 years old): 120-250 calories per day.
* Girls (14-18 years old): 120-250 calories per day.
* Boys (14-18 years old): 160-330 calories per day.
* Adult women: 120-250 calories per day.
* Adult men: 160-330 calories per day.
you can certainly treat yourself to one or two treats without "messing up" a healthy diet. Moderation is the key.
In fact, research shows that a sweet treat can increase happiness, but it also shows that the same pleasure can be obtained by eating fresh fruits and vegetables. So, it might be worth considering including a plate of juicy berries, carrot sticks, or mango slices in your dessert when you're thinking about what sweet treat you'll like.
But don't get us wrong, we also love sweets. To help you make an informed choice about the candies you eat, we have collected information about the nutritional and caloric properties of various low - calorie, medium-and high-calorie candies.
Low-calorie candies
No candy can be truly "healthy," but if you want to treat yourself to store-bought sweets, there are plenty of low-calorie candies to choose from. These options contain a fair amount of sugar, but are low in fat, and all contain less than 100 calories per serving.
Most marmalades and lollipops fall into this category, and if consumed in moderation, they will have the least impact on empty calorie intake. Here are a few options for low-calorie candy:
* Sugar cane contains few calories: one (13 g) candy contains only 50 calories and 12 grams of carbohydrates (10 grams of which is sugar).
· A small bag of cotton candy weighing 30 grams contains about 110 calories and 28 grams of carbohydrates (all of which are sugar).
* The calorie content of marshmallows depends on the size you consume. One regular-sized marshmallow or 10 mini marshmallows provides 22 calories and 6 grams of carbohydrates (about 4 grams of which is sugar).
· One pack of Skittles (about 20 g) contains 81 calories and 18 g of carbohydrates (15 g of which is sugar).
Many brands of mints are also low-calorie. For example, one Tic Tac contains less than 2 calories per Lollipop. Mentos contain 10 calories per Lollipop. Sugar-free mints contain just 5 calories per Lollipop.
Medium-calorie candies
If none of the above low-calorie candies hit you, there is a medium-calorie candy option provided below. It contains up to 200 calories.
A 7-part serving of toffee provides 160 calories, 2 grams of fat, 38 grams of carbohydrates, and 23 grams of sugar.
Higher-calorie candies
Many of the high-calorie candies contain high amounts of sugar, but also contain more fat (and often a little protein). These include chocolate bars and other candies made from chocolate. But don't despair if you like chocolate the most. You can still treat yourself, just limit the amount of food. Here are some common high-calorie candies
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* one standard-size Kit Kat waffle bar (43g) contains 218 calories, 11 grams of fat, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 20 grams of sugar, and 2.7 grams of protein.
· One standard-size Snickers bar (57g) contains 280 calories, 14 grams of fat, 35 grams of carbohydrates, 20 grams of sugar, and 4.3 grams of protein. 20
· One standard-size Twix pack (2 sticks) contains 286 calories, 14 grams of fat, 37 grams of carbohydrates, 28 grams of sugar, and nearly 3 grams of protein.
· One standard-sized Milky Way bar (57g) contains 264 calories, 10 grams of fat, 41 grams of carbohydrates, 35 grams of sugar, and 2.3 grams of protein.
Enjoy candy in moderation
While calories are one part of the puzzle, periodically enjoying candy while maintaining a generally healthy diet isn't so much about the number of calories as it is about the size of your serving. With this in mind, avoid anything large, "king-sized" or anything that isn't individually packaged, this will help you keep the sweetness under control so you can enjoy it in moderation.
For example, although one serving of the" medium-calorie " candies listed above contains less than 200 calories, you can easily eat much more when dealing with small individual pieces. And the calories from these tiny candies can quickly build up, especially when sweets become a habit. If you find yourself tempted to eat more than one serving, buy the candy of your choice in a single-serving package, or pre-portion your treat (and save or share the rest) so you know exactly how much you're consuming.
