Are Twizzlers Gluten Free?

The short answer is no, twizzlers are not gluten free. The main ingredient in all twizzler products is enriched wheat flour. Gluten is always found in wheat products. So if you have a gluten intolerance, are on a gluten free diet or have celiac disease you should avoid eating twizzlers.

The tastiest gluten-free alternatives to Twizzlers are YumEarth Organic Strawberry Licorice, Smart Sweet Red Twists, Candy Tree Gluten-Free Raspberry Twists, Cliff Strawberry Fruit Ropes, Smart Sweets Gluten Free Organic Licorice and Yum Earth Organic Gluten-free Pomegranate Licorice.

Are Twizzlers Healthy?

NO! Of course Twizzlers are not healthy. They are full of chemicals, wheat etc.

To this day, one of the most popular articles on my blog is, “The Hidden Dangers of Gelatinous Candy: What Your Mother Never Told You”. I wrote this article because my mom loves twizzlers.

We can’t walk past a candy store without her stopping to buy a bag of twizzlers or licorice. Then for the rest of our time together I have to listen to her gums smack as she tries to get the leftovers off her teeth.

I always tell her that if the licorice is that hard to get off of her teeth imagine how it sticks to the rest of her insides. Licorice is hard to digest for a few reasons.

Not gluten-free
Sticky, due to its gelatinous nature
Made from chemicals

The Harmful Effects Of Artificial Colors

If you look at the Twizzlers ingredient list you’ll see a slew of unhealthy ingredients beyond just the enriched wheat flour. There are artificial colors including yellow 5, red 40 and blue 1.

These artificial colors are considered to be safe and non-toxic by the FDA, but studies show that artificial colors have known carcinogens in them. According to food researchers, artificial colors weren’t immediately toxic, but they did consistently mutate DNA over time.

Corn Syrup

Corn syrup is just a sneaky way of putting high-frutose corn syrup on the label in a non obvious way. Companies know that parents will look at the ingredients and see the word corn and say to themselves, “Corn isn’t bad for you. So this food must be fine.” If the same adult saw the words high frutose in front of corn syrup they would immediately leave the product on the shelf.

Eating high frutose corn syrup introduces too much frutose into your diet which is known to lead to obesity, increased risk for diabetes, fatty liver disease and other serious illnesses.

Monostearate

The FDA considers monostearate to be safe for human consumption but it has been linked to irritation of the digestive tract. Inhaling it straight is considered to be a toxin. So eating it in even small amounts can’t be good for you!

Artificial Flavors

Of all of the ingredients in Twizzlers, artificial flavors are probably the least of your worries. The research done on artificial flavors is inconclusive. Some sources say that they are bad for you and others say that they pose no health threats to humans.

As the mother of a small child I can tell you that artificial flavors are bad for your health in another way because they alter your natural tastebuds and change your cravings.

When you eat artificial flavors your body then craves more intense flavors then what is found in natural foods. This leads to less satisfaction with natural whole food ingredients and an increased desire for artificially flavored food because their flavors are more intense.

This is why kids get addicted to candy and no longer want to eat regular fruit. They may prefer strawberry flavored foods over actual strawberries because the artificial strawberry flavors have warped their sense of taste.

Why Are Twizzlers Not Gluten Free?

Twizzlers are not gluten free because their main ingredient is enriched wheat flour. Wheat flour is the main source of gluten.

Twizzlers Ingredients and Nutrition Information

Each of the different types of twizzlers have different ingredients. Instead of listing them off here I included the most popular Twizzlers product: Twizzlers Twists. The important thing to note is that the most common ingredients in all Twizzlers products are enriched wheat flour, corn syrup, soy lecithin, vegetable oil, modified potato starch, natural and artificial flavors, monostearate, potassium sorbate, carrageenan, salt, glycerin, citric acid and artificial colors including yellow 5, red 40 and blue 1.

Twizzlers Twists

Ingredients:

Corn Syrup
Enriched Wheat Flour (Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid)
Sugar
Cornstarch
Contains 2% or Less of:
Palm Oil
Salt
Artificial Flavor
Citric Acid
Artificial Color (Red 40)
Mineral Oil
Lecithin

Rainbow Twizzlers Twists

Ingredients:

Corn Syrup
Enriched Wheat Flour (Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid)
Sugar
Contains 2% or Less of:
Palm Oil
Salt
Glyceryl Monostearate
Cornstarch
Natural Flavor
Artificial Flavor
Glycerin
Citric Acid
Mineral Oil
Artificial Color (Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 6, Yellow 5)
Carnauba Wax

Can Celiacs Have Twizzlers?

No, people with Celiac disease cannot have Twizzlers because they contain enriched wheat flour, which contains gluten. However, there are gluten free twizzlers alternatives that those with celiac disease or a gluten intolerance can enjoy. See the section below for my favorite all natural gluten free Twizzlers and licorice candy alternatives.

Gluten Free Twizzlers Alternatives

If you love Twizzlers and other type of licorice based candy, you can still enjoy it without ingesting gluten. There are 6 gluten-free alternatives to twizzler candy that you can buy on amazon or in your local grocery store!

I’ll go into more details about each brand of licorice candy in the sections below, but here is a quick list. Each link will take you to an Amazon storefront where you can buy the brands.

