Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 741 ｜ How Functional Medicine Saved My Life

00:00:00.000 Today we've got with us Taylor Dukes. You might know Taylor Dukes from her Instagram account,

00:00:04.800 Taylor Dukes Wellness, or her website, taylordukeswellness.com. She is the co-founder

00:00:10.960 of Restore and Revive Wellness Center. She is a functional medicine expert. She is such an

00:00:16.720 amazing person. She's going to give us so much advice today about healthy and clean and toxic

00:00:23.720 free living. And she's going to tell us about her journey, how she got into this space,

00:00:28.900 how she became an expert in functional medicine. And then she is also going to give us an update on

00:00:35.160 her health journey. Taylor was diagnosed with a brain tumor a few months ago. And as someone who

00:00:41.780 really cares about health and integrative and functional medicine, she has a really unique

00:00:46.280 perspective and a lot of wisdom and such godly encouragement for us today. I know that Relatable

00:00:53.160 is going to love this episode. All of you Related Bells and Related Bros out there,

00:00:58.500 this one is going to be super popular because of the wisdom that she brings to the table. So

00:01:03.780 without further ado, here is our friend Taylor Dukes. And this episode is brought to you by

00:01:08.700 our friends at Good Ranchers. Go to goodranchers.com. Use promo code Allie at checkout. That's

00:01:13.480 goodranchers.com. Code Allie. Thanks so much for joining us. For those who don't follow you,

00:01:27.760 Taylor Dukes Wellness. Who are you? What do you do? I am Taylor Dukes. I am a family nurse practitioner

00:01:33.720 and I have a functional medicine private practice in a wellness center in Fort Worth.

00:01:38.340 And I wasn't always into wellness. I didn't grow up super healthy, but I got into this because I was

00:01:43.280 sick and I love it. I love what I do. I get to help people and get to the root cause of their

00:01:47.960 medical issues. And it's the best. I started following you because you post a lot about

00:01:53.800 non-toxic or less toxic alternatives to maybe everyday products that we use. You post all kinds

00:02:00.600 of tips if your kids are sick or if you're sick or things like that. So tell me a little bit

00:02:05.400 about your story, how you started kind of in this world. I don't want to call you an influencer

00:02:10.760 because you're so much more than that, but online you do influence a lot of people when it comes to

00:02:15.180 wellness. So you talked about being sick. Um, so just tell us how did you move into this world?

00:02:21.760 Yeah. So the world of whether it's integrative, functional, holistic medicine, you know,

00:02:26.480 there's a lot of different terms for it and certifications, but I always say that you either get

00:02:30.280 into it because you're sick or you're just smart. And I was not smart. I was sick. And so I have a

00:02:35.120 story and I went to TCU undergrad nursing school, worked in trauma, ICU, just typical nursing route.

00:02:41.740 And, um, the Lord kind of called me overseas to do some medical mission stuff. And so I was living

00:02:46.720 in Africa and then I went to Ecuador to start up some clinics and through kind of doing those medical

00:02:51.680 mission trips, I got really sick. And, um, I ended up having to get flown home from Ecuador. My mom

00:02:57.300 kind of like moved in with me. I'm like this young professional that's supposed to be at the height of

00:03:01.400 my life. And you're like at 25 or 23, probably 23 and really young. And I wasn't the sick kid growing

00:03:10.180 up, you know, I wasn't the kid with ear infections and strep throat. And I really, and I'm always like

00:03:14.980 optimistic and kind of a power through kind of person, but like not able to get out of bed and

00:03:18.920 debilitating joint pain. And my hair was falling out and it was just all these unexplainable

00:03:23.720 symptoms. And so I was going to all these specialists and I was so convicted because I'm like,

00:03:29.020 here I am a nurse in the medical field that's supposed to advocate for patients. And I didn't

00:03:32.800 know how to advocate for myself, you know, and I was going to the gastroenterologist and getting all

00:03:36.820 these procedures and start this medication and then going to the endocrinologist and was on thyroid

00:03:40.880 meds. And it just kind of felt like a rat race, you know, and I'm trying to like put the pieces of

00:03:45.240 the puzzle together. And so no one really knew you're going to all these doctors and no one could tell you

00:03:50.080 this is the diagnosis. This is what you have. You're just kind of guessing. And it wasn't like I just

00:03:56.280 had stomach symptoms. It was like my hair was falling out, but I had bad joint pain. And

00:04:00.520 it was just, it didn't make sense, honestly. And so, um, my parents were like, gosh, this is not

00:04:06.780 like you. We know our daughter. You're always, you've always been healthy. I've never been on

00:04:11.020 medications, nothing. And so my mom sought out a functional medicine provider and I was like,

00:04:16.460 that is woo woo. That is hocus pocus. I don't believe in it. There's no research. That's not what

00:04:20.840 I learned in nursing school. And come to find out it was a MD, you know, that was in Austin at the

00:04:25.320 time. And she did this whole assessment, kind of started putting pieces of the puzzle together.

00:04:30.480 Um, you know, it was a series of things that led me to where I was and I had parasites and just all

00:04:34.740 kinds of crazy things from living abroad. And I was on long-term antibiotics because I didn't want

00:04:39.000 malaria. And so you just kind of see all these little pieces of the puzzle that started adding up

00:04:43.120 and, um, through her, I mean, truly by God's grace, I was under her care. She changed my life,

00:04:49.340 not only personally in my health, but also the trajectory of my career and, um, changed my

00:04:54.220 diet, my lifestyle. I was able to get off meds, which I'm all for meds. I prescribe meds in my

00:04:58.940 practice, but just meds that cover up symptoms. You know, people are like, well, maybe I'll take

00:05:03.220 that for my headache. No one asks the why question. Like, why are you having headaches? Why are you

00:05:08.080 having stomach issues? Why are you having thyroid? And so truly she changed my life. And I was like,

00:05:13.800 oh my goodness, I need to go back to school and become, you know, a nurse practitioner or do

00:05:17.580 something. And I ended up, um, working as a nurse for a two times New York times, bestselling author,

00:05:22.800 Amy Meyer. She's really big into thyroid and autoimmune health. And that was a huge blessing.

00:05:27.100 The Lord really used that to segue me into like, how can you make this a profession after I had

00:05:31.540 gotten better after a few years. So I was her nurse for years. And then I went back to school

00:05:35.680 and started my own private practice and wellness center. And it really is my ministry. I'm like,

00:05:40.100 you get to restore people's health so that they can use their God-given gifts to bring glory to him,

00:05:44.580 whether they view it as God-given gifts or not, you know? And so what I do is more just asking the,

00:05:49.700 like, you have all these symptoms, but why, and how can we get to the root cause of it?

00:05:52.960 So going back to your first visit with that functional medicine doctor, you at first thought,

00:05:58.420 okay, this is woo-woo. This is not going to be a scientific as, you know, I think that it should be.

00:06:04.440 Tell me about your first experience with her versus the first time you went to say the

00:06:09.400 endocrinologist and these other doctors who kind of put you on the different

00:06:12.680 medications and down different routes that weren't really helping. Like what kind of

00:06:17.640 questions did she ask? How did she address your symptoms differently than those other doctors?

00:06:22.300 That's such a good question. So, and I don't think I've ever been asked that question,

00:06:25.420 but it was very different in the sense I will start off and say that, you know, it was a cash

00:06:30.100 pay practice. And so because of insurance, people don't realize they're like, well, why can't all

00:06:34.220 doctors spend an hour and a half with you? And it's because the insurance model, right? You got to get

00:06:38.060 this many people in and out. You only have 15 minutes with your doctor. And so I don't fault

00:06:42.260 our doctors. I'm like, it's what you have to do to make money, right? Like to see a certain amount

00:06:46.660 of patients. But the one thing that really set that provider apart, and even what I do with patients

00:06:51.220 now is the time because your whole, it's not just symptoms. It's not just infertility or headaches.

00:06:57.080 It's, there's other pieces to the puzzle and you have to take the time to tell the story.

00:07:01.740 And so, um, you know, she's asking me about, were you a C-section baby? Were you breastfed or

00:07:06.300 bottle fed going back? I'm like, I don't know who cares, but really everything tells the story.

00:07:12.920 And, um, so one, the time was the huge difference with her and I'll just give the gastroenterologist

00:07:18.000 for an example. Um, you know, I'd been really sick, gotten a couple stomach bugs while living

00:07:22.960 abroad. And, um, you know, I was like, Oh, I'm just not used to the food here and it's Africa

00:07:27.660 and Ecuador. And this is just life as a missionary. And, um, so, you know, I kind of discounted those

00:07:32.960 things, but she was really big on talking about my stomach and the gut and how it relates to a lot

00:07:37.320 of things. And then, you know, I was going to the gastroenterologist and he's like, well,

00:07:40.760 let's do a colonoscopy. Let's do an endoscopy. And they didn't find anything. And then it makes you

00:07:44.880 feel crazy. Cause you're like, but I swear this isn't normal. And, um, he had put me on some

00:07:49.700 medications and try this, do this. And I just felt like it was a lot of band-aids that he was,

00:07:54.720 you know, I was also trusting him and he's a great guy. He doesn't know about all this other

00:07:58.080 stuff. That's the thing that makes me sad is that we're not taught this in medical school or nurse

00:08:02.080 practitioner nursing school. Um, so it was really just the time asking the why question, putting

00:08:07.660 pieces of the puzzle together, not viewing my body as like, you have a hormone system and a gut system

00:08:13.500 and an immune system. It's like everything works together. The way that God designed our bodies,

00:08:17.780 it, it all works together and it's all, it's not just different systems. It's one body, but

00:08:22.060 learning how things relate, um, kind of putting the pieces of the puzzle together, asking about my

00:08:27.180 lifestyle. I'm like, well, I don't know, you know, like I wasn't into healthy eating. I grew up. My mom

00:08:32.040 was very healthy. Um, but really, I mean, she changed my lifestyle, my diet, my stress sleep. I was

00:08:38.660 working, you know, when I was stressed, trauma, ICU night shift, like that's crazy for your body.

