Similarly, the updated 2020 Dietary Guidelines and National Institute of Health Nutrition Research Strategic Goals focus on helping people follow whole dietary patterns over time, at every life stage, with an individualized approach. These approaches are based on scientific evidence that appreciates the profound differences between individuals in dietary responses along with links between diet and disease risk: this includes healthy individuals, those at risk for diet-related diseases, and those already diagnosed with the disease.
"The Dietary Guidelines are meant to be adaptable to personal preferences, cultural foodways, and budgetary considerations. The Dietary Guidelines framework purposely provides recommendations by food groups and subgroups—not specific foods and beverages—to avoid being prescriptive. This framework approach ensures that people can ‘make it their own’ by selecting foods, beverages, meals, and snacks specific to their needs and preferences.”
This is exactly why the whole-person approach that Virgin Pulse's Coaches and Guides espouse is so important and so effective. It translates and applies to everyone—across generations, cultures, and geographies.
Applied to nutrition, it also enables us to honor that food is way more than fuel. It’s steeped in cultural and familial traditions and woven into the fabric of our everyday lives and broader society. As such, celebrating traditional foods and cooking methods can be a joyful and grounding experience that is uniquely satisfying. In our diverse society, we understand the significant role food plays in a person's cultural identity and therefore believe it unnecessary to sacrifice culture to achieve good health. When balanced and optimized to a unique individual’s lifestyle and health needs, a healthy relationship with food also has the power to heal. “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food,” to quote the wisdom of Hippocrates.
Wherever your employees are in the world, join us in celebrating one thing that unites us all: food! Here are four ways that Virgin Pulse Coaches and Guides support members using holistic and inclusive approaches to nutrition.
Virgin Pulse's Coaching Services feature a whole-person approach that blends lifestyle optimization with specialization in an industry-leading 22 conditions, providing total population health management that helps the healthy stay healthy, improves clinical outcomes, and reduces costs associated with chronic conditions. Members access coaching resources directly through their app and once paired with a coach, they identify their goals for a thriving life and work together to progress toward their vision and achieve their targeted outcomes. To learn more about VP Live, reach out to your Client Success team.
Additionally, Next-Steps Consult helps members get the most out of their wellbeing program. It is a concierge-style conversation between a member and Health Guide, focused on determining a member’s first or next step in their wellbeing journey and personalized guidance of all that Virgin Pulse and employer benefits have to offer. Our Health Guides uncover the best route for members based on their health status, motivators, and obstacles, with deep knowledge of client programs and resources.