Does counting carbs mean that you have to keep off all the tasty treats? Are there low-carb treats you can have within your reach when cravings kick in? You already know that there are low calories sugar that can be used in low carb candy that will not spike your blood sugar.
In the spirit of carb and calorie count and low-carb products, we will be looking at one of America’s most popular candies. Can you have a Tootsie roll on a low-carb diet? Does this candy have any nutritional value? We will talk about Tootsie Roll nutrition facts, what this candy bar is made of, its calorie breakdown, and which sweetener it contains. So, let’s answer how many carbs are in a Tootsie roll.
How Many Carbs Are in a Tootsie Roll
Before telling you about its carb and calorie content, I’d love to paint a picture of what a Tootsie roll is exactly. Knowing the ingredient list enables you to understand the macro ratios of a food. It will also allow you to pick an appropriate substitute for ingredients to suit your diet.
What is a Tootsie roll and what does it contain?
Tootsie Roll Ingredient List
The Tootsie Roll is a chewy chocolate candy. It was invented by candy maker Leo Hirschield, and named after his daughter, Clara, whose nickname was Tootsie. How sweet! What makes this piece of candy stand out is how it blends a cocoa taste with fruit-flavored undertones.
The chewy candy’s ingredient list includes:
- Corn syrup
- Citric acid
- Palm oil
- Sugar
- Hydrogenated soybean oil
- Condensed skim milk
- Whey
- Soy lecithin
- Artificial flavors
- Natural flavors
- Artificial colors
- Cocoa
Tootsie roll like any other candy treat e.g., chewable fruit snacks are high in sugar. My nutrition advice, keep off such snacks because they are not healthy foods. Besides having a high sugar content, it is made from bioengineered crops in the USA.
What is the carb count of a Tootsie roll?
How Many Carbs in a Tootsie Roll Midgees?
Tootsie rolls come in different sizes, with the most popular being Tootsie Roll Midgees candy. Let’s find out the nutrition facts and nutrient percentage daily values based on the standard 2000-calorie diet.
According to the USDA, one serving of food contributes (1 serving is 6 pieces and 40 g):
- Energy: 155 kcals
- Protein: 0.636 gram of protein
- Total fat: 1.32 grams of fat
- Saturated fatty acids: 0.387 gram of fat
- Unsaturated fatty acids: 0.772 gram of fat
- Cholesterol: 0.8 mg of cholesterol
- Total carbs: 35.1 grams of carbs
- Sugar: 22.5 grams of sugar
- Dietary fiber: 0.04 grams of fiber
- Net carbs: 35.06 grams of carbs
- Vitamin A: 0 µg
- Vitamin B6: 0.004 mg
- Vitamin E: 0.26 mg
- Lutein + zeaxanthin: 0 µg
- Vitamin C: 0 mg
- Aspartic acid: 0.08 g
- Pantothenic acid: 0.116 g
- Alpha lipoic acid: 0 g
- Glutamic acid: 0112 g
The macro percentages distribution of the Tootsie roll is 8% fat, 2% protein, and 90% carbs.
Tootsie Roll Calories by Size
Tootsie rolls come in different sizes. Let’s find out how many calories are in the different sizes of these pieces of candy.
- Tootsie rolls regular Midgees (6 pieces): 150 kcals
- Tootsie roll candy pops (17 g): 60 kcals
- Tootsie roll small Midgees (13 pieces): 130 kcals
- Tootsie roll candy snack bar (2 bars): 100 kcals
- Tootsie roll assorted flavors fruit chews (33 g): 120 kcals
- Tootsie roll mini bites (13 pieces-29 g): 100 kcals
- Tootsie roll 5 Cent candy pieces (4 pieces): 140 kcals
- Tootsie roll flavored candy rolls (6 pieces): 160 kcals
- Tootsie roll original bunch pops (1 pop-13 g): 45 kcals
There are many candy varieties under the Tootsie Roll candy category. A small serving of these candies contains too many calories to add to your daily diet.
What is A Tootsie Roll Midgee?
This is the most popular Tootsie Roll candy since it is a bite-size candy treat. Why the name Midgee? It simply translates to midget, which means they are smaller than the original Tootsie Roll candies. They are individually wrapped candies meaning there’s some for everyone.
Are Tootsie Rolls Full of Sugar?
How many carbs are in a Tootsie Roll? Too many! And, sugar does count as carbs. A 100 g serving of Tootsie Roll contains 87.7 grams of carbs, 0.1 g of fiber, 56.3 g of sugar, and 87.6 g of net carbs. To answer your question, yes Tootsie rolls are full of sugar. It contains high-fructose corn syrup as its main ingredient. The amount of sugar in this candy is equivalent to 14 teaspoons of sugar. Isn’t that too much even for your sweet tooth?
To make matters worse, the type of sugar in this candy is classified as a simple carbohydrate. These kinds are easily digestible and absorbable, meaning they can spike your blood glucose and insulin levels fast.
Can a Diabetic Eat a Tootsie Pop?
Because of how many carbs are in a Tootsie Roll and their high sugar content, diabetics should avoid Tootsie Roll candies. I know what you are about to ask, what about the “sugar-free” tootsie rolls? Tootsie roll sugar-free Midgees are sweetened with the artificial sweetener Splenda. Splenda is the brand name for sucralose.
Sucralose is made from sucrose, a type of sugar that can spike insulin levels. This artificial sweetener has several disadvantages including altering the diversity of good microbiome in the gut and promoting inflammation. In addition, it can cause metabolic alterations that lead to glucose intolerance, increasing your risk of developing diabetes.
Consider low-carb treats with natural sweeteners like erythritol, monk fruit sweetener, and Stevia.
Final Thoughts
How many carbs are in a tootsie roll? Too high to be considered on a low-carb diet. The ingredients that make up this treat are what contribute to how many carbs are in a Tootsie Roll.
They are also high in sugar which can kick you out of ketosis, lowering your fat-burning rate. Sugar-free tootsie rolls are also not a great choice because their sugar replacement, Splenda, is an artificial sweetener that can raise blood sugar. Always read the nutrition labels of low-carb candies to know the sugar alternative used and how it affects your blood sugar.
Which of the Tootsie Roll candy is your favorite? Have you made sugar-free candy before? Try our sugar-free Jello recipe and tell us what you think!
