Reserve Joe’s Red Room – perfect for parties!
Looking for totally unique, totally Santa Fe holiday gifts? Two accomplished local artists are showing on Joe’s walls currently. Nancy Dean Kreger’s brilliant watercolors in the main dining room and Bill Todino’s stark almost sacred photographs are in the Red Room. All works are for sale, just add it to your lunch check!
And don’t forget Joe’s gift cards – buy $100 worth and get $10 free bonus for yourself! What could be easier?
Dija Know? Countries that have the highest fish consumption (Omega 3’s) have the lowest incidence of neurodegenerative disease and depression.
Dija Know? Grass fed and finished meats have high levels of Omega 3’s. Feedlot meats do not – that’s a high price to pay for denuded food.
Dija Know? Coconut oil has been a staple in our home for years. We first fed it to our horses in about 2001. Recently I was told it’s also great for the skin, helping with eczema, psoriasis, dandruff and fungal infections.
Memory Part 5 – Where was I? Oh yes – continuing the series on natural therapies for neurodegenerative conditions such as memory decline, dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and ALS (see last 4 newsletters, if you are interested.)
As my mother entered her final 4 months here, she was prescribed 2 drugs commonly given to the elderly: Zoloft and Aricept. She did not appear to be depressed nor was her behavior anything but interested, engaged and present. But based on her exhibiting some new fears (fear of falling being the most notable), the scrips were put in place. Observing and living with her decline and reading with shock the drug inserts, later proved to be some of the strongest motivators for me to look deeply into alternatives to routinely prescribed drugs. My knowledge base at the time was too meager to be helpful to my mother and my trust in the medical profession kept me hopeful that the drugs would not harm her and perhaps even help. After all, what did I know!? I understand I’m treading on toes here, but there is no value whatsoever in varnishing the truth/facts of my experience. Mom was not helped at all. In fact her anxiety was painfully exacerbated. Reading her drug inserts I recall noting that the side effects from the medication were precisely the same as the symptoms the drug was supposed to treat. What!? It just did not make any sense to me.
Cut to the present. There is a whole new generation of drugs that are currently prescribed for neurodegenerative conditions with similarly dismal results.
But what I am happy to report is there’s also a whole new direction in the prevention and treatment of brain dysfunction and deterioration. A natural effective and far less dangerous approach is emerging. Some physicians are taking note. You can google Dr. Fred Pescatore, Dr. Gianni Belcaro and others who are fully engaged in research and treatment of brain dysfunction using natural methods.
So, what is Magic Bullet #4 for memory loss, dementia, Alzheimer’s and related disorders? As far back as the 1500’s an extraction from tree bark was used to cure scurvy – a severe deficiency of Vitamin C. Much later in the 1950’s this chemical from pine bark was isolated and named Pycnogenol.
One cannot truly separate the biological processes of these rather complex natural substances, but for ease of discussion we can say the action of Pycnogenol is three-pronged: enhancement of blood flow, reduction of inflammation and strengthening anti-oxidant activity protective of brain tissue.
It is known that in Alzheimer’s one of the problems is a decrease in blood flow to the brain. The brain requires 20% of the body’s oxygen. So getting oxygen-carrying blood to the brain is paramount. The Alzheimer’s brain shows a sticky plaque called amyloid b, which can cause devastating vascular damage as well as damage to nerve pathways. Pycnogenol is shown to enhance blood flow to the brain and to prevent damage caused by amyloid b.
Inflammation is a prominent marker in the brains of dementia, Alzheimer’s patients. In the inflammatory process certain enzyme production is ramped up causing cellular destruction. In an ordinary injury this can be felt as heat, pain and swelling. In the brain one can assume cellular ravage. Pine bark extract, Pycnogenol, shows a remarkable ability to reduce inflammation. How? It shuts off this over production of enzymes.
