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Unfiltered insights and hard-hitting questions that challenge the status quo in law, life, and everything in between.
Join Travis Patterson, Fort Worth's straight-shooting personal injury attorney, as he tackles the tough questions nobody's asking—but should be. In "Driving Change," Travis brings his signature blend of legal savvy and real-world experience to challenge the status quo in law, life, and everything in between. From practical safety tips for your family to navigating the complexities of modern parenting and entrepreneurship, each episode delivers unfiltered insights and actionable advice. Drawing on his unique perspective as a seasoned lawyer, entrepreneur, and changemaker, Travis offers a legal lens on everyday scenarios, breaking down complex topics into easy-to-understand, actionable steps. Whether you're a busy parent looking to protect your kids, an entrepreneur seeking fresh perspectives, or someone who wants to be better prepared for life's curveballs, "Driving Change" equips you with the knowledge to make smarter decisions and safeguard what matters most.
[00:00:00] Travis: All right. Welcome to another episode of the Driving Change podcast. I'm Travis Patterson. I'm joined today by one of my buddies, Taylor Dukes, the infamous Taylor Dukes functional medicine nurse practitioner to the stars. I'm honored to be here. Taylor. Thank you for coming. You have a long bio. Um, I feel like everybody I know already knows you, but, uh, I just wanna start with your story.
[00:00:26] Taylor: Yeah.
[00:00:27] Travis: Uh, first tell me what exactly functional. Medicine is, I think I know it, but every time I say it someone's like, no, that's not even close. So what is functional medicine? What's a functional medicine nurse practitioner and how did you get into that?
[00:00:39] Taylor: Yeah, so that's a great question. So I went to TCU for nursing school, functional integrative medicine.
[00:00:43] Taylor: None of that was even on my radar. I was just like, I wanna be a trauma ICU nurse. I'm an adrenaline junkie. Mm-hmm. I like fast-paced environments. I'm quick on my feet. So I went to TCU U just thinking I'd do that and I'll kind of explain functional medicine as I explain my story. Um, and so I got really, really sick.
[00:00:59] Taylor: [00:01:00] And so I actually had the opportunity to go abroad after I went to TCU and graduated. Everyone goes to the hospital and gets their job and I kind of went rogue. I kind of do things different. Mm-hmm. You'll see that that's a theme. You already know that. Yes, yes. And so I was like, cool. God gave me the opportunity to go to Africa and do missionary ministry stuff and it was awesome.
[00:01:16] Taylor: Um, and then after Africa, I went to Ecuador. But being abroad, I got really, really sick. And so I ended up getting flown back from Ecuador way sooner than I had planned to. And I had all these mysterious symptoms, so my hair was falling out. I was having full body rashes, I had joint pain. I didn't even know you could feel joint pain when you were 21 years old.
[00:01:34] Taylor: I mean 21 years old. Yes. Yeah. And I was like, I felt like I was gripping a steering wheel all night, like through a snowstorm and I'd wake up in the morning, I couldn't open my hands. It was just crazy. Yeah. All sorts of gut issues. I mean, fatigue to where I couldn't get outta bed. It was crazy. And so I was never the sick kid growing up.
[00:01:50] Taylor: Mm-hmm. So for me, it kind of seemed like it happened overnight. Um, but as I look back, there were drops in the bucket over time. And so I was going from doctor to doctor, specialist to specialist. You know, I was going the [00:02:00] rheumatologist for joint stuff and autoimmune. I was going to the endocrinologist for thyroid and gastroenterologist for gut issues, and no one could really figure out what was going on.
[00:02:08] Taylor: Everyone just wanted to try random prescriptions, procedures, and I just kind of. Felt convicted. 'cause here I am a nurse, my whole job is to advocate for patients and I can't even advocate for myself. Right. And so, um, anyway, I did that kinda whole circus hamster wheel for almost a year. Wasn't getting better.
[00:02:25] Taylor: And sometimes I'd feel like maybe I'm taking two steps forward and then five steps back. And so it was just, it was awful.
[00:02:30] Travis: That had to have been like a really scary time period.
[00:02:32] Taylor: It was. 'cause I'm just, I was, again, I was never the sick kid. Yeah. And so my mom, my parents, I grew up kind of really healthy and you always kind of go back to your roots in, in some sense or the other.
[00:02:41] Taylor: And my mom was like, this is not you. I, I'm tired of seeing you this way. You know, you're supposed to be young and vibrant. And I was not. And so she really advocated for me to go to an alternative practitioner. And I was like, no, that's so woo woo. Right. I didn't learn that in nursing school. Like, that's for the birds and 'cause I really just trusted our medical [00:03:00] system and never questioned it.
[00:03:02] Taylor: And so I ended up going to a functional medicine doctor and it changed my life. And she basically talked to me about everything from Were you a C-section baby? You know, were you the sick kid growing up? Did you ever have strep mono ear infections? Because she wanted to know about antibiotic use. Mm-hmm.
[00:03:15] Taylor: And so she changed my diet. She did all sorts of testing. I finally had answers. She was able to get me off most of my prescriptions times, and places for meds. You know, times and places, right? But not when you're just medicating symptoms. And so. Basically that changed my life. And so functional medicine and my experience there is you really get to the root cause of an issue, right?
[00:03:34] Taylor: And you ask the why question, you know, why is someone having bloating, why are they having acne versus just pill for the ill type approach of, cool, you have acne, well let's put you on doxycycline, which is an antibiotic. Mm-hmm. Or birth control. And so rather than suppressing, you're really trying to look at the person as a whole.
[00:03:49] Taylor: And I think our medical system's great for a lot of things. Mm-hmm. But where we're getting it wrong is prevention and being proactive, and then of course looking at lifestyle. And I remember being at the gastroenterologist being like, [00:04:00] I've always eaten this way, so I don't think it's diet, but is there anything I could do for my gut?
[00:04:04] Taylor: And he was like, no, it's not diet related. Let's just go ahead and do a colonoscopy and try this medication. And I'm like, what the heck? Right? I mean, looking back, I have all my records and I'm like, I cannot believe that the first line of treatment was to start these meds and do a colonoscopy. And we didn't talk about diet.
[00:04:17] Taylor: And I remember asking, not that I wanted to change my diet, I wasn't, but I was desperate. It
[00:04:21] Travis: seemed like, seemed like all the specialists, the gastro would be the one talking about the diet.
[00:04:24] Taylor: Yeah. I mean, I know sometimes, but with my symptoms, he was just like, no, it's not really diet related.
[00:04:29] Travis: Okay.
[00:04:30] Taylor: Um, and so anyway, functional medicine, I always tell people it changed my life, therefore changed the trajectory of my career.
[00:04:36] Taylor: Right. But most people don't get into it because they're smart. You know, now people are getting ahead of the curve and they wanna be proactive, but most people get into it because they're sick. Right. And that was my story and that was a lot of my colleague stories. You know, the medical system failed them, so they had to advocate for themselves and they found inter, there's lots of words like integrative, holistic, functional.
[00:04:52] Travis: Okay. So we use those terms kind of interchangeable. Yeah. Okay. Um, so you got sick, you dove into that world, it helped you, it healed [00:05:00] you. Yeah. How long did that process take once you kind of got on that train? So
[00:05:02] Taylor: it took time, you know, I started to see changes that motivated me enough. It was almost like my healing was bread crumbed.