00:08:43.280 Oh my gosh. Yeah. So she just kind of considered all inputs. And, um, it's not like I got better

00:08:47.580 overnight. It was not like one week on going gluten free or whatever, you know, it was this

00:08:51.780 magical cure. But I started to see after a couple of weeks, a couple of months, wow, I don't need

00:08:56.520 this medication or I feel better in this way, or I haven't, my hair's not falling out anymore.

00:09:00.920 Yeah. And so it was, it's definitely one of those things with health. It's not a quick fix.

00:09:05.060 It's not a quick fat or cleanser diet. It was changing my lifestyle and really changed my life.

00:09:10.100 And then my career changed your, or recommended that you change how you sleep, how you eat,

00:09:16.040 probably maybe how you deal with stress, your nervous system and all of that. And eventually

00:09:21.360 you got off the medications that you were on. Wow. Yes. And then treated some imbalances.

00:09:26.840 Um, I had some toxicity of some certain things in my body and she tested this like through blood

00:09:31.920 tests, urine and blood. Okay. Wow. So it was really fascinating and it definitely seemed overwhelming.

00:09:38.300 And, you know, especially when I work with patients, I'm like, it's not this overnight,

00:09:41.880 everything has to change. You know what I mean? It's like, how can I slowly implement things that

00:09:46.720 will long-term make a huge impact? And again, I was not like, I want to be healthy. This is new year,

00:09:52.800 new me type thing. For me, it was like, I was desperate and I was so sick. And I'd gone to all

00:09:57.220 these people that I thought they have the answers. They're the specialist, you know? And no one was,

00:10:02.000 I wasn't getting better, which looking back, I'm like, okay, God, I had to go through all of that

00:10:05.520 to learn like, you know, exactly what I do now. And yeah, it's so interesting how we really do

00:10:11.800 kind of have this mentality about functional medicine or integrative medicine, or especially

00:10:16.680 if you hear the word like holistic, we think, okay, that person, that doctor, whatever, they're

00:10:22.620 only going to give me essential oils. They're never going to give me an antibiotic, even if I'm like

00:10:27.240 dying of a bladder infection or something. And they just don't believe in science. They only believe

00:10:32.500 kind of this new age stuff. But obviously like what you just described in functional medicine and

00:10:37.060 what you do now is not just, well, here's some lavender for everything that ails you.

00:10:42.240 You are just looking at the root causes and then using the great gift of actual science to figure

00:10:50.020 out how to solve those problems at the root level. Why do you think it is that so many of us,

00:10:56.660 even those of us who can maybe, you know, we like more natural stuff, but our first thought when we

00:11:01.080 hear holistic or integrative or functional is woo woo ineffective. That was my thought too.

00:11:08.580 You know, it's crazy. It's, it's out there. It's like, is it from medical school? Is it from

00:11:13.820 just propaganda? Like, I think it's a combination. Like, and I really will say, like, I feel like in

00:11:18.420 the last couple of years, people are getting more into health and asking why questions and making

00:11:23.020 choices for their health. And so I'm less of a freak now. You know what I mean? Like I'm maybe more

00:11:27.600 normal and people are like, Oh, I actually like have a question, you know? Um, and I don't know.

00:11:32.520 I really don't know. I like to specifically answer your question. Cause I feel like we talked about

00:11:37.620 complimenting alternative medicine in nursing school, but it was such a short snippet of it,

00:11:41.540 but I'm the same way. And I even like, I feel like sometimes I have to justify it to people,

00:11:45.840 which I have nothing to prove. I am who I am and I do what I do and I love it. And it's my passion.

00:11:49.680 It's literally what God has put me here to do. But you know, I do sometimes find myself saying,

00:11:54.260 I don't like the term holistic because it gets such a bad rap. And even like my neurosurgeon,

00:11:58.960 who's amazing and really into diet and lifestyle, he basically had told me, I was like, you know,

00:12:03.500 I don't just like stand outside and earth and like rub lavender on my head and eat kale and call it a

00:12:07.860 day. You know, I was like, I love nutrient dense food and oils and all the things, but, um, you know,

00:12:12.480 I kind of have to tell people that there is more science. And I think there are some people that do

00:12:15.900 give it a bad rap, you know, and like a lot of information out there and even social media. And

00:12:20.140 I do feel like with an integrative, more functional approach and how I explain it to people is I take

00:12:24.700 the best of the conventional world and the holistic world, and we merge the two and integrate it for

00:12:29.320 the best outcomes. And like we're left side of heaven. Not everybody's going to live in this

00:12:33.340 perfectly healed body. And sometimes medications are not only necessary, but life saving, you know,

00:12:38.020 and that's where I tell people that, but my goal is I don't want to just put people on medicines to

00:12:42.320 cover up a symptom and then you're medicating another side effect. And then people don't even know

00:12:46.120 where their symptoms originated. And so I don't know why it gets a bad rap, but it definitely

00:12:50.360 does. I still hear it. And I do find myself being like, okay, here's the deal. I love oils. I love

00:12:55.300 the nutrient, but I also have reverence for our conventional model when it comes to traumas

00:12:59.220 emergency. I mean, I've lived in third world countries. We are so blessed with the access to

00:13:03.280 care, but I feel like where our medical system is getting it wrong is asking the why question

00:13:07.260 and prevention and actually getting to the root cause.

00:13:16.120 Tell me a little bit more about what you think like mainstream, um, medical wisdom gets wrong

00:13:29.700 as far as not just diagnosing people with things, but how we treat things. Like I think about my

00:13:37.620 grandmother, she died a couple of years ago and it's not even fully known what she died of. She had

00:13:42.700 epilepsy and epilepsy is like notoriously hard to find the right medication for it's something that's

00:13:48.480 in my family. And she just kept on getting all these different side effects from all the different

00:13:53.120 medications and they would increase the medicine and then they would, you know, lower the dose or

00:13:57.520 change the dose or add something. And it was like, there were just days and I'm like, I just feel like

00:14:01.980 we should stop all medication and figure out what exactly is going on. Like, why does she also

00:14:06.580 constantly have these infections? She's constantly on antibiotics and all this stuff. And it was like,

00:14:11.000 if you ever brought up, well, why is this happening? Is there anything that we can change in her diet?

00:14:15.880 Is there anything else we could do? And the doctors would always just say, no, no. Like that's some

00:14:20.460 kind of crazy conspiracy theory. And I guess I just answered my own question to me. That is like

00:14:25.480 the saddest thing is that when you ask a doctor, is there anything else I can do except for taking

00:14:29.700 this medication? It is almost always no. And like, I just, I have a hard time understanding why that is.

00:14:36.400 I do too. And I'm like, in all my spare time in the future, I'm like, that's why I would love to

00:14:42.460 spend time equipping practitioners because I will say, I think the core at why they poo-poo it is

00:14:47.480 they're not taught it in school. They're textbook, right? You go to your classes, you have your

00:14:50.980 professors, you have your curriculum and it's all that you're taught. And you're not taught to

00:14:55.500 question anything or make decisions for yourself or wonder why something is the way it is. And we have a

00:15:00.840 lot of sound medical textbooks and research and all of that, but a lot of it's actually hasn't been

00:15:04.420 updated in a while, right? It takes a long time. And so, you know, when I tell people, they're like,

00:15:09.540 how did you learn what you did? And I really, I got sick and that's what made me have an open mind.

00:15:13.680 And I was honestly desperate. And I think that it went from an integrative, holistic, functional

00:15:20.180 approach. People just have more tools in their tool belt versus our traditional medical model is

00:15:24.580 what's the problem. You come in with a headache. Okay. What, what are the five different meds I can give

00:15:28.920 to you? And it's like, you just have limited tools in your tool belt. It's like you figure out the

00:15:33.540 problem, the complaint, you figure out the solution, which is usually a pharmaceutical

00:15:36.500 or surgical intervention, or maybe watch and wait. And that's all they're taught. So that's

00:15:42.060 their limited toolbox versus, you know, in the integrative approach, it's, hmm, what else could

00:15:46.300 be causing it? Is it triggered around your cycle? You know, is it triggered by weather changes? Is it

00:15:50.820 brought on by stress? Do you have nutrient deficiencies, you know, like a magnesium deficiency

00:15:56.100 that's leading to a tension headache. And so, you know, that's where they're just not taught to think

00:16:00.820 outside the box and have those tools and resources, which is a really big bummer because I feel like

00:16:05.700 I've talked to a lot of, um, like my friend's parents, like middle-aged towards the end of

00:16:10.380 their career, um, about to retire physicians, like family traditional practice. And they've said,

00:16:15.720 man, like we just, our careers aren't as satisfying anymore because we feel like this patient keeps

00:16:19.680 coming back and we don't know what else to do. We've done everything we know to do. We've ruled out

00:16:23.260 the big stuff, but our hands are tied and we just, and you know, some people want to ask questions,

00:16:27.780 but they're also so far into their career that they just keep doing what they're taught to do.

