Most of us grew up eating some of the most popular candy one can think of; snickers, reeses, M&Ms and many more. Most of us, especially as children, never really thought about what was in any of this candy. Mostly, we assumed whatever is edible should also be OK to eat. Well, the truth is that it is not ok to eat. I mean, sure, you can eat it and you won’t die from it. However, the studies are now coming to light that the artificial dyes, high fructose corn syrup and natural flavors are extremely harmful to people, especially children who are still developing mentally and physically.
I can’t consciously buy candy with artificial dyes, high fructose syrup or natural flavors anymore for my child or anyone else’s child. Here are my reasons why;
- High Fructose Corn Syrup can contribute to obesity and digestive health. Like any other sugar, it’s highly addictive
- Studies have found that artificial dyes adversely affect kid’s behavior. Britain includes warnings for any candy that includes dyes such as Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6
- “Natural Flavors” are typically highly processed chemicals and additives
- Soy Lecithin is known to possibly increase the risk of cancer, infertility and may affect immature brain cells.
As a candy addict myself, I used to eat Reeses daily and snack on candy between classes at the gym. Literally, I mean SNACK on it. Again, I didn’t ever drink a lot of water either. (It’s amazing I have survived this long.) Anyway, I have learned so much about the products of food and candy, that I now seek out anything that actively moves away from fake sugar, dye, soy lecithin and other harmful ingredients. Mostly, I rarely eat any name brand candy at this point. At the same time, I defiantly still enjoy candy on occasion. I am just WAY more selective about the brands I choose. It’s even a thrill for me to find brands I have never heard of before and try them out.
I don’t want my child or other children consuming artificial flavors or colors. I want change, so I vote with my money. One in thirteen kids have food allergies and all of these options I have found over the years better accommodate all children and are completely transparent in ingredients.
- Ocho
- Hu Kitchen
- Justin’s
- Yum Earth
- Unreal
- Torie and Howard
- Black Forest
This year, Halloween will be different. It may be pretty much non-existent. However, it’s a trend to buy a big bag of candy for the kids and usually it’s the cheapest stuff which is the most popular brands of candy full of junk ingredients. I encourage everyone to start making these changes now. Introduce your children to candy that is enjoyable and isn’t ultimately harmful to them. The more we purchase these brands, the more impact on the industry we will have to convince all companies to omit these harmful ingredients and help create healthier products for all of us to enjoy.
With love.
LAB
the clean collaborative 