Category Archives: Fitness

Food as Medicine: Scaling the Future of Nutrition-First Health

Food as Medicine: Expanding Access and Impact with Epicured’s Rich Bennett



The phrase “Food as Medicine” has moved beyond buzzwords to become a powerful force in health tech and digital health. From dedicated pavilions at major conferences like HLTH to a growing understanding of its profound impact to StartUp Health’s newly-launched Food as Medicine Health Moonshot Community, the concept is clear: what we eat plays a crucial role in preventing and managing chronic diseases – often more so than medication alone. Nutrition is not just about sustenance or weight management; it’s a vital tool in fighting disease and fostering overall wellbeing.

Beyond its direct health benefits, treating food as medicine offers a unique advantage: it connects us. Sharing meals builds community and belonging, essential elements for human health and thriving that a pill simply cannot replicate.

In this episode, we speak with Rich Bennett, CEO & Co-founder of Epicured, a true standard-bearer in the Food as Medicine movement. Epicured delivers medically-tailored meals directly to individuals’ homes, offering personalized nutrition plans designed by a team of expert nutritionists and Michelin-starred chefs, catering to a range of health conditions.

We delve into Epicured’s exciting recent developments, including their groundbreaking partnership with Medicaid in New York State. This significant move expands access to their life-changing service to a wider population, particularly those who may not have had the means to benefit previously.

Bennett also shares his insights on joining as a founding member of StartUp Health’s Food as Medicine Health Moonshot Community, highlighting the collaborative efforts driving innovation and growth in this vital field.

Epicured is one of the exciting growth stories in digital health today, and they are at a fascinating inflection point. Join us as Bennett discusses their recent successful fundraise and their ambitious plans to scale up production at their “healing food” facilities. This is a pivotal moment for Epicured and the entire Food as Medicine movement. Tune in to hear how they are revolutionizing healthcare, one delicious and nutritious meal at a time.


Are you ready to tell YOUR story? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Exposure in StartUp Health Media to our global audience of investors and partners – including our podcast, newsletters, magazine, and YouTube channel – is a benefit of our Health Moonshot Community Membership. To schedule a call and see if you qualify to join and increase brand awareness through our multi-media storytelling efforts, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit.
» Learn more and apply today.

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The Future of Vitamins: Vous Vitamin’s Tech-Forward Personalization (Featured on CNET!)



Can vitamins play a bigger role in preventative health? Vous Vitamin, founded by doctors Arielle Levitan, MD, and Romy Block, MD, thinks so. This physician-led company in the StartUp Health community offers personalized vitamin subscriptions based on science, not hype. Join StartUp Health NOW as we dive deep with CEO Brad Helfand to explore the fascinating intersection of vitamins and technology.

They’ll discuss how Vous Vitamin is changing the game, including:

  • The evidence-based approach behind personalized supplementation
  • Bringing vitamins into the realm of preventative medicine and primary care
  • Securing a spot on CNET’s top 5 vitamin subscriptions
  • Potential insurance and Medicare Advantage coverage
  • Innovative corporate wellness programs

Tune in to discover how Vous Vitamin is bridging the gap between traditional healthcare and the often-overlooked world of vitamins, and how technology is making this possible.


Are you ready to tell YOUR story? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Exposure in StartUp Health Media to our global audience of investors and partners – including our podcast, newsletters, magazine, and YouTube channel – is a benefit of our Health Moonshot Community Showcase Membership. To schedule a call and see if you qualify to join and increase brand awareness through our multi-media storytelling efforts, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. Learn more and apply today.

Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.


Taking a Breath of Fresh Air: Innovation in Respiratory Health



This episode of StartUp Health NOW shines a light on respiratory health with guest Sathya Elumalai, CEO & Co-founder of Aidar Health – a long-time member of the StartUp Health community.

  • The power of breath: Explore how Elumalai’s company, Aidar Health, is revolutionizing respiratory health with their innovative MouthLab device.
  • More than just a breathalyzer: Discover how MouthLab measures over 10 vital signs, opening doors for future biometric applications.
  • Combating COPD: Learn how Aidar Health’s technology tackles chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a debilitating lung condition.

This episode is for you if:

  • You’re interested in healthcare innovation.
  • You’re curious about the future of respiratory health.
  • You want to learn about the power of breath in health monitoring.

Get ready to be inspired by the future of lung health!


Innovating in Alzheimer’s disease? Learn how you can join our new Alzheimer’s Moonshot.

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A Deep Dive with Jetsweat Founders: Bridging the Gap from Physical to Emotional Fitness



This week’s StartUp Health NOW podcast episode is a conversation with Health Transformers Alexandra Dantzig and Erin Frankel, the co-founders of Jetsweat. As you’ll hear, their company started out as a fittech marketplace for boutique fitness brands, helping these small independent fitness companies create high-quality digital content and reach new audiences.

Recently, however, Jetsweat – which joined StartUp Health in 2022 – has made moves into the realm of value-based, whole person care. They’ve launched what they call Jetsweat Health and they have their sights set on helping large employers and insurers keep their people healthy. The idea is instead of offering your employees or members a simple discount to a couple of national fitness chains, offer them access to a marketplace of hundreds or even thousands of unique high-quality boutique fitness brands that meet their specific needs and desires.

Jetsweat is also stepping into mental health with new offerings around emotional fitness. They’re making very clear connections between preventative physical fitness and preventative emotional fitness by treating mental health more like a daily workout that everyone can benefit from. They’re lowering the barriers to care and decreasing the stigma attached with seeking help.

Listen in for their journey.


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BUA FIT Hits One Million Engagements in Support of Outdoor Fitness



One in four adults is physically inactive according to a global health study published in the Lancet a few years ago. That’s an enormous number. It doesn’t take much research or imagination to figure out that this leads directly to poorer health outcomes – and just a lower quality of life in general. Our bodies need to move for our physical and mental wellbeing.

Dave Stapleton, our guest today, is working to solve this problem. Dave played semi-pro rugby in Ireland and then moved to London to work in finance. Because of his years on the field, he prefers outdoor fitness classes. He was taking part in these various bootcamps and high intensity training sessions around London when he realized two things.

The first was that outdoor training was more accessible to the people who needed it most. People who feared the judgment or complexity of a gym seemed to see outdoor classes as an entry point to fitness. The second was that the outdoor fitness market was incredibly fractured and disorganized.

So Dave did what great entrepreneurs do. He dove deep into market research, found like-minded collaborators, and began to build. The platform he created, BUA FIT, just celebrated facilitating its one millionth engagement, so we wanted to get Dave on the phone from London and hear more about how their journey has played out since StartUp Health invested in the company last year.

 


 

Learn more and connect with the team at BUA FIT.

Entrepreneurs: How to get investment from StartUp Health startuphealth.com

Investors: How to invest in StartUp Health Moonshots healthmoonshots.com
Want more content like this? You can subscribe to the podcast as well as other health innovation updates at startuphealth.com/content.
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