Blog Posts by Reader s Digest Magazine

SHealthy Ballpark Food.tadiums are now stocking healthier ballpark food options besides hot dogs and nachos.

Ballpark Food at Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Team: Los Angeles Angels
Healthy Bite: Mediterranean Garden Salad (no dressing)
Calories: 250 calories
The Dietitian Says: Feta cheese and olives add a tasty kick to this healthy choice.

Ballpark Food at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
Team: Texas Rangers
Healthy Bite: Chicken, veggie, guacamole, and black bean burrito
Calories: 395 calories
The Dietitian Says: The burrito's healthy fats and fiber will keep you feeling full until the last out.

24 Things You Might Be Saying Wrong>>

Ballpark Food at Nationals Park
Team: Washington Nationals
Healthy Bite: Veggie burger
Calories: 300 calories
The Dietitian Says: This patty contains about half the calories and 20 percent of the fat of a beef burger.

13 Things You Didn't Know About the Titanic>>

Ballpark Food at Progressive Field
Team: Cleveland Indians
Healthy Bite: Fruit cup (melons, pineapple, grapes,

Read More »from How to Eat Healthy at the Ballpark

TitanicApril 15th marks the 100th anniversary of the Titanic's sinking. We bring you surprising bits of trivia and Titanic facts you've never heard. By Damon Beres

1. A full moon may have caused the fatal iceberg to cross paths with the ship.
Scientists recently arrived at a new theory that the full moon months before could be to blame for the collision, which killed about 1,500 people.

Quoting astronomer Donald Olson of Texas State University-San Marco, National Geographic's Richard A. Lovett wrote, "That full moon, on January 4, 1912, may have created unusually strong tides that sent a flotilla of icebergs southward-just in time for Titanic's maiden voyage."

This wasn't a normal full moon, though: "It was the closest lunar approach, in fact, since A.D. 796, and Earth won't see its like again until 2257," wrote Lovett.

Video: Watch interviews with Titanic survivors >>

2. Nearly five Titanics could be built with the money James Cameron's Titanic movie has made worldwide.
According to the

Read More »from 3 Things You Didn't Know About the Titanic

Text-off.Brothers Stephen and Wayne Miltz, creators of the popular crazythingsparentstext.com, recently published a book of hundreds of private text messages between parents and children. A selection of our favorites:
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Mom: Love you, kiddo!

Me: Aw, thanks. Love you, too!

Mom: Sorry, wrong person

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Dad: What is IDK?

Me: I don't know.

Dad: Oh, do you know who does?

--------------------------

Mom: I think I keep getting messages or missed calls or something.

Me: From who?

Mom: Some woman called…Betty Low?

Me: Um, battery low?

Mom: Yeah, that's it!

--------------------------

Mom: Come downstairs and talk to me please. I'm lonely.

Me: Isn't Dad there?

Mom: Yes, but I like you more.

More Hilarious Texts>>

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Are You Napping All Wrong?>>

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50 Secrets Your Read More »from The Funniest Texts from Parents

Sleep Better Tonight.Having trouble getting a good 40 winks? Your mattress, sheets, computer, or cold medicine might be the culprit. Here's how to sleep better tonight:

"One of the biggest disrupters of sleep is the pulling and tugging of sheets and blankets. I tell couples that each person should have a sheet and blanket. If you pull a big comforter or duvet over the top when you make the bed, you really can't tell. Couples call me after I suggest that and say, 'Wow-you changed our marriage.'" - Robert Oexman, chiropractor and director of the Sleep to Live Institute in Joplin, Missouri

Are You Napping All Wrong?>>

"If you like a firmer mattress and [your partner] likes a softer one, you don't have to compromise. Get two singles, push them together, and use king sheets. Or you can buy a strap that attaches the mattresses to each other." - Alan Hedge, PhD, professor of ergonomics at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

Gaining Weight? Maybe it's Your Medicine>>

"The cooler white and blue light emitted

Read More »from 5 Surprising Ways to Sleep Better Tonight

Are generic drugs safe?
What you've always heard: Switching from brand-name to generic drugs is safe and can save you money. In fact, the average price of a generic medication is 80 percent less than its brand-name alternative. The FDA promises that when a generic drug is approved, it has met "rigorous standards" of quality, purity, and potency-a guarantee that makes a swap very appealing.

10 Things an IRS Agent Won't Tell You>>

But wait...: The American College of Cardiology has warned that the absorption rates and potency of generics may differ from those of certain types of brand-name drugs-a discrepancy that could be life-threatening in some cases. With some medications, slight changes in the level of the drug in the blood can cause unintended side effects. For example, too weak a dose of a blood thinner could leave a person vulnerable to a heart attack or stroke; too strong a dose might cause internal bleeding.

13 Fat-Releasing Foods to Help You Lose Weight>>

The headlines now: By the end of

Read More »from Are Generic Drugs Safe?

Tax Time1. You may be eligible for free tax software
If you earn less than $57,000 annually, many major tax program companies will provide services for free. You can view a list of them here. Even if you don't qualify for the program you want, everyone is eligible to use the IRS' online forms, which cuts down on paperwork, if not costs.

10 More Things an IRS Agent Won't Tell You>>

2. Rewards may be taxable
Did you get any rewards this year? You may have gotten them and not be aware that they might be counted as income and therefore could be taxed. An obvious example: When Oprah Winfrey gave her entire studio audience cars back in 2004, the lucky individuals had to pay taxes of up to $7,000 since the value of the vehicles was counted as income. The same principle applies to rewards you may have gotten, say, from your credit card companies-frequent flier miles, for example-though you're in the clear with bonuses that are specifically tied to purchases. It's good to keep track of these over the

Read More »from Three Things an IRS Agent Won't Tell You

Tv timeYes! TV time, wine, and sugar can all help you lose weight. Here are 3 things weight loss experts won't tell you.

TV Time is OK-but Make It a Sitcom
We're not recommending you ditch your exercise routine and sit on your couch popping handfuls of chips. But TV isn't the weight loss devil that many experts make it out to be, particularly if you use it to make you smile and laugh.

Here's why: Stress takes an enormous toll on your health (research shows it can increase belly fat and slow down weight loss), and laughing is the perfect stress-relieving, fat releasing antidote.

What's more, it's a pretty potent calorie burner in its own right. When British researchers looked into the number of calories burned by intense laughing and compared it to the calorie burn of other daily activities (strength training, running, even vacuuming), they found that an hour of intense laughter can burn as many calories-up to 120-as a half hour hitting it hard at the gym!

More Surprising Weight Loss

Read More »from Can TV, Wine, and Sugar Help You Lose Weight?

Money Money Money
1. Does money really buy happiness?
No. Because happiness isn't for sale. Many people get tripped up by this one, amassing wealth only to find themselves cycling into a bottomless pit of unsatisfiable yearning. Turns out, joy and misery are not that far apart when it comes to very big wads of cash. Consider the case of a Kentucky couple who won $34 million in 2000. Thrilled to be released from the demands of their boring old jobs, they frittered their fortune away on fancy cars, mansions, all the usual stuff -- losing everything that mattered in the process. They divorced, he died of an alcohol-related illness, and she died alone in her new house just five years after cashing the winning ticket. When it comes to happiness, only people you love, and who love you, can bring it. If you have enough dough to buy yourself a luxurious yacht, but no real friends to sail with, you're sunk.

PLUS: How to take the best nap ever

2. Can spenders and savers stay married?
Sure -- and they won't run

Read More »from Does Money Really Buy Happiness? Plus More Questions, Answered!