00:16:31.320 Yeah. So it's just kind of like, we're stuck in a cycle. Yeah. And okay. So for the person who

00:16:38.000 they're just kind of learning about this and they're like, okay, I kind of want to start, um,

00:16:45.040 making sure that I'm doing everything in my own life to address the root causes that I have. Maybe,

00:16:51.300 maybe they're not ready yet to go to a functional medicine practice, or maybe they just don't have

00:16:56.060 access to one yet, but they want to start taking steps in their own life to live. What is typically

00:17:00.640 referred to as like a more non-toxic life. It's very overwhelming for people at the beginning.

00:17:06.840 Like, what do you recommend? What's like a crash course beginners tips for someone that's like,

00:17:11.800 I don't even know how to hand, like take control of my health and handle all this. What the heck do

00:17:16.500 I do? Yeah. And I feel like that's a good place to be because you're curious, you want to do

00:17:20.840 something, but it doesn't have to be this extreme whole house makeover, toss all these chemicals,

00:17:25.920 you know? And I think also people don't even realize how many chemicals are in our daily life

00:17:29.340 and how it can contribute to symptoms. And so, um, yeah, you don't want to put fear in people.

00:17:34.320 You want people to care about their health and steward their bodies. And I think a lot of people

00:17:38.160 have settled for just like, Oh, I'm feeling this is just the way that I am and it's normal. And so

00:17:42.460 and so has PMS and they get this. And so I think I would encourage people to say, what,

00:17:48.160 what do I want to improve? Whether that's energy or maybe it's hormonal stuff. And there are specific

00:17:52.800 things you can do for each, whether it's energy, stress, sleep issues. Um, so it really will depend

00:17:58.880 on the person, but I would say some basics. And I think when people think about like cleaning up

00:18:02.940 their lifestyle or their diet or non-toxic living, it can get overwhelming and we'll do these cleanses

00:18:07.520 or these, they'll get down this rabbit trail of a blog. And I always tell people, I'm like,

00:18:11.480 just get back to basics. Like really one of the best things you can do is eat real food,

00:18:15.700 you know, just cause we have so many package things available. And, um, you know, I have to

00:18:20.560 eat on the go. I'm a mom with two kids and three businesses. And so I have to eat on the go and

00:18:24.800 out too, but just really like getting around the family table, you know, however many times the

00:18:29.040 dinner table with family or friends and community and just eating real food. That's a very basic thing,

00:18:33.920 but that's hard for a lot of people. Yeah. And what do you mean by real food? Does rice count as real

00:18:39.800 food or what exactly is that? I would say yes. And I always tell people I'm like to simplify it,

00:18:45.220 shop the perimeter of the grocery store. You know, it's like produce, healthy fruits, vegetables,

00:18:50.500 you know, some people, I know you can go, you can make an argument for every diet, actually.

00:18:53.540 Like I can make an argument for why you should do this or this, but, and everybody's different.

00:18:57.760 Listen to your body. That's what I also say. God gave us wise bodies and we need to listen to it

00:19:01.860 and care for them. And, um, you know, when I say, think of eat real food and something that we do in

00:19:06.140 our family is like, we eat vegetables with almost every meal. And even if it's a smoothie,

00:19:10.360 I'm throwing some spinach in there in the morning or kale. Um, or if we do scrambled eggs,

00:19:14.640 we'll throw in some spinach, you know? Um, so I, when I, for me, what that looks like,

00:19:18.760 and everybody's totally different, but like, you know, just eating eggs and vegetables and meat and,

00:19:25.120 um, you know, fish and just really simple things that you can make to be delicious,

00:19:30.500 but without all the extra sugars and additives and all the junk should people care about organic

00:19:37.260 versus not organic. So I really do strive. There's something called the environmental working

00:19:42.760 group, the EWG. They're a great resource online to check for chemicals and products and toxicity

00:19:47.360 levels and, um, also to check for produce and pesticides. And so, you know, realistically,

00:19:53.620 I just tell people to start eating real fruits and vegetables and if they can afford it in their

00:19:57.740 budget, I really do like organic. Um, but a lot of people can't, and that's not realistic. And so,

00:20:03.500 and the thing is organic versus not organic. What's the biggest differentiator?

00:20:07.660 Um, just as far as what it's sprayed in and pesticides and things like that. And so,

00:20:12.580 which are chemicals. And I actually have tested my body and other people that I've worked with and

00:20:17.540 we're exposed to a lot on a daily basis. And so, you know, I would say prioritize eating,

00:20:22.840 just buying real fruits and vegetables first. And then if you can afford it,

00:20:26.760 or there's something called the dirty dozen and the clean 15 and the environmental working group

00:20:31.500 every year comes out with a list that says the dirty dozen, you know, these 12 things of produce

00:20:36.340 are the highest sprayed and pesticides and chemicals, which are not good for your health.

00:20:40.420 And the clean 15 are the ones that have less pesticide revenue residue. Yeah. So anyway,

00:20:46.280 so that's what I tell people. I'm like, just focus on the clean 15. You know, if you do not

00:20:50.480 need to buy those organic, like avocados and bananas, they have shells, they're not sprayed.

00:20:54.460 Right. Um, you know, and I know a lot of people are saying, well, probably be like,

00:20:57.100 well, what's the big deal with pesticides? Doesn't it keep stuff off our food? And it's,

00:21:01.060 it's one of those things where the more research comes out and glyphosate and the spraying of crops and

00:21:06.260 especially a lot of women that have a lot of hormone endocrine issues. Um, you know,

00:21:11.660 certain chemicals can mimic estrogen in the body causing what's called estrogen dominance. So that

00:21:17.200 can lead to everything from PCOS to PMS infertility. And I'm not saying that's at the root of all of

00:21:24.080 those things. You know, you also have to look at stress and sleep, but it's something that,

00:21:28.600 you know, the, all of the things that we put on our bodies, um, you know, they can have a lot of

00:21:32.400 chemicals and disrupt our body's natural hormones and how we respond to things. And so I would say

00:21:37.560 eating real food, drinking enough water. I love filtered water, but just drink water, you know,

00:21:43.460 not just drinking. I think so many people realize they have coffee in the morning and they have a

00:21:47.420 mid morning tea, then they might have an energy drink and they're like, Oh, I had water at dinner.

00:21:51.560 And so just basics of just eating food that comes from the earth, whether it's animals, fruits,

00:21:56.760 vegetables, um, you know, hydrating enough. Like I always say half your body weight and ounces of

00:22:03.260 water. So if you're 120 pounds, 60 ounces of water, um, and sleeping, I don't think people,

00:22:09.780 people really under how much should we be sleeping? I know everyone's different, but

00:22:15.100 is ideal. And you know what? There are seasons of life where if you have a newborn baby, that's not

00:22:21.580 realistic. And so you, you kind of, you do what you can with where you're at and whatever season

00:22:26.240 you're in, but aiming for sleep, I think stress is really, really big. And it's one of those things

00:22:31.440 where sometimes there's stress that you can control. Sometimes you can't, but it's how can

00:22:35.440 you make your body more resilient under stress, nourishing it with healthy food, you know,

00:22:39.260 doing deep breathing, spending time in the word, you know, like for me, that's listening to worship

00:22:44.880 music, driving down the road without kids screaming in the car, you know? So I feel like if you're in a

00:22:48.540 stressful season, find those outlets. Um, but just getting back to basics, like getting sunshine and

00:22:52.800 fresh air. I know that sounds so silly, but those are just basic places that

00:22:56.220 to start that the amount average American just, we don't, we live inside. We're sedentary.

00:23:01.280 We drink a lot of coffee and sugar and then wine at night. You know what I mean? And so it's just

00:23:05.720 getting back to those things of just, I feel like sometimes health has to be this huge extreme

00:23:09.840 cleanse and makeover and which diet do I follow? And it's like, just get back to the basics. And then

00:23:13.880 if you have problems, customize from there, find an expert.

