Wellbeing Breakfast – Wellbeing Starts in the Kitchen

On March 12th, we held the second edition of our "Well-being Breakfast." The event focused on mindful eating and its impact on both personal and professional life. During the discussion, experts explored topics such as the importance of individual employee nutrition for employers, choosing foods that support health and productivity, and ways to promote healthy eating habits within a team.

• A healthy diet for employees brings long-term benefits to a company—employees get sick less often and are more motivated and engaged in their work.
• Healthy eating should be a cornerstone of organizational culture, alongside elements like physical activity and stress management.
• Healthy eating habits are an investment in a company's future—the process of implementing them should be gradual.
• Leaders and management play a key role in promoting healthy eating habits, as they are essential to effectively embedding this culture throughout the entire organization.

Expert debate on mindful eating

We dedicated the second edition of our "Well-being Breakfast," titled "Well-being from the Kitchen," to healthy eating due to the numerous challenges associated with this topic: 

• Poor diet is one of the top five risk factors for premature death and chronic disease (WHO, 2024).
• Approximately 60% of Poles struggle with being overweight or obese (NFZ, 2024).
• About 3 million Poles suffer from diabetes, and 5 million have prediabetes (Polish Diabetes Association, 2024).

Meanwhile, a healthy diet offers many benefits. For instance, employees who eat well are up to 25% more productive than those who do not (HBR, 2024). Given the substantive nature of the nutrition-related topics, we invited recognized experts to participate in the "Well-being Breakfast." The meeting had a casual format, and our guests—joining both in person and online—took part in a discussion moderated by presenter Jarosław Kuźniar.

The panel discussion featured:

• Alicja Baska – physician, certified lifestyle medicine specialist, Organizational Director of the Polish Society of Lifestyle Medicine,
• Małgorzata Gałązka-Sobotka, PhD in Economics – Director of the Institute of Healthcare Management at Lazarski University,
• Daria Gradziuk – psychologist and psychodietitian, Wellbee expert,
• Damian Parol, PhD – nutritionist and psychodietitian,
• Marta Pawłowska – expert in health promotion and disease prevention, Chair of the Stop Obesity Partnership Presidium,
• Andrzej Silczuk, PhD, DSc – physician, psychiatrist, Chief Medical Officer at Wellbee,
• Piotr Szostak – Managing Director of Product Strategy and Development at Benefit Systems.

We broadcasted the event live on our YouTube channel, allowing the online audience to participate by asking questions. Throughout the discussion, experts exchanged experiences and ideas for implementation within organizations.

The 7 key takeaways from the discussion:

1. Healthy nutrition is a key factor influencing well-being in both personal and professional life, as well as in a broader social and business context.  
2. At the company level, a proper diet ensures a better-performing team by preventing illness, extending healthy life expectancy, and reducing absenteeism.  
3. There is no single optimal "longevity diet." However, you can select specific components from diets considered the healthiest (such as the Mediterranean diet) and combine them with healthy, locally available products.  
4. Key elements of a brain-healthy diet include: omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, vitamin D, selenium, fish, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, water, green tea, and coffee (3-5 cups of each per day).
5. Companies should take a systemic approach by implementing a psychodietetic strategy that enables habit changes at both the employee and organizational levels.  
6. Creating an environment that promotes healthy eating in the workplace and providing education on the subject benefits the entire company.  
7. A healthy diet supports physical activity and interpersonal relationships—not only in private life but also in the workplace.  

Can we separate mental health from nutrition?

Dr. Damian Parol addressed this question, emphasizing that we absolutely should not separate mental health from metabolic health. There is currently significant evidence showing that these two areas are closely linked. The brain is composed partly of fats, which is why an adequate intake of omega-3 fatty acids is crucial for its health. The nutritionist also noted that B vitamins, vitamin D, and selenium are essential for brain health.

Dr. Andrzej Silczuk also addressed this issue, noting that the first analyses regarding the connection between our brain and what we eat date back to the time of Hippocrates. He also pointed out that our current state of mental health influences our dietary choices at any given time.

Changing habits starts with awareness

Daria Gradziuk stated that there is no change without awareness. Therefore, the entire process should begin with identifying what we want to change, followed by personalizing the goal and action plan. In practice, for a change to be lasting, it must be tailored to the individual, taking into account their resources—such as time, organizational, financial, physical, health, and mental factors, as well as their current lifestyle. This increases the chances that the change will be sustainable and the process itself as "painless" as possible.

The expert highlighted the crucial nature of psychodietetic strategies, which, when properly adapted to the individual, can be very helpful in maintaining well-being. They enable changes in nutritional habits as well as mental health, as these two areas of our lives cannot be treated separately. Therefore, supporting employees in their well-being—both in terms of nutrition and mental health—is key to an effective and lasting change process, which translates into factors like work efficiency. It is worth having the entire process monitored by specialists such as nutritionists, psychodietitians, or psychotherapists.  

