YoNaturals Health Food Vending

Fruits, vegetables, grains, rice, breads, cereals – these are all familiar foods that can be found in grocery stores, restaurants, and kitchens across the world. And, contrary to what some dieter believe about carbohydrates, these foods can be sources of the good kinds of carbohydrates for your diet. The key is to distinguish between the foods that contain the good sorts of carbohydrates and the ones that contain the kind that do not provide the same healthy benefits to your diet.

Carbohydrates are macromolecules that provide a quick and readily available energy source to the person who consumes them. Further, carbohydrates are available in two major forms–as simple sugars and starches. The body processes carbohydrates by breaking them down into simple sugars (if they’re not already in that form prior to consumption). Those sugar molecules are then transporting into the eater’s blood stream, where their blood sugar level increases. As a result of this, a hormone known as insulin is then secreting by the pancreas as the transportation mechanism responsible for moving the sugar into the body’s cells where it can be used for energy purposes. So, you ask, what distinguishes a good type of carb from a bad type?

The thing that distinguishes a good carb from a lesser one is the time that it takes to break it down into its component parts. Carbohydrates that are already manifested as simple sugars will obviously require less time to be moved into the blood stream, thereby causing a more rapid change in blood sugar level. On the other hand, eating some of the more complex carbohydrates results in a more gradual change in blood sugar level.

Simple sugars aren’t totally at fault for modern America’s health problems though. The problem with carbohydrates comes from people eating too many of the wrong type. Think of white bread and white rice. “Highly refined grain” should be one of the first thoughts into your head, yet many people simply think of these as components of a hearty, All-American meal. A shift in thinking is required if America is going to take on the obesity epidemic that is facing the country today. People are going to have to learn to choose brown rice over white rice, and fruits over candy bars.

And on the subject of fruits, it’s important to note that not all foods that contain simple sugars are bad for your health. Fruits do contain simple sugars, yet their health benefits definitely outweigh any negative qualities that are associated with their carbohydrate counts.

Education is your best defense against eating carbohydrates that are bad for your health. And when the info is not available for you to educate yourself, default to what you think to be the healthiest option. That is, when standing in front of a bank of vending machines, staring down a hunger pang, choose from a healthy vendor such as YoNaturals instead of one of the traditional chips and candy machines. It’s for your health.

Yo Naturals would like to offer some advice for those of you who are looking to improve your health. There is lots of evidence to support the claims that antioxidants not only help you to look younger but also fight disease. Studies have shown that antioxidants can help you prevent and even reverse a number of different cancers. Antioxidants also help to protect your heart and prevent you from suffering heart disease. Antioxidants also help to prevent diabetes, cataracts and degenerative diseases.What are these things called antioxidants? The main antioxidants are the vitamins A, C & E along with the minerals Zinc and Selenium. Other antioxidants are Co-Enzyme Q10, l-gluthathione and cysteine. There are also phytonutrients such as lycopene and lutein which are also antioxidants.

The best way of getting all of these antioxidants is to ensure you have an antioxidant rich diet. Let’s look at some of the foods that contain antioxidants. The first food is a personal favorite and is chocolate. Numerous studies have touted chocolate as being a great source of antioxidants. The best chocolate from an antioxidant standpoint is a dark chocolate that contains at least 80% cocoa solids.

Another great form of antioxidants is berries. All berries are high in antioxidants although the Brazilian acai berry is the latest to be hailed an antioxidant super food, containing over ten times the antioxidant levels of a blueberry. Despite this finding, blueberries are still recommended as are strawberries, cranberries, blackberries and raspberries as being part of your antioxidant health busting diet.

One of the cornerstones of the Mediterranean Diet is the tomato. The tomato is also rich in antioxidants including lycopene which has been found to decrease night blindness and also reduce a man’s risk of developing prostate cancer by 20%. This delicious fruit contains high levels of antioxidants in both its raw and cooked states, so should be a definite staple in your diet.

The next antioxidant hero is broccoli. Broccoli has been heralded as a superfood for over 15 years with several studies highlighting its cancer fighting abilities. Over the past couple of years the attention has shifted slightly to broccoli sprouts where a study at Harvard has found the levels of antioxidants are even more concentrated.

Despite puffing on a pipe Popeye always appeared healthy; is this a clue? Yes spinach is also a top antioxidant food. Spinach also contains a special antioxidant called lutein which seems to have an affinity with the heart, keeping it fit and strong.

Another top antioxidant food is walnuts. Walnuts should be added to your daily diet for their antioxidant value alone. In fact in July 2006 the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition labeled walnuts as number two (behind blackberries) for their antioxidant levels.

