Healthful candy: Nuts or a sweets dream?

A candy maker targets dieters with suggestions of health benefits.
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Here's a novel way to sell candy: Tell people it's good for them.
That's the strategy of Bissinger's Handcrafted Chocolatier, a long-established, upscale chocolate company based in St. Louis.
Bissinger's new Spa Chocolate urges you to "treat yourself to good health." At a cost of more than $2 a candy and named to conjure up images of pampering and well-being, it definitely qualifies as a treat.
As to the health, the elegant packaging says the candies contain ingredients "linked to improved cardiovascular health, lowered risk for certain types of cancer, a reduction in body weight and a slowing of the aging process."
From a blueberry cup to a sugar free walnut bear claw or cherry cordial, the bite-sized candies contain several ingredients believed to have some health benefits: dark chocolate, fruits and nuts.
Trick or treat?
But the health claims amount to a trick, said the director of nutrition at the Washington-based Center for Science in the Public Interest.
"The claims that these candies can help you lose weight, fight cancer or improve your short-term memory are not supported by good evidence," said CSPI's Bonnie Liebman.
She said studies have been done on some, but not all, of the individual ingredients and the related claims, though Bissinger's said they'd thoroughly researched the ingredients. And she didn't believe people would get enough of the ingredients to result in the rewards. That, she said, could be misleading at a time when two out of three Americans are overweight.
"The bottom line is they're trying to trick people into thinking these chocolates are good for them."
Not so, the chocolate company said.
Connie Diekman, the university dietitian who helped develop the product, said eating one chocolate daily as part of good overall dietary habits can help people trying to start or maintain a healthy lifestyle. The candies come seven to a box for $15.95, each candy labeled for a day of the week.
Cocoa beans contain plant chemicals called flavonoids, a kind of antioxidant that some studies have found can protect the heart; walnuts contain omega-3 fatty acids also linked to lower heart disease risk; apricots have healthful beta carotene.