Breaking The Vending Machine Habit

When it comes to vending machines snack choices at work, despite what suppliers may claim about the foods that are available, they are simply not healthy. According to fitnessmagazine . com (2009) some healthier snack lists for vending machines include baked lays potato chips, sun chips, popcorn, and peanut M & M's.

Yet all processed foodstuffs have high glycemic content meaning their consumption produces insulin. Therefore, if a person is overweight and not a marathon runner or a humming bird, his or her body will store these foods as fat almost immediately. Nuts may be a wiser snack choice but one must question that comes to mind is how long they may have been sitting in a vending machine before you ingest them. The risks nuts pose are forms of anaphylaxis through both mold and toxins that build up the longer the nuts sit.

So the question is what does a person eat out of a vending machine if he or she must? Also , what are some healthy alternatives approaches to snacking at the office to break the vending machine habit?

The facts about vending machine consumables reveal that they are convenience foods and most of the times are salty, sugary, fatty, and free of the necessary elements to consider them healthy and nutritious. Along with the aforementioned properties of vending machine foods, they have empty calories and are high in caloric content making them prize candidates for increasing ones belt and dress size. If low energy is an issue during the work day, in addition to the occasional upset stomach, one can guarantee the culprit is vending machine grazing at work.

The most healthy alternative to vending machine eating is to bring food to work from home. This simple remedy is often very frowned upon (due to so-called inconvenience) yet it crafts the best benefits. It creates stability in blood sugar levels resulting in even energy during the work day, which is a necessity for the work place atmosphere. Moreover, bringing a nutritious lunch in addition to snacks helps prevents weight gain, heartburn, and cravings that usually result in eating a huge dinner after work.

Examples of alternative (healthy) vending machine foods are whole food bars, nuts, and seeds brought from home whereby the "eat before" dates clearly establish freshness. Also great are fruits, raw vegetables, healthy dips made with quality oils such as grape seed, safflower, or olive oil. One can even visit the deli of a health food store the morning before work to choose from a variety of organic pre-made dishes that heat up easily in the cafeteria or office microwave.

Better yet, purchasing organic pre-made healthy lunch meals and having them at home ready to toss into a briefcase, purse, or cooler for work may be the best alternative for vending machine eating that there is in the workplace.

Deana Sicari BS CCN

Clinical Nutritionist and Functional Athletic Trainer

C/O The "Nutri-Fit"

760-940-4148

My name is Deana Sicari-Rodgers and I am a certified Clinical Nutritionist and Athletic Trainer. I have 18 years experience in the field of chemistry-applied nutrition and over 22 years experience in personal training.  My experience in helping others achieve their health and fitness goals includes weight loss, sport nutrition, metabolic disorders (such as insulin resistance and forms of diabetes), menopause, inflammatory condition, chronic illness and disease.  My personally designed programs include the latest in clinical diagnostics and incorporate, menu planning, individual accountability, accurate measure of ones progress, suggested vitamin profiles, exercise routines and behavioral tools for success. If you are interested in the cutting edge to accomplish your health goals, NUTRI-FIT is your home for personalized nutrition and fitness.

deana@thenutri-fit.com

Reference

Sole-Smith, V (2009). 10 Healthy (and 10 Terrible!) Vending Machine snacks. Retrieved October 21, 2009, from

fitnessmagazine . com/recipes/snacks/healthy/vending-machine-snacks/