00:23:26.220 So the big thing that people are talking about right now is seed oils. Yeah. And I honestly hadn't

00:23:35.180 heard of seed oils until a few months ago. I think I heard it on a podcast, like the hateful eight or

00:23:39.820 something like that, that includes sunflower oil, canola oil, vegetable, all that, all that kind

00:23:45.040 of stuff. You could probably list them off the top of your head. Um, but that we're really not supposed

00:23:48.600 to be consuming because they cause inflammation. Like how big of a problem is this? How much should

00:23:55.420 we be trying to avoid these seed oils? And if you can list them off the top of your head,

00:24:00.140 you can do it. I'm like, I'm pretty impressed, but canola, safflower, sunflower oil, um, you'll see

00:24:07.220 like fully hydrogenated vegetable oil, things like that. Um, you know, and high fructose corn syrup got a

00:24:12.440 lot of buzz for a good reason. I don't like it, but I feel like seed oils are the new people are really

00:24:17.180 paying attention to them just like they were high fructose corn syrup. And, um, they're basically

00:24:21.940 highly processed the way that they are inflammatory, the body. So our body has an inflammatory response

00:24:26.740 to them. And so long-term and like also for everyone listening, I also have balance. I do not

00:24:31.880 just like live under a tree outside and never consume a meal out. Um, but that's something that

00:24:37.060 I do try and emphasize and prioritize because they can create all the daily choices add up. And what I

00:24:43.320 call it is an inflammatory cascade of just long-term inflammation that later leads to diseases. And

00:24:48.660 so, you know, if someone's in has a lot of health symptoms or they're going through a health journey,

00:24:53.680 definitely do their best to avoid it. Um, but you know, like I'm very clean at home and I use avocado

00:24:59.780 oil, coconut oil, um, olive oil is good, right? I love olive oil. So it's like, those are all the

00:25:05.060 things that I use at home. And I know that even I'm eating out so many things, even like, you know,

00:25:10.100 organic stuff. I saw in one of my kids vitamins, this is organic. If I said the brand, everyone

00:25:15.800 would be like, Oh, I use all their stuff because it's organic and natural sunflower oil. Yes. And

00:25:20.340 like they're gummies or, you know, gummy vitamins. I'm like, wait, what the hell? It's

00:25:25.520 gluten-free and it's sugar-free and it's marketing is hard and confusing, but they really are in a lot

00:25:30.920 of like even healthy packaged snacks, you know? And like, um, that's the thing is I do my best to

00:25:36.120 avoid it. I encourage people to avoid it. It eating out, even at some of the healthiest

00:25:39.880 local restaurants. Like I know that they're going to use that. And that's where I say,

00:25:43.280 you know what, this meal with my friends and my family and the community around the table

00:25:47.280 and enjoying someone to cook a meal for you and not having to do it. That is worth it because

00:25:51.220 sometimes people that try to be too perfect, it becomes an idol. And if that's worse for your

00:25:56.060 health, the stress and control is worse for your health than having a few crackers that has maybe

00:26:00.740 the less ideal oil, you know, but do I try me personally? And I encourage people,

00:26:05.540 especially on health journeys, like, yeah, cut it out as much as you can do the best with what you

00:26:09.580 have. And you're not going to be able to control everything, but at your home and your meals,

00:26:13.320 it's a great way to do it. I've also heard that it can lower testosterone levels in men,

00:26:18.160 which is a problem. I think, I think that's what I read or it was like sperm count or something like

00:26:23.040 that. And I think there's a lot of fertility is a major issue. I think we can agree that there are

00:26:27.200 a lot of, even talking to my grandfather, who's like 92, very educated man, Colonel in the army,

00:26:32.520 seen a lot of life. And he's like, I've never heard of autism before. I've never,

00:26:35.920 he's like, I remember that some people couldn't get pregnant, but like infertility, he's like,

00:26:40.640 he's like, I feel like this is such a common theme, you know, ADHD. And so my grandfather's

00:26:44.780 like, we, sometimes we had it and there wasn't a medical diagnosis for it, but he even is like,

00:26:48.800 I feel like there's a lot of issues lately. And especially with fertility, you know, a lot of

00:26:53.260 focus is highlighted on the female, but, um, as we know, it takes two and a lot of it is the female

00:26:58.880 and caring and sustaining pregnancy. But yes, there's been a lot of, um, and I know,

00:27:02.720 cause I work with a lot of couples with this, but a lot of men that have had decreased sperm

00:27:06.800 motility, um, you know, decreased sperm count quality, things like that, that people have not

00:27:12.980 seen like this in a long time. And I think there are multiple contributing factors, including

00:27:16.860 our modern day diet, stress, chemicals, things like that. And how much should we care about

00:27:23.680 plastics? That's another big one that I see emphasized a lot now. Yeah. And then you get

00:27:28.740 in the rabbit troll of microplastics and it just is, okay, our Stanley, like this is plastic and

00:27:36.740 everything else. Well, I guess the top is plastic too. And even like, it's hard to find kids stuff.

00:27:41.820 Am I going to give my toddler a glass, like, you know, thing to take to school? No. And so how much

00:27:48.620 should, you know, we care about that? It's one of those things. And it's the same with oils. I'm like,

00:27:52.200 you know, that's one of the things that I, um, I try really hard to in our home, right? It's

00:27:56.880 like the glass Pyrex that we use. And then other people will be like, well, what's the big deal

00:28:00.140 with plastic? It leaches chemicals, especially if you're putting hot things in it, you know?

00:28:03.840 Yes. I saw, I just saw a post this morning that you really shouldn't put the plastic liner in your

00:28:09.480 crock pot. Yeah. Because a lot of people do that. And it leaches. Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. So I just,

00:28:15.940 you know, do the, everything in the crock pot and then you got to kind of soak it and wash a little

00:28:19.940 bit more, but it is. And I, I definitely, that's the thing. It's like, I make an effort and you know what?

00:28:24.000 That's the thing where it's like, I have a straw. That's not perfect, but I have the exact same one,

00:28:27.700 same color. Oh yeah. Um, but the things that I can focus on, you know, it's like, I prefer silicone

00:28:33.040 and glass. And I had, I think I had actually shared something on Instagram. Was it this weekend? Yeah.

00:28:37.640 It was Saturday. My family went out to barbecue and, um, I was with my two boys and my husband and I

00:28:42.780 just took a picture. Cause I'm like, you know, people look to me for health advice and non-toxic living.

00:28:46.060 And I was like, you know what? Here's me drinking unfiltered water out of a plastic cup for anyone

00:28:50.060 wondering. I live a normal life and I was thirsty, you know, and it's not filtered water and it's not.

00:28:55.500 And so that's where I really do feel like in my home or even bringing things to work for me,

00:28:59.700 whether it's, you know, bringing in a glass jar, Mason jar, um, Pyrex, whatever. I just do the best

00:29:04.800 that I can. But I do think plastics are a huge problem. I do think that, um, you know, they have

00:29:10.240 a lot of chemicals in them and especially for women it's, I know this is kind of a integrative word,

00:29:15.180 but it's called an endocrine disrupting chemical. And what that does is it just affects our hormones.

00:29:19.560 And I think no one can deny the amount of hormonal problems, whether it's transitioning

00:29:23.500 into menopause and having this horrible time, it's actually not supposed to be that way.

00:29:27.200 Some people transition well, but, um, it's so common and so normal that everything gets normalized.

00:29:32.140 Like PMS is normal. And I'm like, guys, it's not, I don't, I heard the other day, actually,

00:29:36.820 I think for the first time that like cramps before your periods are not necessarily good or normal.

00:29:43.560 Right. I didn't know that really see that. And that's where it's like,

00:29:46.980 I wouldn't have done that either until I got into where I was. But yeah, a lot of women are just

00:29:51.500 like, you know, I'm laid up and I'm, I have to be on the heating pad and I have to miss a day of

00:29:55.700 work. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, people just settle for that being normal. And just because it's common

00:29:59.340 doesn't mean it's normal. And that's, that's where I mean, where people just settle for this level of

00:30:03.100 health, you know, now, now I'm also very in tune with, Hey, when you are on your menstrual cycle,

00:30:08.380 like you probably should rest. You probably should relax. Your body's going through a lot. Maybe you need

00:30:13.060 more iron, but really understanding our bodies and our hormones. And you know, like when you're

00:30:18.200 on your period, it may not be the time to have five social events and do high intensity interval

00:30:22.280 workouts. It's honoring your body. But you also shouldn't have to like shut down for a whole

00:30:27.260 day and so much pain. And I have so many friends. I remember, you know, in high school and stuff like

00:30:31.260 that, it was like, Oh, I can't go to school today. And we were just like, Oh, yep. You know,

00:30:34.300 PMS is normal. It's like, you know, it's normal to be like, I'm in such a bad mood for the week

00:30:39.220 before my period of my period and after my period. So I have like one good window or something like

00:30:45.180 that's not normal, right? It shouldn't be that way. No, it really shouldn't. And I tell people

00:30:49.260 a little fatigue is okay. And like letting your body rest and, um, but no, it's not normal. And

00:30:54.460 that's the thing where it's like, Oh, I just get headaches. Oh, I just get allergies. And just

00:30:58.860 because things, no, I'm not saying, and this is where I'm also like, we are left side of glory.

00:31:01.980 We live in a fallen world. Yeah. No one has arrived at this perfect state of health. I mean,

00:31:05.480 I feel pretty dang good. I have zero symptoms. Like I can confidently, when I've done symptom

00:31:08.860 questionnaires, I'm like, I don't have headaches. I don't have this. I don't have that. I get sick

00:31:12.420 every now and then that's normal. You know, like I'm in contact with things, but, um, yeah, like

00:31:17.020 it's not normal for people to just settle with allergies and headaches. Talk to me about allergies.

