blog

Water is vital for all of your body’s systems to function. When you are dehydrated, your body will will experience critical malfunctions, that could be fatal if left untreated. Dehydration causes a drop in blood volume.

Our bodies are made of up to about 65% water, and blood accounts for most of that. This can cause your body to compensate by increasing your heart rate and overheating your muscles. The imbalance will drop your energy levels, and you will lose mental clarity, as your body focuses on trying to conserve fluid.

Salads get a pretty bad rap for being healthy, but unpalatable. Most people imagine limp, bitter greens, that don’t inspire any culinary delight. Most of us know that we should be eating salad, but do you know why?

Salads are a convenient and simple way for you to increase your fruit and vegetable intake in one meal. They’re also the building blocks of good health because of their fiber content. Lettuce, and vegetables like celery and carrots provide fiber that can help to lower cholesterol levels and make you feel fuller for longer.

As a part of a healthy lifestyle, daily physical activity has been shown to lower risk for many types of diseases, including cancer, and diabetes.

If you don’t have time to join a gym, there are some easy ways that you can increase your daily physical activity simply by making a few changes to your regular regimen.

As a part of a healthy lifestyle, there is one thing you can do every day in order to reduce your risk of major illnesses like cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke. It will even increase your life expectancy.

It has been shown to be more effective than anti-depressants for depression, and for most people, it can its effects can almost be felt immediately.

What is this amazing drug? Well, it’s not a drug, it’s exercise. Physical activity has been shown to improve health and is even linked to a healthy mental state and happiness. That’s right, exercise can lead to a happier and healthier life.

Chronic and degenerative disease risk like diabetes and cancer risk is reduced and research has proven that exercise can reduce the risk of mental illnesses like depression, Alzheimer’s, and dementia.

Exercise and physical activity is beneficial at every age. It is especially beneficial for the elderly, and helps to stave off the effects of aging. Regular moderate activity lasting at least 30 minutes a day, and at least 150 minutes a week is medically proven to lower the risk of diabetes, colon and breast cancer, bone disease, depression, and heart disease and stroke.

In todays world, average adults spend more time sitting at work sedentary than they do moving around, and as a part of a healthy lifestyle, regular exercise helps to combat this.

Opposite stretching (movements that are opposing to what you normally do, like back bends), are essential to balancing the body. Stretching every hour of sitting will reduce repetitive strain injuries, and allow the eyes to take a break as well.

Exercise improves circulation and blood flow, delivering oxygen, essential vitamins, and fluids throughout the body. Physical activity works all systems in your body, from respiration, metabolism, endocrine, brain, muscle, skeletal, and digestive system. High intensity exercises will break fat bonds for energy, and stimulates nor-epinephrine, which triggers the receptors for epinephrine, a hormone responsible for feeling good. All amazing things for your body, and necessary for a healthy lifestyle.

High intensity aerobic activity like running is also linked to growth of brain neuron cells in the hippocampus, which is the area of the brain responsible for memory, learning new skills, understanding new ideas and navigating.

The hippocampus is also the first area to be damaged by memory type illnesses and dementia related diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Regular exercise and physical activity is a part of a healthy lifestyle. Whether you’re growing neurons after high intensity aerobic exercise, or building muscle after weight lifting, FRESH has a way for you to re-fuel and re-hydrate. Repairing muscles? Try one of our protein bowls. Check out a delicious FRESH café near you.

Water is by far the best way to stay hydrated, but it can get really boring trying to get to your optimal hydration levels. Human beings are made of about 65% water, and if you can remember your grade 9 science class, water is required as a catalyst in many metabolic reactions.

Long term dehydration leads to chronic hydration issues, which brings with it a whole host of nasty symptoms like pain, headaches, join stiffness, issues sleeping, lack of energy, and problems focusing.

This kind of dehydration may even slow down your metabolism and reduce endocrine function. You will also need more than the recommended intake of fluids if you are exercising regularly, breastfeeding, are ill (even more if you have symptoms of the flu), consuming diuretics, and if the temperature is really high. 8 glasses of water a day (at about 8oz each glass) is the minimum recommendation for optimal hydration. Depending on your level of activity and metabolism, you may likely need even more. You can offset your water needs by trying these 5 other ways to stay hydrated.