Yum Earth Organic Strawberry Licorice
Yum Earth Organic Pomegranate Licorice
Yum Earth Organic Black Licorice
Smart Sweets Red Twists
Smart Sweets Gluten-Free Organic Licorice
Candy Tree Gluten Free Raspberry Twists
Cliff Strawberry Fruit Ropes

Yum Earth Organic Strawberry Licorice

Ingredients: organic cane sugar, organic rice syrup, organic rice flour, organic corn starch, organic palm oil, natural flavor, citric acid, sodium citrate, organic strawberry juice concentrate, organic licorice extract, salt, colored with organic concentrates (carrot, apple, blackcurrant), organic carnauba wax, organic sunflower oil.

Yum Earth Organic Black Licorice

Ingredients: organic rice flour, organic rice syrup, organic cane sugar, organic cane sugar molasses, organic corn starch, organic licorice extract, organic palm oil, salt, natural flavor, organic carnauba wax, organic sunflower oil.

Yum Earth Organic Pomegranate Licorice

Ingredients: organic cane sugar, organic rice syrup, organic rice flour, organic corn starch, organic palm oil, natural flavor, citric acid, sodium citrate, organic pomegranate and cherry juice concentrate, organic licorice extract, salt, colored with organic concentrates (carrot, apple, blackcurrant), organic carnauba wax, organic sunflower oil.

Smart Sweets Red Twists

Ingredients: soluble corn fiver, allulose, brown rice flour, isomaltoligosaccharides, tapioca starch, water, natural flavors, coconut oil, sunflower lecithin, fruit and vegetable juice, malic acid, sodium citrate, citric acid, tartaric acid, stevia leaf extract

Candy Tree Gluten Free Raspberry Twists

Ingredients: organic corn syrup, organic rice flour, organic rice starch, organic apple juice, organic concentrated fruit juice: cherry (3%), organic flavor (cherry), citric acid.

Cliff Strawberry Fruit Ropes

Ingredients: Apple Puree Concentrate (Organic Ingredient), Apple Juice Concentrate (Organic Ingredient), Natural Flavors (Organic Ingredient), Malic Acid, Pectin, Vegetable Juice (for Color), Sunflower Oil (Organic Ingredient), Carnauba Wax (Organic Ingredient), Vitamins & Minerals: Ascorbic Acid (Vit.

Which Gluten Free Twizzler Alternative is the Healthiest Choice?

When you are picking any kind of processed food the best way to tell if it is the healthiest option is to:

Pick the brand with the fewest ingredients.
Pick the brand with the ingredients that you can pronounce.

Any foods with long lists of chemical ingredients are not healthy. So by those standards the healthiest gluten free twizzler alternative are the Candy Tree Gluten Free Strawberry Twists. They have less then half of the ingredients as the other brands and very few chemicals compared to the other choices.

Is Licorice Gluten Free?

Licorice root itself is naturally gluten free because it’s plant based. Unfortunately, licorice candy is not gluten free because the main ingredient is wheat flour. There are gluten free licorice candy alternatives out there including YumEarth Organic Strawberry Licorice, Smart Sweet Red Twists, Candy Tree Gluten-Free Raspberry Twists, Cliff Strawberry Fruit Ropes, Smart Sweets Gluten Free Organic Licorice and Yum Earth Organic Gluten-free Pomegranate Licorice.

Are Twizzlers Good for Digestion?

Twizzlers are not good for digestion. If you want to learn more about why gelatinous candy is bad for your intestinal health read this post here!

Are Twizzlers vegan?

Yes, twizzlers are vegan. Even though they are gelatinous, they are not made from gelatin. Gelatin is an ingredient that commonly comes from animal hoofs like pigs feet.

The only twizzlers products that Hershey claims are vegan include strawberry, pull-n-peel cherry, bites cherry, chocolate, nibs cherry and plain cherry. However, since the ingredients are all technically vegan their other flavors rainbow, mystery flavor, and orange cream pop are likely vegan as well.

What do twizzlers taste like?

Twizzlers have a smooth and chewy texture with a sweet taste that has a bright berry flavor.

Are twizzlers keto friendly?

No, twizzlers are not keto friendly because they are high in carbohydrates. They also have unnatural ingredients that go against keto recommendations, including corn syrup and enriched wheat flour. Twizzlers also have a lot of sugar. Sugars are carbohydrates, so eating the large amount of sugar in twizzlers will pull you out of ketosis.

Are twizzlers low carb?

No, twizzlers are not low in carbohydrates. That is why they aren’t keto friendly. Twizzlers have tons of sugar and enriched wheat flour. Both of these ingredients are high in carbs. In fact, twizzlers have 35 grams of carbs per every three pieces of candy.

Are twizzlers nut free?

According to Flavor Palooza, Hershey’s Twizzlers products are made in a nut free facility so they are in fact, nut free.

Are twizzlers the same as licorice?

Technically, a candy needs to be made with licorice extract to be considered licorice candy. The only twizzlers product made with actual licorice extract are the original Twizzlers Twists. All other twizzlers products are not made with licorice. So while they are like licorice candy, they aren’t actually the same thing as licorice.

Are Twizzlers Kosher?

Yes! According to the Hershey company, all twizzlers products are certified kosher by the Orthodox Union.

Twizzlers gluten free google web story!

Are Twizzlers Gluten Free?

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