Here's a Video About Dee McCaffrey, How HITO Got Started, and How HITO Got Its Name:
Our Story
Twenty-five years ago, I was an obese junk food junkie, working toward my bachelor’s degree in environmental chemistry. One day I decided to apply what I learned in the lab to what was on my plate. I gave up processed foods, lost 100 pounds and I’ve never looked back.
After working as an organic chemist for many years, I returned to school, and have been a nutritionist for 15 years. I’ve written the internationally acclaimed book The Science of Skinny, and have appeared on national radio and television.
Over the years, I have used many software tools to help my clients track their food and help me create individualized meal plans for them based on their needs. There are plenty of programs that can track food and even show nutritional deficiencies, but none of them give tailored suggestions on how to fill nutrient gaps, and more importantly how to optimize food choices to prevent or manage certain common health conditions.
My business partner, Ernesto Amezcua, had a similar experience. Himself, his wife and daughters experienced weight and health problems. After spending hundreds of dollars on specialized tests to determine his disease risks and nutritional deficiencies, the testing laboratory sent him an impersonal report that provided plenty of colorful pages filled with general information about food, but little guidance on what specifically to eat and why.
Together, we wanted to create a program that would allow people to track their food intake and get instant feedback with the same excellent education and specific recommendations a personal nutritionist would give them, plus a lot more. Ernesto has the background in business intelligence and software creation, and I have the nutrition knowledge.
We decided to collaborate on creating something that’s never been done before, thus there is no other nutrition app, food tracker or professional nutrition analysis software that can do what HITO does.
As you are well aware, obesity is a worldwide epidemic. But even people who are normal weight are needlessly suffering from diet-related illnesses like diabetes, heart disease and cancer, simply because they are not educated about food and its ability to hurt or help their body.
By helping us bring HITO to life, your contribution will revolutionize the way people eat, and as a result, improve millions of lives.
Pledges & Perks
We are so close, yet so far away. According to our estimates, we need $10,000 to pay the programmers to finish the project, and we need a small army of beta-testers. That’s where you come in!
For just a $10 pledge, you can be one of our valuable beta-testers, giving us necessary feedback on how it’s working before we launch. You’ll also get a one-month subscription to HITO after we launch. For a $5,000 pledge, you’ll get a lifetime subscription to HITO and much more. We’re expecting to exceed the goal, and any extra money will go into our budget for future expenses.
To further help us reach our goal, we appreciate having you spread the word to everyone you know about this important project.
KEY FEATURES OF HITO
Choose an Established Diet, or Customize Your Own
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HITO has been programmed with food guidelines and made-for-you menus that meet the criteria for several common diets, OR you can choose to create and customize your own balanced meal plans. If you're not sure which diet plan is right for you, HITO can suggest one for you based on information you provide about your health goals.
If you are already following the Atkins Diet, Paleo, The Science of Skinny (Processed-Free) Eating Plan, Intermittent Fasting (The 5:2 Diet), South Beach, The Zone Diet, or several others, you should feel at home, because each of these diet plans are integrated into HITO.
Each food item in our database has been correlated for the various diet plans and phases of each plan, so if you're on Atkins Phase 1, or South Beach Phase 2, you'll easily be able to search for the foods, recipes and menus that are suitable for your selected diet plan.
If you're not following an established plan and want to track food and make your own meal plans, HITO can help make recommendations to help you optimize your food choices.
Personalize Your Meal Plan
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HITO has much more power and flexibility than just one singular diet plan. Suppose you want to follow the main guidelines of the The Science of Skinny (Processed-Free) Eating Plan, but you also want to go gluten-free, vegetarian, AND you want to eat the best foods for your blood type. HITO gives you the option to narrow your food searches so you'll only see the foods that are suitable to your particular eating plan and health goals.
A Highly Intelligent Food Database
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The power of HITO lies in it's food database, which contains over 8,000 entries providing information far beyond the standard calories, fats, carbs, proteins, vitamins and minerals, so that it can intelligently correlate foods to meet your specific nutritional needs.
