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How to drink like your naturopath
This was one of the more popular posts from two years ago (I’m not really sure why…ha! ha!) so I’m posting it again this summer while I'm off on vacation. Enjoy! So often I will have people ask me, or more often ask people who know me, “ does Dr. Durkin (Michelle) ever eat meat…have […]
Ta-Da! Announcing My New App, Apple a Day
I have an exciting announcement. Ever since I started working with groups of patients in my detoxes I've been more and more interested in being able to help more people on a larger scale. If you have called to book a new patient appointment in the last year it has not been uncommon for you […]
The most common mistakes people make taking supplements
In my seventeen years of practice I have seen a lot of the same health problems over and over again. I have also seen the same mistakes people make over and over again while trying to reach to their health goals. One area this shows up frequently is in supplementation. To set yourself up for […]
Break up with the scale
With the pandemic over the last year I was forced to pivot on how to continue my group detoxes with people without doing their bioimpedance measurements (weight & body fat) as an objective measurement of results. And I have to say, the pivot has turned out to be better than the original way of doing […]
Try a new vegetable with this recipe
How many of you can say kohlrabi? It wasn't a vegetable I was familiar with until I started getting my veggie box from Fiddlehead Farms. I remember looking at it thinking that it kinda looked a bit like an alien. And, what the heck was I going to make with it. Turns out as long […]
Navigating the mental block I have around holidays
If you are a long time reader of my blog, or a long term patient, or both, you probably already know that I have taken the month of August off three summers in a row. Last summer however was different. A pandemic. Forced time off in the spring. Restriction to travel. The mental block I […]
Three commonly ignored causes of low energy
One of the first signs of declining health is low energy. But so often we blame our low energy on our busy lives, or ageing because our blood work comes back "normal". I believe that is our first mistake. There are many different causes of low energy and very few of them show up on […]
Guest Post – Understanding Chronic Pain
First I'll go over how your body's tissues tell your brain that theyhurt and what stimulates those tissues to feel pain. Then I'll discussthe difference between acute and chronic pain and explain differentmechanisms of chronic pain and the misconceptions associated with them.Finally I'll suggest certain measures you can take to mitigate orreverse chronic pain to […]
Eating healthy when you don’t have time
You want to eat healthy but you don't have time. Sound familiar? While it may be true that your time feels limited, you actually have the same number of hours in the day as everyone else. It's just super easy for the busyness of life to get in the way of eating your best. When you […]
New recipe – let’s go plant-based!
Are you trying to eat a more plant-based diet? I'm happy to announce that my group detox meal plan this spring will have an entirely plant-based menu for participants. Here is a sneak peak of one recipe we will be eating. Grilled Vegetable Beach Bowl Now I'd love to hear from you! Do you have […]
Is fasting good for you?
I have been intermittent fasting on and off for approximately 3 years now and I really enjoy it and see the benefits. Five years ago I would have been a little skeptical because I used to be one of those people who would get a little bit "hangry" if I missed a meal. So what […]
Why a CSA should be part of your health care team
For the past 9 years I have used a CSA. I consider them to be part of my health care team. So if you don't know what a CSA is, it's time to be in the know! CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. When you sign up, you are buying a share of that farm's […]
What’s on a healthy grocery list?
When you become really good at a certain skill it often feels like second nature to you. And it's easy to forget that not everyone has the same skill set. One of the best pieces of advice I have ever received about making a difference with my readers and my patients is to write about […]
What I take for an easy, healthy lunch
Part of my meal prep every week is to have some type of protein ready for my lunches. It makes lunch super easy because all I have to do is add some veggies and I'm good to go. In the summer it is often salad, and in the winter I will mostly take soup. Today […]
Are you a sugar burner or a fat burner?
With dietary advice like “Eat 5-6 small meals a day”, and “Get lots of whole grains to get enough fibre”, being a sugar burner has become the new normal. Unfortunately this so-called “sound dietary advice” is not working for many people. We are walking around with plenty of available stored energy as fat but we are […]
Case study – motor tics in a four year old
As a parent one of the most challenging things to deal with is a neurological diagnosis in your child. Especially when the standard line of treatment is nothing, or strong drugs that have a high risk of side effects. But what if there was something that could bridge the gap? That is what I hope […]
3 big nutrition myths
Are you sometimes confused about all the nutritional information out there? Do you follow certain nutritional guidelines but aren't getting the results you want? Today I am going to cover three nutrition myths that I come across on a regular basis that hold people back from the results they are hoping to achieve. 1. Breakfast […]
Sneak peak – hormone detox recipe
It's been a while since I have run my hormone detox program so I am excited to have it back on the schedule this spring and have some new recipes for participants to try! Did you know that cruciferous veggies are necessary to detoxify environmental estrogens called xenoestrogens? That is why I am including them […]