All About Food, Water, and Sleep Trackers
With recent research indicating unhealthy
diets account for more than 5% of new cancer cases, it seems to be an excellent
time to make dietary improvements.
No matter
what diet or eating style you decide is best for you and your family, there is
bound to be an app for that. The market is flooded with apps to track foods,
fluids, calories, macros, moods, cravings, and even bathroom habits.
Food Tech
Many of
us could improve our eating habits simply by being more mindful. See How You Eat is a photographic food
journal. If life is so busy you find yourself forgetting to eat meals this app
can help remind you it’s mealtime. It simplifies the process of keeping a food
log by only requiring a photo of each meal or snack.
This
simple method of tracking can provide benefits beyond just preventing skipped
meals. Photos of your meals literally allow you to see how you are eating.
I know this may sound silly, but
if I asked you what you ate last week could you accurately tell me? With this
app you could! You can start to see trends and identify areas to improve such
as including more colors or varieties of vegetables. If you want to improve
your eating habits but find food journaling cumbersome, this could be the app
for you.
Dr.
Greger’s Daily Dozen app is another simplified way
to track your food intake and improve eating habits. This app tracks
consumption of the most health-promoting foods. Simply check the box next to
the food group, such as beans or greens, when you have consumed a serving. No
need to search for a specific food or enter nutrition information.
If
calories and macros are more your style, apps such as MyFitnessPal and LoseIt are
popular with both paid and free versions. Both of these apps allow you to
search for the specific food you are eating or scan the barcode. It then
tallies calories, fat, protein, carbohydrates, and some vitamins and minerals
consumed.
This method of tracking allows
you to make adjustments in the foods you eat to meet your estimated calorie or
macro needs based on the personal information you have entered and the goals
you have set.
No matter
which app you choose, by tracking your intake you automatically increase your
awareness of foods consumed. This by itself can help improve food choices.
These apps can help establish your food intake baseline. From there, you can
set realistic short-term goals to support your long-term health goals such as
losing weight or reducing blood pressure.
Beverage
Tech
In addition to food choices,
beverage choices play a role in our health―particularly water. Apps like Drink Water Reminder N Tracker and Daily Water Reminder, among others, can remind
you to drink water throughout the day and provide a place to track your intake.
If you’re
looking for a little more tech, Equa smart water bottle contains a motion
sensor and sends reminders to alert you it is time to drink water. The bottle’s
accompanying app creates a personalized hydration plan certainly beating the
old adage “drink 8 cups of water a day.”
There are
also a variety of infusion water bottles on the market that allow you to
naturally flavor your water while keeping the food contained in a section of
the bottle. The options for infused water are nearly limitless. If you’re
struggling to think of a good combination, peruse the artificially flavored
water at your grocery store. Lime, Kiwi-Strawberry, Cucumber-Mint are a few
favorites to get you started.
Sleep
Tech
If you
feel like you’re doing everything you can to improve your health all day long
but just can’t seem to meet your goals, the key may be what you’re doing at
night. Sleep is another important health factor and there are many devices to
track your sleep habits, too.
Most
wearable fitness trackers now track sleep as well. These devices can give you
some insight into your sleep quality and allow you to make adjustments to your
sleep routine. Apps may also provide insight into your sleep quality.
On the
one hand, it’s an excellent idea to leave your phone, as well as other screens,
out of the bedroom while you’re trying to sleep. On the other hand, tracking
sleep habits can improve your sleep routine and enhance your health.
Sleep
Cycle and Sleep Better are apps that can track your
movement while you sleep to determine how well you are sleeping. Additionally,
they can send you a notification that it is time to start winding down and head
to bed. Setting a regular bedtime is part of a healthy sleep routine for adults
as well as children.
Have you
ever been jolted awake by your alarm in the morning? It’s not a great start to
the day. Many of these apps have smart alarms that can wake you during a more
ideal phase of your sleep within a range of the time you need to get up.
medishare.com
Conclusion
There are
many ways to improve our health. If you’re interested in improving your food,
fluid, or sleep with a little help from technology, these product may help.