00:31:21.120 I'm asking you all these things that I like did not prepare for, but they're just genuinely curious

00:31:25.720 because I have been dealing with allergies so much over the past couple of weeks, just like itchy

00:31:30.600 sneezing every morning. And so, but I have also heard probably you say that allergies and seasonal

00:31:37.600 allergies, again, does not have to be like a normal thing, right? Which I tell people sometimes

00:31:42.340 when they transition to like new environments and they're adjusting to a new climate, sometimes

00:31:45.980 there is a little bit of a like, Ooh, hold on. What's going on here? Yeah. Um, but at the root of

00:31:51.980 allergies, it can be different things. So that's when I would ask people like, okay, so what changed?

00:31:56.040 Do you know what I mean? Because allergies actually is part of our immune system and our immune response.

00:32:00.600 And so I, I would say, okay, Ali, what happened a couple of weeks ago? Did anything happen? And

00:32:04.480 maybe you're like, no, nothing happened, you know, but you look at certain things. Um, and it could

00:32:08.420 be things from years back. Um, sometimes people that have had to be on long-term steroids or even a lot

00:32:13.120 of women that have been on birth control. Um, it can lead to candida and fungal overgrowth. Have you

00:32:18.360 ever heard of candida before? So sometimes, so a lot of times when I ask people about symptoms of that,

00:32:23.360 that can be a lot of times a root cause of allergies. And so, um, I will ask people, you know,

00:32:28.140 certain things like, do you have itchy ears? Do you have sugar carb cravings? Do you have

00:32:32.900 sometimes brain fog? Um, you know, do you have seasonal allergies, any recurrent yeast infections,

00:32:38.700 whether it's ringworm, toenail fungus, female issues, you know? And so those are all things

00:32:43.080 that I ask of like, hi, I wonder if there's some fungal stuff going on that could be contributing

00:32:47.460 to allergies. Um, sometimes people, it's new environments. They just moved and they didn't

00:32:52.320 realize that the carpet in their new home or maybe getting a new pet or there's lots of different

00:32:58.200 contributing factors. So it's not just Zyrtec or Sudafed every day. Like there can be some deeper

00:33:04.060 things. There can be some deeper things. And that's the why question of like, and you can't go crazy

00:33:07.940 and rack yourself and be like, I got a headache. Why'd I get a headache today? You know, but, um,

00:33:11.960 stress can weaken the immune system. And so sometimes when people go through periods of stress,

00:33:16.280 that suppresses the immune response or heightens it to respond inappropriately. Um, my son was

00:33:22.580 having, he's three and nothing had changed. We're in our same home. We have a dog, never had crazy

00:33:28.120 allergies. And he was having almost like asthma type stuff. And I'm really like, let's do the

00:33:32.580 steamy shower. We can do saline and nebulizer to open you up or bind mucus. Like I got all the tricks

00:33:37.320 on my sleeve. Right. And, um, everything I did, nothing was touching it. And I was like, this is

00:33:41.260 different. This is like true asthma, like kind of constricted airways. Like, you know, I'm at the

00:33:45.360 medical background along with mom gut of like, something's not right. Um, and sure enough,

00:33:49.560 he was having asthma like episodes and it was at nap time. And I'm like, there's something in his

00:33:54.380 room. This is so strange. Well, it was right when school started and he has, I know this is crazy,

00:33:59.640 but this is just an example of a story that happened last September. He had started school

00:34:03.260 and they have a pecan tree and they're where their playground is. And, um, he had all that,

00:34:07.560 he called them acorns. I'm like, no baby, those are pecans, but they come in a shell.

00:34:10.980 And I knew in my gut, I was like, something is not right. I mean, he's having like true asthma.

00:34:14.500 Like I feel like I need to go do breathing treatments, get medicine. So I was like,

00:34:18.080 let me just test him to see if there's a weird allergen that's triggering this. And sure enough,

00:34:21.340 it's pecan and he has a pecan tree at school. Wow. So, you know, there's just stuff like that,

00:34:25.360 that asking questions. Yeah. And I just knew that that's not typical for my son. And so,

00:34:29.340 and he wasn't sick. So, so you're, I mean, do you just try to get him to like avoid?

00:34:35.280 Yes. Avoid kind of focus on the immune system, you know, eating healthy. There are certain

00:34:40.100 supplements for allergies, things like quercetin, stinging nettles. These are all kind of herbs

00:34:44.680 and things like that. So I'm doing that with him for a little bit. Um, and just focusing on just

00:34:49.480 like, how can we get your body to respond better? And he goes to school three times a week and he's

00:34:53.220 great now. Yeah. You know, it just almost took a little bit of time to reset. Yeah. Gosh,

00:34:56.960 there's so many things like that, that parents deal with. I think one big one that I've seen a lot

00:35:00.740 is eczema. And that's something that I've got some nephews that have it. Um, but my,

00:35:05.760 my youngest had it. And when we went to the doctor, it was like steroid cream, steroid cream.

00:35:10.600 And then like, I just randomly saw on Instagram, these adults going through like steroid, basically

00:35:16.500 detoxing withdrawals and they were trying to get off of it. And they realized for them,

00:35:21.460 their eczema was a part of their diet or an allergy or something like that. And I was like,

00:35:26.060 I don't, I don't want that, you know, in 20 years from now. And so what can I change like about,

00:35:33.400 about the diet or anything? And I'm not like any kind of specialist, but there were allergies there

00:35:41.100 and we addressed the allergies and we got those things away and we haven't seen any eczema in like

00:35:46.660 over a year without any steroid cream. I'm not saying that that's, you know, going to happen

00:35:50.380 to everyone, but just kind of matching your own story. Sometimes it does just take some,

00:35:55.060 a little extra because when we went to the dermatologist, there were no questions,

00:35:58.280 no questions about like, well, you know, like what's the diet like or whatever. There was

00:36:04.020 nothing like that. And so to me, it was like, well, it would just kind of make sense that maybe

00:36:08.480 if this thing is irritating in some ways that it could maybe cause this kind of eczema response.

00:36:14.480 I don't know. Yeah. I don't know. Well, that was our story too. My son had an egg allergy that

00:36:18.320 caused eczema. Yeah. And it's one of those things where it's like, I knew better, but if your kid's

00:36:23.240 miserable and can't sleep through the night, you got to do something temporarily while you figure

00:36:26.220 that out. But same thing was this chlorine really irritated his skin and he had eczema that derived

00:36:31.160 from an egg allergy. And so it's just one of those things that I always tell moms, I'm like,

00:36:35.220 advocate for your kids, ask questions. Sometimes meds are necessary. Sometimes people in the natural

00:36:40.180 world are too prideful and they're like, I've never done a med. I never will. And I'm like,

00:36:43.820 your kid's not sleeping through the night because they're itching. Like you got to do something,

00:36:46.900 you know what I mean? So that's that fine line of, even if you have to use meds, don't feel guilty,

00:36:51.340 use that to comfort your child until you can get to this place where you help find the root cause.

00:36:55.420 And sometimes antibiotics are necessary and that's a beautiful thing.

00:37:00.100 Yes, they are. Speaking of kids, before we move on to the next segment of our conversation,

00:37:04.540 speaking of kids, you did talk about like, you try to eat a vegetable at every meal. Your kids are

00:37:09.120 three in one. My kids are also three in one. I know it's not always easy to get them to eat the

00:37:13.920 things that you want them to eat. So like, how is, how have you navigated that, but also just kind

00:37:18.620 of like integrating health and wellness into their little lives? Yes. And I really try to be mindful

00:37:24.600 of that because I don't want to be this controlling, nagging parent. You have to eat

00:37:28.280 your peas and you have to, you know what I mean? You don't want it to become this power struggle and

00:37:31.440 they are little humans that have their own preferences and that's okay. I will say,

00:37:36.660 and that's too, where I feel like part of loving and caring for my child is creating the safe home

00:37:40.320 for them to thrive in of like, we don't use a lot of chemicals in our laundry detergent and those

00:37:44.180 things. And we do our best with diet, but like if we're at a birthday party and he doesn't have a

00:37:48.000 true allergy, enjoy. You know, I'm like, I have a lot of healthy mom friends. I'm like,

00:37:51.260 oh, that's simple meals. Yeah. You know? Um, but with that being said, when it comes to food,

00:37:57.280 my one-year-old, I am like so blessed. He is the best eater. It is unbelievable. I don't have a

00:38:02.060 secret. I exposed him. I will say starting early on, all we did was vegetables. We didn't do fruits

00:38:07.500 a lot at first because then they're like, I just want sweet. I don't want that. Um, so that's one

00:38:11.620 thing I do tell moms is a variety when they introduce foods, lots of vegetables, start them out

00:38:15.760 that way. Um, and variety, like you, they don't want to have peas and carrots at every single meal.

00:38:19.840 You know what I mean? Maybe chopped carrots differently, things like that. My three-year-old,

00:38:24.060 you know, he's getting a little pickier. Yeah. Don't they? I mean, they go through those stages.

00:38:29.260 They go through those stages. My daughter, she will literally like act like beef is the grossest

00:38:35.000 thing that she's ever seen. I'm like literally for 18 months of your life, this is all you wanted to

00:38:40.120 eat. And now she just doesn't want anything to do with it. She was like kale, beets, all of that.