[00:05:08] Taylor: Like I'd, I'd changed my diet and I'd cut out gluten and I'm like, oh. Yeah, this is affecting this. And I changed my personal care products. I mean, this is back in 2012, like way before it was cool. You know, we're talking a long time ago when there's not a lot of resources, social media. And so it wasn't an overnight thing.
[00:05:23] Taylor: And I always tell people it takes a long time for the body to get sick. And so we can't expect to heal overnight too. Right. Um, so I would say it took a good year, but every month. And it was so, God just like encouraging me like, you know, I, I changed my diet and I'd feel really strict and like, is this really gonna work?
[00:05:37] Taylor: And then I'd see enough change to where I'd be motivated to make another change. Right. And ultimately I healed so much that I was like, I don't wanna just be a nurse, which nurses are amazing, but I wanted to have more autonomy to help people. And at this time I started working in functional medicine with like, she's a New York Times besting author and really renowned expert.
[00:05:54] Taylor: And I got to learn a lot under her, Amy Myers. And so then that's when I was like, I want to use my license to [00:06:00] do more. And so I became a nurse practitioner. Mm-hmm. And started a practice here in Fort Worth. I co-founded a wellness center and I was able to finally use. The form of medicine and my gifts and my story to help others heal that way.
[00:06:12] Travis: I bet that was so exciting once you'd gotten better and you're like, I can do this for my career, and then like I can build a business around this and I can help a lot of people and like to go to work every day. Being passionate about what you're doing. Yeah. And knowing that you can actually help people.
[00:06:23] Travis: Um, okay, so that, is that when you started Taylor Duke's Wellness? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So you were doing that and you were treating people? Mm-hmm. Treating patients one on one for how long? 10, 15 years?
[00:06:35] Taylor: No,
[00:06:36] Travis: 22 to just,
[00:06:37] Taylor: I started, I'm like, you make me feel old Travis. How
[00:06:39] Travis: long? Okay. So how long were you saying you must
[00:06:41] Taylor: just think I'm really experienced.
[00:06:42] Travis: How long?
[00:06:43] Taylor: So, well, 20 now. I know you're
[00:06:45] Travis: younger than me, but
[00:06:46] Taylor: 2013 is when I kind of got into like working as an rn. So yeah, I guess you're right. Like I'd been in that field for that long. But as far as owning my own practice, I opened it in 2020. Okay.
[00:06:55] Travis: Yeah. Okay.
[00:06:56] Taylor: But I'd been in the functional medicine world.
[00:06:57] Taylor: You're right. I'd been in the functional medicine world since like 2013. Right. [00:07:00] Just not practicing on my own.
[00:07:01] Travis: Okay. That was when you were working for Dr. Myers?
[00:07:04] Taylor: Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
[00:07:04] Travis: Um, so you were growing Taylor, duke Wellness, you were seeing patients. Yeah. Um, you helped my wife. We don't have to get to that, but she, she obviously started loving you back then and that's how I first found out about you.
[00:07:16] Travis: Um, and we became friends through that. Yeah. And through our kids and school and stuff. Um, and then, so I know the next chapter of your story.
[00:07:24] Taylor: Yes.
[00:07:24] Travis: Um, but huge kind of bombshell went off
[00:07:28] Taylor: Yeah.
[00:07:28] Travis: A couple years ago. Tell folks about what you went through.
[00:07:31] Taylor: Yeah. Ultimate curve ball of my life. So I had a thriving practice.
[00:07:35] Taylor: I had two kids at this time. I, um, I. I had the wellness center and because of the education that I do online, social media, I have a blog, you know? Mm-hmm. Just where I love educating people. I'm so passionate about education. And so a company reached out to me, full body, MRI company called Pvo, and they were like, Hey.
[00:07:50] Taylor: And I was familiar with them 'cause I'm always researching things for patients and you know, prevention and things like that. And so they said, Hey, we're getting an Irving location first in Texas. We want you to [00:08:00] come and get a scan. We'll gift it. And in exchange, which you just like share about it, you know, I didn't get paid.
[00:08:04] Taylor: It was just like free scan. That's a couple thousand dollars. So yeah, why not? Yeah. I had no concerns and got the curve ball of my life. They found a brain tumor in that scan.
[00:08:12] Travis: Wow.
[00:08:13] Taylor: Uh,
[00:08:13] Travis: completely asymptomatic.
[00:08:15] Taylor: No symptoms at all.
[00:08:16] Travis: Right. Uh, the picture of health and wellness, obviously helping a lot of people.
[00:08:21] Travis: And she had a brain tumor.
[00:08:22] Taylor: Mm-hmm. Probably
[00:08:23] Travis: the whole time you had had that practice open.
[00:08:25] Taylor: Yeah. Yeah. They said it'd been growing probably eight to 10 years by the time we caught it, which was crazy. And the whole thing's just miraculous, like. Obviously part of me is like, oh, I wish I never got the scan 'cause it changed my life forever.
[00:08:35] Taylor: But thank you Lord mm-hmm. For showing me and providing the scan and giving us insight so I could intervene early. But yeah, it was totally shocking, especially when I got the news because I'm like, what? I know all the symptoms, you know, headaches, seizures, vision, hearing loss, right. Balance. There's, I went through all the different, you know, list of things, emotional issues, personality changes, you know, the things you see on Grey's Anatomy and none of it was there.
[00:08:58] Taylor: And so at first I was [00:09:00] in denial and I was like, this couldn't be me. But after further follow up imaging, sure enough, Taylor Dukes the healthy nurse practitioner.
[00:09:05] Travis: And how big was the tumor at the time?
[00:09:06] Taylor: Size of a plum.
[00:09:07] Travis: Yeah. Huge. So what. Uh, how, how much longer do you think you could have gone before you started feeling symptoms?
[00:09:14] Taylor: It's so hard to say. I mean, honestly, I don't know. And the other question too is like, what if it just stopped growing because of my lifestyle? We'll never know, you know? Right. We're not, God, we don't have the answer to those questions, but it haunted me for a long time thinking like, what if I was driving my kids and had a seizure?
[00:09:27] Taylor: Right. You know, we can't play the what if game, like ultimately, I just trust the Lord that he revealed it in the right timing. But there were so many thoughts of like, when would I have become symptomatic? Or I was looking back trying to be like, was I symptomatic? And I didn't know, but it just, we'll never know.
[00:09:40] Taylor: But I'm just grateful what we found out when we did. But yeah, it'd been growing a long time.
[00:09:44] Travis: Yeah. So you do you trace that back to when you got sick? Yeah. In your twenties? Yeah,
[00:09:47] Taylor: absolutely. So when I first got diagnosed, it was like, what the heck? I know how to do a lot. Infertility, skin, gut issues, you name it, I can tackle it.
[00:09:56] Taylor: I really didn't say no to much, but if it came to cancer, I would know nothing [00:10:00] about that. I had no experience, no personal professional experience. So I was like, I know nothing about this. And I sought out a lot of experts. And what I've learned in that time process is cancer is not an overnight thing.
[00:10:10] Taylor: Yes, it can be an overnight diagnosis, say that I had a seizure. Mm-hmm. Yes. My life changed overnight. However, it's a process in the body and circ, everyone has circulating tumor cells at any given point time. Mm-hmm. I hate to freak you out, but in your body right now, you probably have some, some circulating tumor cells, but the way God created our bodies and immune systems, they go and attack those cancer cells.
