AI App Simplifies Carb Counting For Diabetics With Photos
The Daily Challenge of Diabetes Management
For many living with diabetes, managing their diet is a constant, tedious task. Alan Levine, a 62-year-old with Type 1 diabetes, struggled for years with the meticulous process of food journaling and carbohydrate counting. The effort was so tiresome that he often resorted to guessing his insulin dosage, a risky practice.
Everything changed in February when a diabetes educator introduced him to a new, tech-driven approach: simply photographing his food.
A Picture-Perfect Solution: Introducing RxFood
RxFood is an AI-driven app that assesses photos of a user's food for a variety of nutritional measures – such as calories, protein, and carbs – and suggests tips to improve their eating habits. (Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail)
Mr. Levine began using an artificial intelligence-powered app called RxFood. The process was simple: snap a picture of a meal, and the app quickly provides an estimate of its carbs, calories, protein, and fat. After just three days, it generated a detailed dietary report and began offering daily tips for improvement.
Now, Mr. Levine uses RxFood for every meal. The app has encouraged him to be more mindful of his fruit and vegetable intake and has made him think twice about second helpings. The results are tangible: his blood sugar now stays within the normal range about 70 percent of the time, a significant jump from 50 percent before using the app.
“I’m so happy that it’s taken something that I didn’t do before and I’m doing it on a regular basis, which makes for better health care in the long run,” he said.
Clinically Backed and Commercially Successful
While there are many food-tracking apps, RxFood stands out with its serious credentials. The app is supported by a dozen clinical studies demonstrating that users significantly improve their carb-counting accuracy, reduce glucose levels, and save time on diabetes management.
“We’ve been able to prove it’s as good as medication” that controls glucose levels, such as metformin, said Elizabeth Choi, CEO of the Toronto-based company, RxFood Co.
RxFood co-founder and CEO Elizabeth Choi and Dr. Jeff Alfonzi, co-founder and chief medical officer. (Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail)
This evidence-based approach has propelled the 55-person company into the spotlight as one of Canada’s most promising digital health startups. With 200,000 Canadian users, revenues have quadrupled to over $10 million in just 18 months. Remarkably, the company is profitable, having raised only $5 million in capital.
Why Insurers and Major Retailers Are Buying In
RxFood has amassed over 500 customers, including health systems like the Cleveland Clinic, regional health networks across Canada, and major hospitals. However, a recent strategic shift has focused the company on private-sector clients like insurers and retailers, who provide the app to their members for free.
This pivot caught on as demand for expensive GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic soared. “All of a sudden they got what we’ve been trying to tell them,” said co-founder and chief medical officer Dr. Jeff Alfonsi, referring to the health and economic benefits RxFood can deliver.
GreenShield, one of five Canadian insurers offering the app, found that using RxFood could save over $2,294 per user annually in health care and absenteeism costs. Their members rate the app 4.9 out of 5, with an 80 percent one-month retention rate.
Walmart Canada also piloted the app at 55 pharmacies, with 85 percent of users rating it as “useful” or “very useful.” Similarly, DexCom Inc., a maker of continuous glucose monitors, offers the app to its customers, helping them directly see how their food choices impact their glucose levels.
“The better you are at understanding the impact food has on your diabetes management, the better you are going to be from an overall health standpoint,” said André Côté, general manager of DexCom Canada.
The Future of Frictionless Health Tech
RxFood's success lies in applying a familiar, enjoyable activity—photographing food—to a difficult task. The app replaces laborious journaling with a simple, action-oriented tool that acts as a pocket nutrition coach.
Dr. Alfonzi and Ms. Choi demonstrate the app, which quickly generates an estimate of a meal's carb, calorie, protein, and fat levels. (Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail)
While its image detection is 94 percent accurate and not a replacement for medical advice, it provides a powerful educational tool. The biggest challenge ahead is tackling human behavior.
“Even minimal friction is enough of an excuse for people to basically not do something,” said Chris Wei of Sun Life, which is testing the app. “RxFood has done the most difficult step, taking away the pain of having a log. They’ve made it fun and frictionless.”
The company's focus now is on making the app even simpler and driving deeper adoption with its large enterprise customers. Investor Mike Wessinger suggests gamification or community features could boost engagement, positioning RxFood as a compelling digital alternative to expensive drugs. The goal is to not only sign up health plans but to ensure their members are actively engaged, leading to healthier outcomes and reduced health care spending.