1. Adding vegetables that naturally contain more water is a great way to supplement your water needs. Not only are you increasing your hydration, you are also adding nutrients, vitamins and minerals, and fiber as well. Try cucumber, celery, radishes, tomatoes, and lettuce.
2. Eat some fruit. Many fruits are high in water content, and are a way to satisfy your sweet cravings at the same time, without any processed sugar. Fruits high in water are melons, grapefruits, oranges, strawberries, and kiwi, and offer a delicious way to increase hydration.
3. Coconut water is a natural beverage that is harvested from young coconuts. They are high in electrolyte and potassium, which is vital for nerve and muscle function. Electrolytes imbalances occur when you are severely dehydrated, and also when you drink too much water as well.
4. Smoothies contain a lot of water filled fruits and vegetables, which means that you can quench your thirst and give your body a boost of vitamins, minerals and fiber. Smoothies are nutrient packed, and can be a way to hide vegetables that you don’t like as much either. A smoothie in the morning can break your night’s fast gently, and a balanced smoothie won’t give you an energy crash like coffee and tea.
5. Green tea. Loaded with antioxidants, green tea may help lower your risk of cancer, increase mental focus and clarity, and even help increase your metabolism.

Water is still the best way to stay hydrated, so moderation is important when consuming the above alternatives. They don’t replace water, but do help to offset your daily water requirements. For a delicious way to stay hydrated, come into FRESH to try one of our FRESH squeezes, smoothies, or green tea. Find your closest location here.

Think of the word diet, and it may immediately trigger negative views on body image.

But diet does not have to be a bad word.

A good and healthy diet is a fundamental part of a healthy lifestyle. Why certain foods don’t belong in your diet may not necessarily have to do with maintaining your waistline. Decreasing or completely eliminating certain foods will improve your overall health, including how you feel, your mental clarity, and even how you breathe.

Understanding why certain foods don’t belong in your diet will go a long way in helping you to avoid it.

Here are 5 foods you need to say goodbye to for good health.

1. Hydrogenated fats. Margarine and other types of vegetable oils that have been artificially hydrogenated are toxic to the body. It increases bad cholesterol, while lowering good cholesterol. These artificial trans fats have been pumped full of hydrogen in order to be solid at room temperature and increase shelf life. Studies have shown that while it’s bad for the cholesterol in the body, it also increases the risk for heart disease, metabolic syndrome, as well as degenerative diseases like arthritis. Furthermore, studies have found that inflammation in the body increases when consuming artificial trans fats, and inflammation in the body linked to cancer. The link with diabetes is more inconsistent, as a larger study found that women who ate trans fats had a higher risk of developing diabetes, while other studies found no significant link at all. Several diabetes risk factors that could cause variances in studies, like insulin resistance and blood sugar levels, will need to be controlled in future studies in order to determine a clear link.
2. Soda pop. Drinking soda pop sends your body’s insulin into overdrive. The spike in high-fructose corn syrup is what is largely fueling the obesity epidemic. All the empty calories in soda pop is sugar, and there is virtually no other nutrient value. It does nothing to quench thirst because it actually makes you thirstier. Drinking soda pop damages teeth, promoting cavities and other dental issues, and some studies have shown that cola could weaken bones. Diet soda pop isn’t any better as artificial sweeteners have been shown to be toxic to your body, and although it doesn’t pack the same caloric punch, it still triggers a spike in insulin. Some studies have shown that regular consumption diet soda actually increases weight gain. The reasons are two fold, and have to do with how artificial sweeteners confuse the body’s insulin system, as well as how you think you are drinking a healthier drink. Diet soda drinkers tend to consume more diet soda because they think it is healthier, and artificial sweeteners are so much sweeter than actual sugar, that it dulls your sweet receptors overtime.
3. Processed deli meat. About 80% of the calories in hotdogs come from unhealthy saturated fat. Processed meats  type are usually high in salt and other additives. Regular consumption of processed meats increases your risk for heart disease, stomach cancer, and colon cancer.
4. Table salt. Table salt is processed and stripped of any trace minerals and vitamins that are present when it is mined. It has undergone everything from extreme heating, bleaching, and enhancement with potentially high levels of iodine. High levels of table salt consumption is directly linked to hypertension, also known as high blood pressure. This increases the stress on the heart overtime, and increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. Hypertension can be dangerous for pregnant women, and cause premature delivery.
5. Microwave popcorn. The bags that house microwaveable popcorn is coated to with PFOA to keep it from sticking. This chemical is a carcinogen, and has been linked to cancer. It is popped in artificial trans fat that lowers good cholesterol while raising bad cholesterol. The fake butter flavoring contains a compound called diacetyl that can cause a disease called popcorn lung that is generally associated with workers in a microwavable popcorn manufacturing facility, however, it has also been observed in people who consume high quantities as well.

A lot of the above contains chemicals or constituents that are bad for your healthy lifestyle, and should be completely eliminated, or at least greatly reduced. When you’ve got a craving for an unhealthy food, pop into a FRESH restaurant and satisfy your taste buds with one of our delicious wraps, smoothies, or protein bowls that are not just good for your diet, but your overall health and well being too. Find a location near you now.

