Cara Care: IBS, FODMAP Tracker

There are no ads in this free app, and if it weren’t free I would gladly pay for it. I have IBS and GERD, and tracking all of my symptoms can be difficult. I usually use MyFitnessPal for food intake but because I don’t have premium, I can’t see the times I ate so I couldn’t correlate foods with symptoms. But this app, Cara, tracks the minute you enter something. You can retroactively add something as well, but only in 15-minute increments. My phone is basically always on me anyway so that’s not a bother. My only complaint is that it doesn’t count “today” as “today” until after 4 am. Sometimes my symptoms cause me to wake at 3 in the morning and it will track it as if it’s the day before. Honestly this would’ve been perfect when I worked swing shift.... oh well. I like that you can add your own meds, foods, create favorite meals so if you eat the same food every day you just select it. No worries about calorie/nutrient info either like in MFP, so you just type what you ate and add it. You can add your own tags in the symptoms, plus there is a journal tab too so you can take notes in the same entry as your food/symptoms. Really, can’t ask for better. This is an ideal app for any symptoms for any ailment. I have been using this for a while and for those who are having crashing issues... I suggest updating your iOS. I haven’t had a single functioning issue with this app yet.

I am a male and I suffer from IBS-D, heartburn and acid reflux. This app is helping me to track and take note of my trigger foods and ultimately avoid or at least be aware of the things that are and are not causing my symptoms . It is fairly easy to use this app in conjunction with the FODMAP diet, but many of the foods are more European than American in regards to the commonality and name. Luckily, you can add as many foods and name them, or mis-name, them however you like and that has worked super well when doing to FODMAP plan as there are many strange concoctions and gluten free varieties of foods to track. I also have had great success snapping pictures of my food and saving them in the “saved or favorite” recipes area making it particularly handy to meal prep for multiple days at a time and not have to try and re-enter everything over and over again for any meal you eat it at. Don’t worry, if you forget to save you can roll back to the day you had something previously, pop it open and save it to your favorites list (I do this several times a week). I also find that I may prep salads for a week but add carrots one day or a different/no dressing on another day, I enjoy that the saved recipes are not locked and you can odd or remove any part of it after selecting it as the meal you’re entering. Enjoy your results!

I’ve struggled with IBS as well as other unknown chronic illnesses, food intolerances, anxiety, depression, etc. since I was 15 (I’m now 21). A few months ago I saw a nutritionist that simply provided me with a template to track everything that I eat. It really opened my eyes to the content and amount I was eating and how it may have connections to flare-ups of symptoms but as you can imagine, it’s difficult to hand-write notes on every single thing you eat when you’re leading a busy lifestyle. Especially when I snack all day long! I tried other similar apps that only track your calories by scanning barcodes and that actually encouraged me to eat more processed, packaged foods because of the ease of tracking the calories. I love that this app leaves so much room for customization not only with the foods that you put (I personally input the brand and the grams of sugar per meal for my own use) but also symptoms (what some may call “indigestion” I call “sharp epigastric pain”) and you can add these custom symptom tags! Cara support seems very responsive and personable as well. Very happy that I found this app, and I highly recommend it for anyone suffering of anything chronic.

(I changed my review from three to five stars since they’ve been so diligent about taking feedback on the latest update) Absolutely *the* most comprehensive whole body app around. Yes, the new update has some bugs, and yes, they are working on it. (I’ve sent them extensive screenshots and they’ve replied to my annoyingly detailed messages so kindly) This is not just for IBS or gastrointestinal issues, my psychiatrist actually recommended it for my bipolar meds and sleep/meal/exercise tracking. If you’re looking for a calorie/quick weight loss fix, this is not for you. If you’re looking for something that will help you improve your overall wellbeing for a lifetime, download this app. Whole health is comprehensive and involves far more than fat/calories, and this app covers it ALL - sleep, skin, physical pain vs mental pain, so many others that I’ve forgotten! You can adjust the lineup as needed in order of most frequently used. I cannot say enough good about Cara, and now include their team in that praise as well. I would easily pay for this the same I do for my Calm app, and it’s FREE and ad free. Download this! No question.

I began using Cara about 3 weeks ago. I like the options of the many different features (tracking food, digestion symptoms, BM symptoms, etc). While it may not be as accurate as an elimination diet, I really appreciate the foods on the best and worst 3 days—this is definitely a lot easier than an elimination diet. This has also helped me realize how much water I drink and that I also seem to have worse symptoms on days I drink less. Cara is a lot easier than writing out a traditional food diary. The one thing that is both a pro and a con is that you simply track food, no portions or nutrient info. This is a pro because it means I simply have to eat and add ingredients in—no measuring or counting portions, no extra time spent adding in portions. It’s a con because it would be nice to look at if smaller portions of some things are more tolerable or if I am meeting nutrient recommendations as nutrient deficiencies are common with the digestive related problems I have. This app is definitely for those who are simply looking to live and feel better; it’s not for those who are looking to count calories.