Top 4 Candies To Avoid This Halloween in Illinois

Halloween fun is just around the corner in Illinois, and before you start loading your grocery cart with candy, here are fours candies experts say you should leave on the shelf.

Illinois' Favorite Halloween Candy

I love the Halloween season and handing candy out to neighborhood families on Halloween night, but for me, the candy buying task is serious business.

When I do my normal grocery shopping, I tend to favor store brand products to save money, but that penny-pinching behavior flies out the window when it comes to candy.

I will NOT buy the cheapest candy on the shelf.

I will NOT buy an candy corn or those nasty black and orange peanut butter kisses.

I WILL buy a mix of chocolate candies like Snickers, Butterfingers, Kit Kats, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, and I WILL buy some non-chocolate crowd favorites like Skittles and Sour Patch Kids.

Basically, I only buy MY favorite candies with the hopes we have some leftover. (Judge me if you want to, LOL)

If you want to be a crowd-pleaser this Halloween, new surveys are saying that Kit Kats are Illinois' favorite candy, followed by Sour Patch Kids and Twizzlers, so you better grab those now while you still can.

4 of the Worst Halloween Candies to Buy

Now that we know what candy Illinoisans prefer most in 2024, here's where I flip the script and share the worst candies to buy for Halloween.

According to experts, (and by experts I mean dentists), here are 4 worst candies to buy anytime of the year:

1. Chewy Candies - Dentists say chewy candies stay in your mouth longer and the bacteria in your mouth burns sugar and turns it into acid which is not good for your teeth.

2. Caramel - Obviously, caramel candies are very sticky, and it can be difficult to get it off teeth, and especially braces, retainers, etc.

3. Sour Candies - You know the Sour Patch Kids that everyone loves due to their sour outer shell and chewy middle? They're basically a double-whammy of horrible for your teeth.

4. Hard Candy - Trick-or-treaters love suckers and lollipops for their taste and longevity, but the longer sugar stays in your mouth, the worse it is for your teeth.

I guess the moral of this story is, most of our favorite candies are horrible for our teeth, but at least chocolate isn't on the no-fly list!

I say, suck the lollipops and chew the Sour Patch Kids...just don't forget to brush your teeth extra good after you're done!