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Before the new food labelling laws were introduced in Hong Kong, you could wander the aisles and believe you could gain a svelte body and live forever if you only ate certain branded foods. Now health claims are banned unless backed up with proper nutritional labels, and perhaps more safely, shoppers are left to educate themselves.

Joy Bauer is a well-qualified nutritionist, the health editor on MSN's show, and the author of cookbooks and diet books including best-seller .

The first thing you get with the app is a tip of the day - today's tip is about the benefits of low-fat (1 per cent fat) milk. The app also comes with a list of food groups and their benefits. Under "Sweeteners" I learn that blackstrap molasses is a concentrated source of iron, calcium, magnesium and other minerals - but heavy on calories. I also learn that aspartame is often reported as a trigger for migraines.

This is not groundbreaking information so I checked under "Herbs and Spices", hoping for revelations of the healing qualities of, say, basil, or cumin; but instead I was told that many herbs possess antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties that may help contribute to heart health, beautiful skin and hair. A bit disappointing for a best-selling author.