Top 10 Apps for Health: Part 1

There are over 730,000 apps in the iTunes App Store, so choosing favorites is no easy task. I have over 300 apps on my Apple devices that fall into the categories of productivity, health, education, news, travel, business, and games. With my professional registered dietitian hat on, I've made a list of ten (of my many) favorites, which could very easily change tomorrow with each day's new additions to the App Store. This list does not rank my favorites in any particular order. Most of these apps have registered dietitians and/or Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics members working behind the scenes.Anyway, here are the first five of my favorites. Stay tuned for the rest!App reSolutions: If you need some inspiration for setting health goals, this is the app for you. A team of registered dietitians offer hundreds of health and nutrition goals to consider. Search for a particular type, or simply read the list of resolution suggestions and mark your favorites. You can even write your own. App reSolutions also highlights a daily resolution tip.Fooducate: This is one of the most comprehensive food education apps in the App Store. I have long believed that every grocery store should offer personal registered dietitian services on the premises, as this is where final food decisions are made. Once the food is in the house, avoiding poor choices makes life unnecessarily difficult. The next best solution to personal, expert food and nutrition counseling on-site is to arm shoppers with the Fooducate tool. It is free and has a massive database of food label information. Users can browse food categories, make a list of favorite foods, outline shopping lists, and track use history. The Healthy Me feature tracks the items you view, and a link to the Fooducate blog offers even more tips for foodies.JoyBauer.com Food Cures: Looking for a nutrition primer? This app offers sound advice  on food groups, recipes, healthful foods, and ways to live healthfully. Read about Joy's professional work as a dietitian and her online weight loss program, Food Cures.MyDietSteps: So you have decided to keep a log of the food you eat and the calories you burn.This app has a nice, simple interface for a your personal profile. It also offers easy ways to  search its food and exercise database.MyDS: This app, created by the National Institute of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements, offers the latest fact sheets about dietary supplements. Keep a log of any vitamins, minerals, and herbs, both for your own records and to share with your medical team.By Catherine Frederico, MS, RD, LDN. Catherine Frederico is a nutrition and food science professor in New England. She is an app developer and was on the teams that created App reSolutions, Max's Plate, and Food Focus: Fruits.