Vitality

Give your metabolism the tone up it needs.

I'm living proof that you can't judge a metabolism by its cover. You and I could be the same height and weight, have the same BMI, and even fit into the same J Brand jeans, but have wildly different flab-to-muscle proportions, making one of us the calorie-burning equivalent of a Bic lighter and the other of a blowtorch.

Metabolism, simply put, is the total number of calories your body burns each day. Sixty-five percent of those calories are used up for 24-7 functions like breathing and circulation­ -- the top burners are your brain, liver, heart, and kidneys -- with another 10 percent devoted to the process of digesting the very foods that may have given you that muffin top in the first place. The remaining 25 percent of the calories you burn can be chalked up to the physical activity you do in a day -- not just Spinning class but every move you make, including standing in line or tweeting your latest DEXA scan results.

You've hea

Want to grow younger in 2012? Pump iron a few times a week.

1. Take vitamin D. YOU Docs Mehmet C. Oz, M.D., and Michael F. Roizen, M.D., call vitamin D "the ultimate anti-ager." That's because it nourishes your memory, skin, heart, bones, and arteries, and it helps fight off cancer. Getting enough vitamin D daily (1,000 mg; 1,200 mg after age 60) can make your body think it's 9.4 years younger.

Here's the best time of day to take your vitamin D.

2. Care for your teeth and gums. A healthy smile looks lovely -- and helps keep your arteries and immune system in top shape. Flossing and brushing daily can prevent periodontal disease and tooth loss, which can make you feel 6.1 years younger.

3. Watch your numbers. Keeping your waist size, blood pressure, blood sugar, an

You've probably heard that probiotics, the "good" bacteria found in yogurt, aged cheeses, and supplements, may help soothe digestive ills, including diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome. Some researchers now think the good bugs could improve your health in other ways too. These benefits could include:

A healthier heart.
Canadian researchers recently discovered that the LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, levels of people with high cholesterol who ate yogurt containing a strain of the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri dropped by nearly 9 percent in six weeks.

Less anxiety.
People who took supplements containing specific strains of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium longum supplements for 30 days were less stressed than those who didn't take the probiotics, according to a British Journal of Nutrition study.

Cleaner teeth and gums.
A 2011 review found that the probiotics Lactobacillus reuteri and Bifidobacterium can reduce some strains of harmful bacteria that cause gum disease

Extreme lighting decorator Chuck Smith loves to make Christmas just a little brighter every year.

Jackie Evans and her son Dan lost 225 pounds combined on "The Biggest Loser."