We know that the only way to improve digestive health and decrease the risk of long-term health consequences of digestive disease is through diet.

We created MyHealthyGut to deliver evidence-based therapeutic programs, through a smartphone app, to help individuals self-manage their digestive health and monitor their dietary behaviour. The app was originally beta tested and used in a joint research study with the University of Calgary (U of C) and the Canadian Celiac Association, with the overall goal to improve gut health and promote effective self-management of celiac disease. Participants in the study included celiac patients and healthcare providers.

Along with this, the app was also used in a randomized control trial, conducted by the U of C and funded by the Canadian Celiac Association, Calgary Foundation and Mitacs, in conjunction with beta testing of the original app, and designed to investigate the effects of using MyHealthyGut for a 1-month period.

Results from our randomized control trial were published in Sage Journals, February 2020

The results from the randomized control trial indicated participants reported improved mental health (lower levels of depression or anxiety) and quality of life. Furthermore, many participants reported reduced gastrointestinal symptoms and improved adherence to a gluten-free diet.  MyHealthyGut is the FIRST evidence-based gut health app to be validated in this kind of research study. This study was conducted by the University of Calgary (U of C) and funded by the Canadian Celiac Association, Calgary Foundation and Mitacs in conjunction with beta testing of the original app, and designed to investigate the effects of using MyHealthyGut for a 1-month period.

MyHealthyGut: Findings from a pilot randomized controlled trial on adherence to a gluten-free diet and quality of life among adults with celiac disease or gluten intolerance, A Justine Dowd, Cassandra B Warbeck, Karen TY Tang, Tak Fung, S Nicole Culos-Reed

Read the full transcript. 

The key findings of the study – MyHealthyGut: development of a theory-based self-regulatory app to effectively manage celiac disease –were: 

• Over 90% of participants managed their disease solely through diet, and reported the app would help them manage their dietary behaviour and nutrition.
• The content and ease of navigation were the top two features of the app. MyHealthyGut contains over 350 researched and referenced content recommendations.
• Healthcare providers would recommend the app to their colleagues and patients, and highlighted the evidence-based nutrition information and recommendations as stand-out features.
• Health-related mobile applications make smartphones useful tools in providing point of care to the user.
• MyHealthyGut is the FIRST evidence-based app that may be helpful in empowering users to effectively self-manage celiac disease and promote general gut health.

June

2018

MyHealthyGut Randomized Control Study, MyHealthyGut: development of a theory-based self-regulatory app to effectively manage celiac disease, is published in PubMed.

April

2018

Dr. Justine Dowd, PhD presents MyHealthyGut pilot study poster at the 39th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.

June

2017

Healthline named MyHealthyGut as one of their top five gut health apps.  Healthline is a well recognized health information site, providing expert advice to guide consumers through health and wellness decisions.  They are the fastest growing information portal, with over 85 million users a month.