Peter Kramer / AP

Pale folks may benefit from vitamin D supplements, say British researchers, in a new study funded by Cancer Research UK.

Nicole Kidman-types, listen up: Your pasty self needs vitamin D supplements, say researchers at the University of Leeds in the UK (who, we suppose, would know such things). 

Our sallow-skinned friends, obviously, can't spend much time in the sun without getting sunburned -- and that means they're not getting enough sunlight to make an adequate amount of vitamin D. Out of 1,200 people studied, 730 had too-low levels of vitamin D. They found that optimal levels of vitamin D occurred when participants reported six hours a day of sun exposure. The optimal amount is 60nmol/L, which, yes, reads like gobbledygook, but, basically -- levels lower than that mean you're more likely to get heart disease, and less likely to survive breast cancer if you get it.

Julia Newton-Bishop, the lead author of the study that was funded by Cancer Research UK, points out that fair-skinned folks living in climates like the UK  (and Seattle, where I happen to live) are especially at risk of too-low vitamin D levels. But if you live in the UK or Seattle, you already knew that.

Do you take vitamin D supplements?

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Take a deep breath, readers in Oklahoma City, Okla.; Birmingham, Ala.; and New Orleans. Just kidding, we know you can't! These are the country's most congested cities, according to a new survey from Sperling's BestPlaces and Breathe Right Nasal Strips. 

Seven categories were taken into consideration when ranking the most stuffed-up cities: pollen count, molds and spores; air pollution; incidence of flu; purchase habits of congestion products; prescriptions of congestion relief drugs; smoking; and climate.

Surprised a smog-heavy city like Los Angeles didn't top the list? So was Dr. Michael Breus, a board-certified sleep disorder physician. "I kind of expected certain cities that may be known for more pollution would be at the higher end of the scale," Breus says. "Everybody always talks about smog in certain places, like Los Angeles. I would’ve expected that to be easily in the top 10 and it wasn’t." (Los Angeles was ranked no. 38.) 

As Breus explains it, we can also safely assume these congested cities rank very high in the following categories: most likely to sleep poorly, most likely to mouth-breathe and most likely to snore. 

"One of the things we know is the deeper we get into sleep, the more your respiration slows down so you’re not breathing nearly as much air as the rate you were in your lighter stage of sleep. And congestion reduces the amount of air that's coming in no matter what," Breus explains. "Then when your body hits deep sleep, oxygen levels go down so your brain says, 'Wake up! You need to breathe!' It’s not a full on apnic situation, but it’s a red flag to your brain (that you're) not breathing too well in these deeper stage during sleep."

This is the slippery slope that usually leads to mouth-breathing, Breus says. "I’ve got all this blockage in my nose -- boom! My mouth falls open. Then your mouth gets dry, and you wake up because you’re uncomfortable." 

And when the mouth is forced open during sleep, snoring is more likely to happen. All that mouth-breathing causes pressure to develop behind your uvula and soft palate, which begin to vibrate, which is what causes those lovely snoring sounds. 

Here's what you're really waiting for: the list of the top 20 most congested cities. How did your hometown rank? How should it have ranked? 

1. Oklahoma City, Okla.
2. Birmingham, Ala.
3. New Orleans, La.
4. Louisville, Ky.
5. Memphis, Tenn.
6. San Antonio, Texas
7. Dallas, Texas
8. Charlotte, N.C.
9. Houston, Texas
10. Philadelphia, Pa.
11. St. Louis, Mo.
12. Indianapolis, Ind.
13. Richmond, Va.
14. Austin, Texas
15. Pittsburgh, Pa.
16. Detroit, Mich.
17. Columbia, S.C.
18. Nashville, Tenn.
19. Tampa, Fla.
20. Cincinnati, Ohio

Related:

• Ahem! What is a 'frog in the throat,' anyway?
• Got the crud? How to color-code your cold
• Mouth-breathing gross, harmful to your health

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As fall allergies act up or school kids get their first round of seasonal colds, it's not unusual to hear a voice that sounds hoarse or croaky -- what's described as a "frog in the throat."

When Dr. Ramon Franco, director of the division of laryngology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston, hears this complaint he says it can mean one of two things. It can mean a temporary hoarseness when patients try to speak, or people may feel like there's a lump in the throat -- as if they swallowed a frog.

The three main causes of the hoarseness type of "frog in the throat" are viral, allergies, or reflux, explains Franco. Anything that disturbs the opening and closing of the vocal folds (what we commonly call the vocal cords), can deepen your voice and make it sound rough. 

For seasonal allergy sufferers, mucus from the sinuses can make its way into the throat and act as a wedge, interfering with the vocal folds regular opening and closing pattern. This changes the sound of your normal voice so it seems raspy and strained. Sometimes simply clearing the mucus in your throat helps your usual voice return.

During a viral illness, mucus can also clog up the inner workings of the voice box leaving you sounding husky.

If it's not seasonal allergies and you don't have a cold, sore throat, or flu, Franco says the likely culprit is "silent reflux," known as laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR). Acid from the stomach can come up and hit the bottom part of the throat irritating the delicate voice box. When this happens less than 50 times a day, that's normal. When LPR reflux happens more frequently provoked by such common triggers as spicy foods, alcohol, caffeine, carbonated beverages, and smoking, it can irritate the throat over time.

To defend itself from the acid backwash, the throat blankets itself with a mucus coating. But if too much mucus buildups as a protection against reflux, it may cause excessive throat clearing, a persistent cough, or "a frog in the throat."

A froggy throat is often a temporary annoyance that goes away after a viral illness runs its course or allergy symptoms are relieved. If it's from silent reflux, start by avoiding the dietary or lifestyle habits that trigger acid into the throat.

For a "frog" that feels like a lump in the throat or that something is in there when you swallow, which doctors call the globus sensation, Franco says inflammation is probably responsible. This can be brought on by a bad cold, reflux, a viral infection, allergies, or enlarged tonsils.

But if you've been consistently hoarse and your voice sounds abnormal for more than two weeks, make a doctor's appointment. This could be anything from an infection or polyps to thyroid problems or cancer. If you truly discover a lump in your neck, Franco recommends seeing your doctor immediately to find out what's causing the swelling.

Readers, what's your best remedy for a gravelly voice?

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