UAB Eye Care provides comprehensive eye care services to the community as well as training and education for optometry students and resident optometrists. The state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary clinic is outfitted with the latest optometric equipment necessary for the accurate diagnosis and treatment of most eye problems. UAB Eye Care clinicians provide comprehensive services for both pediatric and adult patients in a number of optometric subspecialties.

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Services

• Comprehensive eye and vision exams
• Medical eye exams
• Eye Emergency
• Optical
• Optical repair (if repairable)
• Voucher Program
• Low-cost eye exam and glasses prices

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Locations

UAB Eye Care (Main)
1716 University Boulevard
Birmingham, AL 35233

Phone: (205) 975-2020

Western Health Center
631 Bessemer Super Highway
Midfield, AL 35228

Phone: (205) 715-6121

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Insurances Accepted

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Voucher Program

The voucher program exists for people who do not have insurance and who meet one of the following requirements:

• Income below or at the poverty guidelines level (proof of income)
• Shelter resident (shelter provides letter)
• Food stamp letter

Proof is required upon appointment.

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UAB Student Benefits

UAB Eye Care provides exclusive discounts for UAB undergraduate and graduate students.

• Waived out-of-pocket expenses up to a total of $30 for an annual comprehensive eye exam
• Waived contact lens evaluation fee ($40) for patients currently wearing lenses and doing well
• A 25% discount on frames and lenses of eyeglasses and sunglasses (some restrictions apply)
• A 50% discount on all contact lens fitting fees

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Call today to schedule your eye exam

UAB Eye Care Main: (205) 975-2020

Western Health Center: (205) 715-6127

By Shayna Bryan, Intern & UAB Community Health & Human Services Student

Diet has become an ugly word, often associated with a drastic change in eating habits or a temporary quick fix. Limiting saturated fat intake, controlling portion sizes, and eating plenty of fruits and vegetables are highly recommended way to limit heart disease risk and control weight.

Unfortunately, most diets fail, and most dieters regain their lost weight within 2 years. The yoyo cycle of weight loss that results from multiple failed attempts may be more damaging than not dieting at all. Why is this happening and what can we do about it?

Picking a diet can feel overwhelming, like eating healthy requires a master’s degree in nutrition. There are an endless number of diet trends and, as long as the industry is profitable, there will always be new ones. This is in spite of the fact that most diets can be diluted down to principles of health and nutrition known for ages: eat a balanced variety, enough of the good stuff, not too much of the other stuff.

Your diet is what you eat over your lifetime. This is how nutritional scientists define, understand, and research it. Your diet is not a week, a month, or even a year of restrictive eating that will guarantee health and happiness for the rest of your life.

It’s everything.

Read Part 2 to learn how to make a lasting lifestyle shift.

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Sources:

Calorie Restriction and Fasting Diets: What Do We Know? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/calorie-restriction-and-fasting-diets-what-do-we-know

Centers for Disease Control. Heart Disease Facts. (2019, December 2). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm

Freedhoff, Y. (2014, November 17). No, 95 Percent of People Don’t Fail Their Diets. Retrieved from https://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2014/11/17/no-95-percent-of-people-dont-fail-their-diets

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2019, January 9). 8 steps to a heart-healthy diet. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/heart-healthy-diet/art-20047702