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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Want to feel better, look younger, and add years to your life? Want to do it without pills, expensive therapy, or wacky supplements? It's possible, says Blue Zones founder Dan Buettner, author of the book The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest. All it takes is a change in lifestyle.

An explorer and longevity researcher, Buettner has spent the past five years traveling to regions where people live the longest. What he's discovered are nine common denominators among the folks who live in the longevity hot spots, or Blue Zones. The Power 9 he calls them. And here they are.

• Move Naturally. Be active by focusing on activities you love.

• Eat Less. Cut calories by 20 percent.

• Plant Slant. Avoid meat and processed food.

• Grapes of Life. Drink red wine (in moderation).

• Purpose Now. Articulate your life purpose.

• Down Shift. Punctuate your days with calm.

• Belong. Be a part of a spiritual community.
  

• Loved Ones First. Make family a priority.

• Right Tribe. Be surrounded by those who share Blue Zone values.

This may seem like small stuff. But the payoff from committing to the Power 9 is huge. Buettner says the average American can add 14 good years of life by putting these habits to work.

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Bulimia nervosa, like anorexia nervosa, is an eating disorder that centers around control. One of the most common eating disorders, bulimia is characterized by consuming large amounts of food and then ridding the stomach of its contents by way of vomiting, over-exercising, or use of laxatives.

Eating to excess (called the "binge") is comforting to bulimics. But eating too much causes them to feel out of control. They also feel guilt, shame, and a fear of weight gain which causes them to "purge." This "binge and purge" cycle is extremely dangerous and can lead to serious and long-term health problems, like tooth decay, gum disease, loss of tooth enamel, osteoporosis, kidney damage, heart problems, and even death.

Because bulimia is harder to recognize than anorexia -- the symptoms are more subtle and bulimics are not always thin -- awareness is critical. Please consider these symptoms and physical effects of bulimia.

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I always worry a little bit after I've spent an hour or more chatting with a friend on my cellphone. I, like many others, have heard the rumor that excessive mobile use can eventually cause brain cancer. I love the convenience of my phone but obviously it's not worth it if I'm going to end up with a tumor.

According to this article that debunks 7 common health myths, I may not have to be so concerned. Apparently, the results of a study conducted by the University of Leeds, the University of Nottingham, the University of Manchester and the Institute of Cancer Research in London, showed that cellphone use isn't associated with and increased risk of developing gliomas, a common and deadly form of the disease.

Other myths that you can learn a bit more about in the piece include the truth about the 'freshman 15', whether soy prevents heart disease, if taking the pill causes you to put on pounds and whether you can use melatonin to cure jet lag.

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All of the conflicting information about food that is circulating out there -- what you should eat, what you shouldn't, what's going to make you fat, what's going to give you cancer -- can be a bit maddening. How is anyone ever supposed to know which of the information to believe?

Perhaps this article on nutritional myths may help. Written by a nutritionist who explains that many client's were getting grilled about the foods they'd been recommended, the author tries to set the records straight on a few common misconceptions about what you should and shouldn't be eating.

Five food rules that you should break are discussed in the piece, so if you're interested in reading the nutritionist's information about whether red meat causes cancer, if salt consumption really leads to high blood pressure, whether too much protein will damage kidneys, and why butter isn't so terrible after all, take a look at the full article here.

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