Blog Posts by Reader s Digest Magazine

As the saying goes, "It's important to have an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out." We asked doctors and researchers from across the country-including those who use or at least approve of complementary methods-to share experiences that frustrated, saddened, or simply astounded them.

1. All remedies can be overused
"I had a patient with migraines who didn't want to take drugs-she wanted to deal with them by arching her back. There actually is a yoga treatment that involves arching your back to help certain kinds of headaches, but not migraines. The worse the migraines got, the more this woman arched her back. She kept doing this until her back hurt as much as her head, and she agreed to take the medication."
--Loren Fishman, MD, doctor of physical medicine and rehabilitation in New York City

2. Herbal products are not free
"I once saw a woman come to the pharmacy counter with a bunch of herbal products while also picking up a prescription. She complained to the

With 85 percent of the college class of 2011 moving back home, you might think of this group as Generation B, for Boomerang. We asked Carl Pickhardt, a psychologist and the author of Boomerang Kids, for three wise words on how to see kids off, take them back, and move them out.

1. TEACH
Before your kids take off for college, teach them the three B's: That's banking, budgeting, and bill paying. "Parents get preoccupied by school performance, and they don't think about their preparation responsibility," said Pickhardt.

2. CLARIFY
If they do return home, consider what their presence will now mean for the household. How will they contribute? Will you support them financially? You may need to make a written agreement that both of you will sign. (See below for a link to our Boomerang Contract.)

3. REMEMBER
When kids leave high school or even college, they are not adults. Between 18 and 23, they're entering the last and most difficult stage of adolescence: trial

It helps you to lose weight. Muscle tissue burns more calories per day than fat tissue does - even when at rest.

It is healthy for your heart. That's because they can perform better with less oxygen, meaning the heart doesn't have to pump too hard when you are active. By extension, strong muscles are good for your blood pressure.

It protects your joints and your back. More muscle power means you put less strain on your joints and connective tissue when lifting or exerting yourself. And that's important both for treating and preventing arthritis.

PLUS: Lose Weight Around the Clock

It improves your looks and gives you a mental boost. You feel more energized and prouder of yourself.

It requires active living. You can't get strong muscles from a pill, a meal or a herb. The mere fact that you have strong muscles means you're being active.

It helps to fight free radicals. Research shows that when people lift weights regularly, they suffer less damage from free

Find out what your food cravings can predict about your behavior.Which do you crave more: fruits or vegetables? Most of the population falls into one of these categories, easily spotted by whether you prefer savory or sweet. Which are you? Take the quiz.

Vegetable lovers

Like: Bitter flavors and are more likely to try new things.

Habits: Veggie lovers would take a glass of red wine over dessert.

Interesting qualities: These people like to entertain and try new things. They are more likely to have dinner parties and cook nutritious meals.

Fruit lovers

Like: Sweeter foods.

Habits: They are more likely to take a look at the dessert menu.

Interesting qualities: Fruit types tend to eat foods that take less time to prepare. They could actually have more sensitive taste receptors that make them detect a stronger bitterness in broccoli. (Our guess is the scientist that discovered this just didn't want to eat his vegetables.)

Either of these preferences is healthy overall since vegetables and fruits contain many of the

The words written on food packaging are a contract between you and the manufacturer, as mandated by the federal government via the FDA. Many food producers hire lawyers that help them craft words to get you to buy their products while toeing the line of legality. Here are a few common package proclamations that you should look out for, and what they really mean.

1. Health claims
Could a probiotic straw give immunity protection to a child? Are Cheerios a substitute for cholesterol-lowering drugs? The FDA doesn't think so. Foods are not authorized to treat diseases. Be suspicious of any food label that claims to be the next wonder drug.

2. Flavored
Both natural and artificial flavors are actually made in laboratories. But natural flavorings are isolated from a natural source, whereas artificial flavorings are not. However, natural flavors are not necessarily healthier than artificial. According to Scientific American, the natural flavor of coconut is not from an actual coconut, as one

1. Follow my lead.
I get aggravated when students do a different workout than the one I'm teaching -- and they're in the front row! You come to class but choose to do your own thing... really, what's the point?!

2. Be on time.
Showing up late to class is rude and disrupts everyone. Plus, you miss the most important part of class - the warm-up! The best is when you walk in, 5 minutes after class starts, to set up your bike or your mat and you're on the phone!

3. Leave your cell at home.
Can you not exercise for an hour without checking your text messages?

4. Stop weighing yourself constantly.
Newbies expect miracles without realizing that the added muscle will not only make them smaller and leaner, but also heavier (muscle weighs more than fat, remember?). You can't change your physique simply by working out; 80 percent of any change and fat loss is the result of a clean diet.

PLUS: Weight Loss Secrets From Around the World

5. Dress appropriately.
Ladies, consider wearing a cami

With the economy acting like a cat on a leash-come on! come on!-it's great to know that even the simplest event can make people feel as if they're swimming in dough.

1. Finding something of value on sale

Melinda Ballengee, 34, of Jersey City, New Jersey, was at an Annie Sez store, "digging through piles and piles of crap," as she so poetically recalls, when she noticed a dress had fallen to the floor. "Because I am polite and because I worked in retail when I was in high school, I put it on a hanger."

Good girl. Because when she performed her good deed, she saw what she had there: a $450 Tahari dress. Exactly her size. Exactly her style. And exactly her budget. Squeals Ballengee, "It was on sale for $12!"

Which is not to say that bargains are the secret to feeling incredibly rich.

Scratch that. Of course bargains are the secret to feeling incredibly rich! And happy! And smart! But there are other ways too, including …

2. The help of random strangers

As

Do you want the control freak's method or the laissez-faire system? They both work. A lot of cookbooks want you to think there's only one way to do something - their way, of course! In some cases, that's true. If you want to beat egg whites for an angel food cake, you can't allow even a speck of yolk to get into the whites or they won't beat up into a meringue. But more often, there are several ways to do something - like boil an egg.

The Control Freak's Method

The control freak's way is to bring the water to a boil and then place the eggs carefully into it. Cover the pan, and when the water returns to a boil, set the timer for 3 minutes for soft-boiled eggs or 13 minutes for hard-boiled. When the timer goes off, remove the pan from the stove and drain off the water. You'll probably be eating the soft-boiled egg immediately, but if you intend to refrigerate the hard-boiled ones, first run cold water over the eggs until they're no longer hot. (That will also make them