Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 741 | How Functional Medicine Saved My Life | Guest: Taylor Dukes

Episode Date: January 18, 2023

Today we're joined by Taylor Dukes, functional medicine nurse practitioner and co-founder of Restore and Revive Wellness Center, to discuss various health topics, medicine, and her story. We discuss her journey into functional medicine and what exactly functional medicine means, with an emphasis on balance between necessary traditional medicine and the philosophy of asking questions and looking into other factors for prevention and cause. We talk about what the medical industry gets wrong and share how to begin cleaning up one's lifestyle and diet and move closer to non-toxic living. Should people care about organic food? And are seed oils really as bad as people say they are? Then, we offer some tips on introducing your kids to healthier lifestyles, and Taylor shares her story of how she found out she had a brain tumor. She explains her journey of finding the Lord's peace in the midst of her diagnosis and the wait to find out what it means for her life. She shares what's next and how her faith in Jesus has gotten her through. Taylor's GiveSendGo: https://www.givesendgo.com/taylordukes --- Timecodes: (01:24) Interview begins (05:59) Introduction to functional medicine (14:33) What traditional medicine gets wrong (17:45) How to start living more toxin-free (20:39) Organic produce and pesticides (25:35) Seed oils (29:27) Plastics (33:28) Allergies (39:11) Integrating health into kids' lives (44:01) Taylor's brain tumor (56:02) What God has taught Taylor through this --- Today's Sponsors: A'Del — go to adelnaturalcosmetics.com and enter promo code "ALLIE" for 25% off your first order! StartMail — keep your email private - every email can be encrypted! Go to StartMail.com/ALLIE for 50% off your first year! EdenPURE — get 3 Thunderstorm Air Purifiers for under $200 at EdenPureDeals.com, use promo code 'ALLIE3'! Netsuite — gain visibility and control of your financials, planning, budgeting, and inventory so you can manage risk, get reliable forecasts, and improve margins. Go to NetSuite.com/ALLIE to get your one-of-a-kind flexible financing program. --- Links: What is Functional Medicine? https://taylordukeswellness.com/functional-medicine --- Relevant Episodes: Ep 693 | The Disturbing Truth About Breast Cancer Awareness Month | Guest: Chris Wark (Chris Beat Cancer) https://apple.co/3krRMU6 --- Buy Allie's book, You're Not Enough (& That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love: https://alliebethstuckey.com/book Relatable merchandise – use promo code 'ALLIE10' for a discount: https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey

Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort.

We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed, you can watch this D-Day Show right here on Blaze TV or listen wherever you get podcasts. I hope you'll join us. Today we've got with us Taylor Dukes. You might know Taylor Dukes from her Instagram account. Taylor Dukes Wellness or her website, Taylor Dukes Wellness.com. She is the co-founder of Restore and Revive Wellness Center. She is a functional medicine expert. She is such an amazing person. and she's going to give us so much advice today about healthy and clean and toxic free living. And she's going to tell us about her journey, how she got into this space, how she became an expert in functional medicine. And then she is also going to give us an update on her health journey.

Taylor was diagnosed with a brain tumor a few months ago. And as someone who really cares about health and integrative and functional medicine, she has a really unique perspective. and a lot of wisdom and such godly encouragement for us today. I know that Relatable is going to love this episode. All of you, Related Bells and Related Bros out there, this one is going to be super popular because of the wisdom that she brings to the table. So without further ado, here is our friend Taylor Dukes. And this episode is brought to you by our friends at Go to Good Ranchers.

Go to Good Ranchers.com. Use promo code Alley at checkout. That's good ranchers.com code Alley. Thanks so much for joining us. us. For those who don't follow you, Taylor Duke's Wellness, who are you? What do you do? I am Taylor Dukes. I am a family nurse practitioner and I have a functional medicine, private practice and a wellness center in Fort Worth. And I wasn't always into wellness. I didn't grow up super healthy, but I gone to this because I was sick. And I love it. I love what I do. I get to

help people and get to the root cause of their medical issues. And it's the best. I started following you because you post a lot about non-toxic or less toxic alternatives to maybe everyday products that we use. You post all kinds of tips if your kids are sick or if you're sick or things like that. So tell me a little bit about your story, how you started kind of in this world. I don't want to call you an influencer because you're so much more than that. But online, you do influence a lot of people when it comes to wellness. So you talked about being sick.

So just tell us how did you move into this world? Yeah, so the world of whether it's integrative, functional, holistic medicine, you know, there's a lot of different terms for it in certifications. But I always say that you either get into it because you're sick or you're just smart. And I was not smart. I was sick. And so I have a story. And I went to TCU undergrad nursing school, worked in trauma, ICU, just typical nursing route. And the Lord kind of called me overseas to do some medical mission stuff.

And so I was living in Africa. And then I went to Ecuador to start up some clinics. And through kind of doing those medical. mission trips, I got really sick. And I ended up having to get flown home from Ecuador. My mom kind of moved in with me. I'm like this young professional that's supposed to be at the height of my life. So you're like at 25 or so? Yeah, it was like 23, probably, 23. So super young still. Yeah, really young. And I wasn't the sick kid growing up. You know, I wasn't the kid with ear infections and strep throat. And I really, and I've always like optimistic and kind of a power through kind of person, but like not

able to get out of bed and debilitating joint pain. And my hair was falling out. out. And it was just all these unexplainable symptoms. And so I was going to all these specialists. And I was so convicted because I'm like, here I am a nurse in the medical field that's supposed to advocate for patients. And I didn't know how to advocate for myself, you know, and I was going to the gastroenterologist and getting all these procedures and start this medication and then going to the endocrinologist and was on thyroid meds. And it just kind of felt like a rat race, you know, and I'm trying to like put the pieces of the puzzle together. And so no one really knew you're going to all these doctors and no one could tell you, this is the diagnosis, this is what you have.

Exactly. You're just kind of guessing. And it wasn't like I just had stomach symptoms. It was like my hair was falling out, but I had bad joint pain. And it was just, it didn't make sense, honestly. And so my parents were like, gosh, this is not like you. We know our daughter. You're always, you've always been healthy.

I've never been on medications, nothing. And so my mom sought out a functional medicine provider. And I was like, that is woo-woo. That is hocus pocus. I don't believe in it. There's no research. That's not what I learned in nursing school. And come to find out it was an MD, you know, that was in Austin at the time.

And she did this whole assessment, kind of started putting pieces of the puzzle together. You know, it was a series of things that led me to where I was. And I had parasites and just all kinds of crazy things from living abroad. And I was on long-term antibiotics because I didn't want malaria. And so you just kind of see all these little pieces of the puzzle that started adding up. And through her, I mean, truly by God's grace, I was under her care. changed my life, not only personally in my health, but also the trajectory of my career and changed my diet, my lifestyle, I was able to get off meds, which I'm all for meds. I prescribe

meds in my practice, but just meds that cover up symptoms. People are like, well, maybe I'll take that for my headache. No one asks the why question. Yeah. Like, why are you having headaches? Why are you having stomach issues? Why are you having thyroid? And so truly, she changed my life. And I was like, oh my goodness, I need to go back to school and become, you know, a nurse practitioner or do something. And I ended up working as a nurse for a two times New York Times bestselling author, Amy Meyer. She's really big into thyroid and autoimmune health. And that was a huge blessing. The Lord really used that to segue me into like, how can you make this a profession after

I had gotten better after a few years? So I was her nurse for years. And then I went back to school and started my own private practice and wellness center. And it really is my ministry. I'm like, you get to restore people's health so that they can use their God-given gifts to bring glory to him. Whether they view it as God-given gifts or not, you know? And so what I do it is, you know, and so what I do it.

do is more just asking the like you have all these symptoms but why and how can we get to the root cause of it. So going back to your first visit with that functional medicine doctor, you at first thought, okay, this is woo-woo. This is not going to be a scientific as, you know, I think that it should be. Tell me about your first experience with her versus the first time you went to say the endocrinologist and these other doctors who kind of put you on the different medications and down different routes that weren't really helping. Like what kind of questions did she? She asked, how did she address your symptoms differently than those other doctors? That's such a good question.

