If you’ve joined the throngs of people enjoying functional candy, that is candy with added nutritional supplements like herbs and vitamins, you may be wondering if you need your daily vitamin pill. Taking a daily supplement might be more difficult to remember than eating some yummy candy. And, if your functional candy has vitamins and minerals, are you getting too much nutrition if you still take your daily multi? In this article, we’ll address both of those questions, along with comparing functional candy to vitamins, and what vitamins and supplements are commonly found in functional candy.
Functional Candy vs. Vitamins
Functional candy is designed to supplement your health with herbs, vitamins, minerals, and superfoods. Vitamins are designed to meet your recommended daily allowance (RDA) of necessary nutrients for optimal health. Let’s use the analogy of a meal. Your daily multivitamin is like the main course. It provides the bulk of what you need nutrient-wise. A functional candy is like a healthy dessert—whole wheat banana bread with fresh blueberries. It contains a lot of nutritional benefits—fiber and vitamins from whole wheat, bananas, and blueberries. But, it’s still dessert and not enough to satisfy or meet your nutritional requirements, on its own.
If I Eat Functional Candy, Do I Still Need Vitamins?
While some functional candies are also multivitamins, not all functional candies are multivitamins. If you’d like to replace your daily vitamin pill or pills, choose a functional candy, like vitamin chocolate, that is also a multivitamin. For example, this is a gummy multivitamin from Seattle Gummy Company (SGC). However, unless your candy vitamin is also specifically formulated as a multivitamin, then it can’t replace your daily multivitamin pill.
What about getting too many vitamins or nutrients from functional candy and a multivitamin? Pay attention to the recommended serving size for functional candies. However, the most common vitamin that functional candies have are B vitamins. B vitamins are water-soluble and can’t be stored in the body. So any excess B vitamins you take in will be safely released from the body. As far as vitamins that the body can store, you would need to take in much, much more than the RDA over a long period to experience any negative consequences. So, as long as you’re using common sense, you can safely and deliciously eat functional candy and take a multivitamin.
What Vitamins are in Functional Candy?
Here are some of the common vitamins and supplements found in functional candy, like functional chocolate, and candy vitamins.
- B vitamins are an important group of vitamins that perform many vital jobs in the body, including helping cells make energy.
- Vitamin C is a powerful immune-boosting water-soluble vitamin. It is also a strong antioxidant and protects your cells from free radical damage
- Medicinal mushrooms often feature in functional candies, especially functional chocolate. Mushrooms like reishi, chaga, lion’s mane, and cordyceps are potent antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory properties.
- Many functional candies address the problem of sleeplessness. Ingredients like melatonin and valerian root are common in this style of functional candy.
- Caffeine is also common in energy functional candy. While not a vitamin or supplement per se, caffeine does offer many health benefits like antioxidant effects and reducing health risks from a high-sugar, high-fat diet.
Functional Candy from SGC
SGC is the leader in gummy vitamins and supplements. They offer a whole line of functional gummy candies that address energy, wellness, sports performance, and beauty. Their highly rated energy gummy, the Mocca Shot, contains 200 mg of caffeine along with a hefty dose of brain and energy-boosting B vitamins. Mocca Shots also contain the Chinese super herb, ginkgo biloba, which contains powerful antioxidants and increases blood flow to the brain.
Support wellness with Immunity Shots, Slumber Shots, or Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) shots. All of these gummies support your health and wellness in different ways. The Immunity gummy contains the powerful herb elderberry and immune booster vitamin C. Slumber Shot gummy’s have a potent dose of herbal sedative valerian root and sleep supporter melatonin. SGC’s ACV gummies contain the most ACV out of all the ACV gummies on the market.
Allow your inner beauty to radiate with SGC’s line of functional candy gummies formulated for beauty. Forever29 is their anti-aging and immune system gummy. This gummy features the famed fountain of youth herb, astragalus. Their Beauty multivitamin gummy contains angelica root and vitamins and minerals to support healthy hair, skin, and nails. Support your complexion with Skin Perfection gummies, which feature glutathione, hydrolyzed collagen, and the liver cleansing herb milk thistle to nurture flawless skin.