The One Sugar-Free Candy You Should Avoid Buying At All Costs

As you browse displays of candy in search of a sugar-free choice, there are certain products that are best left on market shelves. Tasting Table sampled and ranked 16 sugar-free candies so that your next visit to the grocery store can be an efficient one. While there are plenty of delicious options (like Twizzlers Zero Sugar Strawberry Flavored Twists and Hershey's Zero Sugar Milk Chocolate Candy Bars), there is an equal number of disappointments when it comes to candy products sans sugar. Unfortunately, Life Savers Pep-O-Mint Sugar Free Mints is one of them.

While the classic candy has historically offered a reliable way to freshen breath and perk up an afternoon with an assortment of tasty flavors, the sugar-free Life Savers come only in one option: mint. Plus, these individually wrapped candies contain aspartame, sorbitol, and phenylalanine, a particular amino acid that can impact those with phenylketonuria. In addition to posing health risks, these candies simply aren't delicious. 

Sure, Life Savers' sugar-free mints are indeed minty and sweet, but the overall flavor profile of the candy exudes an artificial taste. Just because you're skipping out on the sugar certainly doesn't mean you need to skimp out on taste, and there are sugar-free candies out there that do not smack of chemical replacements.

If you're looking for a suitable candy alternative that still delivers a refreshing flavor, Pur makes a mint using xylitol sourced from trees in Finland to sweeten its sugar-free product. The candy doesn't contain aspartame and is suitable for many people with dietary restrictions. Pur's mints offer the kind of flavor you expect from a refreshing treat. Bitter, cool, and with the uplifting flavor of spearmint, they lead the pack when it comes to sugar-free options. Leave the sugar-free Life Savers in the store and pick up these instead.