Kelsey HigginsonSports Nutrition Coach and Founder at Clutch Day Coaching

Should athletes eat candy?

9 Apr 2025 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:58

In this YouTube segment, the speaker addresses a common athlete question about candy consumption. He reframes the issue by asking whether athletes are first meeting their essential nutritional needs—adequate protein, healthy carbohydrates, healthy fats, and micronutrients from fruits and vegetables—before reaching for candy. He argues that if an athlete’s daily diet includes three balanced meals and appropriate healthy snacks, a modest amount of candy as an occasional treat is acceptable. However, using candy as a substitute for proper meals or snacks indicates a nutritional shortfall and can impair performance and health. The core message is that candy should only be an optional treat after the body’s fundamental nutritional requirements are satisfied.

Chapters

I had an athlete ask me how often you can be eating candy. My response to that is instead of focusing on how often or how little you're allowed to be eating candy, I would like to flip that on its head and ask you, are you eating the foods that your body needs before you eat that candy? Your body needs proteins, so like meat. It needs healthy carbs, so like sweet potatoes or rice. And it needs healthy fats, avocado, olive oil, nuts, etc. It also needs micronutrients. Fruits and veggies. If those aren't a part of your day and you're reaching for candy before you get those in and 3 good meals, I would say you're not doing it right. If you're getting in 3 meals a day, couple healthy snacks a day, and then you want a few pieces of candy at the end of the night, I don't think that there's anything wrong with that. I think that the problem comes in when you're using candy as a replacement for a snack throughout the day because you're not eating the balanced foods that your body actually needs to perform well and to be healthy, and you're replacing candy in place of that.