[00:10:29] Taylor: And so if they get rampant and our immune system is suppressed and we're stressed or have trauma or multiple contributing factors that decrease our immune systems response, that's when the cells go out of. Hand and then a tumor forms and then it takes years for the tumor to even, you know, cause someone to be symptomatic.
[00:10:46] Taylor: And again, I can't broad spectrum say this about every type of cancer 'cause you have blood cancers and different things like that. But, um, generally speaking, it's a eight to 10 year process.
[00:10:55] Travis: Wow.
[00:10:56] Taylor: Yeah.
[00:10:57] Travis: Um, so pvo scans, um, [00:11:00] I'm guessing you're a big proponent of those now. I'm a
[00:11:01] Taylor: huge advocate.
[00:11:02] Travis: How many folks have, do you know, have gotten those because of your story?
[00:11:05] Taylor: Thousands have and I tell those isn't people they're good isn't. Yes. It is so crazy. And that's where I never would've chosen this, but I've seen how purposeful my story is and how much God's used it. And I don't, I guess I'll say thank you Lord. 'cause I trust him. But it's also been hard, you know. But I've also, pvo did this whole video of over 20 or 30 people that have had lifesaving diagnosis using my code.
[00:11:27] Taylor: Oh, wow. Which is crazy. Like true cancer aneurysm, stuff like that. So that's where I'm like, that's profound. Yeah. So, and people that also didn't have symptoms. Oh my
[00:11:38] Travis: gosh,
[00:11:38] Taylor: isn't that crazy? And by the way, I've never made a dollar from them. People are like, how much money? You're the best. You gotta
[00:11:42] Travis: be killing me.
[00:11:43] Travis: You're their
[00:11:43] Taylor: best marketing story. Yeah. And I'm like, yeah, health and wellness practitioner symptoms, affiliate
[00:11:47] Travis: code and all that stuff.
[00:11:48] Taylor: No, I have a code. It's T Dukes, it's $300 off the scan, but I've never made a dollar even filming videos, nothing. So I just want people to know that I will promote the heck out of it because it saved my life, but never have never planned to make a dollar from [00:12:00] them.
[00:12:00] Travis: Um, was your tumor, I guess you don't, didn't, you went and had surgery ultimately, right?
[00:12:05] Taylor: Yes.
[00:12:05] Travis: O obviously got the tumor out. Mm-hmm. Um, how long between getting the diagnosis and going into surgery Yeah. What was that period like?
[00:12:12] Taylor: That's a good question. And it's kind of a, again, I do things different. You know, that's a theme in my story.
[00:12:16] Taylor: The Dukes do things different, but, um, I got diagnosed September. Is that
[00:12:20] Travis: an official family, like tagline that
[00:12:22] Taylor: it's one of our core values. We do things different and we're okay with it. I,
[00:12:24] Travis: I could see Ryan like reaffirming that. Yeah. Every morning
[00:12:27] Taylor: we try not to take too much pride in it 'cause we are pretty different.
[00:12:29] Taylor: But we're like, you know what, we're okay to be different. And honestly like. We were at this fundraiser and uh, Tim Tebow was actually last year, he told us, we were talking about just counter-cultural and the way I was approaching cancer and considering homeschool at the time. And, um, he said, you know, I love that you're doing it different.
[00:12:43] Taylor: Jesus did things differently. And so you don't wanna be part of the culture. You don't wanna do what everyone else does. And so we were like, yeah, that's a core value of ours. We're okay with doing things differently. I love it.
[00:12:51] Travis: So how did the Dukes do things different when the brain tumor diagnosis came in?
[00:12:55] Taylor: Yeah, so okay. The question of how long it took between when I got diagnosed with surgery, [00:13:00] so, uh, it was five months, which is crazy. Most people would wanna rush to surgery. Right. Especially knowing they have a mass in their head. Most people do
[00:13:05] Travis: that in five minutes.
[00:13:07] Taylor: Yeah. Yeah. And I just, we slowed down. I mean, I also have to back up and say it was September.
[00:13:12] Taylor: My son was 10 months old. Bo was 10 months old. Mm-hmm. So it was his one year birthday in a couple months. Oh, this is where I'll cry with my kids. And um, it was our wedding anniversary. My birthday, Christmas, Thanksgiving, all the first for Bo, you know, holidays when he's like 1-year-old. So for us it felt like let's get through the end of the year if we can.
[00:13:28] Taylor: And also, I didn't wanna rush into surgery and fear, I never wanna make decisions in fear, but I didn't wanna rush into surgery knowing that I wasn't symptomatic and I had to do all this testing. So they made me like undergo really intense situations where they'd flashlights in my eyes, basically EEG testing to see if I was at risk for seizures.
[00:13:43] Taylor: Because if I was, then I don't wanna drive or need to get on seizure meds. So. We did cts, we made sure there were no blood vessels that were, you know, so we did a lot of measures to make sure that surgery didn't have to happen like next week. Um, but ultimately what we did is I had peace. I, there was a cancer [00:14:00] treatment center in Mexico and I'd always known about it, and I always said if I got diagnosed or a family member, we'd go and it's hope for cancer and it's in Cancun, which sounds so sketchy, but it's not.
[00:14:08] Taylor: It's like health camp. And they do a lot of integrative things to either shrink tumors or prevent recurrence. And so during those five months, I went to California, I went to Mexico, I did all sorts of treatments. So that's
[00:14:20] Travis: something I've always wondered, uh, is why. I mean, place sounds amazing, but why did you have to go to Mexico to get integrative care for cancer?
[00:14:29] Travis: Do do we not have that in the US
[00:14:32] Taylor: or is it just um, it's not, you really have to seek it out. So now that I've been in this world for a couple years, I know a lot more. At the time I really didn't know anything and I'd always known about that. And so I felt like it's one place that does a lot of encompassing treatments and there's not a ton of places.
[00:14:45] Taylor: There are clinics in the States, but they make it a little bit harder, you know, with the schedule. And I love that Mexico was just, they do have a lot of treatments there that they do have here in the States. It's just hard to find it all in one place. You're driving across town for your red light bed and then you're hyperbaric.
[00:14:58] Taylor: And so it was a very, it was [00:15:00] ease functionality, but it was the only one I knew of at the time. But then they also do offer certain treatments like stem cells that you're not able to get access to here. Okay. B 17, it's a B vitamin. Just like B six, B nine, B12. Um, but it's illegal here in the United States and it's proven, there's tons of documented research that it has anti-tumor properties.
[00:15:18] Taylor: And so it's the one B vitamin that is illegal. No kidding. Which makes you really wonder why, why,
[00:15:22] Travis: why would it be illegal?
[00:15:23] Taylor: They say that it can be toxic in high amounts, um, but it's actually naturally derived from apricot, kernels, seeds, and so it's a naturally
[00:15:31] Travis: Right.
[00:15:31] Taylor: Occurring B vitamin.
[00:15:32] Travis: Right.
[00:15:32] Taylor: So anyway, um, that is one thing that I did know that they had access to those infusions there.
[00:15:36] Travis: Oh, that's interesting. Mm-hmm. I like to ask the question why too. Yeah. As you know. Um, okay, so you did this integrative care in Mexico, and so it's like literally a red light beds.
