With Halloween, sweets are doubly appreciated by children, young and old. And the most popular sweets are those that sting and are tangy like “Haribo Pik, Carambar Atomic and the famous Têtes Brûlées”, specifies Angélique Houlbert, dietician, nutritionist, writer and co-author of the book The right choice at the supermarket.
“What gives them this acidity in the sweetsThose are citric, malic and tartaric acids. So there is a small warning that should be noted on the packaging since in fact, already in 2001, an opinion from Afssa, it is the former Food Safety Agency, indicated that their high consumption and prolonged by young children modified the pH of the saliva”, also indicates Angélique Houlbert without forgetting that this “increases the risk of cavities and the risk of demineralization of tooth enamel“.
As for gelatin that can be found in sweets, it is edible gelatin, which in the vast majority of cases comes from the skin of pigs. “I assure you, we do not sacrifice them to obtain gelatin. In fact, it is this same gelatin that you may be taking when you swallow drugs or food supplements which are in the form of soft capsules”, illustrates Angélique Houlbert.
And for organic sweets, pork gelatin is replaced by vegetable gelling agents, such as “fruit pectin or agar-agar”.
Avoid candy with synthetic flavors
You have to pay attention to the sweets “who bring artificial colors and synthetic flavors. Me, I always used to say if you don’t understand a word in the list of ingredients, you leave the package on the shelf”, summarizes the nutritionist.
And the sweets that are less bad for your health “are those that have no artificial coloring, no synthetic coloring or flavorings”. “Little marshmallows covered in chocolate, Lutti’s Koalasthat’s great, organic Kremas are also impeccable, just like at Haribo, the Rotellaswhich have a natural aroma of star anise”, illustrates Angélique Houlbert. You can also buy “small fries, small tongues that sting at Super U“.
“Studies have shown that the more color there is in the package, the more candy you eat. Dragibus, M&m’s, Smarties”, analyzes the nutritionist.
You should avoid eating sweets outside of meals.
Sweets are still “real little sugar bombs” recalls Angélique Houlbert. “You just need to eat about nine Tagada d’Haribo strawberries to exceed the threshold of free sugars which is strongly recommended by the WHO, i.e. 25 grams per day. And this threshold, it has been lowered precisely to fight against overweight, diabetes and cavities”, she specifies.
The other problem with sweetsis that we will find sugar derivatives in it such as “glucose-fructose syrup, invert sugar syrup and glucose syrup (…) And that has a much more marked impact on the blood glucose levels, therefore, that is, these sugars they will go raise blood sugar much more importantly than the sugar itself”.
“We are used to saying that these sugars (from candy, editor’s note) have a very high glycemic index. That’s why you shouldn’t eat candy outside of meals, but rather at the end of lunch or dinner to limit their impact”, concludes Angélique Houlbert.
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