A gift idea for your favorite entrepreneur December 12, 2008

Well, let’s face it. You’re probably not going to buy anyone in the vending business their own YoNaturals healthy vending machine — no matter how much you personally love the 300 plus varieties of quality snack foods and beverages we market.

But if your favorite entrepreneur is in fact you, then you’ll want to consider closely some very impressive facts about the food vending business, and the benefits of starting a YoNaturals vending business of your own.

Did you know that, according to a U.S. Department of Commerce study, new vending machine start-ups are decidedly less likely to fail than are new business ventures in general? Also, although seventy percent of vending entrepreneurs start out part-time, eighty-five percent of these businessmen and businesswomen find themselves able to move on to full-time vending careers — within just two years.

That means working for themselves, in a satisfying and lucrative trade which supplies people with products that they really need!

And consider too that up to ninety-five percent of initial investment in a YoNaturals vending business can go directly for equipment and inventory, rather than peripheral expenses common to most other small businesses. And that vending machine start-ups usually involve no investment in hired labor. Most, in fact, involve distributors operating profitable machines in their spare time, while holding down full-time jobs elsewhere!

Nor could you ever hope for better customer support than that available to our valued YoNaturals distributors. Our experienced customer service staff will walk you through all that’s needed to get a new vending operation going, and quickly profitable — and will provide you with quality assistance as you expand to fully realize your dreams of self-employed independence.

Isn’t that vision worth the price of a call to our YoNaturals marketing folks today? We look forward to answering your questions.

Nutrition and Higher Academic Scores November 3, 2008

Proper nutrition is indeed linked to higher academic scores in school age children.  There can’t be many readers who would seriously want to question this.

One of many studies to point out the obvious was done by Tufts University in the 1990s, and it has long been used to bolster support for subsidized lunch programs providing meals for needy children at public schools nation-wide.

But even without such studies, common sense would surely have won the day in any debate regarding what’s best for our kids.  There’s no argument but that properly nourished students are more likely to benefit from their schooling, and that wholesome nutrition is vital in developing the healthy bodies and minds needed to fully benefit from organized learning activities.

This intuitive knowledge is in fact key to YoNaturals’ own mission to make available healthier food and drink choices not only to students but to all of us who depend on the convenience of vending machines to meet some of our daily nutrition needs.

There was a time when vending machines were thought of as mere adjuncts to daily life:  an opportunity to grab a quick fix for hunger pangs, with little or no thought to nutritional value.  But with today’s ever-more hectic pace, and our growing focus on healthy living, vended foods and drinks have never played a more important or scrutinized role in American nutrition.

In offering nearly five hundred wholesome varieties of snack foods and drinks, through an ever-widening network of YoZone (and YoThirsty and YoHungry) state-of-the-art vending machines, YoNaturals and our distributors have joined hands to come down firmly on the side of wholesome nutrition.  All who understand the importance of this make up our rapidly growing consumer base.

All who understand the exciting opportunities make up our expanding distributor team. Check out how you can become a Health Food Vendor by going to YoNaturals.com!

Healthy Vending the YoNaturals Way October 18, 2008

Everyone is exposed to vending machines on a daily basis but the most vulnerable consumers are the children. Without guidance and education they will not learn how to make healthy snack choices. It doesn’t help when they are in school and all of the choices are empty calorie selections. YoNaturals saw the need for healthy vending products in schools and has worked very hard over the past several years to encourage using natural and organic snacks like those you will find in vending machines that carry YoNaturals products. Since vending machines are such an important part of the lives of our youth, it’s important to ascertain only healthy products are available for purchase.
Although we has no control other what other vendors include in their machines, they exercise complete control over their own including that of their entities. We have a goal to make sure no school has an excuse for not serving healthy snacks and to make certain the word reaches every vendor in the market. By the end of the year YoNaturals expects to have in excess of 120 distributors in over 160 US cities, and when you combine that with the fact that more people are looking to change the way they eat, it’s easy to see the growth potential of YoNaturals.
Though not everyone has yet come to terms with their unhealthy eating habits, the number of people willing to change what they feed their families is definitely on the increase. YoNaturals hopes that many people are learning the importance of eating healthier foods at home and making sure their children have healthy snacks at school. We will continue our campaign to turn the world into one that is ready to eat healthy. It’s a step in the right direction each time even one person chooses to change.

Author: Brenda Coxe

YoNaturals Vending – Are sugary drinks putting you at risk for gout? October 9, 2008

An affliction often associated with the Medieval Age is making a comeback, and sugary drinks may be culpable.

