Dija Know… Joe’s Restaurant Newsletter -122 January 2016

Dija Know… Joe’s Restaurant Newsletter -122 January 2016

-Sheila
Is it just me, or is time whizzing by?

Road of Time – photo by RR

 

We are beyond the holiday season now, but Joe’s Red Room is always perfect for meetings and parties. It seats 32 comfortably.
Friday Jan 8 from 7:30 – 11am, Richard Eeds returns to Joe’s broadcasting the Morning Show live on 101.5. During the broadcast, watch Richard at work and benefit from a surprise discount on your breakfast! Just ask.

 

Eat your chocolate first, then your spinach! There’s now evidence of a connection between magnesium deficiency and pancreatic cancer. Scientists at the U of Indiana set out to prove that connection. Crunching years of data from following 66,000 men and women, here’s some of what they found. Not only did magnesium help fight off pancreatic cancer, but NOT taking a magnesium supplement daily significantly increased the risk of getting the deadly disease. For every decrease in daily dosage by 100 mg, the occurrence of pancreatic cancer increased by 24%. Magnesium is one of those beneficial minerals that is responsible for a million (my exaggeration) processes in our bodies including glucose regulation, energy metabolism and protein synthesis. It helps stop muscle cramps and pain, relieves headaches, builds bone strength and prevents heart attacks. So we may be able to extrapolate here that the regulation of glucose levels provided by sufficient magnesium with sufficient magnesium can protect the pancreas. So don’t mess with this. It’s too important. Magnesium (no, I didn’t say with calcium) supplements are cheap. We need between 200mg and 600mg/day. As well, high levels of magnesium are found in: dark chocolate (yay!) spinach, chard, pumpkin seeds, mackerel, quinoa and figs.

 

To salt or not to salt. For decades most adults have been advised to cut the salt. However, most people who limit salt in their diet develop such adverse effects as high blood pressure (yup HBP), brain fog, fatigue, weakness and muscle and leg cramps. A recent study (reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Heart Failure. Vol. 4, No. 1, January, 2016) reported, “Sodium restriction was associated with a significantly higher risk of death or heart failure hospitalization of 85% … for every six subjects that restrict their salt intake, there will be one death or hospitalization for heart failure. … In patients with chronic heart failure, sodium restriction may have a detrimental impact on outcome.” I ask myself, how have we strayed so far off the path of common sense with our diets and health? Salt is a vital nutrient; we cannot live without it. Salt is the second major constituent in the human body, next to water. There is most assuredly the rare salt-sensitive individual. But for most of us, limiting salt is a ridiculous idea. It is important, though, to choose the right kind of salt—unrefined salt. And avoid refined salt. BTW the saltshakers on Joe’s tables contain sea salt.

Last month we briefly mentioned peptide bioregulators. I recently administered one of these complexes to my 31-year-old Quarter Horse, Beau, with great results. He had been losing his sight rather quickly. Both corneas were cloudy and I observed he was finding his way around the property more by sound than by sight. Rosie, our new rescue mare, (age 27?), has the same cloudiness especially in her right eye. These older horses sure do have their issues! Well I recently started her on that same specific peptide for ocular support. I’ll keep you posted. Beau now has almost clear bright eyes and focuses his attention again by sight rather than primarily by sound. Because peptides are not cheap, I’ll wait ‘til Rosie’s cataracts recede to some degree, then start Beau on a second round to see if we can clear the remaining bits of his cataracts. I give a grateful nod to Russian R & D for yet another advancement in natural healing. Peptide complexes are the result of Russian research. They are tissue specific and will target a plethora of conditions. And yes, they work on humans too! I do not mention specific brands here. But I am happy to share info with you. I urge you to do your research.

 

Tuesday night tradition at Joe’s –Spaghetti and Chianti Night. $29.95 for two will get you Caesar Salad, Spaghetti with homemade Bolognese and a great ½ ltr of Chianti. Wadda deal! The Bolognese sauce is made with our grass-fed-and-finished regional beef.

Does playing video games actually have any redeeming effect? I would be the last to be convinced when I look into the vacant dazed eyes of kids so hypnotized by their games that they lose touch with their sentient surroundings. But, apparently some of the new 3-D games can improve memory quickly and significantly. The Journal of Neuroscience reports that in a study that tracked 2D and 3D first-time video gamers, the 3D players showed a 12% memory improvement (reuters.com). The 2D gamers gained no memory capacity. In fact over the years, 2D players have shown mental degradation – i.e. – reduced focus, reduced attention span, etc. Hmmm. Something to consider.

