Health Tips Line

I made a social faux pas that still wakes me up at 3 a.m. with a full-body cringe. It happened 15 years ago, and I’m still spiraling about it. My friend Brooke (not her real name because I’m not about to make the same mistake twice) had weight-loss surgery. She’d been saving for years; it was going to help with serious health problems and, she hoped, help her find love in a world that equates thin with beautiful and beautiful with lovable (the saddest math equation ever). She told me because she needed someone to help her until her mom could arrive, and I’m nothing if not a good helper. She specifically asked me not to tell anyone. She wanted to surprise our friends with a big reveal. I told someone. Why? I was so excited for her that I couldn’t wait to share the good news. Her good news. Of course, that friend told another friend, and it wasn’t long before everyone knew. Brooke was crushed—and then, devastatingly, she forgave me . Graciously and quickly, which is honestly the wors...

Data-breach notices are becoming all too common these days, aren’t they? Those tiny folded postcards and thin, ominous business envelopes—from your health insurance company, cellular provider, bank or even your gym—arrive at such a fast clip that you might be tempted to just toss ’em to the side with the junk mail. Don’t. When it comes to data breaches, it’s an issue of when—not if—you’ll be impacted. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), nearly 80% of consumers received at least one data-breach notice in the past year, and many received several. If you’re tossing those cards in the recycling bin, it’s time to think twice about that. The ITRC calls this “breach fatigue” and urges people to take notices seriously. What if someone got a credit card in your name and racked up a $25,000 bill in minutes? Or used your Social Security number to obtain medical care? It happens all the time. Just this past winter, a massive breach at a Washington-based benefits manager expo...

Artemis II’s Orion spacecraft circled the moon and is headed back to Earth, capping an exhilarating mission that saw its four crew members become record holders for the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth. Space travel as a concept can be a little overwhelming, so what many of us key in on are the logistical issues. How do astronauts eat? How do they go to the bathroom? Do they really drink Tang? (If that’s a little before your time, pause for a mini history lesson: Tang is basically powdered orange Gatorade, and … astronauts really drank it!) We can’t answer all of the existential questions you might have about, say, life on other planets or what’s really going on at Area 51 , but we can give you all the details of what the Artemis II crew ate on NASA’s return to the (neighborhood of) the moon after more than 50 years. Read on for all the delicious (and slightly creepy) details. Get  Reader’s Digest ’s  Read Up newsletter for more science, humor, trav...

Meet-cutes aren’t just for rom-coms —they can apply to friendships too. Prime example: About 15 years ago, Cat Clarke was scrolling Twitter when she read that fellow author V.E. Schwab was going to be visiting her hometown of Edinburgh, Scotland. Sensing they might have a lot in common, she reached out and offered to take her around town. “I showed up, and Cat showed me this magical day,” Schwab recalls. As Clarke jokes, “We’re very different, but we are the kind of people open to new friendships with total strangers!” Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that the pair has joined forces in a new way: collaborating on a novel under the pen name Evelyn Clarke. It’s so buzzy that Stephen King declared on social media that “it’s clearly in the running for the best mystery of 2026.” The Ending Writes Itself (out April 7) is the quick-witted story of six struggling authors who spend a chaotic weekend on a private Scottish isle vying to write the perfect last chapter of a deceased author’s ...

When I was a kid, my allowance was $5 a week, and I couldn’t wait to spend it on all of my favorite things: candy, art supplies and McDonald’s french fries. In the ’90s, that five bucks could cover just about anything I wanted, and I might even have change to spare. Oh, the good old days! Now, everything is expensive, even things that have a reputation for being cheap—including fast food. Remember when you could get a filling meal from your favorite fast-food restaurant for $5 or even less? These days, $5 won’t get you very far at all—unless you’re headed to McDonald’s, that is. McDonald’s is dropping two new meal options that will make you think you traveled back in time to the days when fast food was actually cheap. Keep reading to find out all of the juicy details about McDonald’s brand-new deals, including when you can get your hands on them and how much they will set you back. Get  Reader’s Digest ’s  Read Up newsletter for more McDonald’s news, cleaning, travel, te...

Listen up, Emma Straub fans: If you’re ever in Brooklyn or Brooklyn Heights, stop by an independent bookstore called Books Are Magic. Look toward the bottom of one of the shelves in the fiction section, and you’ll find a row of books written by Straub. Go ahead, pick one up. Then seek out the woman with the blond bob and glasses—she’s in charge. And tell her that she’s a wonderful author. (Not to mention a modest one. “My books are displayed but not in an impressive elbow room kind of way,” she says. “I could probably do better.”) The bestselling author of five novels (including 2022’s acclaimed This Time Tomorrow ), three picture books and a short story collection is living the childhood dream of every literary lover. Since 2017, Straub and her husband, Michael, have owned Books Are Magic in Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill neighborhood. Known for its vibrant atmosphere and extensive selection, the shop is a favorite among locals and has proven so popular that a second spot opened nearby in...