Zipongo Incorporates 23andMe Reports Into Personalized Nutrition Plans

SAN FRANCISCO and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Zipongo, "Eating Well Made Simple," and 23andMe, the leading personal genetics company, are using genetics to help guide better food choices.  Zipongo can now provide customers with personalized nutrition plans that consider not only their food preferences, health goals and biometrics, but also genetic markers impacting how their body may respond to certain food choices.

Zipongo's personalized food decision support platform uses biometrics such as Body Mass Index, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose and a Diet Quiz to deliver healthy food recommendations that consider eating habits, preferences and restrictions. Zipongo's customers include Fortune 500 companies, US and global health plans, and consumers.

23andMe is the first and only company to provide genetic reports directly to consumers that meet FDA standards. 23andMe's Health + Ancestry service delivers more than 60 health, ancestry and trait reports. The collaboration with Zipongo is part of 23andMe's broader employee wellness initiative, helping employers and wellness companies incorporate genetics based personalization into their programming.

Individuals can now easily link their Zipongo and 23andMe accounts to their Zipongo tools. Once linked, the Zipongo platform will import genetic reports from the individual's 23andMe account. For instance, if an individual's 23andMe Lactose Intolerance report shows they may have trouble breaking down lactose, Zipongo will recommend non-dairy options. If their Saturated Fat report includes a genetic result associated with a higher Body Mass Index (BMI) on diets with more than 22 grams of saturated fat per day, Zipongo will recommend options based on low saturated fat intake.  

Individuals can then grocery shop and cook food at home, or eat out with genomics empowered nutritional guidance at their fingertips.  They'll also have access to grocery ordering and healthy food discounts to ease their journey towards a better diet.  "Zipongo has been at the forefront of using data to personalize your nutrition action plan, we are excited about the collaboration with 23andMe to help people better understand how their own biology is likely to interact with what they eat," said Zipongo CEO & Founder, Jason Langheier, MD, MPH.

"Genetics play an important role in how our bodies respond to certain types of foods," said Emily Drabant Conley, Ph.D., vice president of business development for 23andMe. "This collaboration enables people to make more informed choices about their diet based on their own personal genetics."

"Though the concept of 'dieting' and 'calorie counting' is commonplace, 90% of Americans gain back all of the weight they lose in any given year," said Dr. Langheier. "Leading research teams like Harvard Nutrition have already pointed people in the right direction of what nutrients and foods prevent chronic disease.  But studies also show that many people have longer-term follow through when they understand how their diet should be personalized to their own body."

About 23andMe
23andMe, Inc. is the leading personal genetics company. Founded in 2006, the mission of the company is to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome. 23andMe has more than one million customers worldwide, with over 80 percent consented to participate in research. 23andMe, Inc. is located in Mountain View, CA. More information is available at www.23andMe.com.

About Zipongo 
Zipongo is Eating Well Made Simple.  Zipongo's platform enables digital nutrition coaching for large employers, health plans and health systems, and provides food utility tools to families that make it easier to consistently select and buy healthy food people love.  Zipongo provides trusted food selection and buying environments for cooking and eating prepared meals, that meet the needs of diverse groups of people, with tools ranging from meal planning, recipes, grocery rewards and online grocery ordering, to menu coaching and mobile meal ordering. Zipongo's HIPAA secure software-as-a-service platform is built to meet people where they are—at home, at work, or on the go, and deliver robust, anonymized population analytics back to enterprises. Learn more at www.zipongo.com and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Media Contact
Todd Stein
Amendola Communications for Zipongo
916.346.4213
[email protected]

SOURCE Zipongo

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