 

If my face weren’t stained with tears over the distortion and usurpation of our food supply, my belly would hurt from laughing at the posturing and arrogance of the most morally bankrupt, soulless mega-corporation on Earth. Monsanto is going “carbon-neutral.” Give me a break! Organic Consumers Association posted this: “Monsanto issued a lengthy press release peppered with industry jargon, including our favorite euphemism for pesticides: crop protection products. Monsanto said it will allow corn and soybeans to be grown such that soil absorbs greenhouse gases equal to or greater than the total amount emitted from growing those crops. Of course what Monsanto didn’t say, is that those corn and soybean plants will continue to be saturated in poisons and grown in nutrient-devoid, chemically enhanced soil.” Those soils of course are dead dead dead and therefore do not have the ability to naturally sequester carbon. So much for the idea of carbon neutrality. It is business as usual—practices that are deadly to consumers, animals, bees, farmworkers, the soil and climate stability. Understanding the vast difference between real untampered-with food and the genetically-altered, food-like substances produced with Monsanto’s chemicals and GM seeds, is our first line of defense.

In the last decade or so, the incidence of severe childhood obesity has grown alarmingly. In a 2010 study, more than 1,000 sixth graders in Michigan who regularly ate school lunches were 29% more likely to be obese than those who brought lunches from home. Overall, school lunches are the epitome of processed factory food. Pink slime, sugar and synthetic ingredients are routine in school food and pizza and French fries are considered vegetables.
But I’m happy to say that there is hope for change. And it’s coming from the students themselves. As reported by the Chicago Tribune on December 7, 2015 students at Theodore Roosevelt High School decided to boycott the school lunch program as a civics project, hoping for healthier lunches. “The students found that if they boycotted lunch, that Aramark (the company supplying the food) wouldn’t get paid, and they saw that as a means of forcing the company and Chicago Public Schools to provide higher quality food,” civics teacher Timothy Meegan told Chicago radio station WBBM. If the boycott were to catch on in other school districts across the country, it could be a game-changer.

Why are we at Joe’s so annoyingly persistent about this “buy local” stuff? Many factors are out of our hands when it comes to our food supply. Most of what ends up on the American dinner table derives from a shockingly few giant agribusinesses. Their reach is long – from designing the (GMO) seeds to planting, fertilizing, processing and shipping. We as consumers cannot with confidence hand over the entire stewardship of our food to these few multinationals. Our passion here at Joe’s is for a local sustainable food supply – food produced by growers who are accountable for what they grow. KYG – Know Your Grower. We are able to look our local farmer in the eye and ask him about his growing practices or even visit his operation. This gives us the confidence that we are eating food that is healthy, wholesome, non-genetically engineered, often better than organic, humanely treated and minimally processed. It is grown with a smaller energy-use footprint and transported short distances. We cannot divorce human health, the economy, ecology, personal (perhaps spiritual) satisfaction or honorable work from food. Food is fundamental. What we eat, where it comes from, the stewardship of food animals, the nurturing and building of soils – all these factors affect us at a cellular and visceral level. Santa Fe is fortunate to have one of the very best Farmers Markets in the nation. Here at Joe’s we offer this bounty to you, keeping dollars in the community. In the interest of transparency, in 2008 Joe’s spent $30,000 on local foods. In 2009, $60,000. Each year since 2012 we have far exceeded $100,000 per annum (over 30% of our purchases).
Land, economy, health – inseparable.

Joe’s gives you $10. What’s the catch? Well the way we figure it, if you cut out the middleman by NOT using a credit card, we can give that back to you and then some. Using a credit card costs the retail merchant usually 3-5% and extra paperwork. Now let’s be real – in today’s world one cannot function without a credit card, but there are still (legal) alternatives that reduce our dependency on the Big Banks and actually save us all money. We have a couple of suggestions: (1.) Joe’s Check List – If you are a “regular” and wish to pay by check, please ask your waiter to get you on the list. (2.) Joe’s own credit card/gift card – purchase a $100 gift card with cash or check or silver or gold coin, get a $10 free bonus! Yup your $100 gift card will actually buy you $110 worth of meals at Joe’s.

 

Giggles– funny license plates: some are off-color –
don’t read if you are easily offended!

uDéjà poo – the feeling you’ve been through this crap before.

uNever laugh at your wife’s choices. You are one of them.
uBoobs – proof that men can focus on two things at once.

uAscend already. The rest of us need the room.

Joe’s Dining
2801 Rodeo Rd (at Zia Rd) Santa Fe, NM   87507
505-471-3800       www.JoesDining.com
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