Soybean farmers in Minnesota, USA, wear many different hats: small-business owner, agronomist, equipment expert, accountant and environmentalist. Yes, they are the original stewards of the land, continually evolving their practices to keep natural resources healthy for the next generation.
But it doesn't end there. Soybean farmers have been at the forefront of developing a homegrown renewable fuel that has resulted in a dramatic improvement of the air quality in the state.
Biodiesel has become an important part of the energy landscape not only in Minnesota, but across the country, too. In just over 15 years, the biodiesel market in the U.S. has increased from about 25 million gallons to more than 2.8 billion gallons. Made from domestic, renewable resources such as soybean oil, biodiesel is a value-added by-product containing sources that would normally go to waste.
You may be scratching your head and saying, "I don't drive a diesel vehicle. Why should I care?" Well, you're not alone. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, diesel-powered cars accounted for only about 3 percent of total U.S. auto sales in 2014.
But, unless your family continues to rely heavily on the moped for travel and commerce, here's why biodiesel matters.
Diesel engines are all around you
According to the Diesel Technology Forum, more than 95 percent of all large, heavy-duty trucks are diesel-powered, as are a majority of medium-duty trucks. Together, they move more than 90 percent of the freight not just in the US. And don't forget public transit, school buses and construction equipment. Things we all come in contact with every day.
Waving the green flag
And while you may think these trucks' massive diesel engines are an unfortunate but necessary aspect of commerce and expansion, think again.
According to the American Lung Association of Minnesota (ALAMN), during the 10-year period with biodiesel as a fuel standard for Minnesota, a reduction of more than 7.4 billion pounds of carbon dioxide has already been realized. ALAMN estimates that is comparable to removing the emissions from 706,649 passenger vehicles or 17,998 railcars of coal.
That's not a typo. Removing emissions. Breathing easier. Biodiesel's ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50 percent is why the Environmental Protection Agency recognizes it as the only advanced biofuel.
Revitalizing rural communities
According to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the biodiesel industry contributes $1.7 billion annually in the state, while supporting 5,397 jobs. Nationwide, there are approximately 200 biodiesel plants, which provide nearly 48,000 jobs. These are often hard-hit areas where employment options are few. Leaving for "greener pastures" is no longer the only option.
"Biodiesel is another step in increasing the diversity of our energy needs," says Tom Slunecka, CEO, Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council. "Minnesota soybean farmers are proud to be leaders in growing that diversity."
In 2002, Minnesota became the first state to require that all diesel fuel sold here contain at least 2 percent blend of biodiesel. In the summer of 2018, Minnesota will be the first to move to B20, a blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel.
The benefits of biodiesel are considerable, not just for Minnesota, but for the country and the world as a whole.
Recent research is giving young executives who sit all day at their jobs new reasons to reach for a handful of nuts while at work, and in particular, pistachios. Adding to an increasing volume of research around the health benefits of pistachios, one study and a national survey suggest a snack of pistachios might boost brain power and concentration levels at work and study.
Pistachios helped office workers stay focused until lunchtime
In a national survey, 1,000 American office workers who skipped breakfast consumed a snack of 42 grams (1 and 1/2 serving size) of pistachios between 9 and 11 a.m. Ninety-two percent of the participants said they are "distracted from their tasks at work due to hunger before lunch." Eighty percent said they usually get hungry in the mornings before lunch and think about food often or every day.
The midmorning snack of pistachios proved to be just what they needed to power through the morning. Ninety-two percent of the participants reported the pistachio snack helped improve their concentration at work as stated in the study, "somewhat or greatly."
That's not surprising, according to Dr. Mike Roussell, nutrition expert and adviser. "Skipping breakfast is never a good idea, but even with a good breakfast and lunch, hunger pangs and stress-driven hunger can be distracting, leading to unhealthy snacking habits."
Roussell says pistachios are an ideal midmorning or midafternoon snack because of their unique nutrient package that not only promotes feelings of fullness and satiation, but also, newer studies show, can promote an optimal mental state and more focus at work.
Increasingly, people with desk jobs are looking for a healthier snack alternative to the usual donuts and vending machine fare. Ninety percent of the survey's participants said they believe the snack of pistachios is healthier than their usual snack. The study involved office workers in the Northeast, South, Midwest and Western U.S. who snack at their desk two or more times a week at midmorning.
Pistachios may have a role in improved brain function
Loma Linda University (LLU) researchers found that eating nuts on a regular basis enhances brainwave frequencies associated with cognition, learning, memory, recall and other key brain functions. While the research studied multiple nuts, pistachios produced the greatest gamma wave response, which is critical for enhancing cognitive processing, information retention, learning and perception.
