You may have heard the saying, “food is medicine.” The sentiment has been around for a while but is gaining popularity as the public becomes more conscious about eating habits and medical institutions emphasize food as a formal part of treatment.
The idea is that by eating healthily, we can avoid chronic illnesses and other health issues while enhancing our overall wellness and satisfaction with life.
Considering how much time and money it takes to combat illnesses like diabetes and heart disease, eating healthily seems like a wise alternative. When you realize the other positive impacts of a healthy diet – like increased energy, a better immune system and sharper focus, to name a few – the argument for a cleaner diet seems hard to fight.
There are many reasons to eat healthily yet many people struggle to do so. Why is that? For some people it’s an issue of time. Often it’s a lack of culinary capability. Maybe it’s both.
The CU Health Plan recently introduced a new wellness program that addresses both of those issues – it’s an app called Zipongo. “We wanted to make sure members have a fun, easy way to answer the age old question ‘what’s for dinner tonight?’ and we wanted to make sure the answer is always something healthy,” said CU Health Plan Wellness Coordinator Mallory Bergen.
That idea is the heart of the program, and the service goes even further. Zipongo empowers people to make better decisions about what to eat – at home, at work and on the go – by providing options like meal planning tools, a robust recipe library, instant grocery ordering, healthy meal delivery and advice on healthy menu items at restaurants.
The program is free to primary members of a CU Health Plan and up to four of their household members. Members can sign up for Zipongo at cu.zipongo.com.
“Our hope is that people gain the skills and information they need to make great food choices throughout the day, no matter where they are,” said Bergen.