Author name: Michelle Durkin

If you have been following Doctor as Teacher Tuesday for a while you might already know that Gretchen Rubin is one of my favourite authors to learn great ideas about habit change from. For the last two years in January I have recommended taking her Tendency Quiz to find out how to work with your […]

Ever wonder why ethnic food tastes so great? I’ll let you in on a little secret – they use simple ingredients but the spices are what makes the meal amazing. The good news is that you can do the same thing in your own kitchen. Here is a simple recipe that I came across when

Welcome back from the holidays everyone! I hope you had a wonderful holiday and are ready to make 2018 one of the best year’s yet. In order to do that I am going to keep one of my favourite quotes top of mind. “It’s easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of

Christmas is almost here and the new year is coming. I like to take a step back during this busy time and really reflect on the year that has just gone by. I want to be grateful for what I have instead of getting sucked into the mass marketing machine of Christmas. For me the

The Christmas season tends to be the most common time of year that people stray away from their healthy eating goals. I find it interesting how the indulgences of Christmas Day have evolved over time to span the entire month of December. Now don’t get me wrong, I love the Christmas cookies that my mom makes

Are you worried about gaining weight over the holidays? I know that it was always on my radar in the past because, believe it or not, I genetically have a propensity for blood sugar imbalances that lead to weight gain and cardiovascular disease. But once I knew which hormones I had out of balance, and

The Canada Food Guide is finally getting a healthy revision and I for one am happy about it. Although it’s not exactly what I will be recommending, it’s a step in the right direction. In my 13 years of practice I have never once recommended the Canada Food Guide as a reference for patients to

About a week ago I attended the Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors annual convention. This is an opportunity to see several lectures over 3 days on topics that contribute to our continuing education, but more importantly, help our patients get better. This year’s topic was “Exploring Clinical Innovations in Naturopathic Medicine”. I thought I would

One of my favourite take-out meals used to be pad thai but I stopped eating it because of all the pasta. Even though it is gluten-free (rice pasta) there are still too many carbs in it to be healthy for my blood sugar (in a previous post, I discussed how my thyroid is so much

Did you know that you can decrease inflammation by changing the food you eat? Food is not just a source of calories. Think of the food you eat as messages that go directly to your genes. Research shows that almost every chronic disease, at it’s root, is caused by unregulated inflammation. Think heart disease, cancer,