When it comes down to it, we all share a common craving: to feel good. University of Oxford neuroscientist Morton Kringelbach knows this. It's why he's writing his new book The Pleasure Center and why he shared with Reader's Digest (August, 2008) some of his revolutionary research. Check this out.

Asked RD: What do people find most pleasurable in their lives? Sex, says Kringelbach. Second is being with friends. Most everything we find pleasurable -- like eating and drinking -- is so much better when shared with someone else.

Another question: Can you help us cure addictions such as overeating? It hasn't been tested yet, reports the scientist, but deep-brain electrodes may help restore the balance of selective satiety mechanisms in the brain -- these are the signals that tell us enough is enough. Obese people may not have the selective satiation that thin people do.

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Reader's Digest calls it the "American Paradox," the curious way the proportion of fat in the American diet is going down while the numbers on our American scales are going up. The explanation: While the percentage of fat in our diets may be dropping, the amount of fat we consume as a nation is going up because we're eating larger portions of everything.

All is not lost, though. Here are six steps for slashing some calories from your diet. Calories, after all, are the golden ticket for weight loss.

Keep food off the table. Serve your food onto plates right from the stove or kitchen counter. No serving platters, no extra calories.

Don't eat from packages. It's too easy to lose track of how much you've consumed when you keep grabbing from a bag. Try portioning out crackers, pretzels, and other snacks on a plate and you'll have a clear sense of what you're eating.

Downsize your dishes. Smaller plates and bowls make portions seem larger.

Take it slow. Put your fork down after each bite, sip slowly from your drink, and when you're done with your food, wait 20 minutes -- this is how long it takes for the brain's appetite-control center to register that there's food in the stomach.

Work for your food. Eat foods that require some effort. Peel an orange or crack open crabs and your eating pattern will slow down.

Socialize outside the kitchen. You won't be so tempted to nibble if you congregate in the living room.

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I have no idea right now how healthy my heart is. I eat right and exercise well but I've got three factors stacked up against me in the heart department. One: Three years ago, I received the chemotherapy drug Adriamycin for the treatment of breast cancer, a drug known for it's heart toxicity. Two: Then I received radiation to my left breast and chest wall, right near my heart. While I used a special tube for breathing in order to move my heart out of the way at the exact moment beams of radiation zapped this critical area, there's a chance my heart was compromised in some way. And third: I then received 17 treatments over the course of one year of the breast cancer drug Herceptin, also know for it's potential to weaken the heart. Bummer that I had to endure these treatments. But as cancer logic has it, I should be so lucky to have a heart problem 20 years from now because it would mean I'd survived my disease for that long.

Really, all I can do to keep my heart strong now is to continue on a wise eating and exercise path. Which is what I plan to do. I can also take a few measurements to chart my heart health.

The folks at Reader's Digest say if I measure around my waist, above my belly button, and divide it by the circumference of my hips, I'll end up with a telling number. If it's 0.8 or less, I'm all good. Men: You want 0.9 or less.

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There's a cold season. And a flu season. But these pesky sicknesses linger year-round really, which means we must consistently fight them off and work at staying healthy. Here's how.

1. Wash your hands often, like at least five times a day.

2. Wash your hands twice when you wash them -- if you're serious about fending off colds, anyway.

3. Use your knuckle to rub your eyes. The eye is the perfect entry point for germs and knuckles are less likely to be contaminated with viruses than fingertips.

4. Run your toothbrush through the microwave on high for 10 seconds to sterilize it. And replace it every month when you change the page on your calendar and after you've had a cold.

5. Leave the windows in your house open a crack in winter. Fresh air does wonders for chasing out germs.

6. Lower the heat in your house five degrees. Lowering the temperature and using a room humidifier helps maintain a healthier level of humidity in the winter.

7. Scrub under your fingernails every night. They're a great hiding place for germs.

8. Sneeze and cough into your arm or a tissue. Coughing and sneezing into a hand puts germs right where you can spread them to objects and other people. Switch to the crook of your elbow instead.

For an extra helping of sickness-fighting strategies, take a look at this Reader's Digest article.

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It seems blue is the least desirable color when it comes to eating -- so whip out those blue plates if you wish to slim down your appetite.

Other tricks for trimming down, according to E! News, include popping some breath strips before eating -- this will temporarily kill your taste buds -- and snacking on parsley, enjoying a handful of nuts 30 minutes prior to a meal, partaking in a little salad with vinegar on top, and brushing your teeth. Matthew McConaughey reportedly does it 10 times a day. Maybe that's how he keeps his killer bod.

Reader's Digest experts offer a few tips for controlling cravings. Destroy temptation, they say. And they mean destroy. Take the package of cookies you mistakenly bought, dump them in the sink, and douse them in water. Your temptation will be gone, and you'll feel a sense of accomplishment at having licked your binge.

