Sunday, October 31, 2010

Cold Wet Socks

Quick reminder on cold wet sock technique to decrease nasal and chest congestion and get the circulation moving when you are feeling under the weather. First take a 5 minute hot foot bath. Next dip cotton socks in ice cold water and wring them out. Place them on your feet and then put warm woolly socks on top of the cold wet socks. Go to bed and in the morning your congestion will be at least 80% better and the socks will be completely dry. I know it sounds crazy but just try it. It's based on the principles of hydrotherapy and works every time.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Boosting Immunity on Global TV

Last week Global TV came to the clinic again to quickly chat about some key things to remember this cold and flu season. It aired last night on the Family Health segment with Beatrice Politi!

Here's the link to the video clip from last night.

http://www.globaltoronto.com/video/index.html?categoryID=1051988478

Sunday, October 24, 2010

CHFA Show

Another busy weekend! Yesterday I drove up to the Five Tibetans Boutique in Kitchener to do a detox seminar and chat about Delicious Detox. Had a great time with a wonderful group of women and then looking at all the nice yoga clothing, handmade jewellery and other books at the boutique.

Today after a rainy walk in High Park this morning I went to the Canadian Health Food Association expo east at the Metro Convention Centre here in Toronto. It was a great opportunity to chat with different health food distributors, see what was new and exciting in the world of gluten or dairy food food and check out the new trends in the health food industry.

My top (new and exciting) 5 booths this year were:

1. Ecoqol Inc. - I already sell the OJA body compress at Zawada Health but they have come out with a few more compresses that I think are wonderful including large and small joint (for concerns like carpal tunnel, or arthritis) and the baby compress, wonderful for colic and constipation. I ordered some for the clinic so look for them this week! And they had a cool mannequin at their booth covered with the different castor oil compresses!

2. Oregon Ice Cream Co. - WOW. I had the most delicious Julie's Organic Ice Cream bar made of coconut milk covered in chocolate and almonds. Can't wait for this to come to Canada. So creamy.

3. Ever Bamboo - Bamboo charcoal deodorizers totally caught my attention. It was a small little booth with not too many people or gimmicks but what I saw I thought was great. The fridge and freezer deodorizer (instead of baking soda!) was great - made of moso bamboo in sachets. They even had a sport deodorizer for gym bags or sneakers. After their strength dies out you can recycle them and put them in your garden or compost.

4. Tea Aura - I tried a shortbread cookie in the shape of a leaf made with no artificial colours or flavours and made with rooibos chai and another one made with matcha green tea. Not the healthiest thing there but at least it was real ingredients and when I bit into the rooibos chai cookie and really chewed the chai was lovely.

5. Beanitos Black Bean Chips - gluten, soy and corn free... made with whole black beans and some rice, oil, and sea salt. Simple chip/cracker that was tasty. I would totally serve these to entertain... Although I guess most people expect something a little different when they come over here for dinner! 10 chips are 140 calories and actually have 4 grams of protein.

When I got home we did some prep for our upcoming detox.... Yup it's that time. Chris has run out of excuses and I'm ready to go. Just finished making the parsley pesto and hummus from Delicious Detox and I boiled some beets so they are ready in the fridge. Thankfully I still have some soup in the freezer so I don't have to prep too much tonight. Amazing Race is on tonight as is the finale of SYTYCD..... I'm off!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Five Tibetans Boutique

I'm super excited about going to Kitchener this weekend. Of course it's always nice to see my in-laws in Waterloo .... but this weekend I'm going to be in their neighbourhood at the Five Tibetans Boutique doing a detox seminar from 10-12.

I'll be chatting about my cookbook, Delicious Detox of course, but also answering questions, and dispeling myths about detoxification. I'll talk about the importance of detoxification and the many ways to safely do it!

If you would like to attend you can call the studio to see if there is any spots available.

http://www.fivetibetans.ca/main.cfm?id=B08532CB-BEB0-18B1-AB7923B5C8B461FB
(519) 585-7564

See you there!

Boosting Your Immunity

Global TV just left the clinic! They were doing a Family Health segment on boosting your immune system and they came by to get some tips.

Funny enough my last post was about immunity.... couple of other thoughts .... whey protein! I don't usually recommend whey protein as I'm a fan of the cleaner and easier to digest brown rice protein or hemp protein. However if I have a cancer patient or someone whose immunity isn't fantastic I usually recommend whey protein powders because they are high in an amino acid, cysteine, which actually increases glutathione, a potent antioxidant that can help increase immunity.

I'll blog again when I know when it will be airing....

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Cold and Flu Time

Wow last week was nutso with patients coming into the clinic that were sniffling. I said that to a patient and she replied with 'what do you expect you are a doctor?' It was funny.... guess I shouldn't have been so surprised!

