Snickers is probably one of the most known and beloved chocolate bars in the whole world, and rightfully so. They consist of several incredibly delicious layers of nougat, roasted peanuts, and caramel, coated with milk chocolate. The perfect blend of these ingredients, and especially the ingredient ratio give Snickers a unique taste that secures its place in every candy lover’s cabinet.

They have a very special texture that just makes you love them. Snickers chocolate bars are the go-to snack for millions of people, they can make any situation better.  Even some peanut haters say they love Snickers because they just have that amazing balance and taste. Snickers is made and distributed by the American company Mars, Incorporated. Snickers were developed in 1929 by the owner of the company, Frank Mars, and his wife Ethel. The name comes from the family’s favorite horse of the same name. But until 1990, the bar was sold under the name “Marathon” in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and Ireland.

Why is gluten content so important?

First, we will explain why gluten important is in the first place. Gluten plays an important role in human nutrition. At the same time, it is the cause of a number of diseases, inflammation of the lungs, allergies, and multiple sclerosis. A panic-like gluten-fear spreads visibly. Is this justified or complete nonsense? Since the gluten component gliadin is a lectin, the mode of action is also similar: gluten can increase the permeability of the intestinal barrier. The intestine would leak. The cause is gliadin, which increases the zonulin release.

Zonulin, in turn, is responsible for the permeability of the intestinal walls. In the presence of gluten intolerance, the consumption of gluten-containing foods leads to an inflammation of the intestinal mucosa with the following immune reaction. In the case of celiac disease, the medical literature speaks of symptoms such as weight loss, diarrhea, vomiting, loss of appetite, fatigue, depression, and, last but not least, disturbance of the condition of the child. Potentially everyone is affected. The mode of action is always the same – only the immediate effects differ in their manifestation.

While many people are not affected, they express themselves in others in ways that are seldom consistently diagnosed. Gluten intolerance can manifest itself in many symptoms. In most cases it is a problem of digestion, often headaches, often concentration problems, and often overweight, which can not simply be broken down.

Unfortunately, gluten intolerance is still not part of the usual diagnostic repertoire in most doctors – although more and more people are struggling with unrecognized gluten intolerance and are suffering from bad habits due to the gluten-intolerance-typical symptoms. After learning this information, many people actually find out that they are gluten intolerant, so it’s no wonder that they raise the question.

What are the main symptoms of gluten intolerance?

We will first present you with six common symptoms that can be associated with gluten sensitivity, and then give you some insight into how you can be sure that if you are suffering from these (or other mysterious symptoms), you are gluten-sensitive or not.

Sometimes the symptoms last only a few hours. In many other cases, the symptoms persist for many weeks and have thus become chronic.

1. Digestive complaints – Frequently, people with these symptoms – if no physical causes can be found with the usual diagnostic methods – are considered by the physician with the diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome.
2. Migraine and depression – Whether it is imagining that migraine often occurs in those patients who are prone to glucose or a correspondingly sugary diet, in patients who are sensitive to histamine-rich foods (ripe cheese, wine, smoked fish, etc.), or in patients who are not tolerant to caffeine, may be questioned – in the absence of scientific evidence.
3. Tingling and numbness in arms and legs – Also dizziness, balance disorders as well as weakness, tingling, or numbness in the arms and legs indicate disturbances in the nervous system and can therefore point to gluten sensitivity.
4. Autoimmune diseases – Even autoimmune diseases – such as the chronic thyroid gland inflammation Hashimoto or rheumatoid arthritis – can be a sign of gluten sensitivity or seriously worsened by such a disease.
5. Fibromyalgia – How would you find it if your symptoms, whatever they might be called, would be nothing more than the consequences of unrecognized gluten sensitivity? If your symptoms change noticeably when you change your diet?
6. Permanent fatigue – Some people feel as if they are battered, others are regularly dog-tired after eating and are not able to do anything for the time being. Frequently, those people are diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

Remember that even finished products can contain gluten-containing ingredients, which do not immediately include flour and grain, such as ready-made soups, sauces, salad dressings, chocolate bars, and much more. After learning the effects gluten can have, you have to ask yourself, is Snickers gluten-free?

What are the ingredients in Snickers bars?

