Smartphone Apps of the Month- January

Happy New Year! January presents an opportunity to focus on new resolutions, and if you’re like me, that means wellness.

This month’s recommended apps help smartphone users find healthier food options and add beneficial exercise to your daily routine.

Fooducate: Available on Android and iPhone

Shopping for healthy food products can be overwhelming. With the variety of choices available in the grocery store, reading labels to find the healthiest option can be time consuming and confusing. Thankfully, there’s the Fooducate app, which makes it easier to find and select nutritious food to keep you feeling healthy.

Fooducate is a convenient, easy-to-use app that helps you find a product’s nutritional value simply by scanning the barcode with the built-in scanner. The app then grades the product on a letter scale (A to D) of nutritional value based on its ingredients. Higher grades are given to minimally processed, nutrient-rich foods while heavily processed foods with few nutrients receive lower grades. The app also highlights positive and negative facts, such as the amount of fiber or sugar per serving, and it will suggest healthier alternatives whenever available.

Another great feature is the health tracker, which lets you input your age, weight, and activity level, and then set and track your health goals. Simply input your meals and exercise throughout the day, and the app will track your daily progress. The app will use your daily food journal entries to count calories and display specific nutrient information, such as carbohydrates, fat, protein, fiber, and sodium.

If you made a new year’s resolution to eat better, Fooducate is a handy app to keep you on track.

Stretch Exercises: Available on Android

Starting a new fitness regimen can be challenging—mentally and physically. Like with any new routine, making time for exercise and staying motivated requires some effort until it becomes a habit. The Stretch Exercises app can help ease the pain of getting back into shape.

Stretch Exercises is a user-friendly app that provides step-by-step instructions for stretching all parts of the body. The app features over 40 stretches complete with photos and detailed descriptions of proper stretching technique to ensure you’re doing everything correctly. With each stretch, you’re shown which muscles are being targeted so you know all the benefits your body is receiving.

The app lets you select a series of poses to create a daily routine, making it easy to customize a stretching program that works with your schedule. Try using the convenient slideshow option to move through your stretches without having to tap your phone’s screen.

Stretching is a great compliment to any exercise program, so make it a part of your daily routine by downloading Stretch Exercises.