Being that I did not own a car for a dozen years, the automobile app revolution had been completely passing me by. Now a resident of Los Angeles, I had no choice but to return to the wheel. While I was initially happy with simple evolutions, such as seat warmers, an entire species of in-car programs have been brought to life. I was told that Angelenos live in their autos, which helps account for the fact that 6,000 deaths and 500,000 injuries are now caused each year due to texting and chatting while driving. Fortunately, Ford's latest "connectivity solutions" should not bring about such toxic habits. In fact, they are all about warning you about toxicity.

Crushed shells and bones along with sticks, barks and leaves were the first human forays into oral hygiene that later gave way to the more modern toothpaste applications popularized in the 19^th century. The significance of oral health is not to be overlooked; dental issues can cause—or be indicators of—other more serious health problems that lead to early death and a number of preventable diseases. But modern toothpaste is loaded with artificial ingredients, chemicals and fillers—even some of the natural versions—and the $12 billion global toothpaste industry sends hundreds of millions of bottles, caps and boxes to landfills each year, not to mention the excessive toll factory production of any kind takes on the planet. Opt instead for a lower-impact, more effective and easier way to boost your oral health than toothpaste and give your mouth something to really smile about.

A miserable winter cold can prevent you from doing all the things you love: going out with friends, enjoying the outdoors, getting intimate with that certain someone... Lucky for you, those same activities can actually keep a cold from surfacing in the first place. In fact, there are plenty of ways to ward off sickness that might seem more like plain old fun. Here are a few.

The calendar only recently changed from fall to winter, but watch out -- cold weather blues and blahs are sneaky little devils. The grumble-y feelings in your brain tend to spread throughout your body and infiltrate your psyche with ease this time of year. Stop those silly, out-of-character feelings by taking up one (or all) of these winter blah busters, and change your lifestyle in a snap.

You never know when you’ll be in an emergency-snack-needed situation. Okay, sometimes you know it’s coming (the two o’clock hour at work...), but what happens when you’re on an all-day errands extravaganza or you miss the bus at the end of the day and have a wait ahead of you? It’s good to have a few purse-worthy snacks on hand to avoid getting, shall we say, moody.

Holiday time is often synonymous with overeating. Reunions with family and friends afford us excuses as to why two desserts are not only acceptable, but healthy, with the insistent invisible voice that floats somewhere just above our ears reminding us that we'll change this wicked habit "in the new year." For many, stuffing your belly might be inevitable. That does not mean you have to completely suffer, however. Below are a few of my favorite digestive yoga techniques to help keep things in your tummy moving in the direction you need them to move.

Winter blues? More like the winter blahs. When the skies turn icky gray and cold weather moves in, getting off your couch to head to the gym becomes a near impossible feat.

Before you start to convince yourself that you probably actually need the extra fat… to stay warm… try these four motivators to get yourself to exercise despite the chill. (Don’t worry, we think you’re beautiful as-is, but exercise is good for you!)

If there's one thing most of us can agree on it's that we could all use a bit more energy these days. Regardless of where we find ourselves in the ol' lifecycle, and no matter how healthy or active we tend to be, the world is moving fast, and keeping up can be, well, exhausting.  Needing an energy boost doesn't mean there's necessarily any serious health issue, either. Most of us do a lot in our days, and bodies, like cars, can run perfectly fine until the moment they run out of fuel. 

Does the holiday hassle have you reaching for another glass of wine, smearing chocolate on your celery or muttering a mantra through clenched teeth? The season of Santa doesn’t have to be a painful – try these fun holiday stress busters that are guaranteed to give you greater perspective, a moment of peace or a belly full of laughs.

The United Health Foundation has released its state health rankings for 2011, and if you think your state made the list, you might just have a surprise coming.