How to Stay Cybersafe When Shopping Online

Online scams proliferate during the winter holiday shopping season. You need to be extra careful to protect your personal information, your account, and your devices. Here are some suggestions:

• Be sure you are shopping on a legitimate site. Don’t click an ad; instead type the name of the retailer into your browser or shop through an official mobile site. Check that the URL starts with https, not just http. Look for a padlock icon that shows you will have an encrypted connection.
• Stop and think before you press “BUY”. If the deal seems too good to be true, it’s probably fake. The bad guys rely on your FOMO (fear of missing out) to get you to give out your info without thinking carefully.
• Protect your payment information. Use a credit card rather than a debit card; credit cards offer better fraud protection. Digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, or PayPal mask your card number. Never send payment information by email, text, or messaging apps.
• Delivery scams are another way that fraudsters steal your information. If you get an email or text claiming to be from a retailer or delivery service telling you a package couldn’t be delivered or a payment is necessary, go directly to the retailer or delivery service website to check your order. Never respond to a request to confirm an unexpected order. Don’t click links in the fraudulent email or text message.
• Multi-factor authentication can prevent personal data breaches. Use a unique password for every store, service, or app you deal with; if you use the same password for everything you do online, a stolen password at one site opens everything you do online to the thief. Create strong passwords and use a password manager to help you remember them all.
• Since cybercriminals often target unprotected or outdated devices, keeping your computer, tablet, and phone updated with the latest security patches can be a big help in staying safe during online shopping. Install antivirus/antimalwaresoftware. Avoid public wifi if possible. If you must shop on an unsecured network, use a VPN.

Foil the scammers during online shopping season by taking these simple steps to protect your purchasing activities.

TIP - Some Produce Is Incompatible!

Did you know that various produce items emit gases that can affect other produce items?

Apples, avocados, bananas, pears and tomatoes put out ethylene gas. This is a natural process, as ethylene causes chemical changes that help ripen the fruit. In fact, this is why it is recommended that you put green bananas in a paper bag along with ripe apples, to encourage the bananas to also ripen.

The problem is, ethylene can speed up rot and spoilage in other produce, including broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, leafy greens and peppers. These vegetables are extra sensitive to ethylene.

Storing ethylene-producing with ethylene-sensitive fruits and veggies can waste good food. Instead of leaving ethylene producers in plastic bags, store them in breathable bins to allow the gas to dissipate. And don’t store them together with ethylene-sensitive produce.

 

For more information, read “Ethylene in Fruits and Vegetables.”

 

Buckwheat is the December Grain of the Month

The Whole Grains Council has declared buckwheat to be the grain of the month for December. However, despite its name, buckwheat is not a grain because it is not part of the Poaceae cereal grass family. It  is a pseudo grain, similar to true grains in terms of nutrition and its use in foods.

Buckwheat is not a common crop. It has a very short growing season, only 10-12 weeks. It can grow in poor soil and is often planted as cover, to protect bare soil from erosion. It can be plowed under instead of harvested in order to improve the soil.

Buckwheat is thought to have first been cultivated in northern China about 6000 years ago. It was not introduced into Europe until the Middle Ages. Common buckwheat is insect pollinated, with much of that done by honeybees. It is thought that domestication of honeybees may have influenced the spread of buckwheat as a human food.

The grains of buckwheat can be eaten whole after being boiled or steamed, or they can be ground into flour. Buckwheat is common in Asian foods, where it is used for making traditional noodles such as soba. 

It is also popular in Eastern Europe, cooked into a type of porridge called kasha or used as a flour in making crêpes, blinis, and blintzes.

Buckwheat is very nutritious. It is high in protein and is a complete protein since it contains all nine of the essential amino acids humans require in their diet. It is gluten-free and more satiating than wheat or rice. It also acts as a prebiotic to stimulate the beneficial bacteria in your gut.

Give buckwheat a try. You may discover a new favorite grain. 

Did you know? Smart phone use can cause hemorrhoids

Nowadays it seems everyone is on their smartphone most of the time. In fact, 2/3 of people in a recent survey use their smartphones while sitting on the toilet. Toilet-seated smartphone users were on average younger than non-smartphone users. While seated in the bathroom, half of smartphone users were reading “news,” and 4 out of ten were following “social media.”

 (Does that make you wonder what the tenth person was looking at?)

The September 2025 study of 125 adults undergoing endoscopic colonoscopy diagnosed 43% with hemorrhoids. The hemorrhoid and non-hemorrhoid groups were compared on a number of variables. 

Smartphone users in this study spent much longer on the toilet than did non-users. Almost 40% of those looking at their phones spent over 5 minutes in a seated position, whereas only 7% of non-users spent that long on the porcelain throne.  

After adjusting for other variables such as age, gender, BMI, level of exercising, fiber intake and straining to have a bowel movement, researchers found that smartphone users had a 46% higher risk of having hemorrhoids than did non-users.

If you routinely take your smartphone into the bathroom with you, you’ve been warned!

 

Read the research report here: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0329983