Some people blame technology for making people lazy, overweight, and in poor health. That’s probably true for people who spend all their time sitting in front of the TV, but you can’t blame technology on poor lifestyle choices. In fact, some smartphone apps can help you stay healthy. Try these apps so technology will improve your quality of life instead of shortening your lifespan.
Runkeeper
Image by Google Play
Running one mile burns about 125 calories (depending on your weight and how fast you run). To improve your health by running, you’ll need something that keeps you motivated and helps you track your improvements. That’s where RunKeeper comes in.
RunKeeper has Apple and Android apps that let you:
- track your run via the phone’s GPS
- set audio cues for your interval runs
- lets you share your runs on Facebook and Twitter
- connect with friends so you push each other to reach your goals
RunKeeper can help you slim down and improve your cardiovascular health. Since it’s free, the app will also help keep your wallet healthily plump.
Pill Identifier
Image via Google Play
It’s difficult to keep track of pills when you take several a day to treat conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and allergies. Pill Identifier by Health5C makes it easier to keep track of those pills so you don’t accidentally double-up or miss a dose.
The pill identifier lets you search for drug names by describing a pill’s imprint, color, and shape. When the app finds pills that match your description, it shows you pictures of them, making it even easier for you to know that you have identified the mystery pill correctly.
This is a great service for someone who buys discount drugs from a website like canadianpharmacymeds.com but has trouble keeping the pills organized. With this app, you never have to make any guesses; you know exactly which pills you have.
Fast Food Calorie Lookup
Image via Google Play
New York City requires some fast food restaurants to post nutritional information, including the number of calories in their products. That’s great for people who want to make healthy decisions in NYC, but the rest of the country hasn’t always had that opportunity. Now it does with Fast Food Calorie Lookup.
This app has plenty of features that will help you choose healthier meals. Currently, it:
- offers calorie counts for meals at over 140 restaurants
- lets you keep track of how many calories you’ve eaten
- lets you share information with friends
- calculates how many calories you would need to burn to lose one pound
- view calorie counts from popular restaurants without access the Internet
Having this information on hand will make you think twice before super-sizing your next fast food meal.
In-R-FOOD
Image via iTunes Preview
Today’s consumers also face confusing information when they shop at the grocery store. Only food chemists have any idea what those ingredient lists mean. In-R-Food pulls back mystery veil so you can purchase healthy foods without any confusion.
IN-R-Food has eight food-related features that will help you stay healthy:
- “Nutrition Facts,” that tell you what’s actually in products so you can decide whether you want to buy them
- “Recall Notifications” that helps shoppers avoid contaminated products
- “Special Alerts” that tells people with food allergies, diabetes, and other concerns which foods they should avoid
- “Food Terms” that describe all of the confusing labels that food manufacturers use
With In-R-Food, you know more about what you’re putting in your body. That’s a big step forward for someone trying to make healthier choices.
Another app from In-R-Food, called Sugar Cube, shows you how much sugar is in your food. Thinking about chugging a soda that has 65 grams of sugar in it? You might change your mind when you see that 65 grams is the same as 26 sugar cubes or 16.25 sugar packets.
What apps do you use to help you stay healthy? Do your apps connect you to social media so you can get support from your friends, or do you prefer using apps that give you information so you can make decisions on your own?
