Quick and Dirty Tips

7 Tips to Avoid Cryptocurrency and NFT Scams

Posted: 16 Feb 2022 12:10 AM PST

Prakash U. says, "Your crypto podcast was fascinating, and the interest rates from BlockFi and Gemini for stablecoins blew my mind. You mentioned they don't have FDIC insurance. So, to get such high rates, what are the risks?"

Susan H. says, "I love your podcast and listen to you on my morning walks with my dogs. I'm a 51-year-old married female and have worked as a paralegal for 24 years. My husband is the same age, and we've been married for 21 years with no children—just two very spoiled Labrador retrievers.

We have $500,000 in 401(k)s and owe about $120,000 on our home, worth about $350,000. We have a car loan and a few credit cards that equal about $20,000 of debt that I'm trying to get rid of.

I listened to your podcast about cryptocurrency and want to get in the game, as they say, so in ten or twenty years when everyone is invested, I haven't missed the boat. My question is, where do I start? I feel so stupid and overwhelmed trying to figure it out."

Thank you for your questions, Prakash and Susan! This post will answer them and cover who should own cryptocurrencies and NFTs and ways to avoid getting scammed.

Common cryptocurrency and NFT scams:

Phishing Emails
Ransomware
Fake Exchanges
Free Giveaways
Impersonators
Pump and Dumps
Rug pulls

What is cryptocurrency?

There are thousands of cryptocurrencies in circulation, but the most well-known is bitcoin. While every crypto coin is different, they're all digital currencies you can use for payments or hold as an investment, hoping the value goes up. You keep crypto in a digital wallet, which can be on your computer, an online exchange, or an external hard drive (known as...

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The Latest Research on Auto-Immune Disease and Vitamin D

Posted: 15 Feb 2022 02:10 PM PST

A new NIH-funded study reports that long-term use of vitamin D supplements reduced the incidence of auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and Hashimoto's thyroiditis in a large population of Americans 50 and older. The subjects in this study were taking 2000IU of Vitamin D3 a day, and those who took them for two years or longer saw the greatest reduction in risk.

Vitamin D is perhaps best known for its role in building strong bones, and the market for vitamin D supplements has grown to over a billion dollars a year. However, recent research has cast doubts on the value of vitamin D supplements in preventing bone loss and osteoporosis. So this latest finding on vitamin D and auto-immune disease is welcome news for people who sell vitamin D supplements.

But it's also a textbook illustration of how scientific research (and nutrition research, in particular) works to either prove or disprove a hypothesis. It's usually a multi-step process. And in today's information economy, each incremental step in that process gets the same degree of fanfare and publicity. But this is not always warranted. Recognizing where we are in that process can help you put headlines in context and keep the information in perspective. So let's break it down, using this latest finding as an example.

How nutrition research works

Step 1: Observe a correlation

As is so often the case, the case for vitamin D as a possible preventive for auto-immune disease started with an almost random observation. Somebody noticed that multiple sclerosis is much more common in areas of the globe that lie north of 40 degrees latitude. In fact, the further from the equator you live, the higher your risk.

Step 2: Propose a hypothesis

There are a number of possible explanations for this phenomenon. It could be something about the diet in more northern countries or other aspects of their lifestyle. It could have to do with a pathogen that is more common in colder temperatures. Another hypothesis was that vitamin D might be protective against multiple sclerosis.

Sunlight hitting our exposed skin is one of the primary ways we get vitamin D. When you live further from the equator, there's less sunlight in winter, and colder temperatures mean you're less likely to be outside with your skin exposed. As a result, people who live further from the equator are more likely to be deficient in vitamin D. And maybe that has something to do with why they are more likely to have multiple sclerosis.

Once you have formulated a hypothesis ("Vitamin D helps...

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Food And Recipe Fusion

Wednesday, February 16, 2022