Only 3 minutes twice per day tracks diet and sodium intake for patients and providers
Maine-based heart failure nurse Lesley Hanselman saw it happen over and over again. Newly diagnosed hypertension and heart failure patients were told what to do, but not given simple tools to do it with.
“Making any lifestyle change is difficult,” she says. “But keeping track of what you eat and drink, trying to figure out how much sodium is in those foods, how many ounces of fluid you are consuming, your mood throughout the day and other things providers commonly ask to stay on top of? Even those with the greatest intentions couldn’t do it for long. I figured there had to be a better way.”
That better way is an app called Cormeum.
More than one year in the making, the Cormeum app lets hypertension and heart failure patients input and track the things their providers recommend. “All you need to do is enter your basic food choices and the app does the rest.”, notes Hanselman.
When a patient enters a food or drink into the Cormeum app, it automatically calculates calories, sodium intake and more. Patients can set targets and the app will automatically track daily progress and trends over time. If desired, they can output data in chart form to share with their providers.
“Entering foods takes a little getting used to”, says Hanselman, “but one great thing about the app is that it recognizes your favorites and keeps them at the top of the list, so the next time you eat, let’s say, ‘scrambled eggs’ for breakfast, it will be right there. All you need to do is click on it and you’re done.”
Customizable Features Put Users in Control
The team that developed Cormeum put a premium on adding features like twice-daily reminders that remind users to enter the information they want to track while it’s fresh in their mind and the ability to track their daily use of medications. The result is a snapshot that patients and providers can use to better manage their hypertension or heart failure treatment.
“We’ve found that most people are alarmed by the initial readings showing the amount of sodium in their diets — what we’ve come to call ‘sodium shock.’ But rather than being discouraged by it, we encourage patients to look at those readings as establishing a baseline for making positive changes and working toward the results they, their families and their providers would like to see. Even small changes can move things in the right direction.”, says Hanselman.
Heart-Friendly Recipes that Encourage Healthy Choices
Making changes to your diet can be difficult, especially since so many convenience-based foods are so full of sodium. Like other life changes, the time-honored way to make them stick is to make them incrementally. To help make “eating healthier” easier, Cormeum has worked with award-winning chef Ken Bergeron (author of the groundbreaking book Professional Vegetarian Cooking), to develop a robust recipe section on the Cormeum website. Ranging from simple salads (like the Avocado, Orange and Red Onion Salad shown here) to a crowd pleasing pot of vegetarian chili and Icebox Chocolate Cake, it’s easy to find something tasty to work into your diet.
Free 2-week Trial
You can “test drive” the Cormeum app for two weeks free-of-charge. No credit card required. After two weeks, if you wish to continue using the app, all it takes is a one-time, lifetime fee of $9.95. There are no monthly subscription fees to keep track of and no gimmicks. It may just be the best value out there for monitoring your health. You can download the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play. To learn more about the Cormeum app or to check out recipes, visit www.CormeumApp.com.
