Oura adds new meal and glucose tracking tools to support better health

Oura, the company behind the popular smart ring, has introduced two new features designed to help users better understand how food and daily habits affect their health. The new “Meals” and “Glucose” tools, now available in the Oura app, give users personalized feedback on their eating habits and blood sugar levels. These updates move beyond basic health tracking and focus more on helping users connect the dots between their lifestyle choices and how they feel day-to-day.

These features were designed with a simple goal: to make health easier to understand and manage. Instead of counting every calorie or relying on complex data, Oura’s new tools offer insights that are meant to be useful, not overwhelming.

How the Meals feature works

With the new Meals feature, users can either take a photo of their food or write a short description in the Oura app. The app then evaluates the meal by looking at nutrients like protein, fiber, fats, added sugar, and refined carbs. But it doesn’t stop there, the app also gives each meal a score based on its nutritional value, helping users see at a glance how healthy their food choices are.

This approach shifts the focus away from obsessing over calorie counts. Instead, it encourages users to think about the quality of their food. The feedback isn’t meant to shame or guilt anyone, either. It’s designed to guide users toward better habits over time by highlighting which meals support better energy, sleep, and metabolic balance.

Oura worked closely with dietitians and health experts to create this tool. It was first tested through the Oura Labs pilot program and has now been rolled out to all members in the U.S. Feedback from early users helped shape the design of the tool so that it’s easy to use and relevant to everyday eating patterns.

Real-time glucose tracking with Stelo

Oura has also teamed up with Dexcom to bring continuous glucose monitoring into its app. Through a device called Stelo, users can now see how their blood sugar changes throughout the day. This tool is especially helpful for people who want to understand how their food, sleep, stress, and activity levels affect their glucose levels.

Stelo is a small device that sticks to the back of the upper arm and tracks glucose levels in real time. What makes it unique is that it’s available without a prescription and approved by the FDA for people who don’t use insulin. That means more people can now access this kind of health insight without needing a doctor’s note.

Once connected to the Oura app, glucose data from Stelo is displayed alongside other health metrics like heart rate, body temperature, sleep patterns, and readiness scores. This combination gives a clearer picture of how everything works together. For example, users can see how a poor night’s sleep or a high-stress day might affect their blood sugar the next morning, or how a sugary breakfast might lead to a mid-morning crash.

Connecting meals and blood sugar for better health

The most powerful part of these updates is how the Meals and Glucose tools work together. Oura now shows users how different meals affect their glucose levels, not just in the moment but over time. This can help users identify patterns, like which meals cause long-lasting spikes in blood sugar or which foods leave them feeling sluggish.

One of the key features is a new metric called “meal level time above range.” This tracks how long your blood sugar stays elevated after eating. If someone notices that certain meals cause their glucose levels to stay high for too long, they can use that information to make small changes, like swapping ingredients or adjusting meal timing.

These insights can be especially useful for people who want to manage their energy better, avoid blood sugar crashes, or support weight management. Even for those without blood sugar concerns, learning how the body responds to food can lead to better long-term health decisions.

As Jake Leach, Chief Operating Officer at Dexcom, said in a recent statement, “Helping people see how daily choices affect their health is a powerful tool.” Oura’s collaboration with Dexcom brings medical-grade technology into the hands of everyday users in a way that’s easy to understand and apply.

Oura’s long-term vision for health tracking

With these new features, Oura is pushing forward a more complete vision for personal health. The smart ring already tracks over 50 health signals, including heart rate, sleep stages, body temperature, activity, and recovery, and now, with food and glucose insights added, users can see a more complete picture of how their body responds to daily life.

These updates show that Oura isn’t just about sleep or fitness anymore. It’s about helping people take control of their overall wellness by offering tools that are grounded in science but simple enough for anyone to use. The Meals and Glucose tools represent a step toward what many health experts call “metabolic literacy”, understanding how the body reacts to everyday choices.

The Oura ring continues to meet high standards of accuracy, with medical-grade sensors packed into a small, comfortable design. And now, with features like meal tracking and glucose integration, it’s becoming a more powerful tool for those who want to be proactive about their health.

Right now, these new features are only available for U.S.-based users, but the company has hinted that it plans to expand access in the future. Users must be 18 or older and not on insulin to use Stelo, though the Meals feature is available to all members regardless of health status.

A new era of personal health tracking

The addition of the Meals and Glucose features shows how far wearable technology has come. Instead of just tracking steps or hours of sleep, devices like the Oura ring are now helping people understand how food, stress, movement, and rest all play a role in long-term health.

For many Americans, especially those juggling busy schedules and trying to improve their well-being, tools that simplify health decisions can be life-changing. Whether it’s seeing which meals leave you feeling sluggish or learning how sleep affects blood sugar, these insights can make healthy choices easier and more personal.

If these tools continue to evolve and expand, they could play a big role in helping people across the country make better choices, not by guessing, but by understanding what their bodies are saying.