So, and I don't think I've ever been asked that question. But it was very different in the sense. I will start off and say that, you know, it was a cash pay practice. And so because of insurance, people don't realize they're like, well, why can't all doctors spend an hour and a half with you? And it's because the insurance model, right? You've got to get this many people in and out. You only have 15 minutes with your doctor.

And so I don't fault our doctors. I'm like, it's what you have to do to make money, right? Like to see a certain amount of patients. But the one thing that really set that provider apart, and even what I do with patients now, is the time. Because your whole, it's not just symptoms. It's not just infertility or headaches. It's there's other pieces to the puzzle and you have to take the time to tell the story. And so, you know, she's asking me about, were you a C-section baby?

Were you breastfed or bottled fed? Wow. Going back. I'm like, I don't know who cares. Yeah. But really, everything tells the story. And so one, the time was the huge difference with her. And I'll just give the gastroenterologist for an example.

You know, I'd been really sick, gotten a couple stomach bugs while living abroad. And, you know, I was like, oh, I'm just not used to the food here. And it's Africa and Ecuador. And this is just life as a missionary. And so, you know, I kind of discounted those things. But she was really big on talking about my stomach and the gut and how it relates to a lot of things. And then, you know, I was going to the gastroenterologist. And he's like, well, let's do a colonoscopy.

Let's do an endoscopy. And they didn't find anything. And then it makes you feel crazy because you're like, but I swear this isn't normal. And he had put me on some medications and try this, do this. And I just felt like it was a lot of band-aids that he was, you know, I was also trusting him. And he's a great guy. He doesn't know about all this other stuff.

That's the thing that makes me sad is that we're not taught this in medical school or nurse practitioner or nursing school. So it was really just the time asking the why question, putting pieces of the puzzle together, not viewing my body as like you have a hormone system and a gut system and an immune system. it's like everything works together. The way that God designed our bodies, it all works together and it's all, it's not just different systems,

it's one body, but learning how things relate, kind of putting the pieces of the puzzle together, asking about my lifestyle. I'm like, well, I don't know, you know, like I wasn't into healthy eating. I grew up.

My mom was very healthy. But really, I mean, she changed my lifestyle, my diet, my stress, sleep. I was working, you know, when I was stressed, trauma, ICU night shift. Like, that's crazy for your body.

Oh, my gosh, yeah. So she just, kind of considered all inputs and it's not like I got better overnight. It was not like one week on going gluten free or whatever, you know, was this magical cure. But I started to see after a couple weeks, a couple of months, wow, I don't need this medication or I feel better in this way or I haven't, my hair's not falling out anymore. Yeah. And so it was, it's definitely one of those things with health. It's not a quick fix. It's not a quick fat or cleanse or diet. It was changing my lifestyle and really changed my life. And then my career. So she changed your or recommended that you

change how you sleep how you eat probably maybe how you deal with stress your nervous system and all of that and eventually you got off the medications that you were on wow yes and then treated some imbalances um i had some toxicity of some certain things in my body and she tested this like through blood tests or stool urine and blood okay wow so it was really fascinating and it definitely seemed overwhelming and you know especially when i work with patients i'm like it's not this overnight everything has to change You know what I mean? It's like, how can I slowly implement things that will long term make a huge impact? And again, I was not like, I want to be healthy. This is new year, new me type thing. For me, it was like, I was desperate and I was so sick. And I'd gone to all these people that I thought, they have the answers. They're the specialist, you know? And no one was, I wasn't getting better. Which looking back, I'm like, okay, God, I had to go through all of that to learn, like, you know, exactly what I do now. And yeah, it's so interesting how we really do kind of have this mentality. about functional medicine or integrative medicine or especially if you hear the word like holistic, we think, okay, that person, that doctor, whatever, they're only going to give me essential oils.

They're never going to give me an antibiotic even if I'm like dying of a bladder infection or something. And they just don't believe in science. They only believe in kind of this new age stuff. But obviously, like what you just described in functional medicine and what you do now is not just, well, here's some lavender for everything that ails you. you are just looking at the root causes and then using the great gift of actual science to figure out how to solve those problems at the root level. Why do you think it is that so many of us, even those of us who can maybe, you know,

we like more natural stuff. But our first thought when we hear holistic or integrative or functional is woo-woo, ineffective. That was my thought too. You know, it's crazy. It's out there. It's like voodoo. Is it from medical school?

Is it from just propaganda? I think it's a combination. And I really will say, like, I feel like in the last couple years, people are getting more into health and asking why questions and making choices for their health. And so I'm less of a freak now. You know what I mean? Like, I may be more normal and people are like, oh, I actually like have a question, you know. And I don't know.

I really don't know. I like to specifically answer your question because I feel like we talked about complimenting alternative medicine in nursing school, but it was such a short snippet of it. But I'm the same way. And I even like, I feel like sometimes I have to justify to people, 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. It's literally what God has put me here to do. But, you know, I do sometimes find myself saying, I don't like the term holistic because it gets such a bad rap. And even like my neurosurgeon, who's amazing and really into diet and lifestyle, he basically had told me, I was like, you know,

I don't just like stand outside and earth and like rub lavender on my head and eat kale and call it a day. You know, I was like, I love nutrient dense food and oils and all the things. things. But, you know, I kind of have to tell people, there is more science. And I think there are some people that do give it a bad rap, you know, and like a lot of information out there and even social media. And I do feel like with an integrative, more functional approach and how I explain it to people is I take the best of the conventional world and the holistic world and we merge the two and integrate it for the best outcomes. And like, we're left side of heaven. Not everybody's going to live in this perfectly healed body. And sometimes medications are not only necessary, but life-saving.

Yeah. You know, and that's where I tell people that. But my goal is I don't want to just put people on medicines to cover up the symptom. And then you're medicating another side effect. And then people don't even know where their symptoms originated. And so I don't know why it gets a bad rap, but it definitely does. I still hear it. And I do find myself being like, okay, here's the deal. I love oils.

I love the nutrient, but I also have reverence for our conventional model when it comes to traumas, emergency. I mean, I've lived in third world countries. We are so blessed with the access to care. But I feel like where our medical system is getting it wrong is asking the why question and prevention and actually getting to the root cause. Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country

aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort. We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in context,

conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed. You can watch this D-Day show right here on Blaze TV or listen wherever you get podcasts. I hope you'll join us. Tell me a little bit more about what you think like mainstream medical wisdom gets wrong as far as not just diagnosing people with things, but how we treat things. Like I think about my grandmother. She died a couple of years ago. And it's not even fully known what she died of.

