Can Candy Be Healthy?

Wednesday, May 9, 2007 - by Michelle

The news is everywhere, and it sounds too good to be true. Chocolate is a miracle food. It contains the same heart-healthy ingredients as red wine. It stimulates the pleasure centers of the brain. It’s better than kissing, if you believe a study concocted by British scientists. Why is all this coming out now? Chocolate has been eaten for centuries, why the switch from treat to health food?

Maybe we just want our simple pleasures vindicated. I grew up in a family where eating candy held no stigma. My parents’ “candy stash” wasn’t hidden from my curious eyes. Then again, I could never quite sneak past the intense gaze of my mother, and she was perfectly willing to share a candy bar with me, provided I’d eaten my veggies first. For me, there were no reprecussions for indulging in sweets, but I can imagine the utter embarrassment of someone finding out about your candy stash, since now I have to keep one of my own.

Something that we’ve hidden from others, that’s been treated as a “vice” or an “indulgence”, is suddenly seen as good and positive. We have backpacker’s chocolate, which won’t melt on those long rockclimbing trips, and high-fiber, low-fat candy bars. There’s no better time to be a candy lover than right now.

As candymakers compete for more market share, they’re much more willing to take risks. Consumers are always looking for something new and different, so now we get chocolate mixed in with coffee beans or chile peppers, and limited edition Kit Kats and Hershey’s Kisses. Artisan candy shops are making a comeback, and single-origin chocolate shows that a candy piece can be as unique as the finest wines.

Why all the fuss? It might have to do with the Sleeper Curve. This term was coined by author Steven Johnson in his book Everything Bad is Good For You. Taking inspiration from the Woody Allen movie Sleeper (which depicts a future where cream pies and hot fudge are considered health foods), Johnson argues that as society evolves, our perceptions of what is considered bad will change. This seems to be what’s happening here, with the “healthifying” of candy.

So can candy be healthy and still be considered candy? I’m not sure. Part of the fun of eating candy is that it’s something you’re not supposed to do, and some of that illicit thrill is lost when you realize that eating it has health benefits. Let’s face it; given the choice between a bowl of brussel sprouts and a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, I’ll gravitate towards the Reese’s.

And anyway, no scientist has ever figured out that eating vegetables is better than kissing.