According to a recent study reported in the British Medical Journal, gout, an often painful affliction of the joints, is on the rise and a likely culprit is the sugary additives found in many flavored drink products.  Especially those sweetness-enhanced through the use of added fructose or cane sugar.  Popular soft drinks stand in the forefront of these.

Medical experts say that added sugars in the diet raise levels of uric acid in the bloodstream, sometimes causing uric acid crystals to be deposited in joints — especially in the lower extremities — resulting in the excruciating joint pain so often associated with the disease.  Fructose, for instance, has been clinically shown to inhibit the excretion of uric acid.  Incidence of gout has doubled in recent decades, with perhaps one or two percent of the population now affected.  Researchers believe that the rise in gout cases largely parallels the increased consumption of sugary soft drinks world-wide.

More proof that the cranky, health food addict aunt we all have hidden away somewhere in the family tree does know a thing or two about nutrition after all!

And while all this might cause some to imagine that even whole fruit and their juices should be avoided, prudence dictates otherwise.  The benefits of fruit and vegetables in helping to prevent heart disease, stroke and other chronic disorders is well documented.  Moderation would seem to be key, though complete avoidance of processed drinks which include artificially boosted sugar or fructose levels might also be a wise strategy.

As one of the foremost suppliers of wholesome and natural fruit drinks (and snacks) to the vending machine industry, YoNaturals Corporation stands to benefit from any increased awareness of gout risk among knowledgeable consumers.  The one-hundred plus varieties of healthy food and drink options distributed by YoNaturals through their distinctive “YoZone” vending machines are specifically designed to meet the needs of active people who care what goes into their bodies.

And each passing day their ranks grow.

In the meantime, infusing flavored drink products with unnatural amounts of sweeteners may remain a winning strategy for some.  But will the mounting evidence of unhealthy outcomes provide fodder for future group action lawsuits?

Mother Nature already seems to have picked which side she’ll be on.

Eating Healthy Means Eating More Fiber September 30, 2008

For many people, the road to healthier living includes eating more fiber. In fact, research has consistently shown that dietary fiber offers many health benefits to the people who consume it on a regular basis. Furthermore, although fiber is probably best known for preventing and/or relieving constipation, it can also provide other health benefits, including lowering your risk of diabetes and heart disease. Fortunately, most people can get the recommended daily amount of fiber by simply evaluating their current eating habits and making small changes to their daily diets.

Before you do any of that though, you will need to know what fiber is. Dietary fiber (also referred to as “roughage” or “bulk”) is vegetative matter that your digestive system cannot break down into its component parts. Or in other words, it’s the plant material that you eat although your body cannot digest it. As such, dietary fiber will pass through your digestive tract essentially unchanged by your body’s digestive mechanisms and processes.

Dietary fiber is usually classified into one of two categories: soluble and insoluble. The difference is that soluble fiber dissolves in water, whereas insoluble fiber does not. Further, this difference in solubility affects the way that the fiber interacts with your digestive system. Because soluble fiber dissolves in water, it will form a gel-like substance once it enters your body. In turn, this substance helps lower blood cholesterol and blood glucose levels. Soluble fiber is often found in popular foods such as oats, legumes, apples, and carrots, among others. On the other hand, insoluble fiber is not changed by the presence of water and serves mainly to increase the bulk of your stool, which is a great benefit to people who suffer from constipation. This type of fiber is found whole-wheat flour, nuts, and many vegetables.
Many people strive to maintain a high-fiber diet and, after learning of the many health benefits, it’s easy to understand why. From preventing constipation to lowering cholesterol levels to aiding in weight loss, eating a diet that is high in fiber is a step to better health.

To attain the greatest health benefit of a high-fiber diet, you should eat a wide variety of high-fiber foods. Speak to your doctor or nutritionist if you do not think that you are getting enough fiber in your diet. You can choose foods that are higher in fiber by simply choosing healthier foods for yourself. Health food companies have recognized the value of high-fiber foods and should be in abundant supply among these businesses. One such company is YoNaturals, maker of health food vending machines. Choosing a health snack from their machine is choosing the best for your health.

Eating Well While Pregnant by YoNaturals September 23, 2008

While pregnant, women have a critical need to adjust their diets for the sake of their babies and in response to the changing needs of their bodies. For most women, these changes will include a special emphasis on increasing their daily intake of protein, folic acid, and iron, along with some other vitamins and minerals. Caloric needs will also increase as a gestating mother progresses in her pregnancy. Even if a woman maintained a healthy diet before she became pregnant, it will be important for her to monitor it and make the necessary changes that will ensure that the fetus is getting all of the nutrition that it will need to grow strong.

