Ranking Halloween Candy as a Person with Diabetes

“Halloween” can be a loaded word if you live with diabetes, but it doesn’t have to be spooky or scary. While you may be worried about what comes after Trick or Treat, people with diabetes can and do eat candy. Like most things with diabetes, it’s a bit of science and a bit of art. 

You’ll need to do extra planning around eating candy—make sure you count carbohydrates and take your medications as suggested by your healthcare provider. 

The key is moderation, but having diabetes definitely shouldn’t stop you from enjoying candy from time to time—especially on Halloween! 

So how does this particular author rank Halloween candy as a person living with diabetes?

Halloween candy, ranked:

10. Candy Corn
    Candy corn looks innocent, like it was made by little ghosts with a fondness for bright colors. But make no mistake: this is straight sucrose (table sugar) and silliness. What we love about candy corn is that it’s easy to dose—each little tri-colored triangle is roughly one gram of carbohydrate (carb)—but who eats just one? While delightful, this is definitely a rage bolus waiting to happen.
    Verdict: Perfect for decorating cupcakes, maybe not our bloodstreams.

9. Skittles
   Skittles are the gummy glucose tabs of the candy aisle—fast, efficient and easy to count—but also easy to go overboard. One fun-sized pack clocks in at around 14 grams of carbs, making them a great low snack. And they hit the bloodstream like a sugar-powered rocket, which is helpful while getting your steps in on Halloween night.
   Verdict: Great emergency hypo (low blood glucose) fuel; addictive dessert. 

8. M&M’s
   If chocolate is your weakness, M&M’s are the perfect comfort food of the candy universe for Halloween. Each piece is about one carb, which makes micro-dosing possible (a mini-sized pack has around nine grams of carbs).
   Verdict: Portable, poppable and definitely worth the bolus.

7. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
   This classic combo of chocolate and peanut butter is a win for every Halloween. The high-fat content is great to keep you satisfied. Each peanut butter cup has 10 grams of carbs.
   However, the fat can slow digestion just enough to throw off a straight insulin dose. You’ll nail the pre-bolus, watch a perfect flatline on your continuous glucose monitor (CGM)—and then four hours later, boom, Mount Everest.
   Verdict: Bolus-worthy bliss, but watch for the delayed blood glucose rise.

6. Tootsie Rolls
   They’re chewy, they’re nostalgic, and they make dentists cringe. The bright side? They’re predictably sized, so carb counting is simple at around six grams per mini-roll. They also take a while to chew, giving your body a fighting chance to catch up with your bolus (not really, make sure you dose insulin ahead of eating to catch the rise!).
   Verdict: Good for portion control, bad for dental copays.

5. Starburst
   These deliciously juicy and fruity squares are our number five pick. They clock in at around four grams of carbs per square, making them easy to bolus for—and they can also double as a low snack!
   Verdict: Fun and fruity. You can easily eat three or four squares for a mild low blood sugar.
   
6. Snickers
   The peanuts in a Snickers bar make this one a more stable after-dinner treat, with a fun-sized clocking in at around 11 grams of carbs. However, due to the high fat and higher protein content, you may experience a delayed high blood sugar.
   Verdict: Not the best low-snack (since fat and protein delay how quickly glucose hits your system), but it sure is delicious. 

3. Smarties
   With only six grams of carbs per roll, Smarties are the original glucose tabs in disguise. Pure dextrose, pre-packaged, pre-measured and delightfully tangy. Bonus: they don’t melt in the car or at the bottom of your bag, making them an incredible (and delicious) Halloween low snack.
   Verdict: Diabetes-friendly? Absolutely. Emotionally satisfying? Shockingly, yes.

2. Kit Kat
   Kit Kats are everything diabetes-friendly candy should be: travel-sized, structured and mathematically convenient. Each finger is about five grams of carbs—perfect for incremental dosing (one mini pack is 10 grams of carbs).
   Verdict: Practical. Predictable. Pure joy.

1. Twix
   Twix is easily our number one pick for diabetes Halloween candy. Twix is impossible to dislike and one mini bar comes in at around 10 grams of carbs (20 grams for both sides). The only downside is they melt, but they usually don’t last long enough for that to be an issue. It’s easy to count the carbs, easy to bolus for, travel-sized and utterly delicious.
   Verdict: The gold standard of glycemic indulgence.

At the end of the night, candy is candy. 

Whether you’re bolusing for it, rationing it for future low blood glucose snacks or handing it out to kids in the neighborhood, the real trick is remembering that food isn’t “good” or “bad.” 

It’s data. It’s a decision. And sometimes, it’s a tiny, delicious rebellion against the idea that people with diabetes have to live sugar-free lives.

So go ahead—count your carbs, take your insulin and enjoy your treats. Just maybe keep a few Smarties in your pocket. Because Halloween lows are scarier than any haunted house. 

With a little planning, some wise decisions and a willingness to bolus like a boss, you can still treat yourself. After all, diabetes always requires discipline and moderation, but it doesn’t have to mean giving up candy entirely.