7 Awesome Apps Every Health Lover Needs on Their Phone!

"Health is the greatest blessing." Lots of us have heard this saying many times, because good health really comes down to us. If we live the right way, eat good food, exercise regularly and get enough rest and sleep, that alone is enough to keep you healthy. These days we also have plenty of extra help that makes looking after our health even easier, from fitness centers and gyms that are open 24 hours a day, to portable devices that track your activity, breathing and heart rate, smartwatches, and apps you can download straight onto your smartphone. Today fatgirlguides brings you 7 super-smart apps that make it easier to take care of your health. Let's see which ones catch your eye!

AirVisual

Let's kick things off with the first health app, which is perfect to have on your phone with all the PM 2.5 dust around right now. You don't have to live in Bangkok for this app to be useful, because air pollution is everywhere! The app tells you how concentrated the pollution in the air is and ranks how dangerous it is to your body on a 6-color scale, from normal all the way to hazardous to your health, along with tips on how to cope with those conditions. And if you want to know more about what causes each type of pollutant or what it's like, the app has extra information on that too.

Download here: Android or iOS

Flo Period & Ovulation

Menstruation is when the tissue lining the uterus sheds along with some blood. It happens because the body prepares for pregnancy every cycle. When no pregnancy happens, the body goes back to normal, and the uterine lining that was built up to receive an embryo comes away as blood, and that's your period. That's why Flo is an app every woman should have on her phone: it keeps track of your cycle for you.

Daily life is so rushed and hectic, with so much to think about, that lots of women get so busy they forget when their last period was. But that problem disappears once you have this app on your phone to remind you. And it doesn't just remember your cycle for you: it also counts down, estimates and reminds you when your next period is likely to arrive. The app also keeps statistics on your periods and shows them as graphs, so you can see how many days each one lasted and how many days apart they were. It even works out your ovulation days. And if you're pregnant, you can use this app too, because it has a pregnancy mode that tells you how many weeks along you are and what your baby is like at that stage. There are also women's health articles to read every day. Totally awesome!

Download here: Android or iOS

MyFitnessPal

To be healthy, looking after what you eat is the most important thing of all. But these days it's harder to eat from all five food groups and follow good nutrition, because we don't know which nutrients we're getting each day, or how much. That's where the MyFitnessPal app comes in. Put simply, it's an app for logging what you eat every day. It lets you know which nutrients you're missing or getting too much of each day, which helps you plan your meals properly and in a way that suits your body, for better health.

Download here: Android or iOS

DoctorMe

This is a health app everyone really should have on their phone. Not only was it developed by Thais, it's also perfect for people these days who like to look up their symptoms online before seeing a doctor. With this app you can feel reassured, like having a doctor close by to ask at any time. It answers questions about symptoms you're wondering about: just enter your symptoms, then pick more specific ones to narrow things down, and the app will suggest medicines that can help treat the illness, including both modern medicines and herbal remedies. It also has first-aid instructions you can follow for all kinds of conditions you might not know how to handle, and you can keep a daily log of your health too. Even so, this app only gives basic advice for minor, everyday illnesses. If you have serious symptoms, see a doctor as soon as possible for a thorough examination and treatment.

Download here: Android or iOS

Water Time Pro

Lots of research these days has found that “not drinking enough water” is one of the main causes of all sorts of health problems, from a stalled metabolism and a brain that isn't working at full capacity to sagging skin. That's especially true for people today, whose lives are so hectic they can easily forget to drink enough. So we'd like to recommend Water Time Pro, a great little helper that reminds you to drink water. It's easy to use, has everything you need, and is cute like no other. You can set the time window and how often it reminds you, anywhere from every 15 minutes to every 2 hours, and you can choose from lots of drink types and amounts, like tea, coffee or fruit juice. On active days or when you've had a hard workout, don't forget to tap the bottle-cap button in the bottom right corner of the home screen so the app can be more accurate, since your body loses more water than usual when you exercise.

Download here: Android or iOS

Seven – 7 Minute Workout Training Challenge

Every workout means breaking a sweat, but at least this app saves you money and time, because you work out at home. Just do the moves in the app regularly for only 7 minutes a day, and you can easily get fit, lose weight or tone up. It's a shame the app doesn't support Thai yet, but the beautiful animations make it easy to follow (and if more Thai people start using it, the developers might add Thai soon). We especially love that you can adjust your goals, speed, rest periods and even your cartoon trainer, and there's a reward system to keep you motivated too. This is another app that has a special place in our hearts!

Download here: Android or iOS

Quit Tracker: Stop Smoking

And the last app we'd like to recommend is "Quit Tracker: Stop Smoking". Quitting smoking is one of the greatest things an ordinary person can achieve in life, but anyone who smokes knows it isn't easy. So we'd like to recommend this app to give strength to every brave soul who's determined to quit, whatever the reason and whenever the time. The app keeps a quit-smoking diary for you. Just open it the minute you decide to quit, and it starts counting from the very first second, working out how much your health has improved, how much longer you'll live and how much money you've saved, minute by minute. And if you slip up and smoke one day, don't give up: you can hit restart at any time. If you're feeling discouraged, try giving your phone a gentle shake for some extra inspiration. Keep going, everyone, it's for your own good health! Besides getting healthier yourself, you'll also stop harming the health of the people around you with cigarette smoke.

Download here: Android