Food is medicine and your doctor just prescribed Zipongo

You may have heard the saying, “Food is medicine.” It’s a sentiment that 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: 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 effects 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 ignore. 

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 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?’ We wanted to make sure the answer is always something healthy,” said CU Health Plan Health Coordinator Mallory Bergen.

That sentiment is at the heart of the program, and the service goes even further. Zipongo empowers people to make better decisions about what to eat – at home 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 restaurant menu items.

The app is free for medical CU Health Plan members and up to four household members. 

“Our hope is that people gain the skills and information they need in order to make great food choices throughout the day, no matter where they are,” Bergen said.