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 the American Occupational Health Conference
This publication provides a template for delivering and billing shared medical appointments in a community setting. “In conclusion, culinary medicine-focused SMAs are a feasible approach to deliver culinary nutrition education, demonstrate high levels of engagement and retention, and lay the foundation for a financially sustainable model.” (Source: American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine)
This article, authored by Full Plate Living Program Director and AJLM Culinary Medicine Columnist, Amy Hanus, introduces a healthy bowl strategy that can serve as a foundational tool for any meal, prioritizing overall health by emphasizing satisfaction over deprivation. “When healthy eating feels like abundance rather than restriction, it becomes a sustainable lifelong practice.” (Source: American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine)
This Tulsa Flyer article highlights an AIH-funded FreshRX Oklahoma pilot program that integrates lifestyle medicine principles with the Full Plate Living model to improve health outcomes in the Latinx community. “By combining our Food is Medicine model with UMA’s trusted community presence, we can deliver culturally tailored solutions that truly resonate with underserved communities.” (Source: Tulsa Flyer)
“The built environment – defined as the human-made physical aspects of where people live, work, and play – has long influenced morbidity and mortality.” This publication, co-authored by AIH CMO, Dr. Jonathan Bonnet, explores how the built environment can either facilitate and support healthy lifestyle choices or deter and detract individuals’ ability to make them. (Source: American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine)
Grants
ACLM Supplement and Toolkit: Meaning, Purpose, and Spirituality in Lifestyle Medicine
In 2025, ACLM hosted the Meaning, Purpose, and Spirituality in Lifestyle Medicine Summit, supported by AIH. The gathering brought together experts, clinicians, and researchers, including AIH Trustees and staff, to explore intersections between lifestyle medicine and meaning, purpose, and spirituality.
AAFP Scaling Whole Health Strategies in Primary Care Action Brief
In November 2025, AAFP hosted the Scaling Whole Health Strategies in Primary Care Summit in Alexandria, VA, with grant support from AIH and Healing Works Foundation. As a result, AAFP created the Scaling Whole Health Strategies in Primary Care Action Brief, providing a strategic roadmap for scaling whole health strategies within primary care settings.
Since 2014, AIH has granted over $23 million to Whole Health projects and initiatives. To learn more about AIH's granting work, click here.
Resources
Nudj Health + Full Plate Living
AIH is now partnering with Nudj Health to bring Full Plate Living to Nudj’s patient community. Nudj Health delivers personalized, clinically integrated lifestyle medicine care designed to help individuals improve their health through sustainable behavior change. Full Plate Living complements this care by providing practical, science-backed nutrition education for patients. “This partnership ensures that what patients learn through Nudj can continue to grow through shared knowledge, supportive environments, and daily habits that last well beyond formal care episodes.”
Recording Available: Can GLP-1s + Nutrition and Exercise shift the Metabolic Disease Curve?
In this presentation, AIH Medical Director, Dr. Jonathan Bonnet, and Dr. David Eisenberg move beyond the headlines to explore what it actually takes to optimize health. Drawing on decades of research, clinical leadership, and frontline patient care, they examine how medications, nutrition, movement, and teaching kitchen educational interventions can work synergistically to alter the trajectory of metabolic disease and improve health.
In this expert workshop, Lauren Chandler will explore practical ways to boost fiber and nutrients while staying true to the flavors and textures that picky eaters already enjoy. Participants will leave with realistic strategies to help their family reach fiber goals, making healthy eating more flexible, stress-free, and enjoyable for everyone. Register to join below or share the workshop details with your patients, employees, or community members.
Join AIH at Obesity Medicine 2026, hosted by the Obesity Medicine Association. This event brings together leading clinicians, researchers, and educators to deliver an advanced, practice-driven learning experience focused on bringing science to the heart of obesity care.
Join AIH at the American Occupational Health Conference, hosted by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. This event is the premier professional meeting for health professionals interested in occupational and environmental medicine. AIH will sponsor an invitation-only post-conference convening to identify priorities in workforce health, emphasizing consensus-driven initiatives to address lifestyle-related, modifiable health risk factors among workers.
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.
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