Remember the medical encyclopaedia that was sold door-to-door back in the 1980s? Almost everyone had a set. Our parents would greet the dodgy-tie-and-cheap-suit salesman at the door, agree on payment terms, and then spend the best part of an hour arranging the volumes on the bookshelf in the sitting room.

The investment, they hoped, would reap two-fold benefits. First, the red and beige of the volumes really matched the cushions. And more importantly, the encyclopaedia would be the right injection (excuse the pun) to encourage us to become doctors.

Most of us haven’t followed the blood-spattered road to medicine. And that’s probably because the medical encyclopaedia wasn’t the right medicine. But it was great for playing dead – we would look up the strangest diseases, even extinct ones, and see how many syndromes we had. It’s surprising how many of us survived childhood despite suffering from Black Death.

The days of the medical encyclopaedia are long gone. Instead, we have the modern equivalent – thousands of apps that help us diagnose syndromes, lose weight, keep fit and score the nutritional value of our meals.

The good thing about health-related apps is that they are not made for the sitting room – rather, they are mobile, which means we can take them with us when jogging, working out, cycling or eating out. Taking care of our health has never been more accessible.

Here are the best five apps for staying fit and healthy:

Help, I Have the Flu

Winter has its ups – hearty meals, cosy nights in, and layering. But it also has its downs, in the form of muscle aches, headaches, sore throats and fever.

All the symptoms point to the dreaded flu. Of course, there’s always someone to blame for getting the flu – a colleague, a friend, a loved one. With the Facebook app Help, I Have the Flu, you can work out who exactly put you out of action. The app scans your friends’ statuses for any mention of “coughs”, “sneezes” or “flu” and then gives you a pretty clear idea of who the culprit is.

Of course, the app won’t make you feel better – but as the app’s tagline suggests: “Nothing will make you feel better like having someone to blame.”

WebMD

This app for iOS and Android has been around for ages and it just keeps getting better. WebMD gives you health information at your fingertips. You can check symptoms and access treatment information on the go. Admittedly, some of the more technical stuff like the pill identification tool is for the professionals. However, the symptom checker and first aid tips are for everyone.

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Fitness Buddy

We’ve all jotted down our resolutions and most of them have to do with shedding the extra kilos we put on during the festive season. Yet the tricky part of working out is finding a suitable companion to encourage you on your journey to fitness. Fitness Buddy is a great companion – it helps you plan your workouts based on your goals, gives you detailed descriptions of more than 1,700 exercises categorised according to muscle groups, and shows you how to do them. You can also create your own workouts.

Lose It!

Yet another weight-loss app. But there are no crazy diets involved – Lose It! helps you unlove those love handles in a healthy way. The programme is easy-to-use – you are allowed a calorie budget and the app keeps track of how many calories you consume and burn each day. All you need to do is input what you eat and stay within your calorie budget.

Lark

Originally developed as a sleep-monitoring device, Lark has now been expanded to also cover fitness and well-being. The app comes with a wristband – together, the device and app monitor your fitness statistics, food eaten, sleep logged, calories burned and stress level. Moreover, Lark will offer you personalised advice by psychologists and sleep experts.

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