Are you doing your best to follow a balanced diet, but want to know which foods can help with your arthritis or lower your cholesterol? With just a click of a button, HITO will show you the foods you want to see, and filter out the ones that are not helpful to you.
Each food item in the database has been individually tagged for specific criteria, such as:
- It is among the top 100 known Superfoods
- Which diet and phase of diet it is good for
- Which health conditions it has been scientifically proven to help or hinder (for example if you have arthritis, it's best to avoid tomatoes and peppers and focus on turmeric)
- Which phytonutrients it contains (beta-carotene, lycopene, etc.)
- Which blood type it is suited for (according to the book "Eat Right for Your Blood Type")
- Alkaline forming or acid forming
- Low, medium or high glycemic
- Type of carbohydrate it contains (refined or unrefined)
- Processed-free (contains no refined sugar, flour or chemical additives)
- Gluten-free
- Allergy-free (soy, egg and dairy)
- And many other identifiers
HITO's food database is also categorized according to foods of particular interest, for example the fruits are categorized by berries, citrus, and melons, and the vegetables are categorized by dark green leafy, non-starchy, starchy, cruciferous, and nightshades. This makes it easy for you to make sure you're getting all the right types of fruits and veggies into your meal plans.
Other foods, such as legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and dairy products also have specified categories to help you find foods easily.
The "Ad Hoc" Feature: Get Recommendations Just Like Having a Personal Nutritionist
Hito's powerful database allows for an impressive feature we call "Ad Hoc." Ad hoc literally means "for this" in Latin, and in English it means "for this specific purpose." The Ad Hoc feature tailors food and nutrient recommendations for you--just like having a personal nutritionist!
When you track food intake and/or create meal plans, HITO uses the information you've provided in your user profile (such as age, gender, health goals, stress level, family history for disease risk, etc.) and then analyzes your food choices to make sure you're meeting all of your nutritional requirements for your specific needs.
Not getting enough vitamin E and iron to meet your daily needs? HITO shows you a list of foods that not only contain vitamin E and iron, but ALSO makes sure they meet the requirements of your chosen diet plan.
Are you a 30-year old female with a high stress job who also wants to lower cholesterol and release 20 pounds? HITO's Ad Hoc feature will also show you a list of foods that contain nutrients needed to combat stress, lower cholesterol, boost metabolism and balance blood sugar to help release weight and help you fill your nutrients gaps so you can optimize your health.
If you have a fitness wearable such as a Fitbit or Withings device, it can be integrated with HITO to track your activity level---then HITO can recommend the foods that contain the nutrients you need to help optimize your workouts.
Get Your Shopping List in a Jiffy!
Once you select your foods and meals for the week, and have all of your Ad hoc information, HITO will instantly create a shopping list for you. You won’t even need to print it (but you can if you like) because it’s all on your phone!
Do Your Best to Avoid Common Health Issues
When you complete your user profile, you have the option to let HITO know what your health concerns are and your family history for disease risk. Do you or your family members have any common disease risks?
If so, HITO's intelligent database is equipped to help you select the best scientifically proven foods to fend off your symptoms and risks. If you have diabetes, HITO will suggest foods for stabilizing your blood sugar levels. Worried about developing Alzheimer’s? HITO will provide you with a list of foods that are scientifically proven to help prevent the disease. High Cholesterol? No problem, HITO's got you covered by suggesting foods that are known to help lower cholesterol.
Compare Foods in a Flash!
Want to know which food has more phytonutrients? How about which food has more protein, vitamins, fiber or fat? Our Compare Foods tool gives you the answer in seconds.
Food Education: Knowledge is Power
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The HITO team is dedicated to improving the health of people everywhere. From our own experience, we know that diet and lifestyle changes are difficult to sustain without knowledge about food and nutrition. That's why HITO is not just a way to track food and nutrients--it's an educational guide designed to arm you with the knowledge and skills for lifelong healthy eating.
Through a growing library of educational videos and on-screen pop-ups, HITO teaches you nutrition basics and keeps you up to date on the best ways to improve and maintain your health.