1. Coffee can help ward off depression in women.
For our women truck drivers out there a study from the Harvard School of Public Health, published last month in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that women who regularly drink fully caffeinated coffee have a 20% lower risk of depression than non-coffee drinkers. The study mentioned that the 20% boast care from those who drink up to 4 6 oz cups a day. Anyone who perks up after the first sip of morning coffee will tell you that they love that morning with “Folgers in your cup”. Now there’s proof: The study, which followed a group of 50,001 women for 9 years, found that as more coffee was consumed the likelihood of depression decreased.

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204010604576594853506227020.html

2. It may help promote a healthy weight.
Drinking a cup of coffee after a meal can be more than a relaxing habit. “When you drink coffee after a meal, it causes your body to more slowly process the meal you just ate,” says Chris Kilham, medical researcher, founder of Medicine Hunter, Inc. and author of Psyche Delicacies. According to David Levitsky, PhD, professor of nutritional science at Cornell University, “Caffeine decreases the rate at which the stomach dumps its contents into the duodenum-a part of the small intestine where digestion takes place-and also increases metabolic rate.” Coffee has been proven to regulate blood sugar levels and the metabolism to reduce the risk of developing type II diabetes. Also, coffee provides greater energy prior to a workout allowing you to burn more calories while you are exercising. Plus, the recent research that rumor that coffee can contribute to heart disease is no longer accepted, and it provides other health benefits that do not harm your heart.

If you are dieting and looking for an additional way to burn calories without taking things that could harm you like diet pills, coffee is a more natural way to help you loss weight because it contains caffeine which can keep your metabolism revving the majority of the day. This will help you to burn additional calories even if you are just sitting in your truck! Of course, we are not talking about your super sugary coffee drinking, the main ones being severed at commercial coffee shops. Those blends often can rack in hundreds of calories per drink, definitely having the adverse affect on your diet plan. We are talking about drinking your coffee completely black without adding cream or sugar because it only has 2 calories in a single cup. So you must be aware that the extra tablespoons of sugar you are adding to your coffee can be a big problem.

Another word of caution is in the many snacks often associated with regular coffee drinking. We have all experienced a work meeting serving coffee and donuts, and how can you resist? A doughnut has around 300 calories, and a larger muffin can have up to 700 calories! This is incredibly shocking, so try to pair your coffee with a delicious and nutritious breakfast, like healthy omelettes, whole-grain cereal, or even fruit. There is a healthy and delicious way to enjoy your cup of Joe, after all.

With all of the recent studies popping up, coffee can be considered a healthy beverage. It reduces the risk of a number of different diseases, including Alzheimer’s, cirrhosis of the liver, and stroke. A recent study also revealed that both younger and older men intaking the caffeine in coffee showed a thermogenic response, meaning that they burned excess fat as a result. This is helpful to know in that if you are hoping to lose additional weight, coffee can be the tool that you are looking for to give you the energy to work out, burn additional fat, and burn calories throughout the day!

http://vitamuffin.realproductfacts.info/coffee-promotes-healthy-weight-loss/

3. It may reduce the risk of skin cancer.
Staying out of the sun and regularly applying a liberal amount of SPF should always be your number one line of defense against skin cancer. That said, a new study out of Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that women who drank more than three 6 oz cups of coffee a day had a 20% lower risk for basal cell carcinoma, and men had a 9% reduced risk. However, the research did not indicate that coffee consumption reduced the risk of squamous cell carcinoma or melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, making it all the more important to protect your skin when outdoors. The study could not prove cause-and-effect, however, and at this point the finding remains an association only. The may association they could find was caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee. In the case study of the people that drank decaffeinated coffee there was not an association with a decreased risk of basal cell carcinoma.

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/medical/cancer/story/2011-10-25/Daily-coffee-may-lower-your-skin-cancer-risk/50905362/1

4. Is coffee truly addictive?
Having a truck driving job you know that your day does not get off on the right foot if you do not have your morning cup of coffee. We all know that you can not leave the truck stop with out it otherwise we do not feel our normal self. Does this mean that coffee is addicting? Liz Applegate, PhD, faculty member and director of sports nutrition at the University of California at Davis, explains that caffeine and therefore coffee is not addictive. “Caffeine is a mild stimulant, and the World Health Organization states that it is wrong to compare caffeine intake to drug addiction, since people can reduce or eliminate caffeine from their diet without the serious psychological or physical problems that result from a true addiction.

