First-of-its-Kind Service Now Available for Diabetics to Manage
Medical, Diet, and Fitness Needs in One Location

Nutrihand, Inc. Launches Internet-Based Management Service
for Improved Blood Sugar Control

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California - February 8, 2005 - Nutrihand, Inc., today launched a new Internet-based health management service to help people with diabetes achieve improved blood sugar control. Located at http://www.nutrihand.com/, this revolutionary service features self-management tools as well as automatic uploads of blood sugar levels from glucometers to the service. Users can easily plan, track and report related data, such as food consumption, exercise, vital signs and share a complete health profile with their health care providers via the Internet. The service can also be used as a preventive measure by the large number of people who are at risk of developing the disease. After a 30-day free trial, the service costs $9.95 per month.

"Until now, there hasn't been one application that people with diabetes could use to easily integrate and manage all their necessary health and medical information to better control their blood sugar levels," said Soraya Bittencourt, founder and CEO of Nutrihand, Inc., and a diabetic. "People have had to piece together diverse, usually incompatible, applications. It's a real pain -- especially if you want to look at the relationships between your diet, fitness and medical information or if you want to share the information with a healthcare professional. With Nutrihand, we're providing diabetics an all-in-one solution that gives them the freedom and simplicity to manage their health. Nutrihand learns with each user and allows for delivery of personalized plans."

Diagnosed with diabetes in 1989, Bittencourt tried many ways to manage her condition, including palmtop software, computer software and books, but the lack of one fully effective tool led her to develop her own service. After four years of extensive research and development working with San Francisco Bay-area endocrinologists, diabetes educators and diabetic support groups, Bittencourt launched the Nutrihand service to help diabetics monitor cause- and-effect relationships and provide health care providers with hard data to help reduce chances of eventual health complications.

Diet and exercise are essential to controlling diabetes. To better manage their blood sugar levels, diabetics are encouraged to keep a food journal but only a minority of patients actually do so because of the time and effort required. Nutrihand's new service makes this process easy and far less time intensive so more diabetics can take an active role in controlling their diabetes.

The Nutrihand service enables users to maintain proper control of their blood sugar levels in order to live more fully and freely in the long run. After registering online to create a secure account, Nutrihand provides users with:

* Customized meal and fitness plans to eliminate guesswork. They can use nutritionist-designed meal systems, create their own plans or access menus from national chain restaurants, all complete with full caloric and nutritional values. * Medications and blood glucose tracking * Detailed, flexible reporting for instant overviews that illustrate relationships between health statistics and help identify important physiological trends. * A simple user interface with easy to learn data-entry, navigation tools, and automatic upload of blood glucose readings. * A secure "My Nutrihand" section for automatic summary updates of their health profiles, along with beneficial health management tips. * Live chat feature as well as ongoing feedback on the user's progress.

Today, more than 18 million people in the Unites States have diabetes and an increasing number of people are at risk of developing the disease. Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin, a hormone that converts glucose into the energy needed for daily life. It is the sixth-leading cause of death in America and is often accompanied by hypertension, cardiovascular conditions, kidney disorders and eye problems. According to the American Diabetes Association, there are 41 million people in the United States, ages 40-74, who have pre-diabetes, a condition where blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. With improved eating habits and exercise routines, people with pre-diabetes can prevent the progression to diabetes, and those with diabetes can reduce the risk of associated complications such as cardiovascular disease and hypertension.

"Diabetes can have a dramatic effect on your life but it doesn't have to be debilitating," said Bittencourt. "With easy to use tools and instant access to the right information, you can manage your blood sugar levels and maintain a high quality of lifestyle."

ABOUT NUTRIHAND, INC.

Nutrihand is an Internet-based health management service that specializes in helping diabetics achieve improved blood sugar control. Nutrihand delivers an all-in-one solution that allows users to easily plan, track, and report their food consumption, exercise and vital signs. Privately-held, Nutrihand is headquartered in Mountain View, California, USA.
For more information, visit the company's website at http://www.nutrihand.com/

Service Web site: http://www.nutrihand.com/

 
Nutrihand CEO, Soraya Bittencourt, best known for the creation and development of Expedia.com, has an extensive list of press articles you can find at her personal site at: http://www.sorayab.com