What’s So Bad About Gummy Candy?

What’s so bad about gummy candy?  Well, it’s not the gelatin.

I posted a picture on Facebook not long ago that got some interesting reactions.  Not exactly the reactions I was expecting.  It was a picture of a huge pile of carcasses being pushed around by a front loader next to a picture of gummy candy.

Kind of gross and in your face, right?  Makes you not want to eat gummy candy anymore, right?

This picture was floating around Facebook with various captions but most of them implied that gummy candies are bad because of the gelatin in them.

Here’s the thing.  The worst thing about gummy candies is not the fact that they are made with gelatin that comes from bones, skin and cartilage of animals but rather the other junk found in them.  I’d argue that that is the ONLY thing remotely good about gummy candies is the gelatin. 

What makes gummy candies bad is not the gelatin (which happens to be a good source of protein and a good use of leftovers in my opinion).  It’s everything else in these candies that is bad.

I simply find it disturbing that so many are ok with all the other ingredients but get grossed out about the one natural, good ingredient.  Are we so far removed from our food that we can’t accept gelatin comes from animals?  If you’re going to mad about gummy candies, be mad about what’s really bad in them.

This is the list of ingredients in a popular gummy candy:

Ingredients: corn syrup, sugar, citric acid and lactic acid, gelatin, fumaric acid, natural and artificial flavor and artificial color — yellow 5, blue 1, red 40, yellow 6 and titanium dioxide.

Every other ingredient on this list (beside maybe citric, lactic and fumaric acid) are things you don’t want in your body.  Gummy candies are not bad because they are made from the leftover carcasses of animals but because of the other ingredients in them.

Corn Syrup and Sugar

Do I need to go over the health risks of eating too much sugar?  If you need a refresher about why, check out Sean from Underground Wellness video.

Food Coloring (namely yellow #5 and Red #40)

These food additives are actually banned by many governments but still allowed in the US.  They are linked to hyperactivity in children and contain carcinogenic compounds. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eatingwell/food-dyes-candy-health-risks-halloween_b_764623.html

Make Good Gummies Yourself!

Now rather than buy these for yourself or your children, try making them.  These Gummy Stars from Mommypotamus.  Seriously, they only take 5 mins to put together.

**A note regarding the big pile of carcasses.  I am all about the ethical treatment off animals and sustainable farming methods.  Let’s just pretend these were grass fed cows who led happy lives.  I’m sure these are probably CAFO cattle but that’s not my point here.  Also, this post is in no way meant to be an attack on veg*ns at all.  If you are going to be veg*n, please don’t be a candy-etarian or cake-etarian. And be mad about the other crap ingredients too!