It can be really challenging to make good decisions when you are at the grocery store. It’s hard enough to choose between, virgin, extra virgin, or organic olive oils that are all basically the same, much less decipher the food marketing campaigns companies use to entice you. This is why I’m currently in LOVE with the Fooducate app. It takes out a lot of the detective work that comes along with making healthy choices. (And it’s free!)

You can either scan a bar code, enter it manually, or search for a product by name. Each product in the Fooducate data base is given a letter grade. The really cool part is that each entry gives you the product highlights (both good and bad) so you can easily find the facts about added sugars, trans fats, artificial colors, and misleading serving sizes that food manufacturers don’t necessarily want you to see. You’re also given a list of alternatives you can look for if the original product isn’t really as great as it seemed at first.

I’ve found this app to be especially useful when buying things like cereal and yogurt: products that are always touting their health benefits, maybe a little too loudly.

I’m brand new to this iPhone app thing, so I’d love some comments about any health and fitness apps you like to use!