Few little tips:
1. Wash your hands.
2. Stay hydrated - keep your throat and nose as moist as possible.
3. Watch your sugar intake as sugar decreases the ability of your white blood cells (your immune system) to work energetically to find those viruses. Sugar makes white blood cells seem drunk and slow.
4. Throw garlic in all of your dishes - natures antibiotic.
5. Up your vitamin C - 1000 - 3000 mg extra during the cold and flu season can be a great thing.
6. Manage stress - cortisol (stress hormone) also decreases your immunity. Exercise, laugh, pet your dog, talk to a loved one.... you get the picture!
7. Come in to Zawada Health to get your immune booster homeopathic flu shot. We've been doing it for the last 5 years and its helped many decrease their susceptibility and/or decrease the intensity and duration of their symptoms if they do get sick. I usually recommend one a month starting now to get your through the season!

Pumpkin Seeds

What a wonderful Fall day! When Chris and I woke up this morning we knew we had to start the day with a walk through the park (High Park). We both had crazy busy Saturdays with work and we even went out Gorgeous colours changing on the trees and so many people were out enjoying the sunshine. Toronto was buzzing with runners as it was the Toronto Marathon weekend as well.

We walked and picked up some more 'nuts' (little acorns) for our Fall dining table centerpiece (it's the only Martha Stewart type thing I've done in months!) and then decided to walk up to Bloor for breakfast at Dr. Generosity. We're usually up way too early to eat there but it was already 10 am so we went for some tasty eggs.

On our way back we saw so many pumpkins and kids excited about carving pumpkins for Halloween. So of course the first thing I think of is that delicious loaf I made a couple of weeks ago and how nutritious pumpkin seeds are. Sooooo this year don't throw out the pumpkin seeds when carving your jack-o-lanterns!

The seeds are a great source of zinc, a mineral that is super important for your immune system and the prostate gland. The seeds are also a great source of magnesium which helps blood vessels relax which is great for high blood pressure. Great little afternoon snack especially if you are stressed or want to relax before bedtime!

If buying them at a store look for raw and unsalted and unroasted. When eating them from your pumpkin, wash and dry them and put on a baking sheet with a touch of olive oil and sea salt. Even better then the sea salt (if you are feeling adventurous) is to toss with cayenne or curry powder.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving

I have a lot to be thankful for ... I have spent the last 5 days surrounded by family and lots of love. My sister Ang came home from Edmonton for a visit - one of my receptionists, Sabrina, was in cahoots with Chris and Ang and had moved around my busy schedule without me knowing! My brother-in-law, David was also in town (from Winnipeg) so we had a full house filled with fun and laughs.

Of course Ang coming to town, meant more yoga! Thursday night we checked out a new Moksha studio that opened in Hamilton (www.mokshayogahamilton.com) and did an evening class. BEAUTIFUL studio. Amy and Nicole have done a wonderful job in creating a space that flows perfectly and is elegant with clean lines. No trip to Hamilton ends without a McMaster tour and drive through memory lane. We were starving after yoga so we went to The Bean Bar in Westdale, a restaurant my parents would take me to once in awhile when they came to visit. Same menu, same vibe as YEARS ago.... loved it. Always a great feeling to drive through the area and remember all the great spots including Cootes Paradise, where I used to run.

Friday morning we got up and checked out another new studio - Power Yoga Canada's Liberty Village studio. Cool spot on Liberty Street with exposed brick inside! We did a 90 minute power yoga class and I got to see Ang attempt a headstand which was great. Glad it wasn't super hot in there as my scapulas and my gluts were starting to seize due to the class the night before!

Friday night the 4 siblings made a big feast including two Delicious Detox faves - the halibut and the crunchy broccoli. It was great for all of us to spend the night together and it finished with the Morley's favourite Baskin Robbins, World Class Chocolate ice cream.

Saturday was spent in Waterloo, for a luncheon wedding (congrats Laurie and Jason!) and then a great evening with my in-laws. Sunday we were off to Niagara to visit my parents and of course more food. I'm grateful the weather was so nice as it enabled us to go for a walk a couple of times during the day, after lunch and after dinner.

Today we dropped Ang off at the airport ..... booooo.... and then we went home to do some work and organize ourselves for the week. I had picked up a recent copy of Tonic magazine at the Cheese Boutique on Friday but didn't have a chance to read through it until today. I was pleasantly surprised to see a short little book review on Delicious Detox. Tonic says `Dr.Morley explains the basics of detox programs and provides an incredible array of mouth-watering recipes that will make you want to detox permanently.`

This line was so amazing to read as this last part of the sentence is exactly what I wanted to accomplish with the book. You can eat like this more than just for 3 weeks, twice a year. The recipes are also easy to make so you don`t have to be a chef and they are fairly quick to make with most dishes on the table in less than 30 minutes.

I also was opening mail and opened up my Alumni magazine from McMaster, McMaster Times. They mentioned on their author page my name and book! Crazy!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and had a chance to share some food and love with their loved ones. AND if you ate too much, that`s ok. Tomorrow is a new day, start over, and remember to get back on track for either the xmas party season or all-inclusive bikini season or just plain ole` good health.