YoNaturals Vending Against Junk Food in Schools

Author: Rachel Moss

Partially hydrogenated oil is a common ingredient in snack foods everywhere. Hydrogenation is the process of turning a liquid, unsaturated fat into a solid fat commonly called trans fat. These trans fats are found in processed foods like cookies, baked goods, granola bars and lots of processed snack foods. Consuming trans fats regularly contributes to an increase in “bad” LDL cholesterol and a decrease in “good” HDL cholesterol. Many health experts claim that it is more harmful to your health than saturated fat and contributes to a higher risk of heart disease and cardiovascular disease.

Manufacturers use partially hydrogenated oils in their products because it increases the shelf life of foods. They are now required by the FDA to list the amount of trans fat in their food, but you should also check the list of ingredients in processed foods if you are trying to avoid hydrogenated oils or trans fat. Look for the words “partially hydrogenated” or “hydrogenated” oil in the ingredients to avoid any trace amounts of trans fats for healthy snacking.

Fortunately, you can find many products that do not use partially or fully hydrogenated oil. The clear winners in healthy snacking also use natural and organic ingredients as well. You will find plenty of healthy snacking options from your nearest YoNaturals vending machine. Healthy vending becomes a reality when you have a YoNaturals vending machine nearby.

When you choose foods and beverages from a YoNaturals vending machine, you don’t have to worry about things like trans fats or preservatives. You’ll have lots of natural and organic products from which to choose. Take a look at this sampling of natural and organic products you can get from YoNaturals:

• Clif Bars
  Their products are always made using organic ingredients and grown without the use of toxic pesticides or synthetic chemicals. Their food philosophy includes never using hydrogenated oils.
• LaraBar
  These products do not contain hydrogenated oil and use mostly raw, unprocessed ingredients without preservatives. All of their products are made using natural and organic ingredients.
• Terra chips
  Using a variety of exotic vegetable chips and potato chips, their snacks are made without hydrogenated oils or preservatives and use only natural ingredients.
• Brothers All Natural
  These fruit crisps and potato crisps are 100% natural, using no artificial ingredients or partially hydrogenated oil.

You can be confident in your snacking choices when you and your kids choose snacks from your nearest YoNaturals vending machine. Encourage your school or gym to become a YoNaturals location today to encourage healthy snacking!

Now that the rate of childhood obesity is rising so steadily, parents and children alike have every reason to start paying more attention to what they put into lunches as well as breakfast and dinner. The foods we eat greatly impact our abilities to live our daily lives to their highest potential – the more healthfully we eat, the better our bodies are able to function, the more fun we are able to have doing everyday activities and the more fun we will have to look forward to in our futures.

The problem is that there are many more unhealthful options for those kids and parents on a go, and then there are healthful ones. This is where the benefits of healthy vending machines come in, as the understanding of a hectic lifestyle goes hand-in-hand with vending machines and other quick-meal options. However, unlike the standard junk food vending machines that are so commonly found in both offices and schools, YoNaturals’ vending machines make a point of giving quick, cheap food options that are much healthier than the standard chips and candy bars that are offered in competitors’ machines.

After all, what good do such foodstuffs as chips, chocolates and soda do for anyone, child or adult? None at all, that’s right, which makes conventional vending machines find for the occasional treat, but not acceptable in the least for meal replacements. When you have more healthful options, however, you can feel a little bit better about giving your kids some cash on those days when you just didn’t have time to make their lunches, and trusting that they’ll be able to get more healthy food options with the updated food choices. YoNaturals has expanded it’s operations to target school healthy vending programs in an effort to improve the choices on our campuses.

Going for dried fruit or banana chips over chocolate candies or potato chips makes a world of difference in how your body is able to digest and process the foods you eat, and how much energy you are going to gain from having ingested said food. The problem is that too few schools, and work places for that matter, offer the healthy selections that will ensure people get the proper nutrients and minerals that they need to live their lives to the fullest potential.

