Mummascribbles – Gadgets that could improve your family's health – Mummascribbles

Health gadgets have really taken off lately, but can they really help to make you healthier? With all the clean eating and fitness fads that are around these days, it’s difficult to know whether new health and fitness technologies will really affect you – or if they’re just another craze that will die out in the next year.

Of course, the usefulness of a particular gadget often depends on your lifestyle. So a Fitbit may well be a good investment for a young professional with plenty of disposable income, but what about those of us who have families, tighter budgets and less time on our hands?

Thankfully, there are health gadgets out there that are very well suited to a family lifestyle, some of which are even designed with children in mind. These are best for families who are looking for ways to improve their overall health, especially with the demands of a busy lifestyle. I know that for me, anything that can make my life easier and better health wise is a winner.

Take a look at these top gadgets for family health and see if your household could benefit from investing in some of them…I know I want to buy them all!

For Healthy Meals

Those looking to improve their family’s general health should certainly take a look at what they’re eating. Experts tell us time and time again that increasing our intake of fruit and vegetables and decreasing our intake of processed foods, can help to give us a better quality of life. Sadly it’s often easier said than done when time is not on your side.

It’s essential to start children off early with healthy eating habits. And of course, we all know what foods are good for us in theory, but when it comes to putting this into practice it’s all too easy to go for a microwave meal or a pizza – especially if it’s after the nursery or school run when the children are tired and hungry right at that moment.

New technologies are helping to remove this obstacle to healthy eating, by allowing us to control kitchen gadgets through our smart phones. One such gadget is the Belkin Crock Pot Slow Cooker which comes with a handy app that allows you to turn it on and off as well as being able to adjust the temperature, while you are out of the house! How amazing is that?

Slow cookers have been a saviour for busy families for many years. Not only providing you with a cost effective meal, but also allowing you to enjoy healthy, home cooked food as soon as everyone gets home from school or work. I just love walking into the smell of a stew that has been cooking away for hours!

Another way to improve your family’s eating habits is by investing in a smart fridge, which can tell you when your vegetables are going off. We always find ourselves throwing away out of date fruit and veg so such technology would help to prevent food waste and means that you won’t forget about that kale that’s sitting at the back of the fridge!

The Samsung Family Hub Fridge does all of this and more, as it can also sync to other Samsung devices such as the smart watch. This means that when you workout, the fridge will know and will then offer healthy snack suggestions based on how many calories you’ve burned… Futuristic or what!?

For Healthy Mouths

It’s not exactly news that gadgets can help to improve oral health. The electric toothbrush has been around for a long time now and an increasing number of people are seeing the benefits that these gadgets can have on their dental hygiene. As technology progresses with smartphones and TVs, so it does with electric toothbrushes and now we have come to a stage where we can safely say that we have smart toothbrushes.

Although not the most exciting gadget, the toothbrush can have the biggest impact on your health. Oral hygiene is massively underrated and often takes a backseat to healthy eating and fitness, but it is vital that it is not ignored.

Toothbrushes such as the Oral B Pro 7000 Smart Series can completely revolutionise your oral health. Often available with multiple head attachments, a timer and even Bluetooth! There are even smart toothbrushes designed specifically for children, such as the Philips Sonicare range, which uses patented technology and is suitable for the whole family.

Oral hygiene doesn’t stop at toothbrushes though, we all know flossing is something we all need to get into the habit of doing – Part of the reason that people neglect flossing is because it’s fiddly, can be gross and can cause gums to bleed quite a lot. However, this is why water flossers are becoming increasingly popular, these gadgets fire pressurised water at the gum area to give the same effect as flossing, but without the fuss or bleeding. This also makes an ideal solution for kids who have braces and can’t use floss – these little gadgets could dramatically improve your family’s oral health.

For Healthy Minds

A healthy mind is just as important as a healthy body and yet it is something that is often overlooked by both professionals and parents. When considering the health of our families, it’s important that we consider the mental, as well as the physical side of things and how we can help them to achieve both. Thankfully there are some apps that are designed to help us all have healthier minds and some of them even include features for kids.

The Headspace app is possibly the most popular one to focus on family mental health and it features sessions for children as young as five. It follows a set structure of five and ten minute meditation sessions, which are adapted for different ages and can be used at bed time, mealtimes and play times. And for adults, there are a range of longer meditation sessions that can help with stress, anxiety and sleep – helping the whole family to improve their mental health.

So there you have a few fabulous ideas to help improve you and your family’s health. Which is top of your list?!