It became a meme during the pandemic. In proximity to their own kitchens, many work-from-home employees indulged. Why not cook a five-course meal for lunch? For National Nutrition Month, we encourage you to make your workplace part of your reliably nutritious snacks and meals in a more sustainable way. Because not every meal can start with an amuse bouche and end with an organic fruit trifle, all scratch-made. The efforts are worth the time. Spoiler alert: When you level up on your workplace nutrition game, you level up your energy, attention, endurance, mood, and overall health. It’s really that powerful. You can think of your food as a kind of medicine and ally in thriving.
For National Nutrition Month, explore the simple ways to put nutritional skills into practice during busy work days. Celebrating National Nutrition Month at work may be as simple as learning how many fruits and vegetables will replace a calorically dense snack and then trying the substitution out for a week. We came up with a few other ideas, too.
Hydrate, but Make it Fancy
Did you know that hydration is often the difference between feeling foggy and feeling alert? One study found that those deprived of water for an even 36 hours saw “negative effects on vigor and esteem-related effect.” The study also mentioned impaired cognitive performance, tiredness, and slower reaction times.
When you turn to water as a part of celebrating National Nutrition Month, why not make it fancy? Real-life sommeliers – those studied wine experts – exist for water, too. They swear by the marked differences in waters from different regions and bottled in different ways. They even offer high-end water tastings, online courses, and published books for purchase.
Why not choose as many different water brands as you can find and bring them in for employees? Take a vote on the overall favorite among employees and stock it in the fridge for everyone as an added bonus if you have the budget. You might focus on rainwater, spring water, or distilled water only. Why not only try water from other countries? Your team might discover that water doesn’t just taste clear but can sometimes taste salty, a bit mineral, or extra smooth. You might even find a brand of water you particularly love.
Food Taste Test
Sometimes, getting to know new things with friends can be a bonding experience. When it comes to celebrating National Nutrition Month, why not taste some new fruits together? Visit a few local grocery stores and farmer’s markets and grab some fruits in season. (If you’re not sure, ask the grocer.) Then, encourage people to try just one new fruit during a breakfast, lunch, or snack break. Some of you may have grown up eating passion fruit, prickly pear, lychees, and mangosteens, but others may have not. You might try the local harvest of fruit your area is known for and order it for the snack room to encourage better nutrition. Ask employees which fruits they’ve always been curious about and order those too.
The National Institutes of Health says four to five daily fruit servings is a good goal as part of its DASH eating plan, so feel good about exploring these foods full of natural sugar, fiber, vitamins, and more.
Bring in an Expert
It’s easy to reach for a bag of cookies when you need an energy boost during a busy work day. Junk food is not the only one with caloric power, however. Healthier replacements can boost your daily intake of nutritious calories instead. Bring in an outside expert to answer questions and suggest great snack ideas for busy professionals. Ask the expert to tailor ideas for those who can’t spend a lot of time on fuel stops between calls, patients, and tasks. A nutritionist could help explain how big a healthy snack should be to really add some pep to your step. They can also talk about how to avoid the dreaded midday slump.
The Centers for Disease Control says a staggering 75% of corporate healthcare expenses are spent on chronic diseases, mostly diet-related. That translates to about $28.2 million in lost productivity. It’s time for employers to take notice. If work can become a supportive environment for good eating, nutrition, and mindfulness around dietary choices, what’s stopping employers from doing all they can to help?
The American Dietetics Association introduced a little green mascot called Nutribird in 1977 to try to promote nutrition around the country through friendly swag, but phased him out soon after. More than a cartoon bird, real-life engagement with real-life foods can help the most.
Biofunctional Health’s workforce and employee health solutions bring in registered nurses to work with your group on your chosen goals. Not only do we offer customized nutrition and activity plans, but our genetic performance profiles and custom supplement programs can help each individual target their optimal wellness through easy and simple techniques. With supportive ways to promote nutrition for groups as well as people, Biofunctional Health can help restore your youthful appearance with customizable subscription models for a range of goals such as brain function optimization, weight loss, functional medicine, and more.