She had epilepsy. And epilepsy is like notoriously hard to find the right medication for it's something that's in my family. And she just kept on getting all these different side effects from all the different medications. And they would increase the medicine. And then they would, you know, lower the dose or change the dose or add something. And it was like, there were just days.

And I'm like, I just feel like we should stop all medication and figure out what exactly is going on. Like why does she also constantly have these infections? she's constantly on antibiotics and all this stuff. And it was like if you ever brought up, well, why is this happening? Is there anything that we can change in her diet? Is there anything else we could do? And the doctors would always just say no.

No. Like that's some kind of crazy conspiracy theory. And I guess I just answered my own question. To me, that is like the saddest thing is that when you ask a doctor, is there anything else I can do except for taking this medication, it is almost always no. And like I just, I have a hard time understanding why that is. 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 spend time equipping practitioners. Because I will say, I think the core at why they poo-poo it is they're not taught it in school. Their textbook, right? You go to your classes. You have your professors. You have your curriculum. And it's all that you're taught. And you're not taught to question anything or make decisions for yourself or wonder why something is the way it is.

And we have a lot of sound medical textbooks and research and all of that. But a lot of it actually hasn't been updated in a while, right? It takes a long time. And so, you know, when I tell people, they're like, how did you learn what you did? And I really, I got sick. And that's what made me happen open mind. And I was honestly desperate. And I think that from an integrative, holistic, functional approach, people just have more tools in their tool belt versus our traditional medical model is what's the problem, you come in with a headache.

Okay, what are the five different meds I can give to you? And it's like, you just have limited tools in your tool belt. It's like you figure out the problem, the complaint, you figure out the solution, which is usually a pharmaceutical. or surgical intervention or maybe watch and wait. And that's all they're taught. So that's their limited toolbox versus, you know, in the integrative approach, it's, hmm, what else could be causing it? Is it triggered around your cycle? You know, is it triggered by weather changes? Is it brought on by stress? Do you have nutrient deficiencies, you know, like a magnesium deficiency that's leading to a tension headache? And so, you know, that's where they're just not taught to think outside

the box and have those tools and resources, which is a really big bummer because I feel like I've talked to a lot of, like my friend's parents, like middle age, towards the end of their career, about to retire physicians, like family traditional practice. And they've said, man, like, we just, our careers aren't as satisfying anymore because we feel like this patient keeps coming back and we don't know what else to do. We've done everything we know to do. We've ruled out the big stuff, but our hands are tied. And we just, and, you know, some people want to ask questions, but they're also so far into their career that they just keep doing what they're taught to do. Yeah. So it's just kind of like we're stock. A cycle. Yeah. Okay. So for

person who they're just kind of learning about this. And they're like, okay, I kind of want to start making sure that I'm doing everything in my own life to address the root causes that I have. Maybe they're not ready yet to go to a functional medicine practice or maybe they just don't have access to one yet, but they want to start taking steps in their own life. To live what is typically referred to as like a more non-toxic life. It's very overwhelming for people at the beginning. Like, what do you recommend? What's like a crash course, beginners tips for someone that's like, I don't even know how to take control of my health and handle all this. What the heck do I do?

Yeah. And I feel like that's a good place to be because you're curious, you want to do something, but it doesn't have to be this extreme whole house makeover, toss all these chemicals, you know, and I think also people don't even realize how many chemicals are in our daily life and how it can contribute to symptoms. And so, yeah, you don't want to put fear in people. You want people to care about their health and steward their bodies. And I think a lot of people have settled for just like, oh, I'm feeling this is just the way that I am and it's normal. And so-and-so has PMS and they get this. And so I think I would encourage people to say, what like, what do I want to improve, whether that's energy or maybe it's hormonal stuff. And there are specific things you can do for each, whether it's energy, stress, sleep issues.

So it really will depend on the person. But I would say some basics. And I think when people think about like cleaning up their lifestyle or their diet or non-toxic living, it can get overwhelming. And they'll do these cleanses or they'll get down this rabbit trail of a blog. And I always tell people, I'm like, just get back to basics. Like, really, one of the best things you can do is eat real food, you know, just because we have so many packaged things available. And, you know, I have to eat on the go.

I'm a mom with two kids and three businesses. And so I have to eat on the go and out too. But just really like getting around the family table, you know, however many, the dinner table with family or friends and community and just eating real food. That's a very basic thing. But that's hard for a lot of people. And what do you mean by real food? Does rice count as real food?

What exactly is that? I would say, yes. And I always tell people I'm like to simplify it, shop the perimeter of the grocery store. You know, it's like produce, healthy fruits, vegetables. You know, some people I know you can go, you can make an argument for every diet, actually. Like I can make an argument for why you should do this or this. But and everybody's different. Listen to your body.

That's what I also say. God gave us wise bodies and we need to listen to it and care for them. And, you know, when I say, think of eat, roll. food and something that we do in our family is like we eat vegetables with almost every meal. And even if it's a smoothie, I'm throwing some spinach in there in the morning or kill. Or if we do scrambled eggs, we'll throw in some spinach, you know. So for me, what that looks like and everybody's totally different. But like, you know, just eating eggs and vegetables and meat and, you know, fish and just really

simple things that you can make to be delicious. But without all the extra sugars and additives and all the... And how much should people care about organic versus not organic? So I really do strive. There's something called, well, the environmental working group, the EWG. They're a great resource online to check for chemicals and products and toxicity levels and also to check for produce and pesticides. And so, you know, realistically, I just tell people to start eating real fruits and

vegetables. And if they can afford it in their budget, I really do like organic. But a lot of people can't. And that's not realistic. And so and the things. And organic versus. not organic? What's the biggest differentiator? Just as far as what it's sprayed in and pesticides and things like that. And so, which are chemicals. And I actually have tested my body and other people

that I've worked with and we're exposed to a lot on a daily basis. And so, you know, I would say prioritize eating, just buying real fruits and vegetables first. And then if you can afford it or there's something called the Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15 and the Environmental Working Group every year comes out with a list that says the dirty dozen, you know, these 12 things that produce are the highest sprayed in pesticides and chemicals, which are not good for your health. And the Clean 15 are the ones that have less pesticide revenue, residue, yeah. So anyway, so that's what I tell people. I'm like, just focus on the Clean 15, you know, if you do not need to buy those organic, like avocados and bananas, they have shells, they're not sprayed. Right. You know, and I know a lot of people listening

will probably be like, well, what's the big deal with pesticides? Doesn't it keep stuff off our food? And it's, It's one of those things where the more research comes out and glyphosate and the spring of crops and especially a lot of women that have a lot of hormone endocrine issues. You know, certain chemicals can mimic estrogen in the body causing what's called estrogen dominant. So that can lead just everything from PCOS to PMS, infertility. And I'm not saying that's at the root of all of those things. You know, you also have to look at stress and sleep. but it's something that, you know, all of the things that we put on our bodies, you know, they can't have a lot of chemicals and disrupt our body's natural hormones and how we respond to things.

And so I would say eating real food, drinking enough water. I love filtered water, but just drink water, you know, not just drinking. I think so many people realize they have coffee in the morning, then they have a mid-morning tea, then they might have an energy drink and they're like, oh, I had water at dinner. And so just basics of just eating food that comes from the earth, whether it's animals, fruits, vegetables, you know, hydrating enough. Like I always say half your body weight and ounces of water. So if you're 120 pounds, 60 ounces of water.

