Question 1

What is IBS?

Accepted Answer

IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) is a common digestive condition affecting up to 15% of people worldwide. Symptoms include bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and constipation — often triggered by specific foods. IBS is not the same as IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) and does not cause permanent damage, but it can significantly impact quality of life. Identifying personal food triggers is one of the most effective ways to manage symptoms.

Question 2

What is FoodClue?

Accepted Answer

FoodClue is a food-symptom correlation tracker designed for people with IBS, food sensitivities, or anyone curious about how food affects how they feel. You photograph your meals, log simple symptom check-ins, and our AI finds the patterns for you.

Question 3

Is FoodClue free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The free tier lets you log unlimited meals and symptoms, receive weekly summary emails, and see your basic safe foods list — forever, no credit card required. The Pro plan ($4.99/mo) adds AI-powered trigger analysis, Symptom Patterns, Safe Meal Plan, Food Combinations insights, detailed correlation reports, and doctor-ready PDF exports.

Question 4

How long until I see results?

Accepted Answer

Most users start seeing meaningful patterns after about 14 days of consistent logging. The more data you provide, the more accurate the correlations become. Even a few entries per day is enough to get started.

Question 5

How does the AI analysis work?

Accepted Answer

When you photograph a meal, our AI identifies the ingredients and tags them with common trigger categories (dairy, gluten, high-FODMAP, spicy, etc.). It then correlates your meals with symptoms logged within 48 hours to surface which ingredients may be causing issues.

Question 6

What are FODMAPs?

Accepted Answer

FODMAPs (Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols) are short-chain carbohydrates that are poorly absorbed in the small intestine. Common high-FODMAP foods include garlic, onion, wheat, certain fruits, and dairy. They are one of the most well-studied dietary triggers for IBS symptoms.

Question 7

Is my health data safe?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. Your data is encrypted in transit and at rest. We never sell or share your personal health information with third parties. Meal photos are analyzed by AI and not stored beyond what is needed for your account. You can export or delete all your data at any time.

Question 8

What are Symptom Patterns, Safe Meal Plan, and Food Combinations?

Accepted Answer

These are Pro-exclusive features. Symptom Patterns shows how you typically felt after similar meals based on your logged history. Safe Meal Plan generates personalized meal suggestions using only your confirmed safe foods. Food Combinations reveals which ingredient pairings were most often followed by symptoms — so you know which combos to watch.

Question 9

Can I share my results with my doctor?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Pro users can generate a doctor-ready PDF export that summarizes your food-symptom correlations, trigger categories, and safe foods — making it easy to have a data-driven conversation with your healthcare provider.

Question 10

What symptoms can I track?

Accepted Answer

FoodClue tracks four key dimensions: gut health (bloating, cramps, discomfort), energy level, mood, and skin condition. Each is rated on a simple 1-4 scale so check-ins take about 15 seconds.

Question 11

Does FoodClue replace medical advice?

Accepted Answer

No. FoodClue is a wellness tool that helps you spot patterns between food and how you feel. It does not diagnose, treat, or cure any medical condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making significant dietary changes.

Question 12

What is weather auto-logging?

Accepted Answer

Every time you log a meal, FoodClue automatically records current weather conditions (temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, and weather condition) using IP-based geolocation. This requires no manual input. Research shows environmental factors like barometric pressure changes can affect IBS symptoms, so this data helps the AI distinguish food triggers from weather-related flare-ups.

Question 13

Can I add notes to my meals?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Each meal has an optional notes field where you can add context such as "ate out at a restaurant", "added extra cheese", or "leftovers from yesterday". These notes appear in your meal history and CSV export, helping you spot patterns the AI might miss.

Question 14

Can I log more than one snack per day?

Accepted Answer

Yes. While Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner have one slot each per day, you can log unlimited snacks. Each snack gets its own full entry with ingredient tracking, weather data, and notes.

Question 15

How does the free trial work?

Accepted Answer

When you subscribe to Pro (monthly at $4.99/mo or annual at $29.99/yr), you get a 14-day free trial. You won't be charged until the trial ends, and you can cancel anytime during the trial period. All payments are processed securely through Stripe.

Question 16

Can I check in more than once a day if my symptoms change?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can log symptoms as many times as you want throughout the day. If you felt fine in the morning but started feeling worse in the evening, just tap the Check-in tab at the bottom of the screen to add another entry. Each check-in is automatically linked to your most recent meal within 6 hours, so the AI can accurately track which meal may have caused the change.

Question 17

What is the Safety Score?

Accepted Answer

After you save a meal, FoodClue calculates a Safety Score (0-100) based on your personal history with each ingredient. Ingredients you've eaten 3+ times with no symptoms score high; ingredients that frequently preceded symptoms score low. Unknown ingredients get a neutral score. Green (80+) means safe, golden (50-79) means some risk, and coral (below 50) means high risk.

Question 18

What are Weekly Insights?

Accepted Answer

Weekly Insights is a dashboard card that compares your current week to last week across gut comfort, trigger exposures, and newly confirmed safe foods. It also tracks your logging streak and celebrates milestones like "50 meals logged" or "7-day streak". At the start of each month, you'll also see a summary of the previous month.

Question 19

How does weather affect my IBS symptoms?

Accepted Answer

After logging 10+ meals with weather data, FoodClue's Insights page shows a "Weather & Your Gut" section (Pro feature). It breaks down your average gut scores by weather condition and barometric pressure range. This helps distinguish food triggers from weather-related flare-ups — research shows barometric pressure changes can independently affect IBS symptoms.

Question 20

Can I repeat a previous meal?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Each logged meal on your dashboard has a repeat button (circular arrow icon). Tapping it opens the meal log page pre-filled with the same meal name and ingredients, so you can quickly log a meal you eat regularly without re-entering everything.

Question 21

Does FoodClue suggest ingredients when I type?

Accepted Answer

Yes. When adding ingredients manually, FoodClue shows suggestions from two sources: your recently logged ingredients and a built-in list of common foods. Just type 2+ characters and matching suggestions appear. Common trigger ingredients like dairy, garlic, and gluten are automatically tagged.

Question 22

How do symptom check-in reminders work?

Accepted Answer

FoodClue reminds you to log symptoms in two ways. First, a banner appears on your dashboard when a meal was logged 2+ hours ago without a symptom check-in. Second, if you enable notifications in Settings, FoodClue sends a push notification after your chosen delay (2h, 4h, or 6h after a meal). You can also tap the Check-in tab at the bottom of the screen anytime.

Question 23

Does travel or sleeping away from home affect my tracking?

Accepted Answer

Yes — travel, jet lag, and unfamiliar environments can independently affect IBS symptoms. When logging symptoms, you can tag context factors like "Away from home", "Jet lag", or "Ate out a lot" so the AI can distinguish food triggers from travel-related flare-ups. This helps ensure your trigger analysis stays accurate even when your routine changes.

Question 24

How do I delete my account?

Accepted Answer

Go to Settings and tap "Delete account". A confirmation modal will ask you to type your email address to confirm. This permanently removes your account and all associated data — meals, symptoms, analysis results, and subscription. This action cannot be undone.

Frequently Asked Questions