[00:15:48] Taylor: Yeah. So it's like health camp every day you go six days a week. It was almost a full-time job. Yeah. Um, you take Sundays off, which is awesome, but you start the day worship.
[00:15:56] Taylor: Were, were your kids
[00:15:56] Travis: down there too?
[00:15:57] Taylor: So the first week I had a ween bow.
[00:15:59] Travis: For
[00:15:59] Taylor: [00:16:00] moms listening. That was really emotional. Um, and so I went a week with my mom and it was just us two. And I weaned bo from breastfeeding, which was, you know, and then I kind of got in the hang of things and I couldn't do two weeks without my kids.
[00:16:10] Taylor: No way. Heck no. Right. Right. And especially, they were my why. So it's like, I want them, every time I talk about my kids, I wanna cry. I get it. Yeah. They're my why, they're why I'm doing the things that I do. And so I wanted them to be there. Yeah. And so they came the second week with Ryan. Okay. And so, okay. I
[00:16:24] Travis: think I remember this.
[00:16:25] Taylor: Yeah. Yeah. Taylor's, I was the crazy girl that brought the whole family to Mexico.
[00:16:28] Travis: Taylor's, uh, oldest son is actually my future son-in-law. So
[00:16:31] Taylor: yes, Hattie and Ry kinda one
[00:16:33] Travis: of my kids.
[00:16:33] Taylor: Arranged marriage, but also by choice we're
[00:16:35] Travis: bringing back arranged marriage. Just spiked. Yeah. It was their idea. We're just
[00:16:40] Taylor: facilitating it.
[00:16:40] Taylor: Yeah. And encouraging it. Yeah. We're
[00:16:41] Travis: fans of it.
[00:16:42] Taylor: Um, yeah.
[00:16:42] Travis: Okay. So, so Ryan and the kids come down, so you're there, you're there for a while.
[00:16:46] Taylor: Mm-hmm.
[00:16:47] Travis: How well did that. Kind of treatment work for you
[00:16:50] Taylor: Really Well, so I, you know, like I said, we would, it was health camp every day we would do hyperbaric, we did all the things that cancer hates.
[00:16:57] Taylor: It hates oxygen, it hates [00:17:00] acidity. I mean, it hates alkaline environment. So I would drink special hydrogen water. I would do red light therapies, hyperbaric high dose vitamin C infusions, B 17 infusions. It truly was like health camp every day. Um, but then I also went to Mexico, I mean California to see Dr.
[00:17:14] Taylor: Kaeli, and she put me on all sorts of things. Even something, I don't know if you know about this, but it's called repurposed meds. Have you heard about that? Mm-hmm. So there's certain drugs that are FDA approved for the treatment of something, and then when you, it's when it's a repurposed med, it's repurposed for an off-label use.
[00:17:30] Taylor: So say that, you know? Yeah. Yeah. So anyway, I did a lot of repurposed meds that aren't technically approved for the purpose of cancer, but my body tested through some frequency testing and labs that it would do well for me. And so I got on some repurposed meds. That's where times and places for meds, you know?
[00:17:45] Taylor: Mm-hmm. Like actual prescriptions. And then in between. Diagnosis and brain surgery, which I said was five months, we actually shrunk the tumor in half. Right. Which is incredible and miraculous and really, really hard to do.
[00:17:56] Travis: That's amazing. Okay, so did you know, so [00:18:00] obviously there was imaging done before your surgery, so you knew it was shrunk.
[00:18:03] Taylor: Yeah.
[00:18:04] Travis: Um, did you consider postponing surgery even more or what was the thought process then? So
[00:18:09] Taylor: this is actually really crazy. I didn't know it had shrunk until after surgery because I did my pre-op mri. Oh, that's interesting. In Arizona, the day before surgery where they map out the brain and everything, and I hadn't done an MRI there before.
[00:18:20] Taylor: I'd always done everything locally. So they had my brain mapped out. But I also think that that was just a God thing because had, we also didn't think it was cancer by the way. We just knew it was a brain tumor. I was going to hope for cancer 'cause it was a tumor, but we didn't have pathology. Right? And so everyone said, well because it's not enhancing and lighting up on imaging and because you're not symptomatic, it's probably low growing, not tumor, slow growing and not a tumor.
[00:18:42] Travis: So because do they not know until it's out and they biopsy it? Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
[00:18:45] Taylor: And so until we have pathology, and so I also feel like if I knew, maybe I would've said, well let's not get surgery. Let's just keep going. And so when they got it out and they got all of it out, thank God it's just taking a time bomb.
[00:18:56] Taylor: 'cause it grows within the brain. It doesn't grow on top of the brain. Uh, so they [00:19:00] found out it was cancer, it was grade three. So it was quicker growing, which is like, oh, good thing we got it out. So I actually found out a week after surgery. You know, my mom was there helping, getting all my reports and I saw the measurements of the tumor and I was like, that's a lot smaller than I thought.
[00:19:13] Taylor: And I went and pulled my previous reports and it had shrunk in half, but I didn't know that till after surgery. So it was really encouraging. 'cause it was like, oh, all the work we did paid off. But regardless, I prepared my body so well for surgery and Right. I was out of ICUI was discharged in 24 hours, walking six hours after brain surgery.
[00:19:28] Taylor: Yeah. I mean, so you have to look at all the things that I did to also prepare my body for recovery too.
[00:19:34] Travis: Um, and so since surgery, obviously, great recovery, you still have some lingering obviously effects of Yeah. Brain surgery and everything you went through. Um, what is your, I mean, obviously it's not medical advice, but people dealing with serious medical conditions like a cancer diagnosis.
[00:19:50] Travis: Yeah. I mean, what do you tell people nowadays that reach out to you? And as far as. You know, exploring the integrative mm-hmm. Um, the functional medicine world.
[00:19:59] Taylor: Yeah. Well, [00:20:00] first I always tell people to don't lose hope because mm-hmm. Especially when something like cancer's spoken over you, it feels like a death sentence.
[00:20:05] Taylor: Yeah. And I felt that to my core. Like, I know why people believe and come into agreement that they're gonna die because it just feels like a death sentence. So, first, have hope. Um, two, don't just think that you can go, you have to go to all your traditional, like all your options are chemo, radiation, surgery, and immunotherapy, because there's so much more.
[00:20:22] Taylor: But you're not gonna get offered that by the traditional oncology model, just 'cause they, those providers weren't trained. And quite frankly, they'll think you're crazy and a lot of 'em will fire you, um, because they're like, you're doing things that we're not supportive of. So I would say advocate, one of the best things I tell people to do is read the Metabolic approach to Cancer.
[00:20:39] Taylor: It's a book. Mm-hmm. Um, and people, and also like, it's not just a genetic thing. People think they're doomed and it's only genetics. It's not one in three men or one in three women will be diagnosed with cancer and one in two men. Those statistics are sobering and it's not just a genetic issue.
[00:20:54] Travis: Yeah. It used to not be like that, right?
[00:20:56] Taylor: No. Okay. No, our genetics haven't changed that much. Oh, no. And so it really is a [00:21:00] metabolic approach. And so that's where that, that book is really helpful. I have a ton of resources. You know, we get questions all the time. I can't help everybody. Yeah. It'd be a full-time job. But we have an integrative oncology resources on our website of clinics, of books of providers Oh, awesome.
[00:21:13] Taylor: Therapies. So, yeah.
