Nutrition Apps to Manage IBD
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If you’re like many people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), you may have noticed that what you eat can directly influence how you feel.
Since IBD affects the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, your diet plays an important role in keeping symptoms at bay. A healthy diet also supplies you with beneficial nutrients that can help ward off complications such as malnutrition and weight loss, according to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.
“Eating a diet high in fruits, veggies, beans, lentils, whole grains, fish, nuts and seeds, and avocados while limiting processed foods, red meat, and added sugars may be beneficial,” says Stacy Cavagnaro, a registered dietitian with a focus on IBD at Cleveland Clinic.
As important as it may be to monitor your diet, tracking your food intake can be, well, exhausting at times. Technology can be an effective tool in helping those who have IBD, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. When choosing an app, Taha Qazi, MD, a doctor of gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition at Cleveland Clinic, recommends prioritizing functionality and usability.
Arlene Stein, a registered dietician at the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at NYU Langone Health in New York City, adds that apps can make people accountable. For example, if you are tracking what you eat and drink in a food app, it will help you make the link between foods and beverages and symptoms.
“In the future, I think there’s a possibility that doctors will have the ability to monitor and treat IBD patients through app-based technologies that feed directly into an electronic medical record,” Dr. Qazi says. “In many ways, the future is bright when it comes to wearable technologies and apps.”
Here are some of the best nutrition apps for people with IBD.
1. MyFitnessPal: Calorie Counter
MyFitnessPal is one of the most comprehensive food logging apps available. It has an extensive database of over 14 million foods as well as a huge community that allows you to connect with others who have similar goals and dietary issues — in this case, Crohn’s and colitis.
If you’re following a specific diet to manage your symptoms, such as the Crohn’s disease exclusion diet, you can track your food intake with the app to home in on food triggers. The app can also track calories and macronutrients (carbs, protein, fat), which can help ensure you’re getting adequate nutrition and maintaining a healthy weight.
Price: Free, with in-app purchases
Get it at: App Store, Google Play
2. Monash University FODMAP Diet
“Monash University’s low FODMAP app has been incredibly helpful for my patients,” Cavagnaro says. This elimination diet, which cuts out and then gradually reintroduces high FODMAP foods to determine which trigger GI flares, is already considered the gold standard for those suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), she adds.
Although the benefits of a low FODMAP diet for people with IBD are still not fully understood, preliminary research published in the journal Gastroenterology found that the diet can help temporarily relieve IBD symptoms.
The Monash University FODMAP Diet app takes the guesswork out of navigating the diet by recommending what foods to eat and which to avoid. It’s especially beneficial for those with both IBD and IBS.
Price: $7.99, $9.00
Get it at: App Store, Google Play
3. mySymptoms Food Diary
Tracking a chronic illness can be time consuming, so apps that are designed specifically for monitoring chronic conditions are useful tools. Cavagnaro suggests using mySymptoms, which was developed specifically for people who have chronic illnesses such as IBD, celiac disease, eczema, and migraine. Its flexible food diary and journal allows you to track meals and symptoms and spot patterns that may trigger flares.
Price: $4.99
Get it at: App Store, Google Play
In addition to diet and nutrition, lifestyle factors, including stress levels and sleep habits, can impact a person’s IBD. The following apps can help.
4. Calm
Calm is a sleep and meditation app which features sleep stories, meditations, and music to help anyone get a restful night’s sleep.
“There does appear to be a bi-directional relationship between sleep and IBD activity,” Qazi says. “Multiple studies have suggested that patients with IBD have poorer sleep patterns compared to healthy control, regardless of disease activity.”
Meditation may help reduce stress in that population, according to a meta-analysis that found that people with IBD benefit from mindfulness meditation interventions that include yoga. The research also found that the intervention had positive long-term effects on depression and quality of life.
Qazi notes, however, that if sleep is a chronic problem, it is best to meet with a doctor to review possible causes.
Price: $69.99/year or $14.99/month
Get it at: App Store, Google Play
5. We Can’t Wait App
For some patients with IBD, not knowing where to find a bathroom if needed urgently can be stressful, Stein says. That’s why the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation’s We Can’t Wait app was developed — to help people find a bathroom immediately when needed. This app identifies businesses across the nation with public bathrooms, and includes 50,000 restrooms across the United States.
Additionally, some states have passed Restroom Access Acts, a law that seeks to allow people with certain medical conditions, including IBD, to use an employee-only restroom when a public one is unavailable.
Price: Free
Get it at: App Store, Google Play
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