Whole Foods co-founder John Mackey has a new vision. This time it’s healthcare.
Mackey’s new Love.Life is “an integrated health and wellness company” that offers concierge physicians who are focusing on wellness through diet and lifestyle.
“Love.Life aims to transform the lives of millions of people,” Mackey said, in a news release. “The conventional medical system is fundamentally flawed, focusing on managing diseases and treating symptoms rather than prevention and finding the root cause. Studies show that 80% of chronic diseases can be prevented and reversed through diet and lifestyle changes, which are the focus of Love.Life’s philosophy and are rarely included on conventional treatment plans.”
Listen, as a Gen X-ish, Millennial-ish lady of a certain age who’s husband is approaching the big 5-0 this year, I get it. We’re hitting the age where supplements look like a good idea and perhaps we’d like to undo some of the damage from all the pizza and poor lifestyle choices we made in our 20s.
Going to the doctor these days oftentimes means a long wait, a hurried appointment with an overworked medical professional telling you that your symptoms are “within the range of normal.” Or, at least that’s what my TikTok algorithm is telling me about many peoples’ experience with healthcare lately.
The part that I think is genius? Not only will the doctor run some labs and take some time with you to explain it, and “prescribe” food for you…Love.Life is there to sell the food to you at its retail/restaurant locations, too. One-stop-shops are coming in 2024.
“In addition to its virtual offerings, Love.Life’s commitment to providing comprehensive care includes physical locations offering medical care, fitness and wellness therapies, and healthy food under one roof. It’s first flagship location, a 45,000-square foot space in El Segundo, California, will launch in 2024, offering a fully integrated health experience.”
We all know eating more fruits and vegetables would solve a lot of our health issues. We all know we should be eating half our plate. But why aren’t we? For me, at least, the mental load is just too much to bear right now. I’ve got 72 plates spinning and none of them are holding custom-prescribed “wellness” meals.
But, how much does it cost? The “Healthy Lifestyle Program” starts at $175 a month, with discounts for a full year paid in advance and a one-time $200 lab assessment fee. For those with chronic illness, the price is a little steeper, at $499 a month. But that’s just the telehealth doctor appointments, not the food. And no, they don’t take insurance.
I think a fair number of people would be interested in it, given what healthcare already costs these days.
For now, I’m spinning out plates of high-protein athlete food for my freshman football player, trying to find something nutritious that my 9-year-old picky eater will actually EAT, helping my husband meal plan to support his nutritional needs while I chug coffee and a fruit and yogurt parfait for breakfast, again.