[00:21:15] Travis: Okay. So let's get into the state of health in America.
[00:21:18] Taylor: Yeah. Let's talk about it.
[00:21:18] Travis: Right. So you said one in two men will face a cancer diagnosis at some point in their life. One in three women.
[00:21:22] Taylor: Mm-hmm.
[00:21:23] Travis: Um, I ripped a list of today's statistics from Casey Kelly means I know you're fans of them.
[00:21:29] Taylor: Yeah. They're awesome.
[00:21:30] Travis: Um, from good energy, um, talking about cancer, young adult cancers, uh, like yours, up 79%, um, 60% of American adults have some kind of chronic illness. Uh, we have 74% of American adults are overweight, are obese. 77% of young adults are unfit to serve in the military.
[00:21:52] Taylor: That's crazy.
[00:21:53] Travis: I know, you know all these statistics, but every time you read through, no.
[00:21:55] Travis: Even hearing
[00:21:55] Taylor: this, it's more sobering. Like, I forget how, I mean, it mean it's everything. I
[00:21:59] Travis: think Peter Attia [00:22:00] calls 'em the four horsemen. You know, all these different chronic illnesses, diabetes, uh, 50% of adults are pre-diabetic or have type two, two diabetes. Uh, that used to only be 1%. That's insane. In 1950 and now we're up to 70%.
[00:22:13] Travis: Uh, 30% of teenagers are pre-diabetic, which is scary. Um, 18% of teenagers have fatty liver disease, which used to be like only for late stage alcoholics. It's horrible. Um, one in 36 kids autism diagnosis that used to be one in 1500 just 20 years ago. And that's without changing, changing the screening or the definition of autism.
[00:22:35] Taylor: Yeah. My grandfather's like, what is that? I'm like, oh, I forget. You don't even know that. Your generation doesn't even know.
[00:22:39] Travis: Right. Infertility going up, sperm count's going down. Mm-hmm. And life expectancy is declining in a country that spends more on healthcare than any other country in the world. Um, highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the developed world.
[00:22:55] Travis: And you read all that, it's like, what the hell is going on with health in America? What's the, [00:23:00] got a question? What's the problem, Taylor?
[00:23:01] Taylor: I think it's multiple contributing factors. And I'm not gonna sit here and say that I have the one answer. I always say it's drops in the bucket. Yeah. You know, and so, I mean, look at our food supply.
[00:23:09] Taylor: It is so hybridized. It is sprayed with so many chemicals. I mean. It is truly insane. The cosmetic industry, there's been over 75,000 synthetic chemicals allowed that are not studied, let alone not studied, but also in conjunction with other things. You know, especially for women, when you think about how many beauty products are put on their skin from the second they wake up to even just walking out the door.
[00:23:28] Taylor: Mm-hmm. Um, we have so many endocrine disrupting chemicals. We have pesticides, fertilizers. I mean, it's just, we're inundated with toxins on a level that we've never been inundated before and nothing's the same. Our air quality is not the same. Our water quality, our food, talk about EMFs, like that's a huge, that's the hidden toxin.
[00:23:47] Taylor: That's something that I'm really passionate about and. Again, I'm not Amish. I don't like live, you know, and just like breathe air and whatever, you know? And live out. You are getting
[00:23:55] Travis: more Amish. We'll, we'll talk about that in a little while. I
[00:23:56] Taylor: am, I am. I'm actually like, dang, the Amish are doing a lot of things right?[00:24:00]
[00:24:00] Taylor: Yeah, no kidding, kidding. Let's get back to some things. But
[00:24:01] Travis: they live a community and they take care of each other. Yes.
[00:24:03] Taylor: And there's a lot of things they do. Right. But I could go off on that, but it is, it's one of those things and the invisible toxin of EMFs, you know, our bodies are just inundated with so many stressors and we're not getting enough sunshine.
[00:24:14] Taylor: We're living super stressed lifestyles. I mean, our creator created us to enjoy creation. Mm-hmm. And how many hours a day are people getting outside? Unless you're the Pattersons and you live on land and you're just free for all. But truly, I mean, we're living sedentary lifestyles. We're exposed to artificial light, we're stressed.
[00:24:29] Taylor: Our food is junk. You know, medically, we're really quick to medicate people and mm-hmm. Um, not ask the white question and, you know, get to the root cause of things. And then by the time you're 25, 30, you're on all these prescriptions. It also have side effects and it's just, yeah. It's a recipe for disaster.
[00:24:46] Travis: So. So like cancer, specifically, let's talk about cancer. Most your, your average person will say, cancer is just, it runs in the family. And so if my dad had it or my grandpa had it, that's just my destiny. [00:25:00] Um, what, what is your opinion on that? Is it, is it genetic or is it environmental? Is it something that maybe a certain person's predisposed to some kind of cancer, but we can do things to try to avoid those genes being triggered or whatever that's called in the medical room?
[00:25:15] Travis: Yeah.
[00:25:15] Taylor: Epigenetics, epi, we have the ability to affect the expression of our genes. Okay. Through the way we live, the way we manage stress, the things we're exposed to. Um, and I think a lot of people just say like, oh, I have the genetics so I'm doomed. And that's just, it is what it is. But that's reality is it's not that like this is, you can go look up PubMed articles all about this all day long.
[00:25:32] Taylor: Mm-hmm. This isn't just a thought process and that. Integrative world. Um, so I think we have a lot more control too over our health and our decisions. And I always say that lifestyle loads the gun or genetics load the gun, but lifestyle pulls the trigger, right? And so it's one of those things that even if you are predisposed, it doesn't mean that those genes are gonna express themselves.
[00:25:50] Taylor: And so people should feel empowered to know that. Um, but yeah, there's very few cancers that, you know, there are definitely some genetic predispositions with certain things, right? But I think it's, a lot of people assume [00:26:00] that's the only thing. And the reality is, is that's just not the case. And we're seeing a huge rise in cancers, especially among young people.
[00:26:06] Taylor: The American Cancer Society actually shared that last year in 2024, it's the first time there will be over 2 million cancer diagnosis. That was their projection. And it happened in a year
[00:26:15] Travis: 2 million new, fresh, new diagnoses. Mm-hmm. Wow.
[00:26:18] Taylor: It's insane. I mean, it truly is. And
[00:26:20] Travis: more young people are getting cancer.
[00:26:21] Travis: I mean, we're talking about age twenties. Yeah. Thirties and
[00:26:23] Taylor: everyone, you know, obviously since I've shared my story so publicly. I've heard about it a lot and I've actually had to guard my heart a lot. 'cause I can't connect with every single person that has cancer. Yeah. I mean, it's truly, my counselor was like, you're a helper.
[00:26:34] Taylor: You wanna help people, but you just, you have to tell people, like, you can't hear about one more sad cancer story because it truly, so just naturally sharing my story I hear about a lot more. Yeah. Um, and I've started Facebook groups where people to connect and I hear about it there, but even regardless of if I had cancer or not, Ryan and I have been affected by more friends, family members getting cancer in their twenties and thirties.
[00:26:54] Taylor: Same. Yeah. That, like, regardless of my story, we would still know about their cancer diagnosis and it's [00:27:00] just, it's sobering.
[00:27:01] Travis: Yeah. And so you, you trace that to, okay, so we have these genes, we're predisposed of things and we can go this way or that way. And a lot of people intentionally are getting a lot of toxins.
