Category: Videos

Better Food Shopping with Apps

How to pick more nutritious food.

Are you picking the right food in the supermarket? Do you know that there are now apps to help you do better food shopping?

For more info, check out these prior food-related posts:

Better Food Shopping with Apps

First, we look at the example of Kroger’s OptUP:

In a world of nearly endless food options, it can be challenging to make healthy choices. Introducing OptUP, a NEW Kroger app, that makes better for you shopping so much easier! We simplify healthy shopping by providing easy to use nutrition scoring and food recommendations based on what YOU buy. We’ll also track your nutritional progress overtime, and allow to you make wholesome choices for the entire family, right at your fingertips.

Review the short video overview.

For further information about the app, visit its home page shown here. Then, click each of the appropriate “learn more” boxes. Remember, this is a mobile app.

Second, the above is only ONE example of a nutritional food shopping app For other highly-rated apps, click the two images below.

Better Food Shopping with Apps

Better Food Shopping with Apps
 

Rewarding Our Brains to Break Bad Habits

Two non-threatening animations from Dr. Jud

On Monday, we presented an infographic to help reduce anxiety. PLEASE take a look.

Now, we offer a brief discussion and two clever videos on changing bad habits by Jud Brewer, M.D., Ph.D.: “Dr. Jud [as he is called] is the Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center and associate professor in psychiatry at the School of Medicine at Brown University, as well as a research affiliate at MIT.”

As per Dr. Jud:

“How are habits formed? What is the biggest secret behind our mind’s choices? Why is it so hard to break some of our most unhelpful habits, including worry and panic during this challenging time? How can we upgrade our mind’s habit system?”

Video 1: The Habit Loop — Anxiety

The first animation deals with the three stages of the habit loop: trigger->behavior->reward.

Video 2: Breaking Bad Habits

The second animation notes some recent research that Dr. Jud’s lab has done to help people quit smoking and stop overeating. And it provides simple tips on how you can learn to leverage your own brain for habit change.

 

We REALLY Hope This Device Works

For just $300 in parts, Rice University is devising an automated ApolloBVM device.

As we all know, there is a worldwide shortage of ventilators for those stricken with COVID-19. While there are finally multiple efforts underway to produce more ventilators, the time to and costs of converting factories has caused a real  lag.

In the mean time, many innovative and entrepreneurial efforts are taking place.

According to Rice University:

“The ApolloBVM is a controllable, automated add-on solution to the existing and widely available Bag Valve Mask (BVM). The device compresses the BVM with a mechanical system that is able to provide consistent and accurate ventilation with positive-pressure.”

“This solution exists within the top range of high-acuity limited-operability (HALO) ventilator solutions with an a priori design to produce volume and pressure cycled ventilation that includes positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) and enriched oxygen sources.”

“The ApolloBVM is a rapidly scalable solution with a clinician-informed end-to-end design that repurposes the existing BVM global inventory toward widespread and safe access of hospital-grade mechanical ventilation.”

The video below highlights the promising, inexpensive, and simple-to-scale-up inhaler that would help those who are not in critical condition. 

For much more information on this exciting project, click here.