Welcome to the June edition of Whole Health Digest — featuring the latest research and practical tools for advancing whole health, provided by the nonprofit Ardmore Institute of Health (AIH).
In this newsletter, you will discover:
Full Plate for Kids, a downloadable activity book that teaches children about healthy foods and where food comes from
Lifestyle medicine scholarship and funding opportunities
Upcoming events, including a guided tour of free Full Plate Living nutrition resources
This article, co-authored by AIH CMO, Dr. Jon Bonnet, advances a guiding principle for contemporary care: “lifestyle first and lifestyle always, but not lifestyle only.” It highlights that while GLP-1 receptor agonists are transformative for weight loss and metabolic health, they should serve as catalysts alongside structured lifestyle behaviors to achieve durable health gains and prevent weight regain. (Source: American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine)
This health equity-centered strategic framework is designed to support employers in integrating lifestyle medicine initiatives to improve workforce whole health. Funded by AIH, it offers practical internal and external tactics, metrics, and evidence-based strategies to build a supportive workplace culture and community. (Source: American Journal of Health Promotion)
“The policy signal is clear – the future of US health care is accountable, whole person care that meets people’s primary, specialty, behavioral health, and social service needs.” This article introduces the Camden Coalition’s Community Ecosystem Alignment Tool, a framework that helps organizations find and fix teamwork gaps across six key areas to build the shared infrastructure needed for whole person care. (Source: Health Affairs)
Grants
Full Plate for Kids: Activity Book and Facilitator Resources Available
In 2023, Stanford University Nutrition Studies Research Group received grant funding from AIH in support of Stanford’s Farm to Table Camp. As a result, Full Plate for Kids was developed. The activity book is designed to educate children about key food groups and fiber and cultivate an appreciation for where food comes from.
Last year, Dr. Linda Koh, a former Stanford postdoctoral scholar and current assistant professor at UMass Amherst, received a subsequent AIH grant to create supporting materials for healthcare providers, parents, and educators. A teacher/facilitator guide and a quick guide for healthcare providers are now available.
ACOEM: Advancing Worker Health: A Shared Path Forward
AIH provided grant funding to support the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine’s Healthy Worker Summit, where professional organizations, employers, labor representatives, and insurers gathered to discuss what it means to have a healthy workforce.
“Ultimately, the conversation came to a clear conclusion: improving worker health is not the responsibility of any single group, nor can it be achieved through isolated efforts. It requires a shared commitment to aligning incentives, building trust, and embedding health into the fabric of work.”
Ardmore Institute of Health Announces Spring 2026 Grant Recipients
This spring, AIH awarded $1,381,237 across 9 projects that will help advance our vision: a future where healthcare and communities support whole person care, and healthy choices are accessible and effective in preventing, treating, and reversing chronic disease.
Since 2014, AIH has granted over $25 million to whole health projects and initiatives. To learn more about AIH's granting work, click here.
Resources
Full Plate Living: Free Nutrition Resources for Patients
Full Plate Living is a research-based, experience-centered nutrition program that has helped hundreds of thousands of people and is offered free of cost by AIH.
“Full Plate Living is for real people and real food. It’s a wholesome program that addresses not only food, but exercise, stress management, and allows you many arenas to keep on moving forward. I have lowered my cholesterol enough to go off my meds and have lost 40 lbs and many inches.” – Full Plate Living Member
Clinicians can easily refer patients to Full Plate Living using posters, table top displays, or prescription pads. Complete this form, and we will mail you materials, free of cost.
Recordings Available: Integrating Lifestyle Medicine into Health Center Transformation
The National Association of Community Health Centers and the American College of Lifestyle Medicine are hosting a five-part webinar series that provides a comprehensive, step-by-step exploration of how Lifestyle Medicine Shared Medical Appointments can transform chronic disease care within community health centers. Recordings are available for the first four webinars:
AAFP: Scholarship Opportunity for Residents and Medical Students
With grant support from AIH, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is offering twenty $1,000 scholarships to residents and medical students who present lifestyle medicine original research posters at FMX 2026. Poster proposals are due by Tuesday, June 30th.
Rethinking Healthcare Through Integrative Medicine with Dr. Stephen Dahmer
AIH Trustee, Dr. Stephen Dahmer of the Andrew Weil Center of Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, was recently featured on It's an Honor, a podcast from the W.A. Franke Honors College at the University of Arizona. The episode explores principles of integrative medicine, emphasizing whole person care, prevention, patient partnership, and the importance of understanding the cultural and personal context behind every patient’s health.
Funding Opportunity: Peer Reviewed Medical Lifestyle and Applied Health Research Award
This Department of Defense funding opportunity supports clinical research and interventional trials focusing on the efficacy of non-pharmacological therapies, lifestyle interventions, and patient-centered health outcomes. Pre-applications are due by Thursday, July 23rd.
Healthy Habits for Life: Rethinking our Relationship With Food
Join behavioral health expert Steven Mauro and psychiatrist MaryEllen Eller, MD, as they explore why lasting change is rooted in mindset and meaning—not willpower. Mauro and Eller will focus on small steps that lead to big health outcomes, and participants will learn to celebrate small shifts, appreciate what's working, and use habit slips as helpful data rather than as failures. Register to join below or share the workshop details with your patients, employees, or community members.
A Guided Tour of Full Plate Living Nutrition Resources
In this workshop, clinicians will discover how to seamlessly integrate Full Plate Living into their practice to support patient well-being. Join us for a comprehensive guided tour of the free nutrition resources available for patients and clinicians.
Join AIH at the 2026 Community Health Conference & Expo, hosted by the National Association of Community Health Centers. The conference provides attendees with the latest in science, education, practice, and policy that health centers need to stay competitive and financially stable.
We hope you found today's newsletter informative and inspiring. We'll be back next month with another edition of Whole Health Digest.
Sincerely,
The AIH Team
P.S. This newsletter is offered by Ardmore Institute of Health (AIH), a nonprofit dedicated to improving people's health through the power of Whole Health. If it was forwarded to you by a friend or colleague, and you'd like to receive it regularly, subscribe here.
Interested in submitting Whole Health news, a journal highlight, or a valuable resource to be shared with the Whole Health Digest community? Submit your ideas using this form.
May 22, 2026 Welcome to the May edition of Whole Health Digest — featuring the latest research and practical tools for advancing whole health, provided by the nonprofit Ardmore Institute of Health (AIH). In this newsletter, you will discover: Publications from ACLM addressing gaps in type 2 diabetes treatment A new book review of Lifestyle Medicine and the Primary Care Provider A webinar series exploring how Lifestyle Medicine Shared Medical Appointments can transform chronic disease care And...
April 17, 2026 Welcome to the April edition of Whole Health Digest — featuring the latest research and practical tools for advancing whole health, provided by the nonprofit Ardmore Institute of Health (AIH). In this newsletter, you will discover: A new white paper from Open Source Wellness, exploring the role of community-based organizations in enabling whole person care How Loma Linda University Health implemented a therapeutic whole food plant-based menu for patients A free, validated...
March 20, 2026 Welcome to the March edition of Whole Health Digest — featuring the latest research and practical tools for advancing whole health, provided by the nonprofit Ardmore Institute of Health (AIH). In this newsletter, you will discover: A recently published ACLM supplement and toolkit on incorporating meaning, purpose, and spirituality into clinical practice AAFP’s new Scaling Whole Health Strategies in Primary Care Action Brief Upcoming events, including Obesity Medicine 2026 and...