[00:27:11] Travis: Right. Right. So it's either in our diets mm-hmm. It's in our, the things we put on our bodies. Mm-hmm. Um, and just things in our environment. Mm-hmm. Um, so let's break kind of those down. Let's talk about food for a second. Yeah. And food and drinks.
[00:27:22] Taylor: Yeah.
[00:27:23] Travis: Um.
[00:27:25] Taylor: Alcohol is a class one carcinogen. By the way, if we wanna talk about drinks
[00:27:28] Travis: like booze alcohol.
[00:27:29] Taylor: Really? Yes. Most people don't realize that. Go look at the World Health Organization. Does that
[00:27:32] Travis: include Blanco Tequila?
[00:27:34] Taylor: Sure does. I really think that alcohol is gonna be the secondhand smoke of our generation. Like I think we're gonna look back and be like, everyone used to do it. We're already seeing a shift, uhhuh.
[00:27:43] Taylor: But even when I was doing cancer research, I started doing a deep dive into what are the class one carcinogens known? You know, so that, well, we'll talk about it, but that's food and beverage.
[00:27:51] Travis: But young people aren't drinking as much anymore, right? Like, like 20 year olds. They're starting to, because of this kind of mo, this kind of awareness on health's.
[00:27:58] Taylor: I really think so. I feel like I'm, [00:28:00] that's seeing a shift. I really am. Yeah. Yeah, me too. And people are just realizing like, I feel better when I don't and I sleep better. And our bodies are just more sensitive. 'cause we're inundated with a lot.
[00:28:09] Travis: Okay. So we're learning more about alcohol. Um, but like drinks, sports drinks, yeah.
[00:28:15] Travis: Yeah. Things like that. You know, all these drinks are changing. Mm-hmm. You know, if you look at like a. I don't mean to call out brands, but if you look at a bottle of Gatorade mm-hmm. From back in the day, it had like four ingredients in it. Mm-hmm. Like sugar and lemons and two other things like Yeah. Some electrolytes.
[00:28:33] Travis: Yeah. Things I could pronounce. Now if you look at the ingredient list, it's got like 15 different things.
[00:28:37] Taylor: Mm-hmm.
[00:28:38] Travis: What is your opinion on why they've added so many different ingredient? Is it just so we can make the product cheaper?
[00:28:43] Taylor: Cheaper mass production
[00:28:44] Travis: stays on the shelf longer.
[00:28:45] Taylor: Yeah. And that's the thing, it's so sad we're not studying the research and the long-term effects of some of these chemicals, especially at the rate at which they're consumed.
[00:28:51] Taylor: And so even talk about Gatorade, and again, I don't like calling out brands either, but proud of kudos to McDonald's. Back in the eighties, literally their fries were [00:29:00] potatoes, beef, tallow, and salt. Mm-hmm. Like that's it. And now if you look at the ingredients, it's all these things. You can't pronounce tons of chemicals.
[00:29:05] Taylor: And so our food system truly has been hijacked and we have to read labels, we have to advocate for ourselves and we honestly have to just do things different. Because if you want standard American results, then keeping the standard American diet, like I don't wanna be part of those statistics.
[00:29:18] Travis: So what are the things on like ingredient labels that you.
[00:29:21] Travis: Really want people to avoid when it comes to, you know, just buying typical groceries.
[00:29:25] Taylor: Great question. So, um, processed seed oils, inflammatory oils, so things like canola, safflower, corn. Mm-hmm. Cotton seed oil. Mm-hmm. That's not meant to be consumed. And of course high fructose corn syrup. And what else? Food D those are really big, especially for children with neuro issues.
[00:29:41] Taylor: Developmental. A DD. A DHD. Um, yeah, a lot of just, and honestly, chemicals, if you can't pronounce it, I always tell people shop the perimeter of the grocery store. Mm-hmm. The foods that are, don't even need an ingredient label. Mm-hmm. An apple, you know, it might have a skew number, but like, we're not having to read and we of course still buy packaged [00:30:00] foods.
[00:30:00] Taylor: We have a pantry. Right. But when I look at ingredient labels, I try to avoid the chemicals, the high fructose corn syrup, any additives, inflammatory oils, and I really just try to look for ingredients that I know and can understand and pronounce.
[00:30:11] Travis: It's pretty wild. Have you looked at like, the history of some of these food companies, how it traces back to the cigarette companies?
[00:30:16] Travis: Eighties. I've heard,
[00:30:17] Taylor: I, I don't know specifically, but enlighten me.
[00:30:20] Travis: There's stories about, um, I think Cali Meanses talks about it a lot, about how when the cigarette companies were kind of being attacked, they shifted. They had piles and piles of money and they shifted and they started buying food companies.
[00:30:32] Taylor: Yes. And
[00:30:32] Travis: so they had all their scientists who were used to making cigarettes really addictive, obviously. And they, you know, sent them out to make the food more addictive. And so the, the rise of ultra processed foods took off, you know, in the nineties and two thousands. Um, food's more addictive. We eat more.
[00:30:46] Travis: We get fatter. Totally. We spend more money. It's a mess.
[00:30:49] Taylor: And we're sicker. And we're sicker. It's just part of the system. I did hear that. I think that was on the Tucker podcast, right?
[00:30:53] Travis: Yeah. That I think that's right. I wanna say
[00:30:54] Taylor: I remember hearing that and that was actually news to me. I was like, I did not know that.
[00:30:57] Travis: Yeah. Anna and I, instead of watching shows, we [00:31:00] just like watch, like
[00:31:00] Taylor: health podcast. Health
[00:31:01] Travis: podcasts. Yeah.
[00:31:03] Taylor: Y'all are nerds like us.
[00:31:04] Travis: Um, okay. So that's toxic foods. Um, and drinks. What about things in our homes and things in our environment? Let's start with the house.
[00:31:13] Taylor: Yeah.
[00:31:14] Travis: Are things in our house making us sick?
[00:31:15] Taylor: Yeah, for sure. I mean, one thing that comes to mind that's a really easy swap that most people identify with without knowing exactly what chemicals are. Plastics. Mm-hmm. So plastic specifically, you'll see a lot of BPA free on a lot of plastic things. So that's like a movement to make it cleaner. But plastics are a chemical, and especially when we're ingesting them on a daily basis.
[00:31:34] Taylor: And it's the micro things that add up. You know, it's not like you're gonna eat a plastic. Cup or something like that. But it's the micro exposures that our body can't filter and detox, but also a lot of endocrine disruptors. And so, um, what does that mean? Hormone disruptors? So there's a lot of chemicals that mimic hormones, production in our body, specifically estrogen.
[00:31:51] Taylor: So estrogen's really hard. It can lead to liver detoxification issues. It can, you know, mess up all sorts of hormones. It just mimics estrogen in our body when we [00:32:00] shouldn't have that much. It's also what birth control can do as well. Mm-hmm. And so when we're exposed to a lot of chemicals that are endocrine disrupting, that's kind of the process there.
[00:32:07] Taylor: And so again, you see all these allergies and asthma and there's multiple contributing factors, but. It was always so amazing when I'd work with patients in my practice and I'd be working with the wife and she would make changes and all of the, the sudden, you know, say that it was laundry detergent.
