Technology has become an integral part of our daily life. So much of our busy lives can be taken care of via technology from communicating with friends and family, to organizing your schedule and taking care of the bills. With advances in smart phones and a trend towards living a healthier lifestyle, it’s no surprise that technology is now making its way into our areas of life concerning health. As with anything, the goal of using tech for a healthier lifestyle is based on finding ways to make it both effective and comprehensive.
Enter the tech experts of the weekly #VZWBuzz Twitter chat that takes place each Friday at 3pm EST. Led by Verizon Insider and it’s host, these tech experts tackle a variety of tech related topics. Last week the theme focused on a Healthier Lifestyle with Technology. In addition to great conversation and personal experience from hundreds of tweeters, these gadget geeks provide numerous helpful resources to continue your education long after the one hour chat is over.
This week we wanted to share a recap of our last #VZWBuzz chat in case you missed it!
Our Favorite Activity Trackers
What began as a small niche has become an item that has flooded the market. It can be hard to know which fitness-tracking device fits your goals best. With this handy flow chart from Verizon, finding the fitness tracker for you and your lifestyle is made a little easier.
Once you have determined the activity-tracker that best fits your needs, you can check Verizon’s Activity Tracker Guide to learn more about your particular choice.
Health Care Advice
While no app could ever replace a consultation with your doctor, there are many instances where a bit of advice can go a long way.
WebMD
Easily one of the most well known health-websites, WebMD is now available in an app. The wealth of information available on WebMD includes a symptom checker, first aid essentials, drug and treatment descriptions, and local health provider listings. It also comes with the ability to store your family’s health information to access even when you’re offline. WebMD is available for free on iOS and Android.
HealthTap
HealthTap offers a network of doctors to answer health related questions, offer tips on symptoms, medical conditions, medication, and any other wellness topic. You can get a second opinion, or as many opinions as you want! You can store your own health information, and share scans and other documents with the doctors of your choice. HealthTap is available for free on iOS and Android.
Diet
Fooducate
This handy app tacks both your diet and calorie intake to help weight loss. The fact that Fooducate can read barcodes and grade each item based on its nutritional value is just one of the ways it’s convenient. It can even provide healthy alternative and create shopping list based on your preference – talk about handy! Fooducate is free on both iOS and Android.
Looking for more? Verizon has another seven helpful apps to monitor your health.
Surf and Sunshine is a member Verizon’s #VZWBuzz Lifestyle Blogger program. All opinions remain our own.
Devices to track activity can really be quite useful. I love statistics and the science of exercise, but try to avoid as much distraction as possible when actually doing it. I definitely prefer devices that record and you can check on later. The flow chart is a pretty nifty idea for shopping around!
I love my Withings activity tracker and I frequently check WebMD but I had never heard of Healthtap or Fooducate before. I will definitely check them out. Thanks for sharing!
Great post, I’ve been thinking about getting a Gear Fit!
Thanks so much for this post. There are so many options for health related gadgets out there, it can be really difficult to maneuver through them. This is a big help!