One of the discernible traits of entrepreneurs is their need to control things. Managing outcomes in business ownership helps to mitigate risk, and determine how to grow the business and expand. On the good side, the controlling type of nature help to propel businesses forward, create a future and vision for the product, and be able to describe it to others in defined goals.

Yet most entrepreneurs have a difficult time delegating tasks, as most of them still reside in their heads.

An entrepreneur may have the best of intentions to give his employees autonomy, but the risk and uncertainty can cause anxiety, which leads to a tighter hold, and even micromanaging of all of the tasks required.

And it’s not hard to see why. Delegating a task involves a lot of hard work to relay the information how you want something done. The real issue is trust. Entrepreneurs subscribe to the belief that they can do something better. It is possible they may be able to do it better based on their sheer will, passion, and drive, however, it is detrimental for them to do this. Entrepreneurs are leaders. Their focus should be on the big picture, the future, and how to get there. Spending too much time on the day to day tasks, takes them away from that. They will continue to operate with a deficit in the future, if they are not able to delegate tasks, and trust that people may get it wrong, but that they have trained, mentored, or will continue to assist on a infrequent and occasional basis.

Passing on information is also time consuming, so hiring the right people from the get go will go a long way in feeling comfortable enough with sharing your goals, passion, and ideas.

Take the time to discuss with your employees the task, how the employee plans to tackle it, and how you will collude. Remind them that you trust that they will do a great job, and then allow them the autonomy to do it. Be open for questions, and follow up infrequently. Schedule the follow ups in your own calendar to ensure you are not micromanaging on a day to day basis.

Ultimately, there is a fear of mistakes, and that there will be consequences. However, if you can understand that mistakes may happen, and that you trust you have hired a team that is capable, and able to handle the challenges, then you have to work hard at letting go. Remind yourself of what your main purpose is on the team as well.

When you can effectively manage this cycle, you can focus on the important tasks for you. Organizations with good leaders that are great at delegating will see their businesses grow, because their strengths are utilized on the things that matter, propelling their business forward, instead of the daily day to day management. Although important, they are maintaining, while your goal is to make leaps and bounds.

Ready to hire employees and be your own entrepreneur? Contact us at FRESH today, and we’ll help you get started.

If you’re a big couch potato, the longer you’ve been unmotivated, the harder it is to get there. Other than how exercise will change your overall appearance, here are 9 other reasons that don’t have anything to do with how you look (although, with regular exercise, your overall appearance will change).

1. Reduce risk or severity of illness. White blood cells protect and fight off infection from bacteria and viruses constantly. Exercise improves the circulation and distribution of the white blood cells throughout the body. Good circulation pumps blood into all the areas of the body that are ill or injured, which speeds up the repair in those areas. White blood cells aid in reducing inflammation, as well as warding off illness and disease.
2. Increased endurance. The heart is a muscle that needs to be exercised. Contractions of the heart are strengthened with regular cardiovascular activity. The human circulatory system is a complex network of veins, arteries, and capillaries, that deliver blood and oxygen to all of the body’s cells, and is moved through the body by the heart and lungs. Overtime, regular exercise practices the heart and lung correlation, and both capacity and efficiency is improved.
3. Manage stress. Exercise helps to manage stress in a variety of ways, but one of the most well known documented ways is how it releases the hormone epinephrine (also known as adrenaline more commonly), and nor-epinephrine. Adrenaline puts your body in a flight or fight mode, allowing you to be more alert, and increases energy to your muscles to allow you to physically work harder. Nor-epinephrine is released in order to stimulate the dopamine receptors in the brain. These receptors are needed to absorb endorphins, which are also released during exercise. Endorphins improve your mood and overall mental well being.
4. Have more energy. Exercise causes your blood to flow more quickly as the body requires more oxygen to the cells. This temporarily increases your metabolic rate, utilizing the glucose in your blood. This increase in metabolic rate continues after you’ve exercised, and gives you a sustained feeling of energy.
5. Increase metabolism. Cardiovascular exercise increases your metabolic rate and burns calories. Exercises that increase the metabolic rate, is anything that requires sustained aerobic activity like, running, swimming, or biking. This rise in metabolic rate is temporary, and will return to normal (after a short after burn period where the body continues at the sustained metabolic rate before returning to normal). Weight and strength exercises increase the metabolic rate two fold. First, like cardiovascular exercise, the metabolic rate increases temporarily to accommodate the burst of exercise. However, weight training increases muscle mass and the need for more energy to use the muscle, which can sustain an increase in metabolism, as the muscles require more energy.
6. Increase strength. Cardiovascular exercise combined with strength or weight training will increase muscle mass.
7. Increase flexibility. Exercise improves blood flow too muscles, and therefore overall range of motion.
8. Boost immunity. You don’t need to be an elite athlete for exercise to benefit your immune system. Studies show that just 30 minutes of moderate exercise 3 times a week will greatly reduce your chances of getting a cold or reduce the severity and length of illness. Regular exercise boosts your T-cells, which is your body’s natural defence system, and integral in fighting illness.
9. Better mental clarity. Exercising regularly improves blood flow to the body and brain. Levels of required hormones are kept at optimum levels, improving focus and concentration.