So if you have the option, don’t go for the soda; get a bottle of water or an organic juice option instead. Get yourself some organic, healthful snacks rather than the dangerously unhealthy foods crammed with preservatives that you find in standard vending machines. Your body needs proper fuel to run well, and you can find these foods if you choose wisely, even if you aren’t able to pack your own lunch before you leave in the mornings.

Article written by Jessica Vachal.

Author: Jessica Vachal

YoNaturals vending feels that one of the saddest states of our current American social culture is the childhood obesity epidemic that is rocking the nation. With children suddenly experience Body Mass Indexes that are far above what is healthy for any child; they are beginning to experience complications and issues that heretofore had only been experienced by middle-aged adults. This is not a fair lifestyle for a child to be trapped in, unable to move and run around as freely as their peers. Never mind the fact that so many of these children will remain obese and overweight for the rest of their lives, suffering more complications and diseases as they age. The fact is that the lifestyle of a child is developed at home. Whether a child will grow to be overweight or trim, or even underweight, is all related to the way that child is raised in the home.

If mom and dad are aware of the food they eat, and make sure to have all food groups represented at the dinner table, and fill themselves and their families up with a healthy breakfast before sending the off to school and work, then kids are going to be much more prone to eat healthfully on their own. If mom and dad take walks after dinner and encourage their kids to join sports teams and run around the neighborhood, these children will be much more likely to have  good relationship with their bodies and with what it takes to keep them healthy and in strong shape.

However, if mom and dad themselves eat fast food every night and wash it down with a milkshake for dessert, then the kids in the family are going to follow suit and their bodies are going to suffer as a consequence. If mom and dad don’t encourage their kids to try out for sports or to join in with the other kids in running around the neighborhood, then these kids will never know the joy of feeling their heart pump strong in their chests. Parents play an integral role in the lives of their children, and this extends to teaching kids how to eat right and take care of themselves.

So come on parents, make some vegetables and chicken for dinner, and take your kids for a walk after the meal. Talk with your kids about their days; make sure that they don’t have to turn to food for comfort. Encourage exercise and making eating healthfully fun by making it a family affair – have the whole family make dinner together and hangout in the kitchen as a unit. Healthy living extends beyond just eating right and exercising, but if we want to curb this childhood obesity epidemic, that’s where we have to start! Join YoNaturals in the cause against  this disease in America.

Monitors of sodium intake, take heed. The element lurks in many of the meats, dairy products, and vegetables that are found in your kitchen. Even your breakfast cereal is not exempt from becoming a source of harm. Many people like to believe that “natural” foods are more healthful than their highly processed counterparts, and it is true to a degree. But don’t let anyone fool you into thinking that just because something is healthy that it can do no harm. Indeed, many foods that are usually considered healthy can actually be unhealthy in larger quantities. The following food items are high in sodium, and you should be mindful of that fact when deciding how much to eat.

Meats, Poultry, Fish, and Meat Substitutes

-Lunch meats and cured meats: These include the obvious choices such as dried fish, salami, sausages, and ham.

-Canned meats: Many canned vegetable products are high in sodium, as you may be aware. Be on alert when you are choosing canned meat products as well.

-Soy (protein) products: This is an example of a food that many people would probably write off as “healthy” without first checking the sodium content on the nutrition label. Marinated tofu and miso are two of the offenders found in this category.

Dairy

-Cheese: The processed cheese varieties are the obvious member of this category, but also keep an eye on blue cheeses, Parmesan cheese, feta cheese, and cottage cheese that you find in the grocery store.

-Milk-based drinks: Hot chocolate mixes are a good example of the things to watch out for in this category.
Grains and Cereals

-Cereals: Both cold and hot cereals can give you an overload of sodium at the beginning of your day. Watch out for products that contain more than 200 mg per serving.