Let’s take a look at the actual ingredients. The main ingredients in a Snickers bar are chocolate, peanuts, caramel, and a rich nougat filling. With that said, there are also plenty of other ingredients that make the recipe complete and provide that amazing taste that made millions of people fall in love with Snickers. Today, there are many variations of the Snickers bar, but according to the Mars company, these are the ingredients of the original Snickers bar: Milk chocolate, which contains sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, artificial flavors, and dairy in the form of skim milk, milk fat and lactose, peanuts, corn syrup, and sugar, skim milk, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, egg whites, salt, chocolate, artificial flavoring.

The quality taste is mostly attributed to the rich portion of peanuts that are used when making a Snickers bar. Each bar contains about 16 peanuts. About 100 tons of peanuts go into making the 15 million Snickers bars that are produced every day.

What is the nutritional and caloric value of Snickers bars?

Calories represent the energy found in different foods. Our bodies need energy for normal everyday functioning.  Calories are a crucial part of our daily diet, they cover our energy expenditure. The daily calorie recommendation for adults is between 2,000 and 2,500 calories. A single Snickers bar contains 13 percent of the daily recommended amount.

A regular Snickers bar weighs about 57 grams and has 280 calories. Those calories come from 13.60 grams of fat, 35 grams of carbohydrates, and 4.3 grams of protein. This bar contains vitamin A and vitamin E. It also contains 1.43 milligrams of zinc, 0.41 milligrams of iron, 136 milligrams of sodium, 53.01 milligrams of calcium, 108.3 milligrams of phosphorus, and 184.11 milligrams of potassium.

Why are Snickers bars so popular?

Let’s see why they are so popular in the first place. The Snickers chocolate bar is nothing short of amazing, everyone loves them, whether you are a couch potato that likes them as a snack or as a dessert, or maybe an adrenaline junkie or gym rat that loves the energy spike they provide to get through an intense workout. Although they are not a nutritious meal replacement, they can be a perfect tool for filling up your stomach and providing energy when you’re in a time crunch and don’t really have time to sit down and have a whole meal.

They are tasty, satisfying, and you can always grab one if you’re feeling hungry, tired, or if you’re just craving something sweet. They are possibly the perfect candy, of course, if you don’t go overboard and eat a dozen of them. The Mars company hit the nail right on the head with their famous Snickers slogan “You’re not you when you’re hungry”, once you try it, you’ll know it is true. The packaging of the Snickers bars has changed over the years: While Snickers had still fallen into a predominantly red-brown paper cover until the 1980s, it is now delivered in a largely chocolate-brown foil packaging.

Snickers Cruncher, Snickers Ice Cream Snack, Snickers 2PACK with two slightly smaller bars, the much smaller Snickers mini and the Snickers Maximus without nougat, but with more peanuts and caramel. Snickers are sold in more than 70 countries around the world, and they are the best-selling candy bar in the world. The annual global sales total more than $2 billion. In 1930, when they were first sold, you could buy a Snickers bar for five cents, today they cost about a dollar or two. In America Snickers is ranked the fourth-favorite candy behind M&Ms, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and Hershey chocolate bars.

So what’s The Answer?

This is a question that is being asked a lot lately, as we are constantly becoming more aware of the effects some foods have on our body. People want only the best when it comes to their health, and thanks to the progress in science in the modern age we know exactly what is good for us, and what is not so good for us. One thing in advance: on all packaged food the contained allergens are written on it, even the smallest amounts. And in understandable words – wheat/rye/barley/oats… If those are not written, it is already a good sign. On the topic “traces of …” there are different formulations:

“Contains traces of gluten” means that although there is no gluten in the recipe, there is in the production process, e.g. For measuring conveyor belts.

“May contain traces of gluten” means that somewhere in the same factory gluten-containing products are produced and there is a theoretical risk of contamination. This is often the case with chocolate. According to the Mars company when it comes down to that, the answer is yes, and it is completely safe for gluten intolerant people to consume them. However, they advise customers to always check the labels during more busy times of the year, in case of possible cross-contamination in other facilities that are used to keep up with the demand. 

What about other types of Snickers candy, are they gluten-free?

Since the original Snickers bar was made, the Mars company has come up with a lot of different Snickers candy, with great success obviously, and deservedly so, we can all agree on that. So, we have already established that Snickers are gluten-free, but today we have products like Snickers mini, Snickers bites, Snickers cruncher, Snickers ice cream, Snickers dark chocolate Snickers eggs, etc. The truth is, some of them are, and some are not, it ultimately depends on the ingredients that were used and where they were made. It is best if you read the label carefully before buying any product. Choose the ones that you can eat, luckily there is a variety to choose from, you will surely find out if those are Snickers that we consider gluten-free.