The optimal diet for health

Referring to specific diet examples, Alicja Baska pointed out that there is no single optimal "longevity diet." However, there are commonalities between the most popular diets, such as the Mediterranean diet and its variants, which means its benefits can be enjoyed not only in Greece but also, for example, in Poland.

The expert also noted that the average Pole consumes nearly 50 kg of red meat annually, but only 3 kg of legumes, despite them being a good source of plant-based protein. She also pointed out the importance of fluids in the diet – not just water, but also green tea and coffee. According to research, 3-5 cups of either beverage daily can positively impact life expectancy.

Benefits of a healthy lifestyle

Alicja Baska added that according to a meta-analysis published in the journal PLOS Medicine, changing dietary habits can extend life expectancy by up to 13 years, and the earlier we implement these changes, the better.

She also noted that it is not just what we eat that matters, but also with whom. Sharing meals with loved ones, which becomes a shared celebration, has a positive impact on health and significantly increases the chances of sticking to healthy eating principles. Such a lifestyle is associated with, for example, the aforementioned Mediterranean diet.

Change is a challenge

Speaking about challenges, Daria Gradziuk emphasized that we must learn to distinguish between emotional and physiological hunger. The former appears regardless of satiety, while the latter stems from the body's actual needs. This means we need to build awareness regarding the act of eating itself and consider what function food is actually serving us at a given moment – are we eating because we are truly hungry, or are we trying to improve our mood?

The need to change dietary habits applies, for example, to consuming sweets. You don't have to exclude them from your diet, but rather learn to eat them mindfully. And although such changes represent a significant psychological and physical effort, they are worth making due to the health benefits.

Marta Pawłowska, for her part, noted that the word "diet" is associated with restrictions, even though it should be associated with freedom. This would allow a diet to be perceived not as a sacrifice, but as the foundation of a healthy lifestyle. And this is important because nutrition is not just an individual matter.

What can an employer do?

Marta Pawłowska cited OECD data showing that by 2050, obesity alone will shorten the lives of Poles by as much as 4 years! Obesity is not just a health problem, but also a social and economic one. For 40 years, we have been "working" civilizationally toward an obesogenic environment, i.e., one that promotes obesity. Consequently, we are increasingly overfed in terms of quantity and malnourished in terms of quality, and we are less active in our daily lives. For example, in the 1960s, 70% of jobs involved moderate physical activity, whereas today that figure is only 20%! The expert also added that 1 euro spent on obesity prevention saves 6 euros on treating obesity and the more than 200 complications it leads to.

Daria Gradziuk emphasized that the public debate needs to focus more on a holistic culture of health and the implementation of concrete solutions to support it. This means, among other things, that decision-makers in companies must be aware that nutrition is a very important aspect of life that translates into work quality and team relationships.

The importance of "health capital"

During the discussion, economist Dr. Małgorzata Gałązka-Sobotka emphasized the importance of "health capital." As she noted, it translates directly into finances – both on a personal level and at the state level. As she reminded the audience, in the case of sick leave, an employee receives only 80% of their salary. And if they were to work despite being ill, their productivity would be significantly lower – and such presenteeism means measurable losses for the company. In turn, the state budget bears costs in the form of medical care expenditures, social security benefits, including disability pensions, and the costs of lost productivity among the sick.

Dr. Gałązka-Sobotka stated that it is better to invest in preventive measures, especially since Poland is a country increasingly affected by both a demographic and an epidemiological crisis. According to the expert, in this situation, a "reset" of current health policy is needed, with significantly more funds allocated to educating the public, including employers, on disease prevention and its effectiveness.

In the final part of the discussion, the experts agreed on the direction of the most important actions at the company level: consistently shaping an organizational culture that supports healthy employee nutrition, and thereby personal and organizational well-being.

Multi.Life will help you make the change!

Even before the expert panel, Piotr Szostak, Managing Director of Strategy and Product Development at Benefit Systems, took the floor to present the new version of Multi.Life. New features include, among others:

• Psychodietetic support – over 300 Wellbee psychotherapists.
• Well-being assistant – AI support (estimating meal calorie content based on a photo).
• Coming soon – food diary – a feature for tracking meals and all their components.

What is the idea?

• Full support for lifestyle transformation – qualified experts + artificial intelligence.
• Building habits that are beneficial for your health and well-being.
• Achieving goals related to improving mental health and nutrition, as well as personal and professional development.

Thank you for attending the event. We would like to remind you that the recording of the broadcast is available on the Multi.Life YouTube channel:

Breakfast for Wellbeing – watch the event recording