At YoNaturals, we know that one of the most difficult aspects of maintaining a healthy diet throughout your pregnancy is controlling your cravings for junk food. Since junk food offers little nutrition and many empty calories, it provides almost no benefit to the growing fetus and the mother to be. Further, while there is a need to increase caloric intake, expectant mothers do not usually need to consume more than about 300 extra calories per day.

Of course, expectant mothers have heard it over and over again, ad nauseum, that they should avoid all raw seafood (e.g. oysters and sushi) as well as unpasteurized milk, soft cheeses, and undercooked meats. Or in other words, any kind of food that could transmit bacteria to the mother (and thus the unborn child) should be avoided. As for cooked fish, a woman who is expecting should eat no more than two servings (about 12 oz.) of fish per week due to the possibility of mercury poisoning. Beyond these basic foods, for some women, alcohol and caffeine are two of the most difficult things to give up for the duration of their pregnancy.

As for what you can and should be eating, you should prepare a list of your questions and sit down with your health care provider to discuss how to meet all of your baby’s nutritional needs while staying within the bounds of your personal preferences. This is especially important for women who are vegan, vegetarian, or have otherwise restricted diets.
Begin eating small meals every four hours or so. Eating mini-meals is usually easier on your body and makes sure that your growing child does not go hungry. Even if you are suffering from nausea, heartburn, or another ailment that makes food unpalatable, you should not be skipping meals. Your baby needs the nutrients.

It’s important to be mindful of your health and nutritional needs at all times, but it’s almost never as important as when you are carrying a child in your womb. And you should strive to maintain your diet even when you leave your home. One way to accomplish this is by choosing healthy snacks from YoNaturals vending machines. They will provide you with both the nutrition that you and your baby need as well as the peace of mind that goes along with it.

YoNaturals says Take Time to Learn about the Foods You Serve September 13, 2008

Author: Brenda Coxe

It may take more time out of your day, but in order to ascertain you are feeding your family meals that are healthy and nutritionally sound, you must learn about the ingredients that are in those foods. Certainly this is not important if you are serving only fresh fruits and vegetables and home grown meats but few people have the luxury of providing foods that are 100% natural all the time. If you live on a farm you can grow your own vegetables and fruits and raise your own meat, but not everyone is able to do that. The days when everyone was able to farm their own land to feed their families is obsolete for the most part, but we can’t deny we were healthier when more people farmed their own land to feed their families.

Is it really that important to know everything about the foods you serve your family? Why wouldn’t it be important? You have to make sure they get all the nutrition they need, and you don’t know that unless you know what is in the foods you serve, especially those that are not grown in your own garden or purchased from a grocer you trust. In addition, even if you purchase foods from a grocer you trust, you need to understand the meaning of what he tells you. For instance, if he says the broccoli he sells is below the government approved level for pesticides, you want to know what the approved level is and how much is included in the broccoli. You need to become more educated in the foods you serve in order to be certain your family is getting all the nutrition they need.

Children are very susceptible to exposure to foods that are full of empty calories. Even some of the schools have decided that it’s more important for the children to eat something than to throw away good food. The lunches in many schools nationwide consist of pizza, hotdogs, hamburgers and other junk food. When you figure the number 9of children on the school lunch programs who may only get one nutritious meal daily, it means nutrition is lacking among those who come from poor families more than necessary. School Healthy Vending is one vendor that is attempting to assure the schools provide healthy and nutritious snacks in their vending machines, but it takes more than just snacks to create a healthy child. Parents and other caregivers need to learn how to research what is in the foods they serve and make sure they don’t serve foods with empty calories.

Obesity Is a Modern Day Killer September 7, 2008

Author: Laura Rayburn

All around this country, and, indeed, all around this world, people are adopting more and more sedentary lifestyles as their work is made more efficient by technological advances. What used to take a team of men hours of physical labor to accomplish can now be done by simply manipulating machines and robots instead. While this is good news for most businesses and the world economy in general, it has led to a decrease in the amount of energy that the average person requires in order to get through their day. This truth, complemented by the related fact that our more affluent lifestyles have allowed us to indulge our taste buds more than previous generations, is one of the underlying causes of the obesity epidemic that the human race is facing in this modern day.

Unlike generations past, we do not view life-threatening illnesses as very dangerous anymore. With all the medicines and medical breakthroughs that have occurred in the last century alone, we are freed from many of the diseases that killed people in the past. That said, it is also true that our modern society is not free of all medical ailments. Although we do not feel threatened by things like pneumonia, tuberculosis, and other bacterial and viral infections, we cannot escape the plague of death. And for over 400,000 Americans per year, death manifests itself as a complication of an obesity-related condition. That number breaks down to over eleven hundred people dying each day from something that is preventable for the most part!

