Thursday 17 April 2014

10 of the best free health and nutrition apps: Part Two


Last week I brought you 5 out of my top 10 free health and nutrition apps (if you missed it, click here). They weren't in any particular order (except number 1! But you'll know that if you've read 'part one'), so here are the next 5. I will say that after posting the first blog I was directed to an app I hadn't seen before but I thought good enough to make the list so there has been some rearranging (sorry to the app that didn't make the cut!).

Anyway, without further adieu…

6. GS1 Go Scan- GS1 Australia


From the people who are responsible for for the barcodes on the products we buy, and making the little beep when it goes through the register, comes GS1 Go Scan. This app allows you to search foods (by product description, brand or category), scan the barcode or enter the barcode number and it provides you with all the information available about that product. This includes the ingredients list, nutrition information panel, list of allergens, dietary information and country of origin. It lets you save your favourite products and set individual alerts for your allergens or other diet requirements (e.g. vegetarian, kosher, etc).


7. Quick Health Age Check- Bupa


Ever watched those episodes on The Biggest Loser where they tell the contestants their 'health age' or what age they'll live to if they keep up their unhealthy lifestyle (and then the improvements once they do change)? Well this app lets you do the same thing for yourself. It will calculate your health age and health risk based on your lifestyle factors, such as your weight, smoking status and medical history. You can then make adjustments to your lifestyle factors to see just how much of an impact certain healthy changes would have on your health.

8. All-Bran Fibre Tracker- Kellogg's


I have to admit I'm a bit of a freak when it comes to how much I love my fibre. And I know I'm alone on that one- most people aren't getting anywhere near the fibre they need from their diet. The All-Bran Fibre Tracker tells you how much fibre you need in a day and lets you track how much you get by adding fibre-containing foods that you ate. Search for foods by category or product (it has all the Kellogg's products plus loads of other generic foods). You can create a shopping list, scroll through the high-fibre recipes and work towards your daily fibre goal, all while learning about which foods are the highest in fibre!


9. Cal Cutter- NYC Health


This is an app which was developed by the New York City Health Department and I think it's a fabulous idea for an app! Enter your own recipe and the number of serves it makes and Cal Cutter will convert it to a healthier dish by suggesting changes you could make to the recipe that could lower the energy (by cutting calories (kilojoules)) and lets you save or email the healthier version. A great way to teach people how to modify recipes to make them healthier.


10. Cookspiration- Dietitians of Canada


This app was developed by the Dietitians of Canada (Canada's version of the Dietitians Association of Australia). It's ultimately a cookbook filled with with loads of healthy recipes plus their nutritional information. The app has a different set of recipes to suit each day of the week and each time of day (morning, late afternoon, evening, etc). It will automatically pop up as the time of day is with recipes divided into different categories to suit what you might want to be cooking then. A great trustworthy source of healthy meal ideas.


So there you have it, 10 of what I think are the best free health and nutrition apps out there. Think there's one I missed? Let me know and I'll be sure to share it with my followers!

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