In the study, electroencephalograms (EEG) were taken to measure the strength of brainwave signals. EEG wave band activity was then recorded from nine regions of the scalp associated with cerebral cortical function.
"This study provides significant beneficial findings by demonstrating that nuts are as good for your brain as they are for the rest of your body," said the study's principal investigator, Lee Berk, DrPH, MPH, associate dean for research at the LLU School of Allied Health Professions, in an interview featured in the November 2017 issue of LLU's publication, Today. An abstract of the study was presented at Experimental Biology 2017 in San Diego, California, and published in the FASEB Journal.
The workplace-snacking survey and health-benefit studies add to a growing base of pistachio research, solidifying that pistachios have all the ideal qualities for a go-to workplace & study snack.
There are many effective ways to improve your health - like adding probiotics and prebiotics to your daily regimen. You've likely heard of probiotics before, but do you know how they benefit your health and how to select the right one for you? This article can help.
What is a probiotic?
Before delving into how probiotics can help your body, let's first explain what they actually are. In the simplest terms, probiotics are the good bacteria (live microorganisms) that live inside your digestive tract and help your body to function properly. There are many different types of probiotics, and each one performs a different function in your digestive system.
The billions of bacteria that live inside your digestive tract are often called "microflora," or more correctly, "microbiota," and the environment that they work together to create inside the body is called the microbiome. Maintaining proper balance within your microbiome is crucial for overall health.
How do probiotics help?
The beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract are influenced by a variety of factors such as stress, medication use, traveling and poor diet. Therefore, it is important to prioritize diet and lifestyle to maintain proper gut ecology. Probiotics are also effective for maintaining healthy populations of beneficial bacteria. Numerous clinical studies have shown probiotics have positive effects on health, including assisting in the digestion of food and the absorption of nutrients and contributing to immune system health. Some studies have suggested that certain beneficial strains may also support brain function.
Probiotics in your diet
Probiotics are found in many foods you may enjoy every day including yogurt, kefir and sauerkraut. However, due to food processing and packaging, maintaining the stability and potency of the live beneficial bacteria in these foods can be a challenge. Including probiotic supplements in your routine ensures a consistent dose to help you and your family maintain optimal health.
Prebiotics are not probiotics
While the general public has long understood probiotics, prebiotics are less known. But there are significant differences between the two, including health benefits. As mentioned, probiotics are live bacteria in yogurt, other dairy products, and pills. Doctors often prescribe probiotics to patients on antibiotics in an attempt to combat gastrointestinal side effects of the medication. And while probiotics have been shown effective in managing certain gastrointestinal conditions, they do not have the same power that prebiotics do.
First, they’re delicate — heat and stomach acid can kill them, rendering them ineffective before they’ve even been digested. Also, those who don’t eat dairy foods for taste or dietary reasons may find ingesting adequate amounts of probiotics difficult, if not impossible. Finally, we don’t know which “good” bacteria our unique bodies would benefit from. For some people, a certain good bacterial strain would be helpful. For others, it may not. When we consume probiotics, we’re taking a guess at which bacteria might be helpful and hoping for the best. We’re also hoping the ones that make it past the heat and acid of our stomach will actually go on to provide some health benefits to our system.
If this is a probiotic then what is a prebiotic? In short, the prebiotic is a specialized plant fiber that beneficially nourishes the good bacteria already in the large bowel or colon. While probiotics introduce good bacteria into the gut, prebiotics act as a fertilizer for the good bacteria that’s already there. They help your good bacteria grow, improving the good-to-bad bacteria ratio. This ratio has been shown to have a direct correlation to your health and overall wellbeing, from your stomach to your brain.
The body itself does not digest these plant fibers. Instead, it uses these fibers to promote the growth of many of the good bacteria in the gut. These, in turn, provide many digestive and general health benefits. Recent studies have also shown prebiotics and good bacterial gut balance play a direct role in mental health. Individuals who consume prebiotics on a daily basis have fewer issues with anxiety, depression, and stress. In fact, when their saliva was tested, it contained lower levels of cortisol. High levels of this hormone have been linked directly to mental health disorders.
Prebiotics, unlike probiotics, are not destroyed in the body. They are not affected by heat or bacteria. Getting the full benefits of prebiotics is easy, especially when consumed in a full-spectrum supplement form.