” That said, we have to note that the study did mention that those who are serious coffee drinkers may experience fatigue and irritability if they reduce their intake. According to Dr. Applegate, people who consume 600 milligrams of caffeine (about six small cups of coffee) daily are most likely to experience these symptoms. The fatigue and irritability will usually resolve themselves after a few days without coffee where truly addictive stimulants can take months to feel normal without.

All in all, almost ever study that we found on the affects of coffee came down to decaffeinated versus caffeinated coffee. This lead us to believe that the true factor is caffeine.

Here is a link to info on the truck drivers and the flu. http://www.nationaltruckdrivingjobs.com/truck-driver-flu-tips

As always with this kind of article. We advise you check with your accountant to see if the following apply to you and/or your business.

Owners Operators and Lease Purchases can deduct any income expense that the business owner spends to operate his/her business. The Internal Revenue Service does not give us a specific list of expenses that a business can deduct, but they do go as far as to state that “expenses must be ordinary and necessary for the business to function.” Below is a list of some of the tax-deductible expenses that most owner operators and lease purchasers have deducted in the past.

Food

For business owner across all field, it necessary to provide meals for clients, employees or yourself; if is important to take people to lunch to close a deal. As a truck driver you have to eat to continue to have the energy to drive the hundreds of miles to drop off a load. Meals are deductible at 50% of cost as long as you can prove that the meal is for your business. There are a couple of exceptions to the 50 percent rule. If the client reimburses you for the meal, you will record the reimbursement as income and the meal expense is deductible at 100 percent. Owner Operators who do not receive a company per diem to cover food may use the special deduction for employees involved in transportation. As a truck driver as of 2010, you can claim a standard meal allowance of $59 a day.

Travel and Maintenance Expense

The deduction for Track Trailer expenses comes in the form of a mileage rate or the total expenses you incur. The standard mileage deduction is determined by the IRS each year and fluctuates due to the unfix cost that business drivers pay for gasoline at the pump. You multiply your business miles you logged by the rate the IRS has determined for that year (49 cents per mile for 2009 and 50 cents per mile for 2010), to determine the total deduction you can claim.

To calculate the total expenses you add up the total cost of the items that where business expenses; such as insurance, gasoline, depreciation, loan interest, oil, tires, etc. Be sure to subtract any expenses that are allocated to personal use for this could come back to hunt you. The big thing is that you can only deduct one or the other. Make sure you do your due diligence and find out which expense is going to come to a higher deduction and take the one that is higher. Make sure you keep adequate records to prove your business use. According to the IRS, you must keep records that are in writing in order for it “to be considered adequate.”

Home Office and Communication Expense

The portion of your personal home you use for business is a deductible expense. To be honest this is the number way to get audited and not the simplest to calculate. Most people do not qualify so we suggest that you sick the normal things that you are using for business like expenses that incur using your cell phones, cell phone service, CB radios, satellite networks for computers, computer software and laptops may all be included as business-related expenses and are deductible at a percentage of their original cost.

Last here is a list of the most commonly missed deductions for an Owner Operators:

Advertising – Owner Operators need to get their names out there to get freight most time they are able to rely on word of month, but some times that is not enough so advertising is great way to pick up some extra miles when things get hard.
Depreciation – According to the federal tax code’s Section 179 Deductions for Tangible Property, a truck owner does not have to depreciate his truck over the long term, but may instead be able to make a large one-time deduction. The maximum Section 179 expense deduction for qualified real property is $250,000. When times are tough sometime an extra deduct can go a long way. Do not forget that if you use this deduction you cannot use it again.
Tools – There is nothing like having to go back to Harbor Freight for the second time after you realized you are going to need that extra tool to get the job done. You can write off the trip to the store and back, but a lot of times the tools you have to buy are more expensive.
Uniforms – If you company that you contact work with requires that you have a certain dress code and does not pay for it that is a business expense. Keep you receipts and write this one off at the end of the year.

With the freedom to control your miles and home time as an owner of your own truck and business. You must as make sure that you stay organized as the year goes on so that you can make all of the money that you are due at the end of the year.

Truck drivers have found that through online contacts, it is no longer impossible to have an opinion heard. Through mass posts on Facebook, Twitter and other social sites truckers have found their voice. Because of social media, truckers have been able to adjust regulations and even delay some changes proposed by the government. A great example of this would be the delay of the FMCSA’s hours-of-service revision. Originally, the revision was to take place in July, however because of the overwhelming amount of online comments the revision did not take place as scheduled.

Along with making their voice heard to change regulations, truckers have also begun to notice the advantages of social media in communicating with other truck drivers. Through the use of forums and social postings, truckers have been able to communicate with each other in a way that was never possible before.  By using online postings, drivers can find advance information such as advice on which truck stops are the best and where they should avoid. They can also receive warnings of road closures or dangerous driving conditions.

