IS THIS GOOD FOR ME? Apps to Help You Make Smart Food Choices
S ometimes going grocery shopping can leave you feeling more like a detective than a human just trying to feed yourself and your family. Sleuthing down the snack aisle brings up questions about whether gluten-free means “good” and whether no added sugars means “nutritious.” The foundation of healthy snacking includes fresh fruits and vegetables, but how can you make smart (or smarter) choices when buying packaged snack foods? New smartphone apps mean the answer is just one bar code away. Switch It Up FoodSwitch is a mobile app developed by an international health advocacy group, The George Institute for Global Health. Even packaged foods that purport to be healthy can have high levels of salt, sugar, and saturated fat. While valuable information appears on nutritional labels, they can also leave you more mystified than empowered.
In that case, simply open the FoodSwitch app, scan the bar code of the item you’re interested in, and get instant nutritional information and options for healthier alternatives. Each item gets a Health Star Rating from .5–5, making it easy to understand where the item falls on the health spectrum and how it compares to other brands. If that item doesn’t meet your dietary needs, let FoodSwitch recommend an alternative. In a Snap If you’re already a dedicated Snapchat user and don’t want to add another app to your phone, you’re in luck. Snapchat has recently implemented a scanning technology powered by the nutrition-tracking app Yuka. While it has similarities to FoodSwitch, the format Snapchat uses lays out the nutritional pros and cons of each item and gives each item an overall rating on the traffic-light system. Green means good to go, yellow means proceed with caution (moderation), and red means reconsider or only eat this item rarely.
With these two apps, you can put down your magnifying glass and pick up your smartphone. Making healthier snack choices is right at your fingertips.
Our ownWilma with Anthony Jennings
Client Success Story Anthony Jennings
His work has always involved heavy equipment and machinery, driving semis and paving trucks, hauling heavy equipment, using air tools/hammers, and doing auto/truck repairs. The last six years of his work life, he drove heavy dump trucks (the ones with semis) for a demolition, hauling, and removal company. When these trucks dump their loads, they drive onto a ramp that elevates. Anthony was a passenger, working with a newer driver who didn’t get the rig centered on the ramp. So, when it tilted, the entire tractor-trailer rolled onto its side. Anthony suffered severe injuries to his left shoulder, which required many surgeries that were followed by nerve blocks. Despite treatment, including lots of pain medication, he continues to have debilitating pain in his left shoulder that is aggravated by nearly any activity. While initially hospitalized, he also developed a chronic respiratory bronchitis that has left him unable to tolerate diesel fumes or dusty environments. Unable to return to the only work he’s ever done, Anthony tried a couple stints in vocational rehabilitation to no avail. Even now, he sleeps in a recliner since he can’t rest on his left side or his stomach. Also, he moves slower these days because it’s hard for him to breathe. In addition to all of this, the depression that resulted is understandable.
So, our friend and longtime client, Anthony, used to find himself in the dumps quite a bit … dump truck, that is! Oh, I crack myself up with the dad-joke humor! Actually, Anthony got cracked up, too — but there I go again! Anthony grew up in Columbus and went to West High School. He dropped out after 10th grade to help support his family, then he got a job driving a garbage truck at the age of 16. At 17, he drove a dump truck, hauled asphalt, and then moved to tractor trailers at 19. Now, he has driven everywhere in the continental United States except for California.
Still, he does what he can, even helping friends collect scrap to redeem for extra spending money. He has even offered to come and help Wilma here at the office!
Anthony recently closed his claim, so we are pleased to have negotiated a settlement (with the BWC) that Anthony’s pleased with. He still says he’ll come help Wilma, so who knows, maybe one day you’ll hear him answering phones for her when you call in!
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