Need an Excuse to Eat That Halloween Candy? We Can Help

Leftover Halloween candy? Don’t feel guilty about eating it — at least some of it.

Reader’s Digest has some pretty good excuses to eat certain candy. Check out these health benefits:

• Dark chocolate has antioxidants that “help prevent heart disease, lift your mood, and can even protect your skin against harmful UV rays.” Just try to keep it under an ounce per day.
• Chewing gum can reduce stress and increase alertness, researchers at Swinburne University in Australia have found.
• When your blood sugar level drops, you lose focus and willpower. A sugary snack can help restore it, although the best options (with protein or high-quality carbs) aren’t necessarily candy.
• Chocolate-covered raisins, despite being covered in chocolate, are still raisins! They provide health benefits through antioxidants and fiber.

Fitness Magazine has even more candy advice:

• Eat candy with nuts. It contains “a variety of nutrients and healthy fats that may displace some of the total chocolate, sugar, etc.”
• Skip the white chocolate, which contains no cocoa and has extra fat and sugar from the milk content.
• A 3 Musketeers is a good, lower-calorie and lower-fat alternative to many candy bars.
• If you like chewy candy, opt for taffy-like options over caramel. Caramel has more saturated fat.
• Among the seven varieties of Hershey’s Kisses, the gold-wrapper variety (funnily enough, caramel) has the least fat.

What’s your favorite healthy candy? Comment below or on our Facebook page.