Although before our health could be controlled through technology, thanks to its innovation, this is now more than possible, not only to control our physical but also mental health. Below we talk about the best health applications that can help you in daily life to lead a healthy life, set goals and achieve your personal goals, you just need a lot of desire, a cell phone and a good mobile network .
In our country, downloads of this type of application have multiplied exponentially as a result of internal restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic and later. More time at home, less training in the gym, replacing indoor sports with outdoor ones, more control over food… pandemic, the economy, business…
Regardless of the current situation, before and after the pandemic, “healthy” is always in fashion as we worry about our diet (unprocessed foods and foods), our routine, our physical and mental health.
What are the best health apps for iOS (iPhone) and Android that will help you lead a healthy life?
Below we present our selection that, contrasted with health experts, are essential to improve your day to day. All of them are suitable for iOS and Android.
FEEDING:
- Noodle:
Eat healthy with what you have on hand! When you get home and open your fridge and don’t know what to cook, Noodle will help you improvise in a healthy way with the ingredients you have on hand. So you can easily eat healthy. And reduce food waste! You can search for recipes by ingredient (enter the ingredients you have in your fridge or pantry and Noodle will recommend healthy and easy recipes for you). Search recipes by type of dish (would you like a risotto, oatmeal or a bowl of quinoa? Just type it in the search engine). Noodle also allows you to customize your search based on your dietary preferences and restrictions. You can indicate if you are vegetarian or vegan, have food allergies or intolerances, or contain ingredients you don’t like or want removed from your menu (for example, sugar). When you do a search, Noodle only recommends recipes based on your preferences and restrictions that you’ve entered in your profile. Noodle will help you lead a healthy lifestyle so you can eat healthy with what you have on hand. And reduce food waste!
- MYREALFOOD:
Join the Realfooding movement and become a Realfooder. I found out what the real foods are and identify the ultra-processed ones. This application helps you to have a diet based on the 3 rules: Base your diet on real food, complete it with good processed foods and avoid ultra-processed ones. The consumption of these products can be occasional, linked to social and cultural events (10%). Myrealfood teaches you to eat healthy in a simple way. Scan the barcode of a product or scan the database based on nutritional quality. The app analyzes the ingredient list and nutritional information of thousands of products and tells you if a product is a real food, well-processed or ultra-processed. It is high in calories, saturated fat, sugar or salt, contains controversial or harmless additives and much more. You can also join the community, join a group, and follow Realfooder to share health goals, recipes, and similar tips. In addition, the application itself offers healthy recipes: search for recipes by name or ingredient, create your favorite recipe lists… You can even save your meals in My Real Food to keep track of your percentage. -processed, as well as calories and macronutrients (proteins, fats and carbohydrates).
- YUKA:
Contrary to the other app mentioned above, Yuka scans the food and also the cosmetics to figure out the composition and evaluate. Yuka provides simplicity and transparency to understand the product label with a single click. With a mobile phone, when scanning the code you can get 3 different ratings: excellent, good, medium or good. It is possible to access a detail file to view the item’s dust jacket rating in detail. The evaluation method is based on the analysis of all the ingredients of the product. For all products that give a negative rating, Yuka independently recommends better alternatives to similar products. Hide the meaning of reviews and product recommendations to be objective (without brand, manufacturer, or influencer).
PHYSICAL HEALTH:
- STRONG:
Strong is an application that allows you to record your workouts in a simple and intuitive way. It comes with pre-recorded workouts and plans, but you can also add your own, create your own routines, and track your progress. It is designed to help you get better results from your training. It doesn’t matter if your goal is to build muscle or maintain a healthy lifestyle. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced trainer, Strong has everything you need to record your workouts as quickly and easily as possible. Offers a wide range of cardio and toning exercises, detailed exercise guides with a growing library of animated videos, stats showing your personal bests and progress, and also calculates the total and maximum repetitions of the weights. Built-in self-timer for recording breaks. Supersets and group exercises. Built-in body measurement tracker to record your weight and other data, compatible with Google Fit. The warm-up calculator shows you what weights to warm up with…and you can even train with your friends!
- NIKE RUN CLUB:
Your ideal running partner. Nike Run ClubIt has the tools you need to run better, including GPS run tracking, weekly, monthly, and personalized distance challenges, training plans tailored to your goals, and ongoing motivation for your friends. Get the information you need, including pace, distance, GPS tracking, altitude, heart rate and intervals, plus audio feedback to keep you focused. Join the worldwide community of Nike runners in weekly and monthly challenges, or create a challenge and invite your friends. Achieve your goals, get results, and keep moving forward. Whether you want to get started, get fit, or prepare for a race, NRC has plans to meet your goals and fitness level. Earn badges and trophies to beat your records, such as the fastest 5K run or the longest run. Compete against your friends and easily compare results on the leaderboard from a distance.
- WIKILOC:
Discover millions of outdoor routes around the world. Choose from hiking, running, cycling, mountain biking, kayaking, skiing, and up to 75 different activities. Record your routes on a map, add waypoints, take photos along the route and upload them from your mobile phone to your Wikiloc account. Enjoy free offline world topographic maps that you can use without coverage or data. Ideal when you are in the mountains or without an Internet connection. Your smartphone guides you with a blinker and audible signals to warn if you should deviate from the route while navigating. Share your real-time location with family and friends while driving the route. Send to your GPS: download routes from Wikiloc. Transit Zone Search: Find routes through specific areas of your choice.
MENTAL HEALTH:
- HEADSPACE:
Find advice on mental health, personal development, and managing stress and anxiety. Meditation exercises are designed to help you manage stress, focus, and feel better. Download Headspace and start meditating where and when you want to adopt a healthier lifestyle and increase your well-being. It will help you focus, relax, and get a good night’s sleep while you practice meditation and mindfulness. Headspaceteaches you to breathe consciously, meditate and live. You will have access to all kinds of exercises that range from controlling anxiety and calming the nerves to improving breathing, well-being and concentration. Even without practicing meditation first, the free introductory course teaches you the basics of meditation and mindfulness. In the Sleep by Headspace program you will find exercises for insomnia, relaxing music and restful sleep. The app offers several meditation themes: meditation for stress and anxiety, melodies to fall asleep and wake up, meditation for personal development, meditation for work and productivity, meditation for life’s challenges, sports meditation, training of consciousness for physical health,
- DAILY YOGA:
If you’re new to yoga, the Daily Yoga app offers several guided classes to help you learn the basics before starting classes and advanced moves. As you progress, you’ll want to follow many world-class instructors. It will not only help you practice yoga every day, but also bring benefits to your physical and mental health. If you don’t know how to choose a course, the Smart Coach featurefrees you from the tedious search for the right course. There are 6 goals you can choose as your monthly goal. Smart Coach will take you to one session per day for the next 30 days. The Daily Yoga Community brings together yogis from all over the world. Yogis discuss their experiences and practices under the themes, bookmark and encourage each other to take up the challenge and follow yoga tips to improve their technique.
What permissions do I have to give to a health app?
Within the device settings, you can access any of the installed health apps and change the permissions as you see fit. Most health apps require location, camera, audio, and notifications to be allowed, but it all depends on how easy it is to use. For example, if you install the Myrealfood app, you only have to allow access to the camera (to be able to scan the barcode of the products), so the permission for location, audio or notifications is secondary and not required . However, if the Nike Run Club app is installed, you must be able to turn on location so you can see your run.