And sleeping, I don't think people, people really under. How much should we be sleeping? Everyone's different. But is it eight hours that we always heard? Okay. Is ideal. And you know what? There are seasons of life where if you have a newborn baby, that's not realistic.

And so you do what you can. You do what you can with where you're at in whatever season you're in. But aiming for sleep, I think stress is really, really big. And it's one of those things where sometimes there's stress that you can control. Sometimes you can't. But it's how can you make your body more resilient under stress? Nourishing it with healthy food, you know, doing deep breathing, spending time in the word. You know, like for me, that's listening to worship music driving down the road without kids screaming in the car.

You know, so I feel like if you're in a stressful season, find those outlets. But just getting back to basics, like getting sunshine and fresh air. I know that sounds so silly. but those are just basic places that to start that the average American, just we don't. We live inside. We're sedentary. We drink a lot of coffee and sugar and then wine at night. You know what I mean?

And so it's just getting back to those things of just, I feel like sometimes health has to be this huge extreme cleanse and makeover and which diet do I follow. And it's like, just get back to the basics. And then if you have problems, customize from there, find an expert. So the big thing that people are talking about right now is seed oils. Yeah. And I honestly hadn't heard of it. seed oils until a few months ago. I think I heard it on a podcast like the hateful eight or something like that that includes sunflower oil, canola oil, vegetable, all that kind of stuff. You could probably

list them off the top of your head. But that we're really not supposed to be consuming because they cause inflammation. Like how big of a problem is this? How much should we be trying to avoid these seed oils? And if you can list them off the top of your head, you can do it. I don't know that I could list all eight. I'm like, I'm pretty impressed. But canola, safflower, sunflower, sunflower. oil, you'll see like fully hydrogenated vegetable oil, things like that. You know, and high fructose corn syrup got a lot of buzz for a good reason. I don't like it. But I feel like seed oils are the new people are really paying attention to them, just

like they wear high fructose corn syrup. And they're basically highly processed the way that they are inflammatory, the body, so our body has an inflammatory response to them. And so long term, and like also for everyone listening, I also have balance. I do not just like live under a tree outside and never consume a meal out. But that's something that I do try and emphasize and prioritize because they can create all the daily choices add up. And what I call it is an inflammatory cascade of just long-term inflammation that later leads to diseases. And so, you know, if someone's in has a lot of health symptoms or they're going through a health journey, definitely do their best to avoid it.

Yeah. But, you know, like I'm very clean at home and I use avocado oil, coconut oil. Olive oil is good. Yeah. I love olive oil. So it's like those are all the things that I use at home. And I know that even I'm eating out. Everything.

Even like, you know, organic stuff. I saw in one of my kids vitamins, this is organic. If I said the brand, everyone would be like, oh, I use all their stuff because it's organic and natural sunflower oil. Yes. And like they're gummies or, you know, gummy vitamins. I'm like, wait, what the hell? Hold on.

It's gluten free and it's sugar free. And marketing is hard and confusing. But they really are in a lot of like even healthy packaged snacks, you know. And like, that's the thing is I do my best to avoid it. I encourage people to avoid it. Eating out, even at some of the healthiest local restaurants, like I know that they're going to use that. And that's where I say, you know what, this meal with my friends and my family and the

community around the table and enjoying someone to cook a meal for you and not having to do it. That is worth it because sometimes people that try to be too perfect, it becomes an idol. And if that's worse for your health, the stress and control is worse for your health than having a few crackers that has maybe the less ideal oil, you know, but do I try? me personally, and I encourage people, especially on health journeys, like, yeah, cut it out as much as you can do the best with what you have. And you're not going to be able to control everything, but at your home and your meals, it's a great way to do it. I've also heard that it can lower testosterone

levels in men, which is a problem. I think that's what I read. It was like sperm count or something like that. Yes. And I think there's a lot of fertility is a major issue. I think we can agree that there are a lot of, even talking to my grandfather, who's like 92, very educated man, colonel in the army, seen a lot of life. And he's like, I've never heard of autism before. I've never, he's like, I remember that some people couldn't get pregnant, but like infertility. He's like, he's like, I feel like this is such a common theme, you know, ADHD. And so my grandfather's like, sometimes we had it and there wasn't a medical diagnosis for it. But he even is like, I feel like there's a lot of issues lately. And especially with fertility, you know, a lot of

focus is highlighted on the female. But as we know, it takes two. And a lot of it is the female and curing and sustaining pregnancy. But yes, there's been a lot of, and I know because I work with a lot of couples with this, but a lot of men that have had decreased sperm motility, you know, decreased sperm count, quality, things like that that people have not seen like this in a long time. And I think there are multiple contributing factors, including our modern day diet, stress, chemicals, things like that. And how much should we care about plastics? That's another big one that I see emphasized a lot now. Yeah. And then you get in the wrap. a troll of microplastics.

And I even think about like, you're strong. Okay, our Stanley, like this is plastic and everything else. Well, I guess the top is plastic too. And even like it's hard to find kids stuff. Am I going to give my toddler a glass like, you know, thing to take to school? No. And so how much should, you know, we care about that? It's one of those things.

And it's the same with oils. I'm like, you know, that's one of the things that I, I try really hard to in our home. Right? It's like the glass pyrecks that we use. And then other people will be like, well, what's the big deal with plastic? It leads just chemicals, especially if you're putting hot things in it, you know. Yes. So I just saw a post this morning that you really shouldn't put the plastic liner in your crock pot.

Yeah, because it heats up. And it leads up. And that can be. Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. So I just, you know, do the everything in the crock pot. And then you got to kind of soak it and wash a little bit more.

But it is. And I definitely, that's the thing. It's like, I make an effort. And you know what? That's the thing where it's like, I have a straw. That's not perfect. But I have the exact same one, same color. Oh, yeah. But the things that I can focus on, you know, it's like I prefer silicone and glass. And I think I had actually shared something on Instagram. Was it this weekend? Yeah, it was Saturday. My family went out to barbecue and I was with my two boys and my husband. And I just took a picture because I'm like, you know, people look to me for health advice and non-toxic living. And I was like, you know what? Here's me drinking unfiltered water out of a plastic cup. For anyone wondering, I live a normal life. And I was thirsty. Yeah. You know, and it's not filtered water and it's not. And so that's where I really do feel like in my home or, you know,

even bringing things to work for me, whether it's, you know, bringing in a glass jar, mason jar, Pyrex, whatever. I just do the best that I can. But I do think plastics are a huge problem. I do think that, you know, they have a lot of chemicals in them. And especially for women, it's, I know this is kind of an integrative word, but it's called an endocrine disrupting chemical. Yeah.

And what that does is it just affects our hormones. And I think no one can deny the amount of hormonal problems, whether it's transitioning into menopause and having this horrible time. It's actually not supposed to be that way. Yeah. Some people transition well, but it's so common and so normal that everything gets normalized. Like PMS is normal. And I'm like, guys, it's not.

I know. I heard the other day, actually, I think for the first time that like cramps before your periods are not necessarily good or normal. Right. I don't know that. Really? See, that and that's where it's like, I wouldn't have known that either until I got into where I was. Yeah. I just thought that's everyone.

