Candy Comparisons: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

As the treat of choice for the Halloween season, candy is on many minds.

But dietitian Gloria Tsang says not all candies are created equal — even if they look and taste similar.

Tsang is uthor of the new book Go UnDiet: 50 Small Actions for Lasting Weight Loss. She's also the founder of nutrition network HealthCastle.com. She says  choosing the right candy can reduce the health impact of your kid's trick-or-treat haul.

"With big differences in calories, sugar and quality of ingredients used, it's just not true that all Halloween candy is the same," Tsang said in a news release. "None of them are exactly good for you, but we've done some close analysis of common competitors to see which options are best from a nutrition perspective."

Here are the winners and losers of HealthCastle.com's candy comparison:

PayDay vs. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups: PayDay is the winner. Reese Cups contain polyglycerol polyricinoleate, a commercial emulsifier used to reduce cocoa butter. Plus, PayDay is the only candy to list peanuts, not sugar, as the first ingredient.

Kit Kat vs. Twix: Kit Kat is the winner. They're similar in calories and sugar (and both include PGPR), but Twix’s ingredients list is surprisingly long. Even more surprising? Twix is marketed as a biscuit topped with caramel and chocolate, but there’s no caramel on the ingredient list.

M&M's vs. Skittles: M&Ms are the winner. Both contestants in this classic Halloween showdown contain artificial colorings and wax. M&Ms at least offer a tiny amount of calcium and protein, and less sugar.

Baby Ruth vs. Snickers: There's no real winner here — Snickers has partially hydrogenated oil, Baby Ruth has high-fructose corn syrup, and the preservative TBHQ. Snickers loses out simply because the portion is larger, leaving room for more calories.

Almond Joy vs. Mounds: Mounds is the winner. Mounds has a shorter ingredient list and skips the partially hydrogenated oil found in Almond Joy.

3 Musketeers vs. Hershey Milk Chocolate: 3 Musketeers wins. The Hershey bar has that sneaky PGPR, while 3 Musketeers was unique among the candies surveyed in actually including real cocoa powder.

Milk Duds vs. Whoppers: Whoppers win. Milk Duds will stick to your (or your kid's) teeth, so they're a no-no for anyone with dental issues. Plus, the smaller Whoppers serving saves some calories.