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Dr. Mehmet Oz makes an appearance in the February 2008 issue of Reader's Digest and dishes out some heart-y facts.

• The heart is the body's metronome. This means it gives our bodies a rhythm that lasts until the day we die.
  
  

• Did you know male and female hearts are different when it comes to heart disease? Dr. Oz says they are. Female hearts are affected more by emotion, says the good doctor. Their arteries are more likely to spasm under emotional distress. Men's arteries, in contrast, tend to be rigid.

• The heart is selfish, in a good way. Before sending blood to the brain, lungs, and elsewhere, it sends blood to the coronary arteries. Essentially, it feeds itself first so it can keep pumping, no matter what. Dr. Oz says mothers would be wise to adopt this selfish tendency so they don't sacrifice their own health to benefit their children.

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The folks at Reader's Digest surveyed 1,800 men and women recently about the topics of weight and sex. Here are some basic findings:

• Of the women surveyed, 46 percent categorize themselves as overweight, and 11 percent consider themselves obese. Men: 45 percent say they're overweight; 5 percent say they're obese.

• About 43 percent of readers say they've gained weight in the past six months.

• About 78 percent of all respondents say losing weight will improve their sex life.

OK, now check out this finding:

• More than 26 percent of women who consider themselves overweight would rather eat live bugs than let their partner watch them walk naked out of a well-lit room.

Surprised? I am. I guess the thought of eating bugs scares me more than parading around in the buff, loose tummy and all.

There's more where these statistics come from. Click here to take a peek at all survey results -- you'll find out how many women rate themselves as "yuck," "OK," and "hot" and what women have to say about short skirts and low-cut tops.

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If you like your turkey, stuffing, and gravy better the second time around, you'll want to get your Thanksgiving goodies in the fridge within two hours of eating, says Kathy Bernard of the USDA meat and poultry Hotline. Fruit pies with no dairy can stay out (be warned: they may get moldy), but the other stuff must be kept chilly.

A few good food-storing options, recommended by the product experts at Reader's Digest, include Tupperware's Heat N Serve line -- it has a valve perfect for reheating -- and Stuffables, built to fit odd-shaped foods like a turkey leg.

If you're looking for good and secure stackers, give Rubbermaid's Premier containers a try. And for more on making use of leftovers, check out these Reader's Digest resources.

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Knowing your favorite foods rank high on a list of tough edibles can be a bit hard to digest sometimes (pun intended). But seriously, did they have to tell us that chocolate, ice cream AND mashed potatoes sit among the top ten foods that are hard to digest?

You may be wondering how in the world mashed potatoes got there, but in fact this comfort food is loaded with milk. That means lactose intolerant people won't find them very easy to absorb. What about citrus juices? Believe it or not these juices can also throw a wrench in the digestive process. Irritating the esophagus, causing a stomach ache or inducing diarrhea could be the result of having citrus at the wrong time.

Don't worry though, this isn't meant to deter anyone from consuming broccoli or sugar-free gum (yes, both of these are also on the list!). Some people may just find it interesting if they experience these symptoms after eating, so check out the rest of the information to learn more.

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For millions of Americans that are lactose intolerance, how can you make sure that you get enough vitamin D and calcium in your diet needed to build strong bones and help ward off osteoporosis later in life. Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest significant amounts of lactose, the major sugar found in milk. Lactose intolerance is caused by a shortage of the enzyme lactase, which is produced by the cells that line the small intestine. Lactase breaks down milk sugar into two simpler forms of sugar called glucose and galactose, which are then absorbed into the bloodstream. People who do not have enough lactase to digest the amount of lactose they consume may feel very uncomfortable when they digest milk products. Common symptoms, which range from mild to severe, include nausea, cramps, bloating, gas, and diarrhea. Symptoms begin about 30 minutes to 2 hours after eating or drinking foods containing lactose.

Here are some foods to add to your daily diet when milk and dairy products are not an option. A 3-ounce serving size of canned Atlantic sardines contains 325 milligrams of calcium, compared with 336 milligrams for a 1.5-ounce serving of Swiss cheese. 1 Cup of fortified soymilk contains 200 milligrams of calcium. Sardines are an excellent calcium source because they contain soft bones. An orange has 48 milligrams of calcium. A cup of raw broccoli contains 43 milligrams, a cup of raw kale, 90 milligrams, and an artichoke delivers 56 milligrams of calcium. A 3-ounce serving of fish such as salmon, mackerel, and tuna has more natural vitamin D than a cup of milk. 1/2 cup of pinto beans contains 40 milligrams of calcium. Calcium supplements are helpful, especially for people who need more calcium or aren't able to get enough in their diet. But remember that getting calcium from food offers other benefits, such as fiber, antioxidants, and protein.

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