You know, I'm laid up and I have to be on the heating pad and I have to miss a day of work. and I'm like, oh my gosh, people just settle for that being normal. And just because it's common doesn't mean it's normal. And that's where I mean where people just settle for this level of health. You know, now I'm also very in tune with, hey, when you are on your menstrual cycle, like, you probably should rest. You probably should relax. Your body is going through a lot. Maybe you need more iron.

But really understanding our bodies and our hormones. And, you know, like when you're on your period, it may not be the time to have five social events and do high intensity interval workouts. It's honoring your body. But you also shouldn't have to like. shut down for a whole day and so much pain and I have so many friends I remember you know in high school and stuff like that it was like oh I can't go to school today and we were just like oh yep you know PMS is normal she's on her period it's like yeah it's normal to be like I'm in such a bad mood for the week before my period of my period and after my period so I have like one good window or something like that's

not normal right it shouldn't be that way no it really shouldn't and I tell people a little fatigue's okay and like letting your body rest and but no it's not normal and that's a thing where it's I just get headaches. Oh, I just get allergies. And just because things, now I'm not saying, and this is where I'm also like, we are left side of glory. We live in a fallen world. Yeah. No one has arrived at this perfect state of health. I mean, I feel pretty dang good. I have zero symptoms. Like I can confidently, when I've done symptom questionnaires, I'm like, I don't have headaches. I'm like, I don't have headaches. I don't have headaches. I get sick every now and then. That's normal. You know, like I come into contact with things. But yeah, like, it's not normal for people to just

subtle with allergies and headaches and hormones. I'm asking you all these things that I like did not even prepare you for but they're just genuinely curious because I have been dealing with allergies so much over the past couple of weeks just like itchy sneezing every morning and so but I have also heard probably you say that allergies and seasonal allergies again does not have to be like a normal thing right which yeah I tell people sometimes when they transition to like new environments and they're adjusting to a new climate sometimes there is a little bit of a like oh hold Hold on. What's going on here? Yeah. But at the root of allergies, it can be different things. So that's when I would ask people like, okay, so what changed? Do you know what I mean? Because allergies actually is part of our immune system and our immune response. And so I would say, okay, Ali, what happened a couple weeks ago? Did anything happen? And maybe you're like, no, nothing happened. You know, but you look at certain things. And it could be things from years back. Sometimes people that have had to be on long term steroids or even a lot of women that have been on birth control, it can lead to candida and fungal overgrowth. Have you ever heard of fungal?

I've heard of Candida before. So sometimes, so a lot of times when I ask people about symptoms of that, that can be a lot of times a root cause of allergies. And so I will ask people, you know, certain things like, do you have itchy ears? Do you have sugar carb cravings? Do you have sometimes brain fog? You know, do you have seasonal allergies, any recurrent yeast infections, whether it's ringworm, toenail fungus, female issues, you know? And so those are all things that I ask of like, huh, I wonder if there's some fungal stuff going on that could be contributing to allergies. Sometimes people, it's new environments.

They just moved and they didn't realize that the carpet in their new home or maybe getting a new pet or there's lots of different contributing factors. So it's not just Zyrtec or Sudafed Fed every day. Yeah. There could be some deeper things. There can be some deeper things. And that's the why question of like, and you can't go crazy and rack yourself and be like, I got a headache.

Why do I get a headache today? Yeah. You know, but stress can weaken the immune system. And so sometimes when people go through periods of stress, that suppresses the immune's response or heightens it to respond inappropriately. My son was having, he's three and nothing had changed. We're in our same home. We have a dog, never had crazy allergies. And he was having almost like asthma type stuff. And I'm really like, let's do the steamy shower. We can do saline and nebulizer to open you up or bind mucus. Like I got all the tricks on my sleeve, right? And everything I did,

nothing was touching it. And I was like, this is different. This is like true asthma, like kind of constricted airways. Like, you know, I'm at the medical background along with mom gut of like, something's not right. And sure enough, he was having asthma like episodes. And it was at nap time. And I'm like, is something in his room? This is so strange. Well, it was right when school started and he has, I know this is crazy, but this is just an example of a story that happened last September. He had started school and they have a pecan tree and where their playground is. And he had all that, he called them acorns. I'm like, no, baby, those are pecans, but they come in a shell. And I knew in my gut, I was like something is not right.

I mean, he's having like true asthma. Like I feel like I need to go do breathing treatments, get medicine. So I was like, let me just test him to see if there's a weird allergen that's triggering this. And sure enough, it's pecan. And he has a pecan tree at school. Wow. So, you know, there's just stuff like that.

Just asking questions. Yeah. And I just knew that that's not typical for my son. And so, and he wasn't sick. Interesting. So you're, I mean, do you just try to get him to like avoid? Yes. Avoid.

Kind of focus on the immune system. You know, eating healthy. There are certain supplements for allergies, things like quercitin. stinging nettles. These are all kind of herbs and things like that. So I'm doing that with him for a little bit and just focusing on just like, how can we get your body to respond better? And he goes to school three a week and he's great now. You know, it just almost took a little bit of time to reset. Yeah. Gosh, there's so many things like that that parents deal with. I think one big one that I've seen a lot is eczema. And that's something that I've got some nephews that have it,

my youngest had it. And when we went to the doctor, it was like steroid cream, steroid cream. And then, like, I just randomly saw on Instagram these adults going through, like, steroid basically detoxing withdrawals. And they were trying to get off of it. And they realized for them their X-Mel was a part of their diet or an allergy or something like that. And I was like, I don't want that, you know, in 20 years from now. And so what can I change, like, about the diet or anything? And I'm not like any kind of specialist. You're a mom.

And you have a mom. There were allergies there. And we addressed the allergies and we got those things away. And we haven't seen any exma in like over a year without any steroid cream. I'm not saying that that's, you know, going to happen to everyone. But just kind of matching your own story. Sometimes it does just take some a little extra because when we went to the dermatologist, there were no questions.

No questions about like, well, you know, like what's the diet like or what it was out? There was nothing like that. And so to me it was like, well, it would just kind of make sense that maybe if this thing is irritating in some ways that it could maybe cause this kind of eczema response. I don't know. I don't know. But obviously we need help. My son had an egg allergy that caused eczema.

Yeah. And it's one of those things where it's like, I knew better. But if your kid's miserable and can't sleep through the night, you've got to do something temporarily while you figure that out. But same thing was that. Chlorine really irritated his skin and he had eczema that derived from an egg allergy. And so it's just one of those things that I always told moms, I'm like, advocate for your kids, ask questions.

Sometimes meds are necessary. sometimes people in the natural world are too prideful and they're like, I've never done a med. I never will. And I'm like, your kid's not sleeping through the night because they're itching. Like you got to do something. You know what I mean? So that's that fine line of even if you have to use meds, don't feel guilty. Use that to comfort your child until you can get to this place where you help find the root cause.

And sometimes antibiotics are necessary. Necessary. Yes, they are. Yes, they are. Speaking of kids, before we move on to the next segment of our conversation, speaking to kids, you did talk about like you try to eat a vegetable at every meal. your kids are three and one. My kids are also three and one. I know it's not always easy to get them to eat the things that you want them to eat. So like how is, have you navigated that? But also just kind of like

integrating health and wellness into their little lives. Yes. And I really try to be mindful of that because I don't want to be this controlling nagging parent. You have to eat your peas and you have to, you know what I mean? You don't want it to become this power struggle. And they are little humans that have their own preferences and that's okay. I will say, and that's too where I feel like part of loving and caring for my child is creating this safe home for them to thrive in of like, we don't use a lot of chemicals in our laundry detergent and those things. And we do our best with diet, Billy Gifforda birthday party and he doesn't have a true allergy and joy.

