Over the past two decades, mobile phones have morphed into mini-computers that put the world at our fingertips and allow us to do just about anything with the push of a button or touch of a screen. In recent years, hundreds of thousands of mobile phone software applications, or “apps,” have become available for download on practically every subject you can imagine (and then some!), including many health apps. These apps can help you do everything from lose weight and be more fit, to check your symptoms and provide medical information, and so much more. Here are some of the best health apps for your phone that can help you live a healthier life (and the best part is that they are all free).
Fooducate – Eat Healthy Diet
What it does: Scan product barcodes using your cell phone camera to get nutritional information such as calories and sugar content per serving and a nutritional grade rating of A through D. It will also alert you to ingredients you should be aware of, such as preservatives or potentially harmful food colorings or dyes. The app database contains more than 200,000 product barcodes so most items on your shopping list will be included. If your favorite food gets a poor grade, the app offers healthier alternatives within the same food category. There are problems with the scanning function on the iPod Touch, iPad, iPhone 2 or 3G, which means you may have to manually enter the 12-digit barcode numbers for each product, which can get tedious.
Compatible with: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android
Price: Free
GoodFoodNearYou
What it does: GoodFoodNearYou is a location-based search to help you find food nutrition information at restaurants near you. It includes over 250,000 restaurant locations. Now you can easily search for the nutrition information of restaurant food from anywhere in the U.S. using your phone.
Compatible with: Android, iPhone, Blackberry
Price: Free
Instant Heart Rate
What it does: Voted “The Best Health & Fitness App on Mobile Premier Awards 2011,” this app actually uses your phone’s camera to measure your heart rate. All you do is hold your finger steady for 10 seconds on the camera lens and it will tell you your heart rate. Personalize your settings, such as your gender and age, and the app will tell you what your ideal resting and maximum heart rates should be. It may take some practice to get an accurate reading, so read the help menu to troubleshoot any problems. The free version doesn’t include all the upgraded (paid) features, such as storing and charting your readings. But the paid version called Instant Heart Rate – Pro only costs $.99, so it’s a small price to pay for the upgrade.
Compatible with: iPhone and Android
Price: Free
MyQuit Coach
What it does: Livestrong’s MyQuit Coach helps smokers set goals to kick the habit. By personalizing information such as your age, how many cigarettes you smoke per day and setting a date to quit smoking, the app creates a customized plan to gradually reduce how much you smoke each day until you stop smoking completely. It includes tips to help you quit and a tracker to remind you how many cigarettes you’ve already smoked each day. Your cravings and smoked cigarettes are plotted on a bar graph so you can easily see if you’re meeting your goals. Plus, you earn a badge for every milestone you achieve.
Compatible with: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
Price: Free
iTriage
What it does: This app provides medical information as well as provides a GPS locator to find the nearest medical offices, pharmacies, hospitals, etc. You can search diseases, check symptoms, and get information on treatments, etc. If you’ve ever been confused about what kind of doctor to see for a particular disease or symptom, this app makes it easy for you.
Compatible with: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android
Price: Free
Vision Test
What it does: If you’re worried that staring at a computer screen all day may be taking a toll on your vision, this app provides vision tests and questions to assess your eyesight.
Compatible with: Android
Price: Free
Pregnancy Tracker
What it does:Expectant moms and dads will enjoy this app from the authors of What to Expect When You’re Expecting. It includes a due-date calculator and countdown clock; a weekly baby-development tracker; and a message board to connect with other expectant parents.
Compatible with: iPhone and Android
Price: Free
White Noise Lite
What it does: If you like to listen to background noise while you fall asleep, this app provides 10 sounds to soothe you to sleep including an oscillating fan, rain fall, chirping crickets, ocean waves, and even plain white noise. It includes a sound timer to automatically turn-off sounds. The upgraded version of the app costs $1.99 and includes 40 sounds.
Compatible with: The free version is available for iPhone and Android users. The paid version is compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry, and Android.
Price: Free
Diet Assistant – Weight Loss
What it does: The highest rated diet planner on the Android Market, this app provides healthy diet plans, an advanced weight tracker and progress charts. It includes a built-in BMI (body mass index) calculator, provides nutrition facts and grocery shopping lists, and it’s suitable for the whole family.
Compatible with: Android
Price: Free
My Tracks
What it does: Use My Tracks while you run, bike, hike, or walk outdoors, and it will use the GPS sensor in your phone to record the path you took. It gathers useful statistics such as time, speed, distance, and elevation. You can review all of this data live, or you can save it. During your outdoor activities, you can mark relevant waypoints or milestones and can program it to give you automatic voice announcements about your progress.
Compatible with: Android
Price: Free
Calorie Counter – MyFitnessPal
What it does: Touted as the fastest and easiest to use calorie counter for Android, it includes the largest food database of any Android calorie counter (with over 1,100,000 foods). It is amazingly fast to enter your food and exercise data.
Compatible with: Android
Price: Free
