Food as Medicine: Vitality to scale nutrition access for longevity and disease prevention

11 Jan 2024 --- The Vitality Group, a health and well-being company specializing in behavior change, partners with Tangelo — a food prescription benefit platform — to offer increased access and encourage greater consumption of nutritious foods among its members. The partnership allows Vitality clients to access customizable and clinically driven Food as Medicine programs to achieve better health results.

The program prescribes medically tailored foods that are personalized for each Vitality member to prevent, manage and treat chronic disease. Moreover, the partnership offers members easy access to fresh produce, with mixed grocery boxes, ready-to-eat meals and meal kits to support their health needs. 

“The majority of deaths in the US are attributed to chronic diseases, many of which could be positively impacted with better nutrition,” says Maia Surmava, CEO of Vitality US. 

“Through this partnership, we are removing barriers to healthy eating for our members by offering easy access, education and motivation to move the needle on food and nutrition security — and ultimately improve health.”

Assessing and improving diet quality 
The partnership will offer an effective way to both measure and improve diet quality and health outcomes at scale. 

It will integrate the capabilities of Diet ID, a digital health platform Tangelo acquired last year. This platform enables quick and accurate dietary assessments, prescriptions, behavior change and coaching. 

To redeem healthy food benefits through Tangelo, Vitality members complete a Diet ID assessment for their food prescription. They select foods from a list of condition-tailored and culturally relevant food options, enter a delivery address and check out using “Vitality Bucks” or direct payment. Tangelo’s food deliveries prioritize local farms and suppliers. 

“Food, when done right, is the pinnacle of medicine, benefiting both human and planetary health,” says Dr. David L. Katz, chief medical officer for Tangelo and founder of Diet ID. 

“Unlike drugs and surgery, its positive impacts extend to entire communities. Food as Medicine is our future, and with the combined power of Tangelo, Diet ID and Vitality, we’re elevating this vision. This milestone is inspiring for us all.”

Food as Medicine 
There is a growing interest in Food as Medicine, where food-based nutrition interventions are used in healthcare to treat or prevent chronic diet-related disease. A report by the US Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University flags that the practice could avert millions of hospitalizations, improve health and quality of life and cut healthcare costs.  

Moreover, research suggests that people at an increased risk for cardiovascular diseases who participate in produce prescription programs — where doctors prescribe fruits and vegetables to patients — increase fruit and vegetable intake, improve their body mass index, blood sugar and blood pressure levels and decrease food insecurity. 

If produce prescription programs were implemented nationally in the US, researchers predict it could prevent 296,000 cases of cardiovascular disease. 

Meanwhile, companies are also making strides in the Food is Medicine sphere. The digital platform Heali recently mobilized US$3 million in seed funding for its app, which aims to help combat chronic illness with evidence-based nutrition protocols delivered through the app, demonstrating clinical-grade health outcomes. 

Kroger’s healthcare division partnered with Soda Health — a technology company aiming to reduce health inequity — to launch a Smart Benefits program on the principles of Food is Medicine. Kroger sees this as a dedicated, educated and personalized approach to food so people can live healthier lives, preventing illness before it starts. 

By Jolanda van Hal