[00:32:19] Taylor: Mm-hmm. And I'd say get rid of fragrance. That's another thing that's like secondhand smoke. Truly. Um, it's so toxic in our homes, like candles and, um, smelly everything. You know, kids clothes are smelling these days and, and cards and you don't realize how much it's in and makeup and personal care products.
[00:32:34] Taylor: And so the wife would just get rid of fragrance, say the laundry detergent, you know, she'd switch from the tide to the cleaner version. And the husbands all of a sudden his allergies would go away, uhhuh. You know, and so it was always a byproduct of just swapping little things. But I always say, you know, we don't have control of everything in our world.
[00:32:48] Taylor: And so start with the home. Mm-hmm. Start with the things that you consume on a daily basis. So get clean air in your home. Clean and clean air doesn't mean you have to get the fanciest air purifier. So it just means get the chemicals out. 'cause that alone Yeah. [00:33:00] Will decrease the toxin exposure. Um, cleaning up laundry detergent, you know, that's on your towels, your sheets, your clothes, that's one swap that can make a significant difference for the whole family.
[00:33:09] Taylor: And then of course you can get into the nitty gritty of dishwasher detergent and just all the things you know, and yeah, it takes time. But you can do your home.
[00:33:15] Travis: It could be overwhelming if you're, like, you look at your house and like identify all the things from your toothbrush to your laundry. Yeah. But you can make a couple simple changes.
[00:33:23] Travis: You probably have. Yes.
[00:33:24] Taylor: 80
[00:33:24] Travis: 20 principle probably applies to this. Like it does everything else. Uh, and
[00:33:28] Taylor: it's over time, you know? Yeah. Some people, if you have the resources and that's your personality, go for it. But it swap one thing at a time. When you run outta your shampoo, find a cleaner version. You know?
[00:33:35] Taylor: So, and that's where it's, I think sometimes a non-toxic world can be so intimidating and so overwhelming 'cause people feel like, oh, I just will never do it. Right. You know? And it's like that perfection isn't the goal, but progress is. And so if you can make progress, don't strive to be perfect. That's more stressful anyway.
[00:33:49] Taylor: Um, and that stress is bad for your health too. Yeah. But start with your home. 'cause that's where you are sleeping. You know, you're there a lot of times, whether you work in the home or not, you spend a lot of time there.
[00:33:59] Travis: [00:34:00] Um, you talk about EMFs. Mm-hmm. So that'd be frequencies. Is that cell phones, wifi, routers, radiation, things like that.
[00:34:08] Travis: Mm-hmm. Um, what is the, what's the science saying on that? About like what these wifi boosters are doing to us and Yeah. The cell phones in our pockets. And
[00:34:15] Taylor: so a lot of people say, well, we don't know. There's not enough research. But actually when I got diagnosed with the brain tumor, I'm like, well, could this be anything related?
[00:34:22] Taylor: I'm right-handed, you know, I used to sleep with my phone on my bedside table. Mm-hmm. And you know, so I actually did a lot of research and if you trace it back, there's actually tons of studies that link tumors and gliomas, specifically what I had to rats when they're exposed to high doses or consistent even lower doses of radiation.
[00:34:38] Taylor: And there's actually, now that I'm talking to a lawyer mm-hmm. There's class action lawsuits from the nineties of the first call centers of wireless headsets. And a lot of the family members have passed away of brain cancer, but families are still together advocating, saying no, like he had a tumor on the left side, and that's where he wore his headset.
[00:34:54] Taylor: So you can go look into this, it's just not popular, you know, it's not out there. There's a great book called The Invisible Rainbow, if anyone wants to dig [00:35:00] deeper, uhhuh. And it really is overwhelming and it is. It's hard. And again, I live my life. I have a cell phone, you know, like we have wifi, we did hardwire our house when I got diagnosed 'cause we went to great links.
[00:35:08] Taylor: You know, again, I'll do anything mm-hmm. For my family. Mm-hmm. And so, and for myself. But, um, it's really, my family motivates me to live a long life. But you know what's interesting too is when everyone was locked up in their houses during COD 2020, you know, never forget all these 5G towers started popping up.
[00:35:22] Taylor: And so we don't even know the long-term effects of that and we don't know safety, but I do think it's important that we, and it does, it messes with our mitochondria at a cellular level. It really does alter DNA. Yeah. And so again, it's just another threat. I'm not saying it's the cause of everything. Yeah.
[00:35:37] Taylor: But it's something to consider and minimize exposure when possible.
[00:35:41] Travis: You know, the, there's so much, like so many variables at play, like you mentioned. So you got. A lot of ingredients in our food. You've got toxins in the environment. And so the, the problem with that, when you have so many variables that each one of them can raise their hand and say, well, you're never gonna be able to prove that I'm the bad guy.
[00:35:59] Taylor: [00:36:00] Mm-hmm.
[00:36:00] Travis: Right. And because you can't prove it. For sure. Then why bother with it?
[00:36:04] Taylor: Mm-hmm.
[00:36:05] Travis: I mean, you know, we talk, you know, you look at the US official US food pyramid and it's a disaster. It's crazy. And 90% of the grocery store is a disaster. And it's like, why aren't we incentivized as a country to like clean this stuff up?
[00:36:17] Taylor: Yeah.
[00:36:17] Travis: Um, and make healthy food more affordable for people. Um, and things like that. It just seems like the incentive model is very skewed.
[00:36:24] Taylor: It is.
[00:36:24] Travis: Like the healthcare system is incentivized for people not to get better.
[00:36:27] Taylor: Yeah.
[00:36:28] Travis: For kids to get sick, I think. 'cause they want you
[00:36:29] Taylor: to come back for more and more prescriptions.
[00:36:31] Taylor: The cycle. So our kid Junior
[00:36:31] Travis: who said that the most profitable thing for the healthcare system is a sick child. Yeah. Uh, which is just terribly, it's horrible. It's horrible. Uh, is a terribly sad thing to say. Um. Well, maybe the tide is turning 'cause of people like you.
[00:36:44] Taylor: I actually, I feel a shift for the first time, and again, like I've been in this world before.
[00:36:47] Taylor: It was cool. Like I was the one that was like, I'm gonna let my freak flag fly because I believe in it. It's changed my life. Um, but yeah, I, I, for the first time truly in my career and in my just personal and professional life, I feel like tides are [00:37:00] changing and I feel like. That is the one blessing of Covid.
[00:37:02] Taylor: I mean, God uses everything. And so I think one of the ways, and that's just waking a lot of people up. People are asking questions. People don't wanna be sick. Yeah. People are doing things differently and there's a movement and a shift happening. And I know it's gonna take a lot of time, you know, from legal standpoint and passing things and when it goes into effect.
[00:37:17] Taylor: But I think it's gonna, it's not gonna be overnight, but the fact that people are talking about it and advocating and even consumer demand, like we're seeing restaurants, we're seeing brands listen to the consumer because more people are coming together saying, I don't want seed oils. You know? And so I think the movement's for sure happening.
[00:37:32] Travis: What about school lunches? Are those getting cleaned up? Oh
[00:37:34] Taylor: my gosh, they're terrible. I think Texas is leading the way, right? We're passing some legislation, but again, again, it starts with what we feed our kids. And it's just so sad. It's like, why are we not focusing on health promotion and disease prevention?