Other foods that you need to include in your diet to keep your levels of antioxidants up include pinto, black and kidney beans, eggplants and kumara (sweet potato). Stay young and healthy by eating at least one of these antioxidant foods every day.

This article was written by Louanne Cox on behalf of Yo Naturals health food vending machines.

Author: Joshua Zelesnick

Here are some ways to add instant health to your daily diet.  Try some or all of these super foods to start your day off and end your day off great.  You may already have some of these foods in your diet, and good for you, but try some of the others too, and while you’re at it give some of what may be your least favorite foods another chance.  Your health is worth it.

1. Sweet potatoes:  If only Thanksgiving could be once a week.  The sweet potato is a nutritional all-star and one o the best vegetables you can eat.  Sweet potatoes are loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.

2. Grape tomatoes:  Okay, so we all had a scare with tomatoes a little while ago, but as it turns out it was not the tomatoes that had the salmonella.  So go out and buy them!  They’re packed with vitamin C and vitamin A, and you also get fiber, phytochemicals, and a lot of flavor.

3. Fat free or 1 percent milk and yogurt:  Ditch whole milk and whole milk yogurt and turn to fat-free alternatives.  If you can’t make the giant leap, start off with two percent milk, then move on to one percent, then try fat-free.  These low-fat dairy products are an excellent source of calcium, vitamins, and protein with little or no artery-clogging fat or cholesterol.

4. Broccoli:  It’s so good for us!  True it’s really green and it may not be the most appealing vegetable, especially for kids, but give it another try.  Steam it, add it to a stir fry, and melt a little cheese on it.  Broccoli has lots of vitamin C, carotenoids, and folic acid.

5. Wild Salmon:  The omega-3 fats in fatty fish like salmon can help reduce the risk of sudden-death heart attacks.  Salmon that is caught in the wild has less PCB contamination than farm-raised salmon.

6. Crisp breads:  Whole-grain rye crackers, like Wasa, Rye Krisp, and Ryvita, are loaded with fiber and are often fat-free.

7. Microwaveable or ten minute brown rice:  If you can’t decide on a side dish, why not choose brown rice?  Brown rice contains fiber, magnesium, vitamins E and B-6, copper, zinc and phytochemicals.

8. Citrus fruit:  Yum!  Yum!  Citrus fruits taste great and are rich in vitamin C, folic acid, and fiber.

9. Butternut squash:  Doesn’t it just sound good?  Every half-cup has five grams of fiber and loads of vitamins A and C.

10. Spinach and kale:  Both are packed with vitamins A, C, and K, folate, potassium, magnesium, iron, lutein, and phytochemicals. 

Add these foods to your diet and see if you feel and look better in a month.  Your taste buds will be happy too.  Cheers to happy and healthy eating.

In 2007, concerns were raised over obesity ranking as the top 3^rd children’s health concern. In 2008, it tops the chart as the number one health concern facing children today. The list, released by the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health, asked parents to evaluate 20 different health problems for children in their community. The results, according to many health care professionals, are not that surprising.

In the year 2007, the top 2 health concerns were drug abuse by teens, with 39% of the vote and smoking, with 40%. While obesity was still a major problem, it ranked just below drug abuse and smoking, receiving just 34% of the vote. This year’s list, however, shows something entirely different. Obesity is now the biggest health concern parents have for their children, receiving 35% of the vote, with drug abuse and smoking coming in at a close second and third.

What is perhaps equally concerning are the presence of three new items on the list: bullying, ADD, and environmental toxins. While there is no definitive link between these items and obesity, some studies suggest that there is a possible connection between ADHD and obesity. In addition, children with obesity may be more likely to experience bullying from their peers. What this says about the current state of children’s health in this country is simple: it is vital to begin focusing on a healthier lifestyle for our children as well as for ourselves. Doing so may not only reduce the risk of medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, but it may also improve the overall happiness and quality of life for both children and adults.

It isn’t hard to understand why obesity is such a problem for children in today’s society. Just take a look at the advertisements currently being marketed toward children and you’ll be surprised to find an astonishing amount of unhealthy practices being glorified. Children are giving up playing outside in favor of spending time playing video games or surfing the internet. While these activities are fine to an extent, a lifestyle built around fast-food and video games inevitably fails to lead to a healthy, active future.

In addition, with the prevalence of fast-food and the overwhelming presence of candy bars, pop, and chips, it isn’t hard to see why so many young people struggle with their weight. Schools contribute to the problem as well, with high-calorie lunches being marketed toward kids. With companies like YoNaturals working to build a healthier future, perhaps we can look forward to a year when obesity will no longer be at the top of the list for children’s health concerns.