You know, I'm like, I have a lot of healthy mom friends. I'm like, oh, that's simple mills. Yeah. We made that, you know. But with that being said, when it comes to food, my one year old, I am like so blessed. He is the best eater. It is unbelievable. I don't have a secret.

I exposed him. I will say starting early on, all we did was vegetables. We didn't do fruits, a lot at first. because then they're like, I just want sweet. I don't want that. So that's one thing I do tell moms is a variety when they introduce foods, lots of vegetables, start them out that way. And variety, like, they don't want to have peas and carrots at every single meal.

You know what I mean? Maybe chopped carrots differently, things like that. My three-year-old, you know, he's getting a little pickier. Yeah, don't they? I mean, they go through those stages. They go through those stages. My daughter, she will literally, like, acts like beef is the grossest thing that she's ever seen. I'm like, literally for 18 months of your.

life. This is all you wanted to eat. And now she just doesn't want anything to do with it. She was like kale, beats, all of that. And all of a sudden it's like, you know, where's my mac and cheese. So yeah, it's difficult to deal with that. And that's where I find just keep exposing them, you know, and I'm not going to make it this tower struggle. And sometimes that there is a treat where like, you know, you do have to eat your dinner before you're excused from the dinner table. And if you want to go have a treat or go with mommy to go get an ice cream or whatever. I say that. People are like, your kids had ice cream like five times. And it's true. Like it's not like, but we're also normal. And here's where I'm really big on, like, finding healthier alternatives for things.

You know, I want my kid to be normal. I want him to have pizza. But we're not going to go to the pizza joint every Friday night. And, you know, and so making our own, we do like a family pizza night. But I will say for the toddler, re-exposing in different formats. So, like, he will eat kale if it's cooked in a soup. And I'm like, that's strange because if I just made kale the exact same way and it looks the same. But for whatever reason, green smoothies.

He loves getting veggies and green smoothies. I even do frozen zucchini in there. He can't taste it. Yeah. And then, yeah, just different. Like, it's the strangest thing. He would never touch broccoli recently, but maybe if I put butter on it or maybe if I blended, I make this like green gut healing soup with bone broth and a bunch of green veggies. He loves that and he'll like drink it up. I'm so confused. I'm like, that's purely vegetables. Yeah. So I just try not to make it. Yeah. Different ways. Yeah. Different ways exposure. You know, sometimes you can throw it in the smoothie or

the zucchini and carrot muffins. And I just try not to make it a power struggle and just realize, you know what, he's at age and he has preferences and he doesn't want that right now. And that's okay. It's not worth like the screaming match and all of that. But that also doesn't mean that we have to just say, okay, fine. Junk food all the time. I do think it is about consistency. Discipline on the parents part.

Yes. Because that's hard. It takes a lot more time and effort. And that's like one of my resolutions for this year is to just be more consistent, introducing new things and all that. Try new recipes. It's hard. So hard.

It's hard. It's hard. We're moms that work and have two little. It's not like your home cooking. Yeah. Yeah. It's hard. Okay.

I want to talk about another part of your health journey, which I'm sure was very unexpected to you. And I think this is maybe around the time I started following you. Last year, you found a brain tumor, correct? Yes. And so tell me about that. I'm sure that, you know, that's not exactly how you were expecting the last part of last year to look.

Yes. Last year and even just my story, you know, people that here are two. Dukes has a brain tumor? Like she's the healthiest person I know. And I'm also like, God, what? I thought I went through my healing journey and you brought me to where I am. Was that just an intermission? It's like I was already sick. Yeah. Yeah. And I know and trust that the Lord has a plan and a purpose to it. And I've already seen that. Like I really have. It's not just something I'm telling myself. But essentially, I have no symptoms. Like I said, I still have no symptoms of this brain tumor. And I, there's this technology, a scan, a full body MRI and they have a few. I've just, I'm

always researching learning. I'm a nerd at heart. Like, people don't realize like I'm social, but I'm like, I'm a nerd, you guys. And, and I've followed this technology for years, just for patients, you know, and my husband's mom passed away from non-smoking lung cancer. So I've always wondered, I'm like, she never smoked. What the heck? Like, was it an environmental? It just makes you ask questions. Genetics, environment. And so my husband, I had actually reached out to the scan for him. He had this weird bronchogenic assist between his heart and lung when he was in eighth grade. And so knowing his mom's history and his story. I'm like, okay, as scary as the scan could be, what if it's early, the purpose of the scan, it's an MRI technology that's radiation and die free that does the full

body to detect. Interesting. Okay. And so it's just a preventative scan. And so I had reached out to the company myself for my husband and I had said, hey, just on Instagram. I was like, hey, I'm a provider. I can write an order for my husband. Do I just like fax it in or does he just sign up on your website? And they reached out and they were like, hey, we see that you educate, you know, on this platform and you're a health care provider. We'd love to gift it to you. And I was like, well, it's not really for me. It's for my husband. And like, thanks, but no thanks.

I don't really need it. And after talking with my husband, I didn't tell them that. I was thinking that. I was like, well, it's not for me. Should I try to gift it to him through them? But I was like, you know what? It's good for me to learn. Maybe I need to do it.

Well, Lord knows that I needed it because through that I found out I have a brain tumor. Wow. So I'm really grateful yet also like, oh, I wish I never did it. I wouldn't know. But like I always say, and I've always said when you know better, you do better. And I know I have a brain tumor and now I can do better and allow me to kind of figure out what my future looks like. And so not that I have control of that, but make wise decisions moving forward. And so it was Labor Day weekend.

I had actually got the results sent to me because I'm a medical provider. And we were on the way to the aquarium. And I was going through my phone. I was like, yay, I get my results. Like I wonder if everything from thyroid or back stuff or whatever. And my husband thought I was kidding because I'm a huge doxter. And he's like, you are joking, you're not serious. I was like, no, I have a brain tumor.

So that led to my initial report in the medical field. It's called differential diagnosis. What was your feeling, though, in that moment? Was it like this must be a mistake? Like, did your stomach drop? Oh, I was sick. And I literally was just. Sobbing or were you in shock?

I was sick to my stomach. And this is where I'm like, dang it in the medical field, you just know too much. And like brain tumor. And I don't want to say this because there are plenty of people that have lived with brain tumors and defied problems. But to me, some of the initial different, it's called in the medical world, it's called differential diagnosis, things that it could be. So the radiologist listed what it could be.

And it was metastatic disease, lymphoma. What's metastatic disease? Metastasis like cancer. Okay. Yeah, great question. So if I had cancer somewhere else in my body and it metastasizes to my brain, they'd call that like a metastatic, you know, it metastasized to my brain. So metastatic disease, lymphoma, which is a form of cancer, glialblastoma, which, which

is the most lethal form. One of the most lethal forms of cancer. Usually people are given five months to a year to live once they're diagnosed. So I'm sitting here looking at this. And it said other things like astrocytoma, oligodendrioma, you know, all these things. And I'm like, I didn't even know all of them. But I'm like thinking glioblastom, I'm like, this is a death sentence. This is literally like, my kid was eight, nine months at the time. I mean, I was just breastfeeding him on the beach. It was raining. So we're like, let's go to the aquarium in town. And my world flipped upside down. I was sick to my stomach. I did not have peace. I have since God has provided literally peace that I just can't explain in so many circumstances.