Unfortunately, there are a lot of us who meet threshold for being considering obese or overweight. In fact, there are over 123 million of us! Furthermore, this problem is not even restricted to the adult demographics. Around the globe, there are at least 22 million children under the age of five are considered overweight (and thus at risk for obesity). Indeed, in this country alone, researchers report that the number of overweight children has doubled in the span of a single generation, while the number of overweight adolescents has tripled.

And although genetics do play a role in determining how easily a person gains and loses weight, for the most part, your genes do not have the final say in determining your pant size, but your brain does. And although it will take a strong act of willpower to make the changes required for a healthier lifestyle, it will soon become second nature to you. The decision to choose healthy snacks for you and your family will even be a no-brainer when you see YoNaturals health food vending machines popping up in your workplace, in your child’s school, and out and about around the town. The decision to eat healthier food is easy if you choose to stick with YoNaturals. Choose it for your health.

Staying True to Your Health August 30, 2008

Author: Laura Rayburn

Wherever it is that you work, you probably have access to a bank of vending machines. Love them or hate them, they are a part of modern American life. In fact, a quick peek into trash bins situated around your workplace will probably reveal just how deeply involved these machines are in providing for you and your coworkers’ diets.

Considering the amount of time that most people spend at their workplace during a given week, it should surprise no one that people rely upon vending machines in the way that they do. These machines provide a quick fix to those hunger pangs or energy slumps that plague everyone from time to time, and there are very few people in this world who will always be prepared to knock out these problems with a snack that they prepared at home and brought along with them to work. Also, in addition to providing quick snacks to the masses, vending machines often provide lunch substitutes for people who find themselves without.

Despite the fact that these machines do provide a useful service for many working adults, reliance upon vending machine food can also prove problematic. First off, most of the food that is purchased from these machines are unhealthy (read: calorie-laden) snack foods. The kinds of foods that you can mindlessly munch on without giving a thought to how much you are actually eating. This is especially true in an office environment, where you can sit at your computer, checking emails and reading through documents while scarfing down your snack. The mindlessness of it all leaves no opportunity for your body to tell you when to stop, which is an unhealthy habit to have in the first place. And this is especially true when you are eating such unhealthy food. So what can you do to avoid these problems?

Aside from preparing snacks at home and remembering to bring them to work with you each day, you can take some steps to ensure that your body gets the maximum benefit from workplace snacking. Your first priority should be to find the healthiest foods that your snack machines offer and stick to those choices. YoNaturals produces vending machines that cater to that purpose exactly: providing healthy food options to hungry people. Your second priority should be to step away from your office or cubicle for a few minutes (go outside and get some fresh air if you can) while you enjoy your snack. Without the distraction of a phone that is ringing off the hook and an inbox that is flooded with new email, you will be able to focus your attention on the food that you are putting into your body. You deserve this much, and your health should always come before even the most important project that your employer gives you.

Proper Eating with Fruits and Veggies by YoNaturals August 26, 2008

Author: Jessica Vachal

For all intents and purposes, eating more fruits and vegetables should not be a very hard way to add some more “healthy” into our everyday lives. Yet, for most Americans, it would seem that eating more healthfully involves more eating “fat free” and “non fat” foods, in all their prepackaged goodness, rather than just making sure to get more fruits and vegetables onto the dinner plate every night and into the breakfast bowl every morning. The point is, most people seem to think they know what it takes to eat more healthfully, and yet they do not take the simplest steps towards making that goal a reality.

Eating fruits and vegetables is undeniably the healthiest thing anyone can do for their bodies and their health. The nutrients and other benefits derived from fruits and vegetables are unrivaled in any other form, even vitamins consumed in a pill form, and yet people do not do enough to ensure that these fruits and vegetables will end up on their tables during every meal.

It can be easy to add more fruits and vegetables to your daily meals, provided you take small steps to make it happen. Add blueberries or strawberries to your oatmeal every morning for a healthy meal that is as full of fiber as it is tasty. Throw some carrots and celery into a baggie for a midday snack so you are not tempted to go to the vending machine for chips. Unless of course you are lucky enough to have a workplace or a school even, that boasts a vending machine full of YoNaturals goodness and you can choose organic fruit juices and organic snacks rather than the standard chocolate candies and greasy, fatty chips that most vending machines boast.

Eat a salad with dinner – not even necessarily for dinner – and you will be well on your way to a healthy lifestyle. The fact is, eating healthfully does not have to be hard, it can even be easy if you have the right tools at your disposal, and having fruits and vegetables readily accessible is a big step towards making sure you are armed with the necessary healthy lifestyle tools. So buy some apples and oranges to keep on hand, and make sure you get whatever fruits you love that are in season to make your breakfasts pop. Keep greens in the refrigerator, and your healthy lifestyle can begin today!