Article by Bethany Cox for YoNaturals.com

Obesity is an unfortunate and pervasive problem which continues to affect far too many of our children. If you’re a family affected by obesity, you know that it influences nearly every aspect of your life: you have little to no energy and you may feel helpless to find a solution. The good news is that there is hope, and there is a better life out there for you and your family. It’s not easy, but it is possible. This isn’t a quick fix, but these 5 tips will help you get started on your way to a happier and healthier life.

1. Recognize the Problem:

There are many reasons children—and adults—overeat.  It may be that your child feels lonely and turns to food for comfort. It may be that he or she hasn’t known anything different. This is why recognizing the problem is the first step. Children follow in the example made by their parents. If you’re overweight it makes sense that your child would also struggle to make healthy choices about food. Try finding out why you or your child eat, and talk to your child about any difficult or sad feelings they might be experiencing. The good news is that once you figure out the root of the problem, the rest of the work comes much more naturally.

2. Drink Water:

It’s no secret that children love soda and sugary juices. While these aren’t the best choices of beverage, part of being healthy is staying hydrated. Explain to your children why drinking water is so beneficial to their health. And while you’re at it grab a glass of water for yourself!

3. Buy Vegetables

Check your cupboards. Look in your refrigerator. Do you see healthy vegetables and fruit, or chips and soda pop? As the parent, you are in charge of what goes into the house. The good news is that you can make healthy decisions without sacrificing taste. Look into purchasing a healthy recipe book and experiment with new recipes. If you don’t like to cook, choose restaurants with healthy options and encourage your child to try new foods.

4. Advocate Healthy Lunch in School

Of course, as much as you’d like to, you can’t follow your child everywhere and you can’t control everything they put into their mouth. School food has long been known as a detriment to our children’s health. This is why advocating healthy choices like YoNaturals healthy vending is so important. Children can’t choose to be healthy if they don’t have the option available to them.

5. Have Fun! 

Don’t make exercise a dreaded activity. Have fun with your child. Go for a nature walk or a bicycle ride. Play a game that encourages movement. You know your child best, so pick an activity that is within his or her interests. And make sure you make it fun!

Following these tips, you and your child will have more energy and better overall health. A better life is possible, and you have the power to make it happen one day at a time.

Bethany Cox for YoNaturals Vending in California!

Author:  Michael Rupkalvis

Organic certification is a process of certification for organic food producers and the producers of other organic agricultural products. Any business that is directly involved in the food production process can seek certification, and this includes the suppliers of seeds and growing materials, farmers, companies that process food items, and restaurants and retailers as well.

From one country to the next you will find that the requirements for organic certification vary, but there are usually production standards in place that dictate growing, storage, packaging, processing and shipping requirements.

These production standards require the avoidance of synthetic chemicals, like pesticides, food additives, fertilizers, antibiotics, organisms that are genetically modified, the use of sewage sludge and irradiation. They also require keeping detailed written records of sales and production, and the use of farmland that has been completely free of all chemical inputs for at least three or more years.

In order to obtain organic certification, it is also required that organic products be completely physically separated from non certified food products, and every certified organic site is required to undergo periodic inspections to show that standards are being maintained.

The concept of organic certification addresses a growing demand for organic food on a truly worldwide level. Certified organic food products exist to assure the quality of the food that we eat, while promoting commerce at the same time. In the earliest days of the organic movement, organic certification was not required but as more consumers turn toward organic food products through the more traditional channels like grocery stores and supermarkets, the need for certification has grown exponentially. In many countries the certification process is overseen by the government, which means that there are legal restrictions on using the term “organic”. Certified organic food product producers are also held to the same level of food health and safety standards as non-certified food producers.

What makes these certifications for organically produced foods such an outstanding idea is that they show consumers which food products can be trusted. Because certified organic food products are held to guidelines and standards, consumers who purchase food items that are certified organic can rest assured that they are grown right, without chemicals or additives, ensuring healthy and risk free food products. The organic movement is growing at a quick and steady pace as more consumers realize the health benefits associated with buying organic.

As more and more consumers turn toward certified organic food products to feed themselves and their families, the guidelines associated with organic certification tend to grow increasingly specific. Growing and processing food organically is not a difficult task at all for most food producers, but it does require that these companies take a long and hard look at the way that they regard the production of food, especially when it comes to growing naturally without pesticides or other chemicals and additives.

