I can leave the house without my wallet and keys, but I would freak out without my S4. It’s sad to say, but that piece of tech literally holds my life. IG, Pinterest, FB, Snapchat, Pokémon Go (ok, just kidding with the latter). And AFAIK, I’m not the only one (admit it, you’re guilty too). Nevertheless, no one can deny how convenient life has been since smartphones hit the market (for better or for worst).

For smartphone owners with diabetes, there are tons of free and useful apps available. If you own a smartphone, you NEED to give the apps a try since they make your life so much easier IMO. Gone are the days where you feel embarrass to show your doctor the shabby BG values booklet and suffer from a brain fart when prompted about your last meal by your dietitian.

In this post, I’m sharing my thoughts on three popular free apps for diabetics.

1. Mysugr Diabetes Logbook

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LonCbUbIup0

Description

MySugr is the equivalent of a diabetes journal where you can store your BG values and other essential information (e.g. HbA1c, meals, insulin, pills, exercise, and more).

Pros

• Beautiful interface
• Include key information people with diabetes need to jot down (e.g. exercise, Rx, BG, carbs, meal)
• Easy to use

Cons

• Reports can only be sent with PRO version
• Visualization of BG on smartphone may be unpleasant for doctors

2. Calorie Counter – MyFitnessPal

Description

While this app is not designed specifically for people with diabetes, it is a useful tool for those who are monitoring their diet and their weight. IMO, Myfitnesspal is the best food diary journal app.

Pros

• Contains 6M+ foods
• Allows users to enter their recipes and to import from websites
• Blog contains recipes, exercise, and other useful posts
• Easy to use

Cons

• Reports can only be sent with Premium version

3. Diabetes Recipe App

Pros

• Contains 400+ recipes
• Created by Diabetes.co.uk
• Allows to filter vegetarian recipes

Cons

• Unclear nutritional information (I suspect it is per serving)
• Slow (is it just my cell?)
• Few option filters (breakfast, lunch, dinner, drink, vegetarian, low in fat, low in carbs, low in calories)