One bonus of online socializing for truck drivers is that you can do it from wherever you are. Truckers are constantly on the go and because of this are not always able to attend truck shows and conventions. However, with the increased internet availability of today, truckers can catch up on news and make sure they are always on top of what is going on in their industry.

The trucking business is fining its voice through social media. A truck driving career is a rewarding experience. The sense of camaraderie amongst truckers is worthwhile and as time goes on, it is only getting better thorough social media.

To learn about the numerous trucking opportunities available for you, visit www.nationaltruckdrivingjobs.com.

One of the big issues the FMCSA discovered was the fact that depending on when a driver took a test, their requirements were different. Before the year 2010, a driver had to take a test for his Mexican Licencia Federal de Conductor (LF), the equivalent of a U.S. CDL, from both the government and private Mexican training centers. However, the past few years have changed this requirement and truckers now only test at private training centers.

This difference in obtaining the LF proved to be a problem as some of the testing centers had requirements that did not meet the standard. In fact, at least two schools the FMCSA visited set the bar for test scores lower than the currently required 80, while others completely skipped over certain subject matters in the exam. The FMCSA also found that the test was longer in some schools and shorter in others.

After discovering these concerns, the FMCSA decided that for a driver to be able to participate in the U.S.-Mexico program they need to be tested by the Mexican government. For those drivers that have already tested and passed their exams through private centers, they would have to re-take the test through the Government of Mexico’s Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT).

The FMCSA has reviewed the test given by the SCT and have verified that it meets the current compliance standards. The test also requires a score of 80 percent to pass and has all the required sections. The FMCSA was pleased to find that the test also included a demonstration of skills on the highway.

The FMCSA and the SCT are working together to correct the concerns found at the private testing centers by sending out reminders of the requirements, and by requiring the centers to fix their errors. In six months’ time the FMCSA is going to go back to the testing centers and review the improvements.

The U.S.-Mexico agreement has faced equal sides of support and opposition. Some view it as an opportunity to provide a boost to the wavering economy, while others view it as a way for more Americans to lose their jobs. There are also many concerns about safety, whether allowing Mexican drivers on the road is a violation of U.S. security. However, the U.S. and Mexican governments are trying to work together to assuage these concerns by proving to the American populace that steps are being taken to assure their safety.

As these proceedings continue, it will be curious to see how the agreement impacts the trucking industry. There is a great need in trucking for drivers. To learn how you can do your part and become a truck driver, visit www.nationaltruckdriving jobs.com.

With the constant watch of the HOS on their log books, drivers need to understand what it is and why they are doing it. To help answer a few questions, this article includes a very basic who, what, and why of the HOS regulations.

Who: The HOS is a product of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which is a division of the United States Department of Transportation. The regulations pertain to any and all commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers and motor carriers.

What:The Hours-of-Service regulations are rules that place limits on when and how long CMV drivers may drive. They are based on a number of studies completed by the FMCSA and other transportation organizations the focused specifically on fatigue and other related areas.They cover the responsibilities of both drivers and their employers, and vary slightly depending on the type of CMV driver you are. For example, passenger carrying vehicles such as buses or trains have different rules than property carrying vehicles such as trucks.

For commercial trucks there is an 11-hour driving limit. This limit must come between 10 consecutive hours of down time, during which truck drivers must also meet certain requirements.  Drivers need to spend at least 8 consecutive hours in their sleeper berth along with 2 consecutive hours off duty. The 2 hours of off duty time can be spent either in the sleeper berth or elsewhere, just as long as the driver is not working.

To make sure drivers are following the HOS, their hours are tracked and those who are not keeping the rules are penalized. Penalties vary depending on what the driver has done, but in some cases drivers were penalized with temporary suspensions to make up for the time they were supposed to be off.

Why: The HOS was implemented to decrease the number of commercial accidents caused by drowsy driving. So far, the HOS has proven to be an asset to the transportation industry and has helped to prevent a number of commercial accidents.

More information on the HOS can be found on the FMCSA’s website. On the website, you will be able to read a detailed description of each of the rules and how it pertains to your role in the transportation industry.

The trucking industry is booming and truck drivers are placed under a great pressure to be on time and always ready to go. With this pressure, it is important to remember safety first. Safe driving comes from a number of arrangements, including making sure you are awake, alert and ready for a long drive. If you are tired, pullover. No load is worth your life, or the lives of others.

The HOS webpage can be found at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/topics/hos/index.htm.