Pycnogenol generates incredibly strong anti-oxidant activity. It is comprised of many flavinoids that affect and extend the action and interaction of Vitamin C and E – strong antioxidants in their own right.
In summation, Pycnogenol:
1. Increases blood flow and oxygen to the brain.
2. Protects against the build-up of the sticky and damaging substance known as amyloid b.
3. Acts in its own right as a powerful antioxidant as well as extending the life of Vitamins C and E. Thus the entire anti-oxidant network is synergized to deactivate free radicals in their rampage to damage brain cells (and all cells).
4. Nullifies highly damaging brain inflammation.
Here are some real life studies:
An Australian study on 101 elderly patients lasting 3 months, the Pycnogenol group showed improvement in memory scores and lowered biomarkers for free radical damage as compared to the non-Pycnogenol group. Dosage was 150mg per day.
In a younger population, a study on Italian college students, after 8 weeks showed notable improvements in mood, memory and alertness. As well, their anxiety levels reduced by 17%. Dosage 100mg per day.
In a study on mice, one group fed Pycnogenol showed marked improvement in memory and learning ability when compared to their littermates who were not fed Pycnogenol. The Pycnogenol group retained memory levels close to that of young mice.
I’m finding there are many elegant natural remedies and preventatives for the deterioration of brain function. But as you add anything new and powerful to your supplement regimen, if you are under a MD’s care, you are wise to review it with him/her.
Sheila’s caveat – when I speak of Magic Bullets, I am emphatic that the rock solid foundation for any health regimen is full spectrum, high quality, food-based nutrition. One then adds specific supplements and nutraceuticals. But you cannot expect permanent results without a stellar food base. Also remember not every therapy works the same for everyone.
Why is locally grown food so very important to Joe’s? Why do we keep hammering on this “buy local” theme? There are many factors that 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 influence reaches from designing the (GMO) seeds to planting, harvesting, 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 … whether we slow down enough to be aware of it or not. We are fortunate in Santa Fe to have a dedicated farm base producing a wonderful array of goods. Here at Joe’s we do our best to 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 that increased to $60,000. And for 2012 we exceeded $100,000. During the growing season as much as 95% of our produce is locally sourced.
Land, economy, health – inseparable.
*Here are some of the farmers/ranchers we have developed long-standing partnerships with – Monte Vista Organics (Dave and Loretta), Camino de Paz Farm & School (Greg & Patty), Shepherd’s Lamb (Antonio and Molly), La Mont’s Buffalo (Monte and Lana), Green Tractor Farms (Tom and Mary), Synergia Ranch (Mark), La Montanita Co-Op, Matt Romero Farms.
Joe’s hand-made French chocolate truffles. Do you know anyone who wouldn’t love a package of “melt in your mouth” truffles? $1.99 @
or 6 for the price of 5 — $9.95
Tired of still paying for BB’s (big banks) bailouts? Tired of lining the pockets of the uber-rich Wall Street bankers? DiJa know… in 2011 a congressional audit of the Federal Reserve found that the Fed gave 26 trillion dollars from American taxpayers to bail out the “too big to fail” banks with a hefty portion of it going to obscene CEO bonuses. Can you imagine — had this staggering figure been re-directed to the people of the US, how different the picture could have looked today? Manufacturing starts, job creation, skills training, roads and bridges repair, national parks, education, etc. Every time we use a credit card, part of that 3%-5% fee contributes to the BB’s. Now let’s be real – in today’s world you cannot function without a cc, but there are still (legal) alternatives that can save money and reduce our dependency on and subsidies to the BB’s. We have a couple of suggestions: (1.) Are you on 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 “frequent diner” or gift card – purchase a $100 gift card with cash or check, get a $10 card free!
Giggles:
I always take life with a grain of salt . . . and a slice of lime . . . and a shot of tequila.
Joe’s
2801 Rodeo Rd (at Zia Rd) Santa Fe, NM 87507
505-471-3800 www.JoesDining.com
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