The Checkup: Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Heart Disease

• In the last few years, there’s been a lot of fuss over vitamin D—the one you get mainly from sun exposure—as doctors report seeing more and more patients who are deficient of the bone-growing vitamin. Now, researchers at the University of Kansas report that insufficient levels of vitamin D can be linked to heart disease; in their study, vitamin D deficient subjects had a much higher risk for a range of heart-related diseases. Even more scary, the vitamin D deficient were three times more likely to die from any cause, Reuters Health reports. The good news is that vitamin D deficiency can be curbed with more sun exposure—about 20 minutes a day—and, if all else fails, supplements. Research subjects in the study who took vitamin D supplements had about a 60 percent lower risk of death from any cause.

• Still have Thanksgiving leftovers in the fridge? The Los Angeles Times has a handy little guide to Turkey Day perishables and how well they keep (or not) in the fridge and freezer after the holiday.

• And in case you need a reminder, bathrooms are germy, germy places.