"foundation of life" is correct and usable in written English.
You could use it to emphasize the importance of having a strong foundation in order to have a successful life. For example, "Having a strong educational foundation is the key to building a successful life."
Art was "the foundation of life" for Mary Burkett, who has died aged 90.
Lifesaver for Art Water may be a foundation of life, but it can also be the death of art.
According to the Reformers, righteousness before God was by faith alone, and salvation was perceived as the foundation of life rather than its goal.
Even if one cannot speak of a strictly maintained monotheistic way of thinking, it is yet clear that faith in Yahweh is the foundation of life for the Israelite".
But other times they will fall into an old-fashioned, left-wing style of thinking, which looks on economics as the foundation of life and on politics as secondary.
"Genes are the foundation of life, they are created by nature, not by man," he said.
Their seemingly shared foundation of life-science knowledge, detailing genes, cells, tissues and organs, belies very different views and rewards within their professions and in society.
The early years lay the foundation of life-long learning and development and three strands of research have led to increased attention to appropriate interventions in the prior-to-school years.
Since 1994, for example, environmental protection has been enshrined in the German Grundgesetz ("Basic Law"), which now states that the government must protect for "future generations the natural foundations of life".
It appeared before him and it attacked him, and under its influence — not right away, but steadily — he renounced the life that he led before; he renounced his family, love, the understanding of those close to him, the foundations of life around him; he renounced art.