-Grains: Be mindful of eating too much prepackaged rice or noodles that are prepared using a seasoning packet.
Those are a few of the things to monitor in the grocery store, but what about when you don’t have access to a nutrition label? There are some other snacks that sound healthy in theory, but in reality they can quickly spike your sodium intake. These include things like cheese pizza, chicken noodle soup (from a can), low fat potato chips, yogurt covered raisins, and bagel sandwiches. All of those food items can be hidden sources of sodium in a person’s diet. In general, it’s a good idea to check the nutrition label of a product or research its health impact before you eat it, but this is especially true for people who are monitoring their sodium levels. Otherwise you may never know never know.

Author: Louanne Cox for YoNaturals Health Food Vending

A steaming bowl of porridge in winter, a delicious bowl of muesli in summer or even just a granola bar on the run oats are a great addition to your diet.   Oats offer so much to your health that they truly are one of nature’s super foods.

Oats can help lift your spirits and face the rest of the day in a positive mood.   They will also help your body to deal with stress.   Oats are a natural anti-depressant because of their high amounts of calcium, magnesium, B vitamins and potassium, all of the nutrients required for a healthy nervous system.

Oats are also good for a myriad of other things from diabetes, heart problems and cholesterol to cancer and childhood asthma.   They also taste good and are a grain that can be enjoyed by celiacs.

Studies since the 1960s have touted the effects of oats on high cholesterol levels.   It is believed that this is due to the type of soluble fiber that is found in oats.   The fiber is responsible for reducing cholesterol by 8-23%, just by eating a few grams of oats a day.   People with high cholesterol have a higher chance of contracting cardiovascular disease or having a stroke so if you cholesterol levels are high add a few oats to your day.

The health benefits of oats do not stop at lowering cholesterol however, they also help to reduce heart disease with a special antioxidant.   Researchers at Tufts University have conducted a number of different tests on oats.   They have isolated a special antioxidant called avenanthramides which is present in oats.   This antioxidant has been found to have special properties that reduce the chance of atherosclerosis developing.   They have also found that the effects are even more effective when vitamin C is added.   The moral of the story is to drink orange juice with your oats!

Moving from the heart to the immune system we have yet another reason to eat oats.   The soluble fiber found in oats is called beta-glucan and studies have found that this substance can help the body fight infections.   Studies at Brown University have found that the beta-glucan in oats give our immune defender cells the ability to locate the main infection point within infected tissue.   This allows a quicker response which means faster healing.   It is rather like giving our soldiers night vision goggles when they are on patrol in dark areas, they are able to find problems quicker and handle them more efficiently.

Oats are also well known for their ability to stabilize blood sugar levels.   This ability is also due to the beta-glucan and will help to keep your energy levels steady throughout the day.   Keeping the blood sugar levels stable also help with diabetes.

Studies in Holland have also found that oats are one of the foods which can lower the incidence of childhood asthma.   The other food is fish, but I wouldn’t recommend eating them both together, basically it just means that adding both fish and oats to the diet would be recommended.

Studies in the UK have also shown that eating wholegrain cereals, such as oats, can help to lower the incidence of breast cancer in post-menopausal women.

Basically if you want to feel good and keep your health in tip top condition you only need to answer one question – how are you taking your oats today?

Author: Louanne Cox

So you want a buff body?   Well one of the important requirements of an athletic body is protein.   If you were watching an episode of Bones or CSI on television and they found a body of an athlete that had had all of the water sucked out you would hear them say that over 50% of the remains is protein. YoNaturals healthy vending machines always contain  at least a few protein-rich snacks for you to choose from.

Protein is required for every body function from creating new muscle to twitching your nose.   The proteins in your muscles are replaced every six months according to the Colgan Institute which means that what you eat today will affect what physique you will have in six months.

When you are trying to build muscle you have to work out.   When you lift weights you actually tear the fibers in the muscles, they then have to knit back together before they can grow bigger.   This tearing is an essential and normal part of muscle growth.