Prebiotic fiber is found in many fruits and vegetables, such as the skin of apples, bananas, onions and garlic, Jerusalem artichoke, chicory root, and beans. Sounds easy to get enough prebiotic fiber, right? Unfortunately, the minute amounts of fiber in each of these foods — such as 1 to 2 grams per serving — make ingesting enough fiber extremely difficult. Most people should consume at least 25 grams of fiber every day, and the foods highest in prebiotic fiber — chicory root is one such example — are nearly impossible to eat in large quantities every day.
The good news is that adding a prebiotic fiber supplement to your diet is fast and simple. In supplement form, prebiotic fiber is also mild in texture and nearly tasteless, making it easy to add to water, cereal or any other food. Simply sprinkle it on your foods or in your favorite drinks to enjoy the many benefits. Prebiotin makes it even easier — you can buy it in on-the-go, single-serving packets that are perfect for a busy lifestyle.
How Prebiotics Help
For years, hardly anyone in the medical profession paid any attention to the role the colon plays in overall health. Over the past 15 years, however, we have discovered that the colon — and specifically, the bacteria that call the colon home — is incredibly important to wellness. The healthy bacteria that live there strengthen the bowel wall, improve mineral absorption and aid in the regulation of hormone production, which has a range of essential benefits. Prebiotics fertilize these good bacteria as they stifle the production of the bad, disease-causing bacteria, and Prebiotin prebiotic fiber is independently shown to cause the multiplication of beneficial bacteria which combat gut dysbiosis.
When you have ample beneficial bacteria, you can experience better overall health from a physical, mental and emotional standpoint. You’ll be better nourished, feel fuller, and able to achieve and maintain a healthy weight more easily.
Can You Take Probiotics and Prebiotics Together?
Yes, you can take probiotics and prebiotics together. Prebiotics do not negatively interact with probiotics. Prebiotics do not interfere with medications, either. High-quality probiotics and prebiotics are safe when taken together. In fact, when you think about how probiotics and prebiotics work, it makes sense to take them together. Simply put, prebiotics are “food” for probiotics. Probiotics digest prebiotics and use the molecules as energy. In some ways, probiotics and prebiotics act synergistically for gut health.
Have you noticed that traffic seems to be worse lately? There's a good reason for that - there are more vehicles on the road than at any time in recent history. Unemployment is low and gas is affordable, which means more people are driving more miles. And more drivers means an increased risk of getting into a collision, which impacts the number of auto insurance claims and, potentially, the cost of insurance premiums.
There is some good news, however, because vehicle technology has advanced significantly in the past decade, with features like backup cameras, active braking and pedestrian detection, which employ radar, camera and other sensors to detect and track vehicles, pedestrians or objects around the vehicle. Many of these enhancements are designed to help prevent collisions and make driving safer, but that doesn't mean you should let your guard down. When you're driving, the road should get your full and complete attention, because as great as all of this new technology is, it's not perfect and collisions can still occur.
"Rear-end collisions are the most common claims we see nationwide. We had nearly 60,000 customers report they were involved in rear-end collisions last year," says the vice president of claims at an insurance company. "People are surprised to find out they're at fault if they hit the vehicle ahead of them, even if the other driver brakes suddenly. This is why active braking technology, which can slow down your vehicle while using cruise control or even stop it completely if someone walks in front of your car or you aren't able to react quickly enough to hit your brakes, is a great development. But, even if you have this technology, you still need to focus on the road to avoid getting into collisions."
The most common auto collisions to be aware of, according to insurance experts include:
1. Your vehicle is rear-ended by another vehicle;
2. Your vehicle rear-ends another vehicle;
3. Another vehicle hits your parked car;
4. Another vehicle fails to yield in an intersection and hits your vehicle;
5. Collision with a fixed object;
6. Glass damage;
7. Another vehicle hits yours while changing lanes;
8. Your vehicle hits a parked car;
9. You fail to yield in an intersection and hit another car; and
10. You back into another vehicle.
"Most of these collisions are avoidable if people pay attention to their surroundings. Cars are safer, but drivers are more distracted than ever, especially by phone apps, texting and taking calls. And it's not just drivers who are distracted, we're also seeing more pedestrian accidents, because they have their heads buried in their phones and aren't paying attention while they're walking," says an expert. "No message, photo or phone call is more important than your safety and the safety of others, so please drive - and walk - responsibly."
Drivers should annually review their auto insurance policy with a local independent insurance agent. Knowing what is and isn't covered will help in the event you're involved in one of the common auto insurance collisions.
