Good morning and welcome to agebuzz… Headlining today’s topics:

-‘Tis The Season: Watch Out For Seasonal Scams During The Holidays

-Food For Thought: Mindful Holiday Cooking And Eating

-Strike A Pose But Be Careful: Seniors And Yoga Safety Tips

-Happy Days: Look Forward To Rising Levels of Happiness

-Share The Wealth: What To Consider When You Have A Lot To Give

-A Social Media Star And Purveyor Of Wisdom At 100: Meet Grandma Eileen

-The Last Word

‘Tis The Season: Watch Out For Seasonal Scams During The Holidays: As the year winds down and you prepare for your usual year-end activities- gift purchases, charity donations, holiday gatherings- make sure you watch out for another holiday tradition: scamming unsuspecting buyers and donors who may be caught off guard as they’re caught up in the holiday spirit. From packages that never arrive to purchases that hand over personal info to fraudsters, you need to be sure that where you buy your gifts, and where you make your donations, are reliable and reputable establishments.AARP has a useful reminder on how to ensure you avoid the seasonal scams. Check out their advice Here. And for those of you looking for worthy causes at this charitable moment, take heed of the advice provided by Charity Navigator. In fact, Charity Navigator provides ratings that you can rely on for trustworthy organizations worthy of support. And in this giving season, when so many seniors struggle to make ends meet, let alone provide for the holidays, one of their top rated senior causes is Meals on Wheels America, the oversight group that encompasses over 5000 local organizations providing meals to homebound seniors. So be generous, and check out the rating for Meals on Wheels America Here.

Food For Thought: Mindful Holiday Cooking And Eating: It’s easy to indulge in holiday cookies and cakes this time of year- the choices are too tempting and the availability is often irresistable. But it’s also a good time to remind yourself about what’s important to eat- and avoid- so that you continue to age in a healthy way. The National Institute on Aging has a handy fact sheet on how to discern the value of proteins, carbs and fats as you eat your way through the holidays. So put down the cookie and Click Here. And if your idea of holiday fun is cooking your way through the gatherings, you and your guests may benefit from taking a look at the new cookbook from Dr. Michael Greger, founder of the website nutritionfacts.org. In this just published, and provocatively titled, How Not To Die Cookbook, Greger provides tons of recipes that allow for healthy eating, whether it’s the snacks you reach for or the desserts you crave. Finally, some of us are sure that no matter how healthy our eating habits, we need supplements to ensure our health and well being. But just because it’s a supplement, doesn’t guarantee its health benefit. In fact, the MedShadow Foundation recently published a chart explaining the risks and side effects of several commonly used supplements. So before you swallow that extract, examine the list Here.

Strike A Pose But Be Careful: Seniors And Yoga Safety Tips: By now, you’ve heard it many times: Practicing yoga can produce significant benefit for older minds and bodies. But not all yoga practices, and instructors, are created equally and the data are beginning to show that injury may be just as common to older yoga practitioners as enlightenment. In fact, a recent article in The Washington Post revealed that yoga followers over 65 have a greater rate of injury than those who are younger. The key to preventing such injuries is making sure that you, and your instructor, recognize which types of yoga work best for aging bodies and your particular concerns. For more insights, check out the recommendations Here. But safely practiced, let’s remember that yoga can provide tremendous benefit, and the payback continues to expand as more research investigates the practice of yoga. For example, a recent piece in Harvard Women’s Health Watch reviewed encouraging data that suggests that a dozen basic yoga poses may increase your bone density, thereby helping ward off osteoporosis. Since we often haveno early warning signs that we are at risk for osteoporosis, seems like mastering these poses may be a worthy goal, for our bones and our brains! So pull out your yoga mat and take a look at the recommended poses Here.

Happy Days: Look Forward To Rising Levels of Happiness: While everyone ages differently, there are some generalizations that most of us would embrace. And the data are in: as we age, it seems we get happier. Whether it’s due to our financial circumstances, our acceptance of our all-too-human bodies or just a general contentedness with how our lives have progressed, it seems that once we reach our late 60s, a good portion of us our pretty happy with the way our lives have turned out. Want the proof? Take a look at this newly published chart Here. And if you’re just not feeling it, maybe you can take some advice from those who smile on despite the challenges. In a recent piece in Kaiser Health News, writer Bruce Horovitz interviews seniors whom he identifies as “chronically happy,” despite the vicissitudes of life. From focusing on small pleasures to accepting what life has dealt you, these seniors have some wisdom to share that sheds light on ways to make yourself happy. Check out their advice Here.

Share The Wealth: What To Consider When You Have A Lot To Give: For some people, drawing up a will and dividing up assets is a relatively straight-forward process. But for others, there are distinct and difficult decisions to be made, often because they have the good fortune of having substantial assets to consider. In a newly published article in The Atlantic, philosopher Martha Nussbaum and law professor Saul Levmore, both of the University of Chicago, strike up a conversation about ethical and practical considerations when giving out your money, either during your lifetime or once you’ve died. The talk covers such topics as motivation for giving, how best to do good, how to consider the needs of your children, and other challenging concerns. As you do your year-end taxes, you may find their comments thought-provoking and intriguing. So sharpen your pencil, and take a peak at their arguments Here. And if dividing up your assets among your children is posing concerns for you, take a look at expert advice about how to make such decisions Here.

A Social Media Star And Purveyor of Wisdom At 100: Meet Grandma Eileen: Having a wise and loving grandma is a gift: having a wise and loving grandma who, at age 100, loves to share her wisdom with strangers across the country is a gift too good not to share. Mike Matthews, an adjunct professor in social media at New York University, realized his Grandma Eileen was too wise, and too funny, not to share with the world. So, he set her up with her own Facebook page and created a street level “office” for her to share her words of wisdom via Skype in New York City. He’s even enlisted her fans and the public at large to send her greetings and their own words of cheer for her upcoming 101st birthday on January 10, 2018. You can also watch Grandma Eileen in her own YouTube videos as she dispenses advice on all matters of life and love. In a world that often seems crazy, thank goodness you have Grandma Eileen around for spreading good cheer and life lessons! And if you’d like to wish Eileen Wilkerson a happy 101st birthday, find out how you can reach her in Washington State by going to her Facebook page Here.

THE LAST WORD: “Age does not protect you from love. But love, to some extent, protects you from age.” Anais Nin