Author: Carl Copeland

Farming practices used before the 1900’s are classed as organic. It was only after this that added chemicals such as urea and DDT were brought into farming - previous to this, farmers didn’t have the knowledge and simply put, were happy enough with things as they were; as most of us today would be. After all, home grown food is often the nicest, most tasty food we put on our plates.

For some reason, during the 1960’s and 1970’s the concept of organic food became a separate entity to the ‘normal’ food we were then buying. Consumers had been effectively duped into believing that what they were buying, was food as nature intended, it not appreciating that the chemicals which were added during growth of the ‘normal stuff’ were what actually made the food abnormal in the first place.

Rachel Carson, a prominent writer, biologist and ecologist established public awareness of these issues via ‘Silent Spring’, a book she wrote which basically brought about major controversy on the use of agricultural chemicals and synthetic pesticides in particular. As a direct result of this book, and the growing concern over the use of farm chemicals which consumers were suddenly more aware of, chemical regulation procedures were put into place, and when the demand for organically grown food rose, so did the need for further regulatory procedures to cut down on the ecologically destructive and toxic chemicals.

Today, organic food is finally reaching an all time high of acceptance from consumers, so its demand is increasing - more ‘organically acceptable’ agricultural procedures are gaining momentum, and it seems even though it is more expensive than chemically treated foodstuffs, it is healthier, and it is that health factor which is winning the battle against chemically treated consumables.

A creation of a whole new set of ideas about organic standards which first came into debate in 1990, took over ten years to refine to relative perfection, and they will still evolve as new practices come into force. It is by these standards now that, organic food and other products such as wool in the USA is grown/gathered.

All of this though begs the questions - why can’t farmers just grow food without chemicals at all, why does it need regulation, and why were chemicals introduced into grown food and other consumables in the first place; I think you already know the answer though, and that’s money.

In this modern technological age where farmers are in direct competition between each other to gain the bigger contracts of the supermarkets and other food retailers, they have to be cheap. They simply can’t grow the vegetables (for example) as fast as the grocery store can sell them, so they have to resort to other methods to keep up, or did do at least until the consumers voice began to ring out strong and true.

Organic food is no longer a small niche in the food desires of Americans; it is becoming what everyone wants. Everyone now wants and feels the need to eat in a more healthy fashion with the onset of so many new medical conditions which prove costly as it is; a little more expense to eat something grown without strong use of chemicals (which could ‘theoretically’ make it worse) might mean a saving health-wise instead.

The organic food trend of today is growing ever-stronger, and not just for vegetables even though at one point organic purchases totalled over 40% of all organic buys. Meat and fish which is organically produced is still at the lowest of all food purchases, but is moving up the chain too. Dairy, bread and grain, beverages and snacks are all becoming more and more popular.

Today there are more Organic supermarkets popping up everywhere, sometimes in certain areas more than others - almost as though people in one state are more ‘organic’ than others but on the whole it is more of a blanket change than just a few people trying to eat in a healthier way, the amount of people eating organically is far more substantial than most realize. Suddenly people have more choice, and this is obviously because the demand is there. The world is finally going organic, and with any luck the bigger grocery store chains will have to meet this demand, rather than flood the market with low-cost chemically treated alternatives.

Author:  Michelle Bery

One look to the grocery store shelves will tell the story of a society in search of the newest food that will take the weight off, increase energy, and maximize health. It seems that every year we are bombarded with a new health craze that guarantees us speedy results along an easy path. But, as many of us have come to realize the hard way, it remains the greatest truth of all that eating a balanced, healthy diet is the only way to achieve authentic health. It seems fitting therefore, that now, more than ever, we are discovering the health benefits of natural and organic food.

Doctors have long advised that diet – more than anything – plays the largest role in our health and longevity. In accordance, there has been a gradual shift from food products high in saturated fat, preservatives, and sugar to whole foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates, and lean protein. But taking this a step forward is the shift to natural and organic food – that food that is grown and raised without the addition of chemicals, hormones, and pesticides. Many think that because they are eating fresh fruit and vegetables they are making the healthiest choice. But if these fruits and vegetables have been chemically altered then you are now exposing yourself to a bevy of alien substances. While these chemicals are used quite regularly in traditional farming practices, they have not been studied thoroughly enough to know of their long lasting impact on the human body. Therefore, a switch to natural and organic food seems to be the wisest choice for our health.

Also falling under the definition of natural and organic food is organic meat and dairy. Livestock that is raised within organic guidelines are given only organic feed and are not subjected to any chemicals or hormones. Further, dairy cows that are traditionally given hormones to speed growth and increase milk production are chemical-free under natural and organic food guidelines.