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If you’ve been to an eye clinic then this home medical equipment would be familiar.  I’ve been squinting a lot lately and leaning forward to see the text in my monitor so I decided to schedule a visit to my eye doctor.

I thought this Grafco Snellen Type Plastic Eye Chart is already passe with the modern equipment doctors use today to diagnose illnesses.  I was glad to see the all familiar matte finish eye chart with the green and red bars.

People with 20-20 vision wouldn’t have a problem reading the letters and symbols on the chart which starts really big and gets smaller as you go down the chart to a 20/20 level.  If you can read further down this then you have perfect vision.

Eye doctors use this equipment to measure visual acuity from a distance.  This is a basis for prescribing lenses for you with the appropriate grade.

However, eye doctors still make use of a more modern equipment to check your eyesight and they do not just rely on this. 

Tagged with: 20-20 vision • eye doctor • Home Medical Equipment • Test Your Eyesight With Grafco Snellen Type Plastic Eye

More and more people are joining the growing trend of eating reduced fat meals to fight coronary artery disease. You see when fat deposits line the wall of arteries; it can lead to some serious complications, one of which is coronary artery disease.

Coronary artery disease can be debilitating and lead to heart attack or the need for intervention such as having stents placed or having bypass surgery.

By eating heart healthy one may lower the risk of coronary artery disease.

Check out this tasty, low in fat recipe.

ROCKPORT FISH CHOWDER

2 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup coarsely chopped onion
1/2 cup coarsely chopped celery
1 cup sliced carrots
2 cups potatoes, raw, peeled and cubed
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp paprika
2 cups bottled clam juice
8 whole peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 lb fresh or frozen (thawed) cod or haddock fillets, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1/4 cup flour
3 cups low-fat (1%) milk
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and celery and sauté about 3 minutes.
2. Add carrots, potatoes, thyme, paprika, and clam broth. Put peppercorns and bay leaves in cheese cloth. Add to pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Add fish and simmer an additional 15 minutes, or until fish flakes easily and is opaque.
4. Remove fish and vegetables; break fish into chunks. Bring broth to a boil and continue boiling until volume is reduced to 1 cup. Remove bay leaves and peppercorns.
5. Shake flour and 1/2 cup low-fat (1%) milk in a container with a tight-fitting lid until smooth. Add to broth in saucepan with remaining milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and is thickened.
6. Return vegetables and fish chunks to stock and heat thoroughly. Serve hot, sprinkled with chopped parsley.
Serving Size: 1 cup and contains the following:

Calories: 186
Total fat: 6 g
Saturated fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 34 mg
Sodium: 302 mg

Tagged with: cardiovascular disease • coranary artery disease • heart attack • Heart Disease • heart failure

High cholesterol is one of the main culprits in heart disease. Cholesterol can block arteries and reduce blood flow to vital organs.

The following are some tips for lowering your cholesterol to a help and keep heart disease at bay.

When eating meat, remember that even lean meat has fat in it. However, you can reduce the saturated fat in meat to help lower the chances of heart disease:
• Broil the meat rather than pan-fry.
• Use a rack when broiling and baste with wine, fruit juices instead of drippings.
• Cook a day ahead of time and refrigerate so the hardened fat can be removed from the top.
• When a recipe calls for browning the meat first, try browning it under the broiler instead of in a pan.

For vegetables add herbs and spices to make them tastier. Try  these combinations to get new  flavors:
• Rosemary with peas, cauliflower and squash
• Oregano with zucchini
• Dill with green beans
• Marjoram with Brussels sprouts, carrots and spinach
• Basil with tomatoes

To control the amount of saturated fat and dietary cholesterol you eat to help lower the chances of heart disease:
• Choose lean meats and trim off all visible fat before cooking.
• Reduce portion size, and try “low-meat” dishes featuring pasta, rice, beans and/or vegetables.
• Cook with little or no fat — boil, broil, bake, roast, poach, steam, sauté, stir-fry or microwave.
• Use healthier substitutes for saturated fats.

Tagged with: cardiovascular disease • heart attack • Heart Disease • heart failure

If you are dieting you know that sometimes it can get boring. Eating healthy is always wise whether you are trying to lose weight or not. The following are some diet recipes that are delicious, easy to make and easy on the calories.

Diet recipes for Almond Chicken Salad with Asparagus

Ingredients

* 2 cups asparagus tips, diagonally cut
* 1/4 cup low-calorie mayonnaise
* 1/4 cup plain, non-fat yogurt
* 1 teaspoon curry powder
* 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
* 2 cups cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast, chopped
* 1/2 cup red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
* 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
* 2 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted
* Lettuce leaves

Instructions

1. Steam asparagus for 2 minutes or until crisp-tender.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, yogurt, curry, lemon juice and salt.
3. Add asparagus, chicken, bell pepper, cilantro and almonds and toss to coat.
4. Serve on fresh lettuce leaves.

Diet recipes for Apple Veggie Salad

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped broccoli florets
* 1/2 cup grated carrots
* 1/2 cup coarsely chopped cauliflower
* 1/2 cup cored and diced, not peeled, apple
* 1/4 cup sliced green onion
* 1/4 cup diced celery
* 1/2 cup yogurt, nonfat vanilla
* 1/4 cup chopped peanuts, unsalted, dry-roasted

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients together in serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or longer to allow flavors to blend. Serve cold.

Tagged with: diet recipes • diet weight loss • eating to lose weight • lose weight • Weight Loss

Have you been looking for the perfect thing to spread on your sandwich that isn’t full of unwanted fat and calories? One of the perfect solutions is to think about spreading a little golden sunshine - some mustard, that is.

Mustard and weight loss go hand in hand because mustard contains so few calories that one could burn them up by clicking their heels three times.

Some good tips for mustard and weight loss:

Don’t stick to the plain old jars of mustard. Try out the hot mustards, the honey mustards and the spicy brown mustards for a change of pace.

Or try this yummy recipe to incorporate mustard and weight loss:

Green Beans with Mustard, Shallots and Bacon

1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed (or one 16-ounce package frozen green beans)
2 slices lean bacon
1/4 cup shallots, sliced (or, alternatively, 1/4 cup sliced green onions)
2 teaspoons brown or grainy mustard
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. In a large saucepan, heat 1/2 cup water to boiling and add green beans. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until beans are crisp-tender. Drain into a colander then rinse beans under cold water and set aside (if using frozen beans, cook according to package directions.)
2. In a medium skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels then crumble pieces and set aside.
3. Add shallots to bacon drippings then raise heat to medium-high and cook until tender. Turn heat to low then stir in the mustard, salt and pepper. Add green beans and toss until evenly coated.
4. Serve in a platter sprinkled with crumbled bacon.

Tagged with: diet recipes • lose weight • lose weight naturally • low calorie diet • mustard and weight loss