FRESH provides food and beverages that support your active, healthy lifestyle without sacrificing taste. Enjoy an amazing protein bowl, crunchy salad, or delicious super smoothie as a part of a balanced diet. See how you can add FRESH to your day.

Why human beings age is a very complex and is based on a number of different factors. One of the theories of aging has to do with the fact that the human body is constantly being put under oxidative stress, and antioxidants may be the key.

As we depend on oxygen to live, it is in all of our cells. Oxidative stress occurs when oxygen molecule split into atoms. If you can remember your high school science class, the molecules pair together, because it is attracted to one another as they both need an extra electron. These unpaired atoms are free radicals, and are unstable and highly reactive as they try to find an extra electron to pair up with, traveling through the body to find it.

To put it simply, free radicals may blur the blueprint of your healthy body, and they may also knock over the proteins that are needed, and they may cause them to built not to code. As more free radicals are created by oxidative stress, the more problems that can arise from their assault.
Degenerative diseases that are associated with aging, like cancer and Alzheimer’s, and auto-immune diseases like arthritis, may be due to the body’s inability to deal with the attack of free radicals.
So what causes free radicals?

Free radicals are made within our bodies (as a part of a healthy immune function), as well as in the environment. Poor diet, stress, illness, along with dangerous substances we put in our bodies like drugs (prescription and recreational), smoking, and alcohol can all cause oxidative stress. The environment can also be a significant factor as pesticides, pollution, and even exposure to sunlight can also create free radicals.

While reducing exposure to free radicals will help, the focus on the removal of free radicals is necessary for good health.

Antioxidants can safely interact with free radicals, stop their reactions, and render them harmless. The body does have it’s own built in mechanisms (through enzyme systems) that seek free radicals to remove them from the body. The most significant antioxidants that manage free radicals are vitamin E, vitamin C, and beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A (not an antioxidant), which is fat soluble, and can be toxic at high doses.

At FRESH, we understand how important antioxidants are for a healthy lifestyle. Our menu is amped up with the best types of antioxidants.

Ready to try something delicious that will make you look and feel great? Try our fountain of youth FRESH squeeze, pomegranate punch smoothie, acai mega berry super smoothie, or our Pataya or acai bowl. Reduce your oxidative stress as a part of a healthy lifestyle and visit your nearest FRESH.

Restaurant franchises are a complete opportunity for owning a restaurant. Franchises are business that have already been established in the marketplace. Generally speaking, they are proven to be successful and are well branded.

Starting your own business and being an entrepreneur is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have. In the restaurant industry, the ability to set your own schedule is incredibly rewarding. You get to train others, as well as provide a service to a community. Naturally, many people will become dependent on you as a means for work, mentoring and providing nourishment.

Have you only started to think about being a restaurant entrepreneur?  You might not have a lot of experience. You might not even have any experience. Don’t worry, here are the 3 things you should know about restaurant franchises.

1. Business Plan. You will still require a business plan. Different franchises will offer more or less support in this area. However, this is where you will have the chance to be unique. A business plan is a roadmap for your business, and outlines the stages and milestones for your business. How will you know you are successful if you’ve never decided what it means to be successful? A solid business plan will include everything. From competitor analysis to a marketing strategy. A general rule of thumb is to create one and five year plans. Additionally, schedule reviews of goals and milestones quarterly.
2. Brand Policies. Franchises have a proven track record of success. They also have a brand that has been well marketed. It is critical that they have a continuous and consistent message at all times. Franchises will often have very strict rules on what you can say publicly.  Furthermore, the marketing collateral you can use, and even how you can market your product may be dictated by the franchise. Likewise, customers are going to expect consistency between restaurants. They will expect similar quality food and service. As a franchise owner, you will be required to adhere to these policies.
3. Not all chains are franchises. Moreover, some chains are owned entirely by one company. A franchise could have multiple locations owned by the company. As well, it may also have franchises owned by other entrepreneurs. There are also different types of franchises. Not only area or master franchises, but also single franchise owners.

Restaurant franchises like FRESH offers an amazing business opportunity. It puts you in control. We support you through the entire process. That way you get to focus on customers.

To find out more about restaurant franchises and the FRESH franchise opportunity with our unique system of supporting  franchise owners, contact us.