By Dr Jen Newell, ND

This is the second in Dr. Newell’s series ‘There’s an App for That!’ Check out her recommendations for fitness apps here

Health support is available at our fingertips these days. If you want to lose weight, get in shape, track your diet or your menstrual cycle there’s an app for that! Apps geared towards women’s health provide self-awareness and empowerment so women can take control of their well-being. Below are 3 of my favourite women’s health apps:

Period Tracker:

The lite version of this app is completely free. It allows the user to track their menstrual cycle, symptoms of choice (including bloating, cramps and spotting) and their mood throughout the month. Based on the information that is input the app creates a calendar the shows predicted dates for menses, ovulation, and fertile window. This app is very popular among my patients and makes monitoring your menstrual cycle very easy.

Calm:

Calm.com began as a website intended to help stressed, busy, overwhelmed individuals take a much needed mental break. The website offers guided mediations to promote relaxation in various time intervals depending on how much time you have. The app offers a portable version of the website that can be easily used on your commute or in the office. Guided sessions range from 3-30 minutes in length. Everyone needs a moment of quiet and calm in our busy lives.

Lumosity:

Most people have heard about Lumosity or seen the television adds for this app. Lumosity is a training program created by neurologists to exercise your brain and improve cognitive function. It uses fun and challenging games to work various cognitive skills and parts of the brain. This is a way to play games on you phone and improve your cognitive health.

Mindshift:

This app was designed to help users work through steps to control their anxiety. The user will learn how to relax and develop more helpful ways of thinking about situations that can be anxiety provoking. MindShift is the work of a joint collaboration between AnxietyBC, a non-profit organization devoted to increasing the public’s awareness and access to evidence-based resources on anxiety disorders, and BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority.

Dr. Jen Newell is passionate about helping people embrace health, feel amazing and easily incorporate “real” food into their busy lives. Her mission is to make health accessible and achievable, and to inspire patients to live an active, vibrant and healthy life.

Jen has a clinical focus on digestive health, food sensitivities and healthy nutrition; mental health and stress-related illness; women’s health, hormone balance and fertility; optimal aging; and dermatology. She focuses on integrating healthy foods into one’s diet in a medicinal and therapeutic capacity and providing individuals with nutritional support that is easy to incorporate into a busy day. Dr. Newell practices at the Integrative Health Institute in Downtown Toronto.