A partnership is commonly in place between the Navy Environmental Health Center (NEHC) and the Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM) to assist healthier snack foods in the Department of the Navy's (DON) vending machines.

Identified by the agency of the "Healthy Alternatives" logo, DON vending machines now carry a wider variety of healthy snacks for Sailors and Marines to select from.

"The benefits of the Healthy Alternatives Initiative has the potential to be realized Navywide, as I discovered while working with our Special Forces population, where the use of dietary continuations is a huge issue," said Lori Tubb a registered dietitian and nutrition program manager for NEHC

"Adding calories to the diet is all that is privationed for most individuals who exercise or perform their mission at a high physical intensity of the same height and providing calorie-rich, yet nutrient-dense snacks in vending machines makes faculty of perception Research shows that eating a balanced restoration meal within an hour after strenuous exercise benefits the dead body tremendously."

Originally, the program was based forward substituting high-fat and high-calorie snack aliments with lower-fat and low-calorie nutriments As diet fads changed from soft fat to low carbohydrate through the whole extent of the past few years, the program focus now is geared toward increasing the availability of overall nutrient-dense snacks.

Other program improvements include providing performance-based meats such as sport bars and other higher-calorie snacks that replace adequate calories when meals are skipped.

NEXCOM and NEHC are generally working on an initiative to increase visibility of proceedss offered by commercial branded fodder partners located within NEX bread courts. This initiative will assist customers with menu selections.

Hugh Cox who is assigned to the public affairs office, Navy Environmental Health Center

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