Not every day. I still have my hard moments. But that first week was really tough. I'm making phone calls. I'm literally thinking like, this is my life. This is my life. And I'm not going to see my kids and grow up. It was scary.

I think the hardest part for me. Just thinking I'm not going to see my kids grow up. Yes. And that is still the hardest part for me. But I when I found, so that was the first initial. I had gotten in touch. I mean, I was on the beach. Thank God for people and friends and connections because I had got in touch with an oncologist and a local neurosurgeon.

And most people, by the way, are finding out about brain tumors because they've had headaches for years or they have a seizure and they wake up in the hospital. And it's like, you find out everything then. For me, I'm like, I'm at the beach with my family on the Texas coast. And I got a repeat MRI with contrast to show us a little bit more of like what it looks like. And praise God. We still don't know if we don't know if it's cancer or not. We don't know. We find out in a few weeks after my brain surgery and pathology. But, you know, I've been dealing with this for four months, almost five months. And when we did the repeat MRI, it came back as

non-enhancing. In medical terms, it's not super vascular. It didn't light up like a Christmas tree on the scan. And a lot of times cancer will do that. And so we're hopeful. We're like, please God, let it be benign like we think it is. But you just don't know until you have pathology, which means getting in there sampling it. And so, yeah, so that was the original diagnosis. I've sent you know, met with several oncologists, multiple neurosurgeons, flown all over the country to meet with specialists. And so I'm very unique. No one has a brain tumor with no symptoms.

Oh, really? I mean, it's just most people, no one has like an incidental finding, you know, just because it's preventative scan. Exactly. So headache, seizures. And so I feel so grateful. I also am like, okay, God, you've given me this time to quarterback my care team. And I have a local neurosurgeon and oncologists, you know, in Fort Worth.

but I also have sought out some other experts who I will be flying to Arizona for surgery in two weeks from today. Wow. So that's February 1st. February 1st. And the surgery, you said pathology is where they go in there and they remove the tumor. Okay. So they're going to remove the whole tumor.

As much as they can. Okay. The brain's tricky. And what I've been told by my surgeon is it kind of, you think of it, it's not like just a little bead that you go and scrape out, right? It has infiltrative components. And so they'll get as much as they can. It's kind of infiltrated my brain too.

You removing your yeah because you still have to parts of your brain. Yes. Like motor, sensory, speech, memory. And so that's what's really hard about the brain. And I've been told surgery is not curable. It can help, but it's 100% likely to come back, not if, but when by my surgeon. Really. So in brain tumors for people that have experienced them, they're very likely to come back, even if it's benign.

So that's where I am motivated to do anything and everything. And at the end of the day, the Lord is in control and he knows the number of my days. but I am, what can I do to get this to not come back? And, you know, I've even done a lot of integrative treatments. I'm on a whole healing protocol right now. I have even in my purse over there, laser and light watch that I'll do on my way home. I put it in my ears and in my nose. I've gone to international clinics in the last four months to go and seek some care that's not available here in the States.

What's laser and light? It just helps with like brain tissue and a lot of people that have that are doing integrative oncology, like, you know, an integrative approach. They might be doing chemo and radiation, but they might be doing a lot of other things. You can do localized light therapy like heat and things like that. I can't do that because my brain and my school. And so what I do is I do these little ear pieces and intranasal pieces. You know, I did a ton of IVs when I was at clinics over out of the country, hyperbaric oxygen chambers. So I very much, even tying back to my career of like I have reverence for the conventional model of surgery and pathology, and I'll know if I need chemo or radiation after surgery,

but I'm also like, I'm not just going to do that, right? And I tell people all the time, if I had only met with my local neurosurgeon and my local oncologist, they're amazing people. I love them. So kind, so wonderful. I would be so discouraged that these are my only options. But to know, I have an integrative oncologist in California, my surgeon is very much about looking at genetics and molecular stuff of the tumor and lifestyle.

and diet. And I swear, I feel like him and I are going to do a research study or something because he's open-minded to find a neurosurgeon that's open-minded. And so that's where I find a lot of hope and confidence and how can we get the best of both to get the best outcome to live a long healthy life. Is it possible that you've had this brain tumor? Your whole life? Up to 10 years, they are, that's the hard thing is that it's like, I have no symptoms. You know, so it's like, how long has this been here and you have to ask the question? And a lot of people ask, well, then why, if you have no symptoms, wouldn't you just watch and wait? And part of me is like, yeah, I want that.

I don't want a brain surgery. I mean, it's, it's stinks. It's scary. And am I going to come out normal? And, you know, what's life going to be like? And am I going to be able to hold my kids for a while? And that's really hard. But there is wisdom, some wisdom.

I mean, God can do anything. And I'm like, if I did a repeat MRI and it shrunk or went away, oh, my gosh. It would be the happiest best thing ever. But at the same time, there is wisdom and getting it out because it could grow to a point where it is inoperable. And that's, that's a hard reality to sit with, you know, because then you're doing as much radiation as you can do or some chemo and it still may not be. So I feel fortunate that mine is in a location that is operable. You know, I'm not symptomatic. I don't want to be unwise and wait until I have

a seizure. You know, I've also, you know, I've done all the testing to see if I'm at risk and all the workups and healing is like a full-time job right now for me, you know, but I got an EEG. I'm not at risk for seizures. But, you know, I do wonder as a mom, what if I were driving my kids and I had a seizure, you know? And so I don't want to wait until something happens, but I've also, you know, had four to five months to pray. Even my neurosurgeon was like, you're not symptomatic. You own three businesses, get through the holidays, enjoy your baby turning one. Like, just enjoy life. And that's what I've done. You know, I'm really, I'm focused on my own healing protocol. And so I really relate to people going through health stuff. I'm not just this practitioner that's like, do this, do this. I'm like, I'm in it.

You know, in a very extreme degree with a brain tumor. Yeah. But I get it. You know, and I'm also like, it's my birthday. And I wanted a glass of wine and go enjoy a date night out with my husband. And I did that. You know, even though I'm on this healing protocol. And so, but yeah, I'm definitely in a season devoted to healing and just waiting to see like, okay, God, what's next? Tell me what God has taught you through this because you did say you didn't have peace, which I think is a very normal reaction when you first found this out, but that God has kind of given you that peace that passes understanding throughout these past few months.

So just tell us about the spiritual side of this journey. Yes, I have never felt so close to the Lord. I mean, truly. And I had a pretty, I came to know the Lord in college and, you know, I've been walking very closely with him. It's not like, oh, I always knew of God, but now I really know. I have a pretty intimate relationship with God even prior to this. But, and I do, I don't fully know what he's doing because, like, right, I'm still at the beginning of this journey.

But I have just seen so many glimpses, one of just his hand in this, like, just stuff that I can't even make up that I can't even recount in our time here today. But I call them my Godwinks. You know, waymakers, the song that's just been carrying me through. A lot of people know that song, you know. And just it comes up almost every time I'm in the car. Like, okay, God, I get it. I know you're going to make a way. I don't know what that looks like.

