INSIGHTS
February 18, 2025

Food for thought

Food as medicine is gaining traction as an innovation area, and healthcare institutions, investors, and innovators have an appetite to participate. Last week, Kaiser Permanente and Tufts University launched the Food is Medicine National Network of Excellence—with founding members Blue Cross Blue Shield, CVS Health, Elevance, and Geisinger to name a few—to standardize and scale nutrition-guided patient care interventions and best practices. Meanwhile, two nutrition startups, Fay and Berry Street, each secured $50M in funding to expand access to dieticians and personalized nutrition care. But the biggest shake(-up) in nutrition may have come from Washington, where Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as HHS Secretary—a move that could draw greater attention to food as medicine initiatives, given his stance on using food to combat chronic disease. From investors to institutional partners, many are eager to see nutrition move from a quiet aisle to the spotlight of modern medicine.

Headlines

Apple Beats Launches Powerbeats Pro 2 With Heart-Rate Monitoring
Heart monitoring ear buds could play a part in Apple’s latest device-enabled health studies Bloomberg

Teen Mental Health App Sent Kids’ Data Straight To TikTok
Youth mental health innovators grapple with balancing data privacy and content personalization Gizmodo

Senate Confirms Kennedy, A Prominent Vaccine Skeptic, As Health Secretary
RFK Jr. confirmed to lead HHS amidst layoffs across the FDA, NIH, and CDC The New York Times

Judge Orders HHS To Reverse Health Web Page, Data Blackout
Physicians filing lawsuit argue that public health efforts have been compromised Fierce Healthcare

Nationwide Halt On Trump Administration’s Cuts To NIH Research Payments
Potential impact on medical research institution funding remains to be determined STAT News

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