The faster that this “tearing” is fixed and the fibers are knitted back together the faster the muscle will grow.   Research has shown that protein, in particular the amino acids leucine, isoleucine and valine otherwise known as the Branched Chain Amino Acids can help “mend” the muscles faster.

Taking a BCAA supplement is one way to grow your muscles; another way is to take a protein shake.   Taking protein in a liquid form helps it to absorb into your body faster than a tablet can.   BCAAs are found in all protein containing foods especially dairy, whey and egg proteins.

Only 20-25 grams of protein can be absorbed by your body at a time which means that it is important to eat protein several times a day.   Breakfast is the most important meal of the day; the second most important meal is the one after your workout.

Sometimes it is not possible to have a protein rich meal after a workout which is why a protein shake is a great alternative.   There are also a lot of good protein bars that are on the market.   After a lunchtime workout a shake or bar can be consumed on the way back to work.

So, do you want a buff body?   Making sure you consume adequate amounts of absorbable protein is an important step to building your desired physique.   It is also important to take adequate supplies of carbohydrates, fats, fruit, vegetables and water as well because they all have an important role to play in building an athletically buff body. When you choose a vending machine, choose a healthy one.

Author: Jessica Vachal

The desire to eat healthy can be a hard one to maintain, even if it’s an easy concept to come up with. Truly, there are probably numerous days out of the week when you find yourself reprimanding yourself over a food choice or eating a piece of cake for a co-worker’s birthday and promising yourself that “you’ll do better tomorrow.” YoNaturals is a business that believes the key is recognizing that there are no “good” or “bad” ways of eating. There are, however, healthier ways to eat than others.

The fact of the matter is that if food comes from the earth, naturally, then it is bound to be a healthful choice. This goes for beef and chicken just as much as it goes for apples and carrots. Of course there are discrepancies with this sort of thinking, as today there are genetically-modified foods coming out into the market and scares of fats in meat-heavy diets. Still, as a general rule, a meal of chicken and vegetables with rice is going to do much more for you than is a meal of crackers, cheez-whiz and soda with a candy bar for dessert.

Eating healthfully does not have to be as much of a battle as it generally seems to become for most people. The stress that a “healthy” meal takes so much time to prepare while you can zap a frozen dinner in the microwave for a few minutes and be good to go is, frankly, unwarranted. True you can’t stick a zucchini in the microwave and have a meal in three minutes, but you can cut up a zucchini and a potato, put them in a frying pan with some olive oil, sauté the whole thing up, and have a healthy meal within fifteen minutes. Complete with leftovers to take to work the next day to help you combat your starving body’s desire for that co-worker’s birthday cake.

The point is that eating healthfully can be easy if you have simple rules to keep in mind. Starting with healthy ingredients is one of the easiest rules to have to remember. If you have carrots, broccoli, rice and chicken you are inevitably going to come up with a more healthful – and equally delicious – meal than you would if you started out with bread, butter and ham. Having that bread, butter and ham with the carrot-broccoli-rice-chicken meal, however, would make for a very healthful meal.

“Don’t cut anything out” is another great rule to remember. As in the scenario above, you can eat a little butter with your meal, you can eat meat, and you can eat sweets. You just can’t eat these foods as the basis of your meals, and you don’t want to eat too much of them when you do consume them. Not eating chocolate for three weeks but then eating an entire package of chocolate after dinner is not going to benefit your body in any way.

Make sure you listen to what your body wants and feed it accordingly. If you’re craving sweet, eat an orange or an apple before you go for the unnatural sugars. Try to satisfy your cravings with those foods found in nature we mentioned above, and your body will thank you for it. And when you want that chocolate bar, have some. Just don’t eat it all – leave some for the next time your chocolate craving hits you. The improved way you’ll feel once you start eating more healthfully will truly be a great pay-off for foregoing a third-night-in-a-row of pizza. And feeling better is YoNaturals’ business!