Candy bars are available everywhere, from office vending machines to gas station checkout counters to the most exclusive candy shops. If you have a sweet tooth, the pull of candy bars can be hard to resit. However, some candy bars, especially chocolate bars, can actually be good for you, if eaten in moderation. A little information will enable you to make the best choice for your healthy lifestyle.
Types
Hundreds of candy bars are out there, with no official method for classifying them. However, it is possible to think of them in terms of their ingredients, calling them "plain" if they include only one ingredient, and "mixed" if they contain more than one. A milk chocolate candy bar, without nuts or cookie bits, would be considered a "plain" candy bar, while a candy bar made from peanuts, caramel and chocolate would be considered a mixed candy bar.
Selection
Given the number of candy bars that exist, it is not possible to report calories for all of them. However, a sampling may provide a general idea of the calories they contain. Plain chocolate candy bars tend to have the fewest calories. For example, one popular plain milk chocolate candy bar contains 110 calories, 13 g of fat, and 24 g of sugar. Another bar, identical in every way except that it contains almonds, contains 210 calories, 14 g of fat, and 19 g of sugar.
Benefits
While chocolate was once considered a "bad" food, that is no longer the case. Chocolate, especially dark chocolate made with a high percentage of cocoa, contains flavonoids, powerful antioxidants that help fight cancer, keep your brain healthy and prevent liver damage, according to Selene Yeager's "The Doctor's Book of Food Remedies." Nutritionist Ellie Krieger recommends that to get the most out of your chocolate, you choose brands that state the percentage of cacao on the label; aim for at least 60 percent.
Considerations
Though chocolate contains healthy antioxidants, candy bars are not exactly health food. The fat content in one milk chocolate with almonds bar is a whopping 22 percent of the daily value for total fat and 30 percent of the daily value for saturated fat. You can enjoy chocolate without overdosing on fat by choosing the highest quality chocolate you can afford and eating a small portion -- about 1 oz. per day -- slowly. If you can't limit yourself to a small amount each day, you can have a large portion, as long as you only do so once in a while.
Warning
Candy bars can be dangerous to people with food allergies. Milk, peanuts and tree nuts, often used in candy bars, are on the Food and Drug Administration's list of eight allergens responsible for 90 percent of all food allergies. Fortunately, federal law requires products containing these ingredients to display a warning on the ingredient list. If you have an allergy, read labels and make sure to ask about food allergies before offering candy bars to others.
References
- "The Food You Crave"; Ellie Krieger; 2008
- "The Doctor's Book of Food Remedies"; Selene Yeager; 2006
- FDA: Food Allergies--What you Need to Know
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