Vitamin

Dr. Thomas C. Peebles, a World War II bomber pilot who isolated the measles virus, setting the stage for development of the vaccine that freed the world from the deadly scourge, died July 8 at his home in Port Charlotte, Fla. He was 89. Peebles also led a team that showed the tetanus vaccine could be given every decade instead of every year, developed a way to add fluoride to children's vitamins to prevent tooth decay and founded one of the country's...

For more than 20 years, I was plagued with dry, flaky skin on the side of my nose and behind my earlobes. I went to several doctors, including dermatologists. We tried various salves, to no avail. I wondered if this ailment was caused by a fungus. As a chemist, I know that iodine is very effective on fungus. I applied tincture of iodine with my fingers (every two days for a week) and got cured within a week. It's been two months, and the spots have not returned. I previously had success treating toenail fungus with iodine.

More young adults are having weight-loss surgery these days in order to prevent obesity-related diseases like diabetes and improve their quality of life. Obese young women especially may be advised to undergo the surgery in order to improve fertility and avoid well-document complications in pregnancy that can plague obese women. But a possible complication has arisen in this strategy that women should know about. Australian doctors reported Friday on a case in which a woman who had obesity surgery — specifically, biliopancreatic diversion — developed severe vitamin deficiencies in pregnancy and gave birth to a child who is blind.

Raising the amount of vitamin D in the blood appears to help some people -- at least those deficient in the vitamin -- reduce their risk of heart disease by about 30%, researchers announced Monday. The findings, though preliminary, support further investigation of the interplay between vitamin D and heart health. Observational studies have linked heart disease with low vitamin D levels in the blood. In recent years, studies have shown that as many as three-quarters of Americans have a concentration in their blood that is under the normal level of 30 nanograms per milliliter.

I never actually intended to harm anyone. Honestly. In fact, I think the waiter is to blame. I was dining at a restaurant with my sister when the waiter casually asked if I was enjoying the evening with my daughter . I tried to shrug off the comment off but couldn't. I decided to get a second opinion and soon found myself walking into the office of a plastic surgeon. I entered through a marbled anteroom centered with a pedestal table and a stunning, if stiff, floral arrangement.

These days, it's not difficult to consume 600% of your daily recommended value of B vitamins or 2,000% of the recommended amount of vitamin C -- all before lunchtime. Many energy bars, juices and other products are crammed with sky-high levels of vitamins. Gulp down an Odwalla Blueberry B Monster smoothie and get 360% of the daily value of four types of B vitamins. Swallow a shot of Emergen-C and you could get more than 1,600% of the daily value of vitamin C. That's not necessarily good.

Even a good night's sleep doesn't totally compensate for many weeks of sleep loss. And it's the late-night period when the accumulation of sleep loss may be most apparent. Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital examined the effect of weeks of insufficient sleep on performance. They scheduled nine healthy volunteers to live for three weeks on a schedule consisting of 43-hour periods in which they were awake for 33 of those hours. That equals about 5.6 hours of sleep for every 24 hours.

I am 62 years old and just had my second bone-density test. I was told I have osteopenia and should take Boniva. I have been lactose-intolerant, so I avoid dairy products. I have tried calcium, but it makes me constipated. I took Actonel but developed leg cramps. I took one Boniva tablet the nurse gave me as a sample, but I now have unbearable indigestion. Is there anything natural I can take? Osteopenia is a controversial condition. The concept of pre-osteoporosis was created somewhat arbitrarily in 1992 for research purposes rather than to guide treatment.

Clippers center Chris Kaman had too much energy to sleep. But he didn't have enough energy to stay active and avoid lying around at home watching his DVD collection. Kaman had enough energy to remain on the team's active roster. But he didn't have enough energy to replicate the string of seven consecutive games earlier this season in which he scored at least 20 points. Kaman missed practice Nov. 12, but it wasn't until two weeks ago during a doctor's visit when he discovered why he felt listless: doctors diagnosed he was deficient in Vitamin D, which increases the flow of calcium into the bloodstream and helps prevent bones from becoming brittle.

The dairy industry recently rolled out an expensive media campaign in praise of chocolate milk, a classic school lunch drink that's under assault for its sugar content. As trade groups spend upward of $1 million to defend the drink, three fifth-graders have come to its rescue. A year after the school district in Barrington, Ill., banned flavored milk from its elementary- and middle-school lunch menus, students persuaded administrators to give it another chance. "Kids weren't drinking the white milk," said Haley Morris, 10. "It's better to have the chocolate milk than nothing."