We're all aware that we should eat a healthy, balanced diet. But in all honesty, how many of us actually do so?In truth, we're often too busy to plan our meals carefully, or indeed at all. We may rely on processed meals, snacks, and junk food rather than cooking fresh ingredients. Research has shown that ultra-processed foods account for 56.8% of total energy intake and 64.7% of total free sugars in the UK diet. And as for meticulously tracking what we eat from day to day, week to week… Well, who has time for that?Poor nutrition builds up health problems for us later in life, such as increasing our risk of heart disease, which causes one in three deaths in the US and one in four in Europe. Worse still, it affects our health, wellbeing and energy levels in the here-and-now, too. For instance, a number of studies have linked inconsistent blood-sugar levels, which can be caused by poor nutrition, to mood disorders such as anxiety and depression.Conversely, good nutrition can improve health outcomes dramatically. The World Health Organisation estimates that 75% of US health care dollars are spent treating lifestyle-related diseases, many of which are preventable with better dietary and lifestyle choices.That's where Lifesum comes in. Since its launch in 2013, Lifesum’s gone from a small Swedish startup to one of the world's leading nutrition platforms, helping over 60 million global users, across 11 different languages, to live healthier lives through better eating. And now YuLife is partnering with Lifesum to make its premium subscription available as an employee benefit at a huge discount to all YuLife members through its YuStore. Personalised lifestyle and meal plans for your peopleSigne Svanfeldt, nutritionist at Lifesum, explains that the platform should not be confused with traditional dieting apps. "We're so much more than just calorie tracking and focusing on weight," she says. "Lifesum is more holistic than that. It's also about increasing your vegetable intake, increasing your water intake, eating enough fibre, making sure you don't get too much sugar or sodium in your diet, and so on. It's not about quick fixes, or fast weight loss. It's about finding a sustainable eating pattern, developing good habits, and fitting the person's individual needs."When you first sign up to Lifesum, Signe explains, you're asked for details such as weight, sex, height, activity level, age, and whether you have any weight-related goals. "Then, based on those details, Lifesum will calculate your individual needs, and start you on a lifestyle plan, with personalised meal plans for better eating." Supporting your people’s habits People aren’t forced to eat anything they’re not fond of. "We have so many different diets, meal plans and variations, depending on what you want to focus on," explains Signe. "We also recognise that people have many different preferences: some prefer fasting, some prefer a low-carb approach, some prefer high protein, especially if you want to build muscle. So Lifesum has the flexibility to support all these different approaches, and more."On a personal level, what Signe's found most useful about Lifesum is the way it tracks what you eat. "It's easy to think, for example, 'I eat vegetables every day'," she explains. "But when you start to track your food intake, you realise, 'Oh, I actually don't do that!' So it's a fun way to get to know yourself and your habits a bit more. "It can also help you see the correlation between what you eat and how you felt on a particular day: maybe you felt particularly tired, or starving, for instance. Another thing people often worry about is not getting enough protein. But once you log everything you eat, Lifesum can often put your mind at rest, because protein is in so many different foods: it's not just meat and fish."Accessing Lifesum with YuLifeAn annual subscription to Lifesum Premium for £99.99 unlocks all the features, recipes and meal plans offered by this world-leading platform. But with YuLife, employers get an exclusive discount, significantly bringing the cost down per person for their employees.It’s just one of the health and wellbeing partners available through the YuStore, a health and wellbeing marketplace where exclusive discounts make it affordable for employers to offer consumer wellbeing apps to their whole team. The YuStore is accessible through the YuLife Employer Portal. And once you’ve made the most of the exclusive discounts available, you can sit back and relax as YuLife seamlessly implements its availability to your people through the YuLife employee app: driving engagement to your tools and benefits like you’ve never seen before!A healthier and happier workforce In short, YuLife's discounted offer on Lifesum offers a simple but effective way to improve the mental and physical health of employees, both in the short and long term. And ultimately, that means a more productive, engaged and happy workforce, making it a clear benefit for any company signing up with YuLife. As Signe points out: "Our bodies need a good, healthy diet to boost our immune system and prevent disease. We need it to get enough energy to function. If employees aren't getting good nutrition, it will affect the outcome of their work. So if you as an employer can help your employees to a healthier diet, that's going to benefit your company in many ways."