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HINTS FROM HELOISE: Make your vitamins work well

DEAR HELOISE: People spend money on vitamins without knowing when and how to take them. Certain vitamins will do their job best when they are absorbed or ride along with certain foods. For example: ● Fat: Soluble vitamins A, E, D and K are best absorbed when they are taken with fat-rich foods such as whole milk, butter, oil and yogurt. If at all possible, take them with your largest meal of the day. ● Vitamins B and C are water-soluble and can be taken without food. When taken with food, they’re absorbed slower. What your body can’t use will be eliminated through your waste ...

TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH: Metformin holds promise for skin rashes

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a skin rash (granuloma annulare), and my dermatologist said that there really isn’t a cure for it. It’s in various areas of my body — my upper back, my trunk and a few other places. The dermatologist recommended using metformin to see if this helps. All my labs are excellent, so metformin has never been something that any of my docs suggested. She even looked at my labs and said that they were great but wants to see if metformin might help. Have you ever heard of this? Should I find a different dermatologist? I’m a 67-year-old female who’s in excellent ...

Bridge by Steve Becker

There are hands where declarer seemingly has no choice but to hope for a 3-3 split in a key suit. But because that division occurs only 36% of the time, he should not accept these odds without first looking for a way to improve on them. South failed to make that effort on this deal. He ...

Siblings take opposite stances on sleepaway camp

DEAR ANNIE: My husband and I are at odds over whether to send our two children to sleepaway camp next summer. He went every year from the time he was 8 and talks about it as one of the happiest parts of his childhood. I never went to sleepaway camp, and the thought of sending our children away for several weeks makes me very uneasy. Our older child is excited by the idea, but our younger one is sensitive, has trouble falling asleep in unfamiliar places and still gets homesick during overnight visits with relatives. I worry that we would be pushing them into something before they are ...

Swallowtail butterflies — beauty or beast?

Swallowtail butterflies are large (2¾ to 5 inches) and easy to identify. They are found in a variety of types and colors (spicebush, black, eastern tiger, zebra and pipevine blue). Each one actually resembles the name it is given. They normally are bold black and yellow or black and blue, ...