3 ms·

Olipop ad?

brandonb 11mo ago
(OP here) - no affiliation with Olipop. But we've tried all the fiber supplements around the office, and we found Olipop is a pretty palatable option compared to, say, psyllium husk (which forms a gel when combined with water).
- slabity 11mo ago
  Looks more like an ad for your app though... Which for some reason collects tons of data unrelated to health, like messages, location data, and photos/videos/files?
  - brandonb 11mo ago
    Photos are used to track nutrition -- you choose each photo to upload within the app. Location is only used, in context, to help find healthy meals near you. (You can use the app with or without enabling this location-based feature; if you don't use it, then we don't ask for location.) Where are you seeing messages? We don't track messages, so this is probably a mistake in our metadata.
    - slabity 11mo ago
      https://play.google.com/store/apps/datasafety?id=com.empiricalhealth.EmpiricalHealth https://play.google.com/store/apps/datasafety?id=com.empiric... Sorry for being pessimistic, it's just whenever I see a health related app I immediately look at the data collected and data shared sections and get concerned. Especially if it's being shared with insurance companies. Quick edit: That "messages" part might be only in-app ones. Google does not word that well in the summary.
      - brandonb 11mo ago
        I see -- yeah, the Android metadata says "in-app messages". That refers to features where you can message support or a doctor within the app. We don't attempt to read your text messages or anything like that. Your data isn't shared with insurance companies.
- erulabs 11mo ago
  Worth noting that Olipop's fiber comes from inulin, which can be purchased as a supplement and dissolves in water nicely. I'm very curious why inulin is such an unknown product - its a polysaccharide, so it tastes mildly sweet despite having minimal to no impact on glucose levels. You'd think we'd have been supplementing almost all sugary foods/drinks with it for years, since it's a cheap and healthy sweetener.
  - brandonb 11mo ago
    Very interesting!
  - devchix 11mo ago
    The human body lacks the enzyme to digest inulin, it passes through the gut and feeds the gut bacteria, which I guess is why it's labeled a pro-biotic? Jerusalem artichoke (the root of a sunflower, Jerusalem is a corruption of girasole) contains a high concentration of inulin. This tuber is usually found served at upper-end swanky restaurants. One year I found it at a farmer's market, bought a bunch and gleefully carted it home. It was rather delicious. Also, gas that would turn a cow inside out. Beware.

Olipop ad?

(OP here) - no affiliation with Olipop. But we've tried all the fiber supplements around the office, and we found Olipop is a pretty palatable option compared to, say, psyllium husk (which forms a gel when combined with water).

slabity 11mo ago
Looks more like an ad for your app though... Which for some reason collects tons of data unrelated to health, like messages, location data, and photos/videos/files?
- brandonb 11mo ago
  Photos are used to track nutrition -- you choose each photo to upload within the app. Location is only used, in context, to help find healthy meals near you. (You can use the app with or without enabling this location-based feature; if you don't use it, then we don't ask for location.) Where are you seeing messages? We don't track messages, so this is probably a mistake in our metadata.
  - slabity 11mo ago
    https://play.google.com/store/apps/datasafety?id=com.empiricalhealth.EmpiricalHealth https://play.google.com/store/apps/datasafety?id=com.empiric... Sorry for being pessimistic, it's just whenever I see a health related app I immediately look at the data collected and data shared sections and get concerned. Especially if it's being shared with insurance companies. Quick edit: That "messages" part might be only in-app ones. Google does not word that well in the summary.
    - brandonb 11mo ago
      I see -- yeah, the Android metadata says "in-app messages". That refers to features where you can message support or a doctor within the app. We don't attempt to read your text messages or anything like that. Your data isn't shared with insurance companies.
erulabs 11mo ago
Worth noting that Olipop's fiber comes from inulin, which can be purchased as a supplement and dissolves in water nicely. I'm very curious why inulin is such an unknown product - its a polysaccharide, so it tastes mildly sweet despite having minimal to no impact on glucose levels. You'd think we'd have been supplementing almost all sugary foods/drinks with it for years, since it's a cheap and healthy sweetener.
- brandonb 11mo ago
  Very interesting!
- devchix 11mo ago
  The human body lacks the enzyme to digest inulin, it passes through the gut and feeds the gut bacteria, which I guess is why it's labeled a pro-biotic? Jerusalem artichoke (the root of a sunflower, Jerusalem is a corruption of girasole) contains a high concentration of inulin. This tuber is usually found served at upper-end swanky restaurants. One year I found it at a farmer's market, bought a bunch and gleefully carted it home. It was rather delicious. Also, gas that would turn a cow inside out. Beware.