Enjoying candy doesn't have to be a guilt-ridden affair. With some knowledge and mindfulness, you can savor your favorite treats while maintaining your health goals.
Balance and Moderation: A Guiding Principle
Before diving into our second round of this year’s Candy Battles, we want to review an important principle to remember this holiday season: balance and moderation. While indulging without restraint is tempting, enjoying candy in moderation as part of a balanced diet is the best way to support your health and well-being.
The foundation of a healthy diet is balance. Balance means eating various nutrient-rich foods that provide your body with the essential vitamins, minerals, and energy it needs to thrive, plus making mindful choices to enjoy the occasional sweet treat without compromising your overall nutrition.
One of the most important things to consider when incorporating candy into a healthy lifestyle is the practice of mindfulness. Rather than reaching for candy out of boredom or in response to emotional triggers, consider tuning in to your body's hunger and cravings.
Mindful eating means being aware of what your body truly needs. Before indulging in a sweet treat, ask yourself if you're genuinely hungry or eating to self-soothe in response to some emotional distress. If it's genuine hunger or a specific craving, by all means, enjoy your candy in moderation, savoring each bite.
Skittles vs. M&Ms Overview
In the second round, it's Skittles vs. M&Ms!
Skittles
First up is Skittles, known for its rainbow-colored candies. Skittles contain various additives, colorings, and even hydrogenated fats. They are high in sugar, with a whopping 45 grams per standard package.
Too much added sugar too often can cause rapid spikes in your blood glucose levels, which requires your body to produce more insulin, eventually leading to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
M&Ms
Now, let's meet the other contender: classic M&Ms. While these candy-coated chocolates are a fan favorite, they also have some drawbacks. They contain artificial food dyes and flavorings. Similar to Skittles, M&Ms come in many varieties and flavors. One of the best varieties of this candy is the peanut M&Ms. These specific M&Ms will have more protein and calcium than their plain counterparts.
Spooky Success
M&Ms won this battle with a TKO! Both candies have their drawbacks, but M&Ms take the victory with their peanut variety’s protein content and the lower sugar content of their fun-size pack, making them a better choice for your sweet tooth.
Pro Tip: Load Up on Veggies
Vegetables are essential in keeping blood sugars stable. They are nutrient-dense, which means they are high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals in relation to their low-calorie intake. Fiber slows the absorption of carbohydrates, leading to the ideal slower rise and fall of glucose levels.
Before enjoying your dessert or indulging in candy, try eating fiber-rich vegetables to curb your blood sugar spikes. Not a fan of the green stuff? Check out some of these interesting ways to include vegetables in your diet.
FAQs
M&Ms won this battle with a TKO! Both candies have their drawbacks, but M&Ms take the victory with their peanut variety's protein content and the lower sugar content of their fun-size pack, making them a better choice for your sweet tooth.
Does the Skittles experiment work with M&Ms? ›
Plus, the Skittles dissolved completely whereas only the coating dissolved on the M&M's. Watching the “S” and “m” separate from the candies and float up was pretty cool too!
Why are Skittles better than M&M's? ›
Skittles as a candy are more hardy and rugged than your average M&M. Have you ever gone camping and brought along trail mix that is said to include “M&M's”? You will soon find that throughout your long, arduous journey your M&M's will have broken and turned to a melted sticky mess built for ants.
What came first, Skittles or M&M's? ›
Furthermore, M&M first hit the market in 1941 and the idea for M&M's came from Forrest Mars, when he saw Spanish soldiers in the civil war eating small chocolate candies that did not melt. Subsequently, Skittles candy was first launched in 1974, decades after M&M's were.
Which candy has the highest sugar? ›
Nerds Candy ranks as the candy with the highest sugar quantity, with a substantial 93g of sugar per 100g.
Are Skittles the most unhealthy candy? ›
"This seasonal favorite might make trick-or-treaters hesitate, as it ranks among the candies with the highest sugar content per serving, with 23g of sugar in a recommended 30g portion." Skittles rounds out the top five on the list, with 73 grams of sugar per 100 grams of product.
What is the S on a Skittle made of? ›
The S in skittles is made with edible ink! Edible Ink is made out of water, glycerin, ethanol (a small amount for glycerin bonding to the coloring) and colorant that is FDA approved. These materials are blended together to create edible print ink!
Which dissolves faster, Skittles or M&Ms? ›
The color seems to come off the Skittle a little faster than from the M&M but the colored coating dissolves from both. Do you think the candy coating on an M&M and Skittles are made from similar ingredients? Yes. They are probably both made from sugar and coloring because they seem to dissolve in a similar way.
Why does the S on Skittles float? ›
The letters on the M&M or Skittles candy do not dissolve in water and are adhered to the candy with an edible glue that dissolves in warm water. Since the letters are less dense than water, the letters peel off and float as the rest of the candy shell dissolves.
Which sells more Skittles or M&Ms? ›
On average, Skittles and Reese's Cups have sold more than 3 million pounds annually over the last decade, while M&M's have sold about 2.7 million.
Skittles were originally called Glees when they were first manufactured in the UK in the 1960s. Now, they're the number one non-chocolate confectionary in the US, and are made in Illinois by Mars Wrigley.
Do M and M own Skittles? ›
Mars is a company known for the confectionery items that it manufactures, such as Mars bars, 3 Musketeers, Milky Way bars, M&Ms, Skittles, Snickers, Twix, and Bounty (chocolate bar) .
What's the oldest candy bar still around? ›
Fry & Sons and currently manufactured by Cadbury. Launched in 1866—nineteen years after Fry's created the first moulded, solid chocolate eating bar (in 1847)— Fry's Chocolate Cream is the first mass-produced chocolate bar and is the world's oldest chocolate bar brand.
What is the oldest M&M color? ›
The original colors of M&M's candies were red, yellow, violet, green and brown. Violet was discontinued and replaced with tan in the late 1940s.
Why is there no purple M&M? ›
Pop open a bag of M&M's today, and the results are apparent. We're not surprised that blue beat out purple (just barely in fact, with a whopping 54% of the vote). Since the color vote in 1995, they've had the same colors we know and love, which means no purple.
Are Skittles high in sugar? ›
Skittles contains 830 calories per 205 g serving. This serving contains 9 g of fat, 0.4 g of protein and 186 g of carbohydrate. The latter is 155 g sugar and 0 g of dietary fiber, the rest is complex carbohydrate.
How much sugar are in M&M's? ›
Candies, M&M MARS, "M&M's" Peanut Chocolate Candies, 1 pieces
| Protein (g) | 1.89 |
|---|
| Total lipid (fat) (g) | 5.25 |
| Carbohydrate, by difference (g) | 12.09 |
| Energy (kcal) | 103.2 |
| Sugars, total (g) | 10.15 |
34 more rowsIf you have diabetes, you can still eat candy. But you should consider limiting your sugar intake, eating it in moderation, and implementing your diet with nutritious food choices.
What is the best hard candy for low blood sugar? ›
Skittles or gumdrops are patient favorites, but some people prefer a hard candy like Lifesavers, or a chewy sweet like Twizzlers or Starbursts. See the product label for how much of a serving you need to get to 15 grams of carbs.
