This Easter season, parents around the world will soon be prepping colorful plastic baskets on behalf of the beloved Easter Bunny. Yet in today’s junk-food society, assembling the makings of an Easter basket has become less about getting creative and more about treating our kids to toxic, unhealthy ingredients and a major sugar high.
Experts estimate that even the modest Easter basket has more than 250 grams of sugar—nearly 1,000 calories from sugar alone—and foreign additives such as petroleum dyes and artificial preservatives, making these foods to avoid anything but a celebration. “Yuck” is right.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the foods to avoid in the traditional Easter basket:
1. Marshmallow Peeps
It’s like biting into a cloud of heavenly goodness, but Peeps are anything but sent from heaven. The most popular non-chocolate treat during Easter, Peeps are made with sugar, corn syrup, various food dyes, and gelatin.
Artificial dyes and sweeteners have been linked to hyperactivity, behavioral problems in kids, and even cancer, while gelatin is derived from animal by-products such as skin, bones, cartilage, and ligaments.
To top it off, there is a little-known joke that Peeps are “indestructible”—scientists discovered they wouldn’t dissolve in anything, including acetone, water, diluted sulfuric acid, and sodium hydroxide. I guess the joke’s on us.