You know, and like when I went to a treatment center that was out of the country, you know, you'd go to treatment six days a week, full-time job basically. And on Sundays you have it off. And we do our own little church service. It's a Christian healing center. And they do integrative medicine. And the guy leading it was like one of our friends husbands. And he was like, okay, guys, we're going to start off with Waymaker.

And I'm just like, God. You know, God's been really kind to give me those, like all my God winks. But I've just really seen so much of him through it. And I know the promises of God. but actually experiencing them, like, I know what it's like when Jesus, like, slept in the storm when it was crazy because it's like my world and my, my whole world is chaos right now, you know, I'm preparing for a brain surgery, but like I can rest at night knowing that like the Lord has this. He knew this isn't a surprise to him. I don't show this

with a lot of people, but what the heck? Why not? Here we are. I was given a prognosis, like a limited number of years of my life. And basically I was told, even if it's benign, my goal, my doctor told me, you know, that it would be for you to make it to this point in life, which means I wouldn't see either kid graduate from high school. Which is like, ah, makes you sick, right? Those are the moments where I'm like, God, is having really better than seeing every milestone? I mean, it's hard to imagine. Yes.

And so I have my moments. And that's where I tell people, I'm like, I am not full of faith and optimistic and positive pamela all the time, you know. But I am able to rest at night. And I have seen even the company, it reached out to me. And they were like, hey, since you've shared, we have had five people use your code that have had significant life altering diagnosis that they're able to seek care. sooner with an early intervention. And I don't know their full stories. I don't know if I ever will. I've

had one person reach out and she has liver cancer. But, you know, I've had people reach out and I'm like, okay, God, thank you for using that. You know, thank you for, if it weren't for my husband's mom's lung cancer, I don't know that I would have ever done this scan. So that you see God's hand from 10 years ago protecting us in our family. And, you know, I'm one of those people that I know and trust of the Lord puts us through things and we don't always know why. And sometimes I may not even know until I get to heaven one day. I'm like, okay, God. But I will say he has given me glimpse of his plan and purpose and just so many things along the way, like a local pastor's wife had a dream about me and all these things she's sharing. I'm like, I don't even hardly know you. And the way that I found out my surgeon in

Arizona, I kept hearing about this guy in Arizona. But I'm like, well, I don't have a name. What do I do? God, just Google Arizona neurosurgeon. You know, I just, I kept hearing through three people. And finally, this, this colleague of mine who's an integrative oncology expert, I said, do you by chance no? And she says, here's your doctor at this place. in Arizona. And I was like, okay, God. Like, it's just there's so many things along the way that aren't a coincidence. You can't make up. I feel very cared for, very supported in this process. You know, it's unified my family. And I live life through a new lens. Like the poopy diaper when my nanny cancels. Who cares? I get to spend a day with my kid. Like, what a gift versus before.

It's like, I have this to do list. And so I feel like, yeah, God's just, that's a long tangent of just, I've really seen him just shift. And that's the other thing. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. Every moment counts. Every moment of every day matters, but we live life as if we get to make these plans and grow old and be grandparents one day. And that's not a promise to any of us. And so even given a prognosis and as hard as that is, I'm like, only God knows a number of my days. And you know what? I want to defy odds and I want to live a long, healthy life and be a good mom for my kids.

But I also think that I could get in a car wreck tomorrow, you know? And so it's kind of him to give me this new lens to live through with young babies and to not miss out on every moment. Yeah. And it's such a good perspective too because it shows that what you do and why you live the way that you do and encourage other people to live the way that you do is not to necessarily control every health outcome. Because that's impossible. You do it because you're stewarding your body that even I'm sure if someone told you, okay, I mean, this is a tragic thing. If someone told someone, you know, you're going to die in two weeks. These are your last two weeks in your last two weeks in your life. life. It would still be right of that person to steward their body well because that is how we glorify the Lord. It's not only to try to control our health, although that is part of it, but it's also because we believe that taking care of our bodies is something that pleases the Lord. Not that, you know, eating cake and drinking life doesn't please the Lord ever. Yes, but I think that also just this diagnosis gives a really interesting perspective that you're not showing this because you're like, look, I've never

had a health problem. And you can be more like me. You're showing people this because it's like, okay, this is the way I think that we can honor our bodies and honor God through our bodies, you know, in the best way that we can without, you know, not missing out on those opportunities just for fun and leisure and all of that. Exactly. So even that's when people are like, Taylor, you're the healthiest person. 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 figure out and change the trajectory for people that do have brain tumors right yeah and research and I'm the question asker and so I'm going back to what happened to me 10 years ago and that I'm finding answers like we are I haven't shared this but

we are finding that I have certain things with my blood brain barrier and a certain parasite actually this is the first time I'm sharing this the certain parasite that actually the American Cancer Society and the international journal of cancer has linked to glial and young middle-aged people. And that's me. Yeah. And so it's interesting to find the data. And not that my neurosurgeons ordering this.

I'm working with the integrative oncologist. And the Lord is just leading me because I really do feel 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 know if I have a book. I don't know if I have a research study or if I'm just the case study myself. But I do believe that the Lord has allowed this to happen and he's going to use it. And I know and trust that.

I really, really do. And just to, I think you already said it. But what's the name of the test that you use the MRI type test? Yes. It's called the pernuvo scan. P-R-E-N-U-O. They have a, I'm not affiliated with them. Literally have a link or code for people to get a discount.

I get no commission. Like it is, I am not affiliated with them in any way. It truly is just something that I did. Not knowing I was going to find this. And early detection is key for, you know, better outcomes. And so that's my story. And I'm really grateful for it.

Yeah. But it's called the per NUvo skin. Well, we'll be praying for you. I know the relatable audience has loved this conversation. And they're going to be praying for you. Your surgery is February 1st. in Arizona. And I do think that you have a Gives and Go link, right? Yes.

That people can go to if they want to support you. If they want to know more about this journey, I can link it in the description of this episode. If you want to support Taylor, I'm sure that she would really appreciate that. And I know more than anything, she would appreciate your prayers and just thinking about everything that she's going through and her kids and her husband. I mean, this is a lot. This is a lot. And I'm very hopeful. I'm very hopeful for the result of the surgery and what's to come of it. But I'm even more hopeful in the testimony that God has given you and the platform that he's given you. I mean, who knows? When God, when it looks like God is doing one thing, he's doing a million things.

And like you said, we do not know the constellation of people's testimonies until we get to heaven, but you never know what small thing you shared, what seemingly mundane action you took or, you know, what you did that led someone to where they are, especially in their testimony, to becoming a Christian. So we just never know. We just never know. We just never know. And it makes me excited about heaven to see one day. And it's kind when we get glimpses of that here.

The constellations are going to be amazing. Yes. Yes. Yes. And amen. Well, thank you so much, Taylor, for taking the time to come on.

I really appreciate it. I know people are going to be so encouraged by this. Tell everyone where they can find you, how they can follow you all that good stuff. You're sweet. Thanks for having me. I love this. I have a website,

Taylordukeswellness.com. I have tons of health articles and just practical things of where you can get started with your health. I also have it. Instagram account, Taylor Duke's Wellness. And yeah. Yes, I follow her on Instagram, follow her, Taylor Duke's wellness. And yeah, you're great. She's a great follow.

Lots of good practical tips, too. So thank you so much. Thank you. Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself.

On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort. We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed, you can watch this D-Day show right here on Blaze TV or listen wherever you get podcasts. I hope you'll join us.