00:38:44.960 And all of a sudden it's like, you know, where's my mac and cheese? So yeah, it's difficult to deal

00:38:49.920 with that. And that's where I find just keep exposing them, you know, and I'm not going to

00:38:53.520 make it this power struggle. And sometimes that there is a treat where like, you know,

00:38:56.640 you do have to eat your dinner before your excuse from the dinner table. And if you want to go have

00:38:59.660 a treat or go with mommy to go get it, ice cream or whatever. Um, I say that people are like,

00:39:04.680 your kids had ice cream like five times and it's true. Like it's not like, but we're also normal.

00:39:07.960 And, and here's where I'm really big on like finding healthier alternatives for things. You know,

00:39:11.700 I want my kid to be normal. I want him to have pizza, but we're not going to go to the pizza

00:39:15.280 joint every Friday night. And, you know, and so making our own, we do like a family pizza night.

00:39:19.840 Um, but I will say for the, for the toddler, um, re-exposing in different formats. So like he will

00:39:25.500 eat kale if it's cooked in a soup. And I'm like, that's strange. Cause if I just made kale the exact

00:39:29.900 same way and it looks the same, but for whatever reason, um, green smoothies, he loves getting veggies

00:39:35.060 and green smoothies. I even do frozen zucchini in there. He can't taste it. Yeah. Um, and then,

00:39:39.340 yeah, just different. Like it's the strangest thing. He would never touch broccoli recently,

00:39:43.300 but maybe if I put butter on it or, um, maybe if I blended, I make this like green gut healing

00:39:49.180 soup with bone broth and a bunch of green veggies. He loves that. And he'll like drink it up. I'm so

00:39:53.540 confused. I'm like, that's purely vegetables. But so I just try not to make it. Yeah. Different ways

00:39:58.200 exposure. You know, sometimes you could throw it in the smoothie or the zucchini and carrot muffins.

00:40:02.640 And I just try not to make it a power struggle and just realize, you know what he's at age and he

00:40:06.360 has preferences and he doesn't want that right now. And that's okay. It's not worth like the

00:40:10.160 screaming match and all of that. But that also doesn't mean that we have to just say, okay,

00:40:14.440 fine. Yes. Junk food all the time. Yes. I do think it is about consistency, discipline on the

00:40:18.820 parents part. Yes. Cause it's, that's, it's hard. I think it takes a lot more time and effort. And

00:40:23.680 that's like one of my resolutions for this year is to just be more consistent, introducing new things

00:40:29.900 and trying new recipes and so hard, so hard. It's hard with moms that work and have two littles.

00:40:36.040 It's not like your home cooking and yeah. Yeah. Um, okay. I want to talk about another part of your

00:40:52.840 health journey, which I'm sure was very unexpected to you. And I think this is maybe around the time

00:40:57.460 I started following you last year, you found a brain tumor, correct? Yes. And so tell me about

00:41:04.840 that. I'm sure that, you know, that's not exactly how you were expecting the last part of last year

00:41:10.160 to look. Yes. Last year. And even just my story, you know, people that hear Taylor Dukes has a brain

00:41:15.540 tumor. Like she's the healthiest person I know. And, um, I'm also like, God, what I thought I went

00:41:20.520 through my healing journey and you brought me to where I am. Was that just an intermission? It's like,

00:41:23.560 I was already sick. Yeah. Yeah. And I know and trust that the Lord has a plan and a purpose through

00:41:28.380 it. And I've already seen that. Like I really have, it's not just something I'm telling myself.

00:41:31.980 Um, but essentially I have no symptoms. Like I said, I still have no symptoms of this brain tumor

00:41:37.480 and I, there's this technology, um, a scan, a full body MRI, and they have a few, I've just,

00:41:44.180 I'm always researching, learning. I'm a nerd at heart. Like people don't realize like I'm social,

00:41:48.160 but I'm like, I'm a nerd, you guys. Um, and, uh, and I've followed this technology for years,

00:41:53.060 just for patients, you know? And, um, my husband's mom passed away from non-smoking lung cancer.

00:41:58.800 So I've always wondered, I'm like, she never smoked. What the heck? Like, was it an environmental?

00:42:03.000 It just makes you ask questions, genetics, environment. Um, and so my husband, I had

00:42:07.560 actually reached out to the scan for him. He had this weird bronchiogenic assist between his heart

00:42:12.380 and lung when he was in eighth grade. And so knowing his mom's history and his story, I'm like,

00:42:16.500 okay, as scary as the scan could be, what if it's early? It's the purpose of the scan. It's an MRI

00:42:21.340 technology that's radiation and dye free that does the full body. Oh, radiation free. Interesting.

00:42:26.940 Okay. And so, um, it's just a preventative scan. And, uh, so I had reached out to the company myself

00:42:32.720 for my husband and I had said, Hey, just on Instagram, I was like, Hey, I'm a provider.

00:42:36.600 I can write an order for my husband. If do I just like fax it in or does he just sign up on your

00:42:40.580 website? And they reached out and they were like, Hey, we see that you educate, you know, on this

00:42:45.460 platform and you're a healthcare provider. We'd love to gift it to you. And I was like, well,

00:42:49.300 it's not really for me. It's for my husband. And like, thanks, but no, thanks. I don't really

00:42:52.500 need it. And after talking with my husband, I didn't tell them that I was thinking that I was

00:42:55.980 like, well, it's not for me. Should I try to gift it to him through them? But I was like, you know

00:42:58.880 what? It's good for me to learn. Maybe I need to do it. Well, word knows that I needed it because

00:43:03.480 through that I found out I have a brain tumor. Wow. So I'm really grateful yet also like, Oh,

00:43:08.780 I wish I'd never done it. I wouldn't know. But I, like I always say, and I've always said,

00:43:12.540 when you know better, you do better. And I know I have a brain tumor and now I can do better

00:43:16.060 and allow me to kind of figure out what my future looks like. And so not that I have control of

00:43:21.240 that, but make wise decisions moving forward. And so it was Labor Day weekend. Um, I had actually

00:43:27.560 got the results sent to me cause I'm a medical provider and we were on the way to the aquarium

00:43:30.720 and I was going through my phone. I was like, yay, I get my results. I'm like, I wonder if

00:43:34.200 everything from thyroid or back stuff or whatever. And, uh, my husband thought I was kidding. Cause

00:43:38.780 I'm a huge jokester. And he's like, you were joking. You're not serious. I was like, no,

00:43:41.560 I have a brain tumor. So that led to my initial, um, report in the medical field. It's called

00:43:47.980 differential diagnosis. What was your feeling though? In that moment, was it like, this must

00:43:52.420 be a mistake? Like did your stomach drop? Oh, I was sick. And I literally was just sobbing or

00:43:57.820 were you in shock? I was sick to my stomach. And this is where I'm like, dang it. In the medical

00:44:03.000 field, you just know too much and like brain tumor. And I don't want to say this because there are

00:44:07.260 plenty of people that have lived with brain tumors and defied prognosis. But to me,

00:44:10.880 some of the initial different it's called in the medical world, it's called a differential

00:44:14.280 diagnosis, things that it could be. So the radiologist listed what it could be. And it

00:44:18.160 was metastatic disease, lymphoma, what's metastatic disease, um, metastasis like cancer. Okay. Yeah.

00:44:24.380 Great question. So if, if I had cancer somewhere else in my body and it metastasizes to my brain,

00:44:29.320 they'd call that like a metastatic, you know, it metastasized to my brain. So metastatic disease,

00:44:35.040 lymphoma, which is a form of cancer, um, glioblastoma, which is the most,

00:44:40.000 one of the most lethal forms of cancer. Usually people are given five months to a year to live

00:44:46.200 once they're diagnosed. Um, so I'm sitting here looking at this and it said other things like

00:44:50.280 astrocytoma, oligodendrioma, you know, all these things. And I'm like, I didn't even know all of

00:44:54.380 them, but I'm like thinking glioblastoma. I'm like, this is a death sentence. This is literally like

00:44:58.300 my kid was eight, nine months at the time. I mean, I was just breastfeeding him on the beach. It was

00:45:02.920 raining. So we're like, let's go to the aquarium in town. And my world flipped upside down. I was sick to

00:45:07.940 my stomach. I did not have peace. I have since God has provided literally peace that I just can't

00:45:14.040 explain in so many circumstances. Not every day. I still have my hard moments, but, um, that first

00:45:19.000 week was really tough. I'm making phone calls. I'm literally thinking like, this is my life. This is

00:45:23.620 my life. And I'm not going to see my kids and grow up. And it was, it was, I think the hardest part for

00:45:29.780 me just thinking I'm not going to see my kids grow up. Yes. And that is, that is still the hardest

00:45:34.860 part for me. Um, but I, when I found, so that was the first initial I'd gotten in touch. I mean,

00:45:40.820 I was on the beach. Thank God for people and friends and connections. Cause I had got in touch

00:45:44.080 with an oncologist and a local neurosurgeon. And, uh, most people, by the way, are finding out about

00:45:49.160 brain tumors because they've had headaches for years or they have a seizure and they wake up in the

