Be afraid of candy nutrition labels

Even if you don't go trick-or-treating, it's hard to avoid Halloween candy this time of year.

For those of us who aim to eat healthfully, there are three basic approaches to candy, Halloween candy in particular:

You can abstain, which is easier said than done. You can carefully select treats that you can justify, choosing candies that are, say, lower in fat or calories than others, or take longer to eat. Or you can decide to enthusiastically indulge in what will truly satisfy your craving for candy, but do so in moderation and know when to quit.

I don't intend to indulge at all. I've worked too hard to lose weight this year to introduce candy into my balanced eating regimen. But if I were going to, I'd probably choose a chocolate-rich candy bar or two, taking time to enjoy every morsel and making sure to accommodate the extra calories by cutting back elsewhere in my diet that day. To me, then, finding the candy that delivers the biggest chocolate punch (those whose ingredients list chocolate first) would be key.

But you might prefer to keep a sweet taste in your mouth for as much of the day as possible. If that's the case, nonchocolate treats, particularly chews and pops that last longer, would work better. Those candies typically list some form of sugar first; they also are usually lower in calories (and saturated fat), so you can allow yourself more of them throughout the day.

As for how many days you decide to indulge, I suggest setting a limit: Either enjoy some candy on Halloween and the day after, or budget 100 calories a day for, say, a week. If you trust yourself enough, you could even set aside some candy to dip into once a week for the next month.

I've scoured a lot of candy packages lately, and I highly recommend you read the nutrition facts and ingredient lists for the candies you choose. One suggestion: Don't fool yourself into thinking those containing nuts or fruit are nutritious or otherwise good for you. Candy is candy and should play a limited role in your diet.

When you eat chocolate, you're consuming fat and the extra calories fat imparts. Some bars are more worth that concession than others.

You can eat one two-piece snack size Kit Kat bar for 70 calories, 30 of them from fat. Or you could choose a Reese's peanut-butter cup for 110 calories, 50 of them from fat. I'd take the Reese's cup, because its first ingredient is milk chocolate and its second is peanuts (before sugar, dextrose, salt and preservatives). Kit Kat's ingredient list starts with sugar, then wheat flour. (Allergy alert! People with gluten intolerance or celiac disease should read labels extra carefully. You'd be surprised how many candies contain wheat.) You don't get to the main event, chocolate, until the fifth ingredient.

The first ingredient in a Baby Ruth bar is sugar, then roasted peanuts, then corn syrup. The bars also contain hydrogenated palm kernel and coconut oil; these count as trans fats, which are bad for your cardiovascular system. Ingredient No. 7 is cocoa, right after high-fructose corn syrup. A Snickers bar lists milk chocolate as its first ingredient and peanuts second. Next on the list is corn syrup, followed by sugar. Because ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, if I'm in the mood for chocolate, I'd rather see it listed first than seventh. For me, a Snickers bar is the most satisfying of mainstream candies, so why waste calories on anything less?

Think that coconut in Mounds and Almond Joy makes those bars healthful? Think again. The first ingredient in each is corn syrup, and a single bar has 80 calories, half from fat. Each supplies a gram of dietary fiber, which is not enough to do you any good, and no different from many other bars.

Some chocolate-coated candies are low in fat. A serving of Raisinets has about 63 calories and about 23 from fat, which the package represents as “30 percent less fat than the leading chocolate brands.” But don't be swayed by the package note that calls Raisinets “a natural source of fruit antioxidants.” Yes, raisins contain some antioxidant vitamins, but not enough to show up on the Nutrition Facts panel. Vitamin A and vitamin C values are listed as zero. Junior Mints and York Peppermint Patties score well in the low-fat category. An 18-gram box of Junior Mints has 80 calories, 15 from fat. The first ingredient is sugar, the second semisweet chocolate, the third corn syrup. A 14-gram Peppermint Patty has 50 calories, more than 8 from fat, but corn syrup comes ahead of semisweet chocolate, and after sugar, on the ingredient list. It also contains egg whites (allergy alert!).

Nonchocolate treats are mostly gobs of sugar. But they're generally lower in fat and calories than chocolate-centric items. A 14-gram serving of strawberry Twizzlers has 43 calories, only about 3 of them from fat. The ingredient list starts with corn syrup, enriched wheat flour and sugar. Starburst are not only lower in fat, but each is fortified with Vitamin C. Those servings each deliver just over 10 percent of your daily value for that nutrient.

You really have to be a sugar fiend to want to waste calories on SweeTarts or Smarties. A serving of either has 50 calories and no fat, but there's nothing particularly satisfying among the mostly sugar ingredients.

If you're a fan of candy corn, buy it in trick-or-treat-ready packages for portion control: A 15-gram pouch has about 50 calories and no fat. Of course, it's nothing but sugar and salt. The honey on the ingredient list may sound healthful, but it's nutritionally no different from any other sugar.

My top choice among the low-fat options? The Tootsie Pop, hands down. A single pop has 60 calories and no fat. Sure, it's the same mix of sugar, corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oil you see elsewhere. Tootsie Pops also contain whey (allergy allert!). But it takes a long time to eat (unless you're one of those people who bites through to the filling), and there's that rewarding Tootsie Roll treat at the end.

Crunching the candy calorie numbers

<p>Almond Joy 80 calories, 40 from fat</p>

<p>Candy corn 50 calories, 0 from fat</p>

<p>Hershey bar 66 calories, 33 from fat</p>

<p>Junior Mints 80 calories, 15 from fat</p>

<p>Kit Kat bar 70 calories, 30 from fat</p>

<p>Mounds 80 calories, 40 from fat</p>

<p>Nestle's Crunch 60 calories, 30 from fat</p>

<p>Peanut M&M's 90 calories, 45 from fat</p>

<p>Plain M&M's 73 calories, 30 from fat</p>

<p>Raisinets 63 calories, 23 from fat</p>

<p>Reese's 110 calories, 50 from fat</p>

<p>Starburst 60 calories, 11 from fat</p>

<p>Snickers 80 calories, 35 from fat</p>

<p>Skittles 60 calories, 7 from fat</p>

<p>Smarties 50 calories, 0 from fat</p>

<p>Starburst 60 calories, 11 from fat</p>

<p>Tootsie Pops 60 calories, 0 from fat</p>

<p>Twizzlers 43 calories, 3 from fat

Figures based on snack-size portions</p>