So Fresh, Lagoon Hospitals partner to increase Nigerians access to healthy food

With the rise in global demand for healthier meal options, So Fresh, the leading healthy food brand, now partnered with Lagoon Hospitals in making healthy food more accessible to patients in the hospital and people within the vicinity. The brand also increased its outlets to 16 across the industrious cities of Lagos and Abuja with the newly opened outlets in partnership with Lagoon Hospital, at their Ikoyi and Ikeja branches.

“A healthy lifestyle isn’t a one-off experience, but a life culture of adopting healthy eating habits that contributes to our overall health and wellness and thus serves as a preventive measure for deadly diseases and frequent illnesses. Our goal is to contribute to building a healthy nation; hence this partnership aligns with our mission, said Abimbola Balogun, the chief operating officer, So Fresh.

According to Balogun, So Fresh desires to give patients in the hospital access to healthier food alternatives to help them recover faster. She said further that the company is open to more partnerships with other brands in the health and wellness space like fitness centres, hospitals, and spas to push the mission of inspiring the nation to live fresh and live healthily.

“Everyone wants to live long, healthy, and productive lives, and adopting healthier lifestyle choices, such as exercising, avoiding smoking, not drinking too much alcohol, and eating healthier could extend lifespan by six to seven years in middle-aged adults, and in young adults, could increase lifespan by about ten years,” Balogun said.

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She said that a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that, “improving our diet by just 20 percent was linked to an 8-17 percent lower risk of premature death, while eating 20 percent more unhealthy foods, in contrast, contributed to a 6-12 percent increased risk of death”.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a healthy diet helps to protect against malnutrition in all its forms, as well as non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

The World Health Organisation has established that for adults, a healthy diet includes regular intake of fruits, vegetables, legumes (e.g., lentils and beans), nuts and whole grains (e.g., unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat, and brown rice). However, less than 10 percent of adults in Nigeria meet the daily fruit and vegetable intake recommendations. “So Fresh seeks to help Nigerians living in urban centres increase their intake of fruits and vegetables by increasing accessibility and convenience,” Balogun said.