Nutrition apps are billed as handy tools to help you keep track of your diet. People use them to suss out potential sensitivities and allergies, or to simply balance their macros and micros better. But all too often—as anyone who’s ever contended with the tedium of logging every piece of food that passes their lips knows—these apps can feel more like torture devices, turning the simple, essential, and enjoyable act of eating into a chore that can even be shamey or triggering.
In fact, “there are very few nutrition apps I would wholeheartedly recommend,” Desiree Nielsen, RD, a recipe developer with a focus on plant-based nutrition, tells SELF. “Many of the apps on the market claiming to help you sort out the healthfulness of different food products are based on some pretty flawed assumptions.”
One such assumption—or, rather, practice—is calorie-counting. Namely, many apps rate or rank foods based on their estimated number of calories, giving users the ability to keep track of how those are “adding up” throughout the day. But that can lead to “rigid thinking or guilt around eating, especially if users rely solely on the app for guidance,” Amber Young, MS, RDN, founder of the North Carolina–based practice Redefined Nutrition, tells SELF. Janice Dada, MPH, RDN, a certified intuitive eating counselor based in California, agrees: “I think it moves people away from their innate ability to feed themselves what they need.”
“All too often I’ve had clients feel like they can’t eat dinner because they’ve used all their allotted calories for the day, while their bodies are sending strong signals of hunger,” Young says. On the more extreme end of the spectrum, calorie counting could spawn problematic eating behaviors or even an eating disorder like bulimia or anorexia.
While many apps fall into this trap, there are some that, thankfully, don’t. SELF asked Nielsen, Dada, and Young to share the ones that actually do help them (and their clients) eat and feel better—without judgment—as they navigate personal health goals amid the dizzying dietary landscape.
1. Best for Specific Digestive Concerns: Monash FODMAP Diet and FODMAP Friendly
Compared to the other entries in this list, these two apps are a little more rarefied, but still worth mentioning nonetheless. “FODMAP” is an acronym that refers to a group of fermentable carbohydrates (oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols) infamous for causing digestive distress in some people, especially those with IBS. Both Monash FODMAP Diet and FODMAP Friendly consist of searchable databases that tell you whether a specific food is considered a high-FODMAP item and if so, what amount you can eat without fear of digestive reprisal. While these two apps were designed with people with IBS in mind, they could potentially help anyone who has recurring symptoms like bloating, stomach cramps, and diarrhea trace these issues to a dietary source. Just make sure to check in with a registered dietitian during the process.
