10 Low-Sugar Candy Options to Try When You’re Craving Something Sweet

You’re craving something small and sweet, and no, a handful of raisins isn’t going to cut it this time. You want candy and you want it stat. But you also know that downing a whole bag of sour gummi worms, while extraordinarily tempting, won’t leave you satisfied in an hour or two. Is it possible to have the best of both worlds? Sure, if you swap your usual snack for something smarter. Here, ten low-sugar candy options to try (plus what a nutritionist thinks about “healthy candy”).

Meet the Experts:

Vanessa Rissetto is a registered dietician and the CEO and co-founder of Culina Health, a virtual nutrition platform powered by registered dietitians.

When it comes to considering low-sugar foods in your diet, a little context in the form of recommended daily intake (RDI) can be very helpful. So how much sugar is the average adult supposed to be consuming anyway? The answer is a bit more complicated than you think—namely because the only hard and fast recommendations you’ll find relate to added sugars, which are considered more sinister for your health than the natural sugars found in dairy and whole, raw fruits and vegetables. According to registered dietician Vanessa Rissetto, paying attention to these added sugars is a good place to start when evaluating your own sugar intake.

Per the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, no more than ten percent of your daily caloric intake should come from added sugars (for a diet of 2,000 calories per day, that’s 200 calories or 50 grams of sugar daily). But the American Heart Association has more conservative guidelines, recommending an upper limit of 100 calories or 24 grams of added sugar per day for most women, and 150 calories or 36 grams for men. And when we asked Rissetto for her advice, she cited the same parameters as the AHA.

Unlike added sugars, which contain calories but no essential nutrients, the natural sugars found in fruits and veggies are a very different story. There are no upper limits on their consumption—namely because they are often good sources of dietary fiber and nutrients, and are processed by the body very differently than added sugars. As such, aim to eat natural sugars in place of added sugars whenever you can. And because we know you’re wondering: You don’t need to worry about eating *too* much fruit. Sure, it’s technically possible to get too much of a good thing, but according to the experts at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, you’d have to try really hard to achieve a problematic level of sugar consumption from fruit alone.

The TL;DR? Steer clear of added sugar, but don’t sweat the natural stuff found in fruits, vegetables and dairy. And if you have diabetes, remember that the most important thing is to monitor your blood glucose levels according to your doctor’s instructions, because those can be influenced by a variety of foods (including fruit) and they’re a very big deal for your health.

TBH, “low-sugar candy” sounds a bit too good to be true…and that’s because it kinda is. No candy is going to be good for you, but it’s more about making smart choices than depriving yourself of a treat every now and then. So while we wouldn’t call low-sugar candy “healthy,” we say it’s fine to indulge (and probably a better snack than that bag of sour gummi worms).

Per Rissetto, dark chocolate tends to be lower in sugar, making it a smart choice for your sweet tooth. “Many candy companies do have low sugar or sugar-free options,” she explains, “but they tend to have artificial sweeteners in them.” That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but anyone who’s tasted sugar substitutes knows that they’re not without, well, an aftertaste. “That being said,” she continues, “you can find the ones that you like best and stick with those.”

_{Katherine Gillen is PureWow’s senior food editor. She’s a writer, recipe developer and food stylist with a degree in culinary arts and professional experience in New York City restaurants. She used to sling sugary desserts in a pastry kitchen, but now she’s an avid home cook and fanatic baker.}