00:45:52.820 hospital. And it's like, you find out everything then for me. I'm like, I'm at the beach with my family

00:45:56.720 on the Texas coast. And, um, I got a repeat MRI with contrast to show us a little bit more of like what it

00:46:02.540 looks like. And praise God. Um, we still don't know if we don't know if it's cancer or not. We

00:46:08.440 don't know. We find out in a few weeks after my brain surgery and pathology, but, um, you know,

00:46:13.360 I've been dealing with this for four months, almost five months. And, um, when we did the repeat MRI,

00:46:18.460 it came back as non-enhancing and medical terms. It's not super vascular. It didn't light up like a

00:46:23.320 Christmas tree on the scan. And a lot of times cancer will do that. And so we're hopeful. We're like,

00:46:28.320 please God, let it be benign. Like we think it is, but you just don't know until you have

00:46:32.180 pathology, which means getting in there, sampling it. And so, yeah, so that was the original

00:46:36.980 diagnosis. I've since, you know, met with several oncologists, multiple neurosurgeons flight all

00:46:42.340 phone all over the country to meet with specialists. Um, and so I'm very unique. No one has a brain

00:46:47.760 tumor with no symptoms. Oh, really? I mean, it's just most people, no one has like an incidental

00:46:52.080 finding, you know, exactly. So headache, seizures. And so I feel so grateful. I also am like, okay,

00:46:59.460 God, you've given me this time to quarterback my care team. And I have a local neurosurgeon and

00:47:04.880 oncologist, you know, in Fort Worth. Um, but I'm also have sought out some other experts who I will

00:47:09.900 be flying to Arizona for surgery in two weeks from today. Wow. So that's February 1st, February 1st.

00:47:15.240 And the surgery, you said pathology is where they go in there and they remove the tumor. Okay. So

00:47:21.000 they're going to remove the whole tumor as much as they can. Um, the brain's tricky. And what I've

00:47:25.600 been told by my surgeon is it kind of, you think of it, it's not like just a little bead that you

00:47:30.140 go and scrape out. Right. Um, it has infiltrative components and so they'll get as much as they can.

00:47:35.240 It's kind of infiltrated my brain tissue moving your parts of your brain. Yeah. It's like motor,

00:47:40.740 sensory speech, memory. And so that's, it's really hard about the brain. Um, and I've been told surgery

00:47:46.180 is not curable. It can help, but it's 100% likely to come back. Not if, but when I'm a surgeon.

00:47:51.680 Really? So, and brain tumors for people that have experienced them, they're very likely to come

00:47:56.180 back even if it's benign. Um, so that's where I am motivated to do anything and everything. And at

00:48:02.080 the end of the day, the Lord is in control and he knows the number of my days, but I am, what can I

00:48:06.200 do to get this to not come back? Um, and you know, I've even done a lot of integrative treatments. I'm

00:48:11.480 on a whole healing protocol right now. I have even in my purse over there, a laser and light watch

00:48:15.980 that I'll do on my way home. I put it in my ears and in my nose. Um, I've gone to international

00:48:19.740 clinics in the last four months to go and seek some care that's not available here in the States.

00:48:24.560 Um, what's laser and light? It just helps with like brain tissue. And a lot of people that have,

00:48:30.980 that are doing integrative oncology, um, like, you know, an integrative approach,

00:48:35.200 they might be doing chemo and radiation, but they might be doing a lot of other things.

00:48:38.740 You can do localized light therapy, like heat and things like that. Um, I can't do that because my

00:48:44.760 brain and my school. And so what I do is I do these little ear pieces and intranasal pieces.

00:48:50.780 Um, you know, I did a ton of IVs when I was at clinics over out of the country, hyperbaric oxygen

00:48:56.160 chambers. So I very much even tying back to my career of like, I have reverence for the conventional

00:49:01.540 model of surgery and pathology. And I'll need, I'll know if I need chemo or radiation after surgery,

00:49:06.300 but I'm also like, I'm not just going to do that. Right. Um, and I tell people all the time,

00:49:11.180 if I had only met with my local neurosurgeon and my local oncologist, they're amazing people. I love

00:49:17.280 them. So kind, so wonderful. I would be so discouraged that these are my only options.

00:49:21.680 Um, but to know I have an integrative oncologist in California, my surgeon, um, is very much about

00:49:26.940 looking at genetics and molecular stuff of the tumor and lifestyle and diet. And I swear,

00:49:32.980 I feel like him and I are going to do a research study or something because he's open-minded to find

00:49:36.760 a neurosurgeon that's open-minded. And so that's where I find a lot of hope and confidence. And

00:49:40.740 how can we get the best of both to get the best outcome to live a long, healthy life?

00:49:45.760 Is it possible that you've had this brain tumor your whole life? Up to 10 years. They said up to

00:49:50.460 10 years. So they are, that's the hard thing is that it's like, I have no symptoms, you know? So

00:49:54.800 it's like, how long has this been here? And you have to ask the question. Um, and a lot of people

00:49:58.780 ask, well, then why, if you have no symptoms, wouldn't you just watch and wait? And part of me is

00:50:02.660 like, yeah, I want that. I don't want a brain surgery. I mean, it's, it's, it's scary. And am I

00:50:07.240 going to come out normal and you know, what's life going to be like, and am I going to be able

00:50:10.640 to hold my kids for a while? And that's really hard, but, um, there is wisdom, some wisdom. I

00:50:16.020 mean, God can do anything. And I'm like, if I did a repeat MRI and it shrunk or went away,

00:50:19.600 oh my gosh, I, it would be the happiest best thing ever. Um, but at the same time,

00:50:23.820 there is wisdom in getting it out because it could grow to a point where it is inoperable.

00:50:27.620 And that's, that's a hard reality to sit with, you know, cause then you're doing as much radiation

00:50:31.900 as you can do or some chemo and it still may not be. So I feel fortunate that mine is in a location

00:50:36.500 that is operable. You know, I'm not symptomatic. I don't want to be unwise and wait until I have a

00:50:41.880 seizure. You know, I've also, you know, I've done all the testing to see if I'm at risk and all the

00:50:45.920 workups and healing is like a full-time job right now for me, you know? Um, but I got an EEG. I'm not

00:50:50.820 at risk for seizures, but you know, I do wonder as a mom, what if I were driving my kids and I had a

00:50:54.520 seizure, you know? And so I don't want to wait until something happens, but I've also, you know,

00:50:58.960 had four to five months to pray. Even my neurosurgeon was like, you're not symptomatic. You own three

00:51:03.400 businesses, get through the holidays, enjoy your baby turning one, like just enjoy life.

00:51:08.020 And that's what I've done. You know, I'm, I'm really, I'm focused on my own healing protocol.

00:51:12.120 And so I really relate to people going through health stuff. I'm not just like this practitioner

00:51:15.320 that's like, do this, do this. I'm like, I'm in it, you know, in a very extreme degree with a

00:51:20.560 brain tumor. Um, but I get it, you know, and I'm also like, it's my birthday and I wanted a glass of

00:51:25.140 wine and go enjoy a date night out with my husband. And I did that, you know, even though I'm on this

00:51:29.020 healing protocol. And so, um, but yeah, I'm definitely in a season devoted to healing and

00:51:33.380 just waiting to see like, okay, God, what's next. Tell me what God has taught you through this,

00:51:49.740 because you did say you didn't have peace, which I think is a very normal reaction when you first

00:51:54.580 found this out, but that God has kind of given you that peace that passes understanding throughout

00:51:58.460 these past few months. So just tell us about the spiritual side of this journey.

00:52:02.740 Yes. I have never felt so close to the Lord. I mean, truly. And I had a pretty,

00:52:06.580 I came to know the Lord in college and, you know, I've been walking very closely with him. It's not

00:52:10.300 like, Oh, I always knew of God, but now I really know. Um, I have a pretty intimate relationship with

00:52:14.480 God even prior to this, but, um, and I do, I don't fully know what he's doing. Cause like, right.

00:52:20.160 I'm still at the beginning of this journey, but I have just seen so many glimpses,

00:52:23.440 one of just his hand in this, like just stuff that I can't even make up that I can't even

00:52:27.380 recount in our time here today, but I call them my God winks. Um, you know, way makers,

00:52:31.300 the song that's just been carrying me through a lot of people know that song, you know, and just,

00:52:34.820 it comes up almost every time I'm in the car, like, okay, God, I get it. I know you're going

00:52:38.900 to make a way. I don't know what that looks like, you know? And like when I went to a treatment

00:52:42.640 center that was out of the country, you know, you'd go to treatment six days a week, full-time

00:52:46.520 job basically. And on Sundays you have it off and we do our own little church service. It's a

00:52:50.380 Christian healing center and, um, they do integrative medicine. And the guy leading it was like one of

00:52:55.100 our friends' husbands and he was like, okay guys, we're going to start off with way maker.

