Do You Know How Much Sugar is in Halloween Candy?

And Other Popular Things Your Kids Eat and Drink 

If you visualize sugar by teaspoons rather than grams (they are listed in grams on the manufactures ingredients), then you can get a better understanding of really how much sugar is in Halloween candy and anything else. First, we will share some of the crazy amounts of sugar in items consumed by many children and adults daily, then we will share how you can figure out this easily for yourself.

The most popular candies eaten on Halloween:

Skittles, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, M & M’s, Snickers, Starbursts, Candy Corn, Tootsie Pops, Sour Patch Kids, Hershey’s Kisses, Jollie Ranchers, Butterfinger, Milky Way, Twix, Nerds, Smarties, Kit Kat Bars, Tootsie Rolls, Whoppers, 3 Musketeers, Almond Joy, Life Savers

So how much sugar is in Halloween Candy and other popular food items you and your kids eat? 

1. Normal size Snicker’s bar has 27 grams of sugar = 6.75  teaspoons of sugar
2. Normal size Butterfinger bar = 27.5 grams of sugar = 6.87 teaspoons of sugar
3. Mini Snicker (3 pieces) has 14 grams of sugar = 3.5 teaspoons of sugar
4. Candy Corn (15 pieces) 22 grams of sugar = 5.5 teaspoons of sugar
5. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup (2 in a pack) – 22 grams of sugar = 5.5 teaspoons of sugar
6. M&M’s  – ¼ cup = 27 grams of sugar = 6.75 teaspoons of sugar
7. Yoplait Original yogurt strawberry 19 grams of sugar = 4.75 tsp of sugar
8. Granola Bar (Nature Valley Oats & Honey) 11 grams of sugar = 2.75 tsp of sugar
9. 1 % cows milk (1 cup) is 13 grams = 3.25 grams of sugar
10. Oreo Cookies (Regular) 1 cookie (who only eats one?) = 6.6 grams of sugar = 1.65 tsp of sugar
11. Mac & Cheese Original box (servings 3) is 6 grams of sugar per serving = 1.5 teaspoons of sugar but that is before you add your own milk to the mix. If you eat the whole box (many people do), that is 4.5 teaspoons of sugar plus the sugar from whatever type of milk you use. If you use ¼ cup of 1% milk to make the box, that is another 3.25 grams of sugar = approx 1 tsp more of sugar 

Did you know that the American Heart Association recommends children between the ages of 2-18 eat less than 6 teaspoons of sugar per day? 

If you eat one Snickers bar you’ve had all the sugar you should eat for the entire day. If you drink half a Dr. Pepper, you are already over your daily limit. The average kid eats 20 or more teaspoons of sugar per day and the average adult eats 19 teaspoons a day. Now you can easily see why obesity and diabetes is skyrocketing. The AHA recommends that kids should drink no more than 8 oz of sugar-sweetened drinks ONCE A WEEK! That’s half a can of Dr. Pepper no more than once a week. The AHA also recommends that children under the age of 2 have absolutely NO added sugar in any food or drinks. 

How can you figure out the teaspoon amount of sugar in any product? 

It’s pretty easy. First, find the listed amount of sugar grams in the ingredient list. Divide that by 4, which will equal the amount of sugar in teaspoons. 

Be Aware of Serving Size and How That Affects the Amount of Sugar

Many products will list 2 or more servings on an item to make the sugar content look less. They’re hoping you don’t pay attention to that fact. You will need to take the number of sugar grams listed and multiply it by the serving size. Then divide by 4 to get your correct teaspoons of sugar. If the serving size is 2 and it has 3 grams of sugar per serving size. Multiply it by 2 if you drink the whole bottle in one day (2 x 3= 6). Then divide your answer by 4 = 1.5 teaspoons of sugar.

How Much Sugar is in Popular Drinks that Kids and Teens Down Every Day?

1. Dr. Pepper (20 fl oz) 64 grams of sugar = 16 teaspoons of sugar!
2. Coke (12 oz can) 39 grams of sugar = 9.75 tsp sugar
3. Lemonade (8 oz) 25 grams of sugar = 6.25 tsp sugar
4. Gatorade (Fruit Punch Thirst Quencher 591 ml bottle) has 34 grams of sugar = 8.5 tsp sugar
5. Starbucks White Mocha Frappuccino (Grande 16 oz) 64 grams of sugar = 16 tsp sugar
6. Hi-C (6 oz drink box) 10 grams of sugar = 2.5 tsp sugar
7. Hawaiian Punch (8 oz) has 14 grams of sugar = 3.5 tsp sugar
8. SunnyD (8 oz) has 14 grams of sugar = 3.5 tsp sugar
9. Capri Sun (1 pouch of Fruit Punch) has 13 grams of sugar = 3.25 tsp sugar 
10. Dannon Danimals (1 bottle Strawberry Explosion Smoothie) 9 grams = 2.25 tsp sugar

It is a great time to make an appointment after Halloween is over to have your kids, grandkids, and your own teeth checked and cleaned.