Health & Beauty Pic: Halloween Candy!

I'm a big believer in allowing yourself to indulge in some sweets from time to time. Completely depriving yourself from something you enjoy will drive you nuts. So, for someone that likes to tickle their sweet tooth with some Halloween candy, here are comparisons of popular candies to help you make a smart choice for your Halloween indulgence courtesy of HealthCastle.com:
PayDay beats Reese's Peanut Butter Cups: Reese's Cups contain polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR), a commercial emulsifier used to reduce cocoa butter. Plus, PayDay is the only candy to list peanuts, not sugar, as the first ingredient.

Kit Kat beats Twix: They're similar in calories and sugar (and both include PGPR), but Twix’s ingredient list is surprisingly long. Even more surprising? Twix is marketed as a biscuit topped with caramel and chocolate, but there’s no caramel on the ingredient list.

M&M's beat Skittles: Both contestants in this classic Halloween showdown contain artificial colorings and wax. But M&M's at least offer a tiny amount of calcium and protein, and less sugar.

Baby Ruth beats Snickers: There's no real winner here – Snickers has partially hydrogenated oil, and Baby Ruth has high-fructose corn syrup and the preservative TBHQ. Snickers loses out simply because the portion is larger, leaving room for more calories.

Mounds beats Almond Joy: Mounds has a shorter ingredient list, and skips the partially hydrogenated oil found in Almond Joy.

3 Musketeers beats Hershey Milk Chocolate:The Hershey bar has that sneaky PGPR, while 3 Musketeers was unique among the candies surveyed in actually including real cocoa powder.

Whoppers beat Milk Duds: Milk Duds will stick to your teeth, so they're a no-no for anyone with dental issues. Plus, the smaller Whoppers serving saves some calories.

**These comparisons are courtesy of dietitian Gloria Tsang, author of the new bookGo UnDiet: 50 Small Actions for Lasting Weight Lossand founder of nutrition networkHealthCastle.com.