00:52:58.200 And I'm just like, God, you know, God's been really kind to give me those, like all my God

00:53:02.360 winks. Um, but I've just really seen so much of him through it. And I know the promises of God,

00:53:09.040 but actually experiencing them. Like, I know what it's like when Jesus like slept in the storm,

00:53:13.960 when it was crazy. Cause it's like my world and my, my whole world is chaos right now. You know,

00:53:17.900 I'm preparing for a brain surgery, but like I can rest at night knowing that like the Lord has this,

00:53:21.700 he knew this isn't a surprise to him. Um, I don't share this with a lot of people,

00:53:25.600 but what the heck, why not? Here we are. I was given a prognosis, like a limited number of years

00:53:30.040 of my life. And basically I was told, even if it's benign, my goal, my doctor told me, um, you know,

00:53:35.620 that it would be for you to make it to this point in life, which means I wouldn't see their kid

00:53:38.580 graduate from high school, which is like, ah, makes you sick. Right. Those are the moments where I'm

00:53:43.320 like, God is heaven really better than seeing every milestone. I mean, it's hard to imagine.

00:53:47.180 Yeah. And so I have my moments and that's why I tell people, I'm like, I am not full of faith

00:53:51.080 and optimistic and positive Pamela all the time, you know? Um, but I am able to rest at night and

00:53:57.080 I have seen even the company, it reached out to me. Um, and they were like, Hey, since you've shared,

00:54:02.920 we have had five people use your code that have had significant life altering diagnosis that they're

00:54:07.280 able to seek care sooner with an early intervention. And, and I don't know their full stories. Um, I don't

00:54:12.160 know if I ever will. I've had one person reach out and she has liver cancer. Um, but you know,

00:54:15.900 I've, I've had people reach out and I'm like, okay, God, thank you for using that. You know,

00:54:19.660 thank you for, if it weren't for my husband's mom's lung cancer, I don't know that I would

00:54:23.820 have ever done this scan. So that you see God's hand from 10 years ago, protecting us and our

00:54:28.840 family. And, um, you know, I'm one of those people that I know and trusted the Lord puts

00:54:33.220 us through things and we don't always know why. And sometimes I may not even know until I get to

00:54:36.860 heaven one day. I'm like, okay, God. Um, but I will say he has given me a glimpse of his plan

00:54:41.280 and purpose and just so many things along the way, like a local pastor's wife had a dream about me

00:54:45.240 and all these things she's sharing. I'm like, I don't even hardly know you. And the way that I

00:54:49.840 found out my surgeon in Arizona, I kept hearing about this guy in Arizona, but I'm like, well,

00:54:53.860 I don't have a name. I, what do I do? God, just Google Arizona neurosurgeon. You know, I just,

00:54:57.660 I kept hearing through three people. And finally this, this colleague of mine, who's an integrative

00:55:02.300 oncology expert. I said, do you by chance know? And she says, here's your doctor at this first place

00:55:06.900 in Arizona. And I was like, okay, God, like, it's just, there's so many things along the way

00:55:10.600 that aren't a coincidence. You can't make up. I feel very cared for, very supported in this process.

00:55:16.280 Um, you know, it's unified my family and I live life through a new lens, like the poopy diaper.

00:55:22.080 When my nanny cancels, who cares? I get to spend a day with my kid. Like what a gift versus before

00:55:26.720 it's like, I have this to-do list. And so I feel like, yeah, God's just, that's a long tangent of

00:55:31.460 just, I've really seen him just shift. And, and, and that's the other thing. None of us are guaranteed

00:55:35.880 tomorrow. Every moment counts. Every moment of every day matters, but we live life as if we get

00:55:41.440 to make these plans and grow old and be grandparents one day. And that's not a promise to any of us.

00:55:46.260 And, um, so even given a prognosis and as hard as that is, I'm like, only God knows the number of

00:55:51.880 my days. And you know what? I want to defy odds and I want to live a long, healthy life and be a

00:55:56.200 good mom for my kids. But I also think that I could get in a car wreck tomorrow, you know? And so it's

00:56:01.020 kind of him to give me this new lens to live through with young babies and to not miss out on

00:56:05.740 every moment. Yeah. And it's such a good perspective too, because it shows that what

00:56:09.860 you do and why you live the way that you do and encourage other people to live the way that you

00:56:15.120 do is not to necessarily control every health outcome because that's impossible. You do it

00:56:22.900 because you're stewarding your body that even I'm sure if someone told you, okay, I mean, this is a

00:56:29.440 tragic thing. If someone told someone, you know, you're going to die in two weeks. These are your last

00:56:35.160 two weeks in your life. It would still be right of that person to steward their body well, because

00:56:40.220 that is how we glorify the Lord. It's not only to try to control our health, although that is part of

00:56:47.440 it, but it's also because we believe that taking care of our bodies is something that pleases the

00:56:53.300 Lord. Not that, you know, eating cake and drinking wine doesn't please the Lord ever.

00:56:57.860 No, but our bodies are a gift to us and taking care of them.

00:56:58.660 Yes. But I think that also just this diagnosis gives a really interesting perspective that

00:57:03.820 you're not showing this because you're like, look, I've never had a health problem. And you can be

00:57:08.480 more like me. You're showing people this because it's like, okay, this is the way I think that we can

00:57:13.200 honor our bodies and honor God through our bodies, you know, in the best way that we can without,

00:57:18.800 you know, not missing out on those opportunities just for fun and leisure and all of that.

00:57:23.540 Exactly. So, and I think that's when people are like, Taylor, you're the healthiest person.

00:57:27.140 And what I don't know, and a lot of things that I have not shared is my, my new goal is how can we

00:57:32.640 figure out and change the trajectory for people that do have brain tumors, right? And research. And I'm

00:57:37.440 the question asker. And so I'm going back to what happened to me 10 years ago and that I'm finding

00:57:43.380 answers. Like we are, I haven't shared this, but we are finding that I have certain things with my

00:57:47.900 blood brain barrier and a certain parasite. Actually, this is the first time I'm sharing

00:57:51.980 this, the certain parasite that actually the American cancer society and the international

00:57:56.620 journal of cancer has linked to gliomas and young middle-aged people. And that's me.

00:58:01.400 Yeah. And so it's, it's interesting to find the data and not that my neurosurgeons ordering this,

00:58:05.660 I'm working with the integrative oncologist and the Lord is just leading me because I really do feel

00:58:09.040 like this is part of what I'm supposed to do. So I don't know what it's going to look like. I don't

00:58:12.160 know if I have a book, I don't know if I have a research study or if I'm just the case study

00:58:15.120 myself, but I do believe that the Lord has allowed this to happen and he's going to use it. And I

00:58:20.040 don't trust that. I really, really do. And just to, I think you already said it, but what's the name

00:58:24.240 of the test that you use? The MRI type test? Yes. It's called the per nuvo scan P R E N U V O. They

00:58:31.080 have a, I'm not affiliated with them. Literally have a link or code for people to get a discount. I get no

00:58:35.580 commission. Like it is, I am not affiliated with them in any way. It truly is just something that I did

00:58:40.580 not knowing I was going to find this. And, um, early detection is key for, you know, better

00:58:45.700 outcomes. And so that's my story and I'm really grateful for it, but it's called the per nuvo scan.

00:58:50.800 Well, we'll be praying for you. I know the relatable audience has loved this conversation

00:58:55.260 and they're going to be praying for you. Your surgery is February 1st in Arizona. And I do think

00:59:00.380 that you have a Gibson go link, right? Yes. That people can go to if they want to support you. If they

00:59:05.240 want to know more about this journey, I can link it in the description of this episode. If you want to

00:59:09.420 support Taylor, I'm sure that she would really appreciate that. And I know more than anything,

00:59:12.880 she would appreciate your prayers and just thinking about everything that she's going through

00:59:17.520 and her kids and her husband. I mean, this is a lot, this is a lot. And I'm very hopeful. I'm very

00:59:22.180 hopeful for the result of the surgery and what's to come of it. But I'm even more hopeful in the

00:59:27.340 testimony that God has given you in the platform that he's given you. I mean, who knows when God,

00:59:32.040 when it looks like God is doing one thing, he's doing a million things. And like you said,

00:59:36.100 we do not know the constellation of people's testimonies until we get to heaven, but you never

00:59:41.520 know what small thing you shared, what seemingly mundane action you took or, you know, what you did

00:59:50.120 that led someone to where they are, especially in their testimony, um, to becoming a Christian. So

00:59:56.660 we just never know. We just never know. We never know. And it makes me excited about heaven to see

01:00:00.760 one day. And it's kind when we get amazing. Yes. Yes. Yes. And amen. Well, thank you so much,

01:00:06.500 Taylor, for taking the time to come on. I really appreciate it. I know people are going to be so

01:00:10.320 encouraged by this. Um, tell everyone where they can find you, how they can follow you,

01:00:14.040 all that good stuff. You're sweet. Thanks for having me. I love this. Um, I have a website,

01:00:18.600 taylordukeswellness.com. I have tons of health articles and just practical things of where you can get

01:00:23.680 started with your health. Um, I also have an Instagram account, Taylor Dukes wellness and yeah.

01:00:28.780 Yes. I follow her on Instagram, follow her, taylordukeswellness and yeah, you're great.

01:00:33.840 She's a great follow. Lots of good practical tips too. So thank you so much. Thank you.

Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - January 18, 2023

Ep 741 ｜ How Functional Medicine Saved My Life ｜ Guest： Taylor Dukes

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