[00:37:49] Taylor: Mm-hmm. We're literally feeding the beast and the obesity rates and all that. Childhood epidemic rates and yeah, it starts at schools, you know, it it, and, and at home too. But yeah, schools are just [00:38:00] awful, man. Even back when I was in schools, I can't say it was healthy then. It's not like all of a sudden it's changed.
[00:38:04] Taylor: But
[00:38:04] Travis: aren't they getting like Coca-Cola lunch?
[00:38:06] Taylor: Are they, I don't know. I haven't been in the school system, so I don't know. But that enrages me. Yeah. Like how, what?
[00:38:15] Travis: Yeah. Well, I think I know how, but, um, you know, the other thing about food too is that I think is really interesting that you don't hear a lot about is that, and you talked about like getting back to the way we were designed and our nature, um, like my kids are obsessed with strawberries and it's like, okay, that seems like a good problem to have.
[00:38:32] Travis: And, and it is. It's fine. But, but they want strawberries year round. Well, strawberries aren't, uh, a winter crop. Mm-hmm. They're not a fall crop. And so those strawberries come from probably a long way away. They're not coming from our garden. I'll, I'll tell you that. And it's like by the time the strawberry gets from wherever it's plugged.
[00:38:52] Travis: However they, you know, get that strawberry to grow in an unnatural time wherever it is, and then get it all the way to my house. You know, how long has it been [00:39:00] sitting in a plastic cart mm-hmm. In a hot truck or whatever. Uh, and like what nutritional value has that strawberry retained? Mm-hmm. Right. And just like, it'd be cool to see, you know, kinda a plug for, for my wife here, but people getting back to like gardening and growing crops.
[00:39:15] Travis: Yes. And just like getting into the rhythm and the season of food
[00:39:18] Taylor: seasonal. Yeah. Uh,
[00:39:20] Travis: I think there's someone that, that doesn't allow, doesn't eat food that's more than a certain miles away from their house, uh, because of that. Mm. Um, so yeah, I completely agree with kind of just getting back to just the natural Yes.
[00:39:31] Travis: Way of things. Yes. That get
[00:39:32] Taylor: back to basics. We overcomplicate it, like eat real food, you know?
[00:39:36] Travis: Um, talk about glyphosate speaking of farming.
[00:39:39] Taylor: Yeah.
[00:39:39] Travis: Um, there's been lawyers, not me, but several lawyers going after Roundup. Mm-hmm. Uh, for several years. And I did some research on that kind of to, to grill you with some questions.
[00:39:51] Travis: No, I'm just kidding.
[00:39:51] Taylor: Yeah, no, let's go.
[00:39:52] Travis: Uh, but glyphosate, you know, you talked about rats, how they can do more, obviously more testing on rats. Um, and they're, they [00:40:00] can show that it's carcinogenic for, for rats world. Um, the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the World Health Organization have both said that Gly, uh, glyphosate probably caused his
[00:40:13] Taylor: lymphoma cancer
[00:40:13] Travis: Yeah.
[00:40:14] Travis: And cancer non lymphoma
[00:40:15] Taylor: specifically. Yeah.
[00:40:16] Travis: Yeah. non-Hodgkin lymphoma, probably meaning more likely than not. Mm-hmm. Um, which is enough for me not to use that. We killer.
[00:40:22] Taylor: Yep.
[00:40:23] Travis: Uh, obviously, but then you look at the EPA and they're like, oh no, it's fine.
[00:40:27] Taylor: Yeah. And
[00:40:29] Travis: it's like, come on.
[00:40:30] Taylor: Yeah. It's crazy. Well, and aren't there a lot of class action lawsuits from it and there's been like settlements with monsano and different people?
[00:40:36] Travis: Yes. Monsano being, I. The former Roundup producer. Yeah. Yeah. And now Bear owns it and Bear's a huge company spending a lot of money. And so now I'm seeing bills at state legislators across the country where these glyphosate manufacturers are asking for immunity from liability for these lawsuits. And generally speaking, anytime people are down to the legislature paying, [00:41:00] you know, lobbyists and asking for immunity, uh, and
[00:41:03] Taylor: protection, kind
[00:41:04] Travis: of a red flag.
[00:41:05] Taylor: Yep. Same with the vaccine. That's what they did back in the late eighties. You know, it's like, how can you be protected? It just, it, it raises questions for concern for sure. And there's no doubt a link. And even in the World Health Organization, and I have tons of posts where we state the source, you know, and it's like.
[00:41:20] Taylor: Kind of the stuff that I talk about there is like super weird when you talk about parasites and cancer and people are like, what? But I'm like, no, go to the American Cancer Society, go to International Journal of Cancer. This is not woo woo. Go to the WHO and you will see that there are links between parasites and certain cancers and even viruses.
[00:41:34] Taylor: We know that HPV can lead to cervical cancer. So when I talk about all these viral titers and parasites and pathogens. And all these things and heavy metals, it's like, actually no, there are links, you know, and asbestos and mold, like there are actually links to certain types of cancer. It just doesn't sound mainstream.
[00:41:50] Taylor: So I sound a little crazy when I talk about it, but when I go cite the sources and people see like, oh wow, viruses an Epstein-Barr virus. I mean, a lot of people have been exposed to it. We have to support our [00:42:00] immune system. But that's a carcinogen. You know, there's a proven length. But, so then my question is, and my challenge to a lot of people is why aren't we looking at how we can correct the immune system?
[00:42:10] Taylor: Why are we just focusing on kill, kill, kill with radiation and chemo? Right? And further disruption. There are times in places for both, don't get me wrong. Like I had surgery. I'm not just eating food, hoping I'm healed, praying and doing a rain dance in the garden. You know, I'm very much like I'm for medicine and it has places, but we're so reactive and we're not looking at what are the causes and how can we mitigate the cause to get our immune system to do what it was created to do.
[00:42:32] Travis: Yeah. When I hear you talk about parasites, I get kind of. Creeped out and
[00:42:36] Taylor: Full Moon is coming up in two weeks. Tp, it's not too late. I know. It's woo woo. Trust me. Even me being in the functional medicine world, I was like, people overdo it and then I start looking at the research. No, but I can get it. Yeah.
[00:42:46] Taylor: Um,
[00:42:46] Travis: which is why I get freaked out and creeped out. That's pretty well, and we de worm our
[00:42:49] Taylor: pets every other country D worms. But why don't we in America makes you wonder.
[00:42:53] Travis: We do everything special here in America. Yeah. It's working out great so far.
[00:42:57] Taylor: No, that's why we're counter-cultural people. That's why we are doing things [00:43:00] different.
[00:43:00] Travis: Right. Um, okay. So if someone's like new to hearing about you and new to like thinking about this, like, okay, I need to try to clean up. You talked about obviously shopping the, uh, the perimeter to the grocery store, and obviously I agree with that. Um, but what's like your main tip? Where to start? Like where to start?
[00:43:19] Travis: Like. If you were gonna do just three things Yeah. To change your lifestyle, this will probably go a long way to help you out. Yeah. Like what are the main Well, and I
[00:43:27] Taylor: always like to remind people, like, again, you're gonna hear someone like me or see my articles and feel like, oh my gosh, it's too much. I can't do it.
[00:43:33] Taylor: So start somewhere, start feasible. You know, everyone's gonna have different budgets and finances and just 'cause it's expensive doesn't mean, I know family's five on one income. That's, you know, they're able to do things. You can weave water and vinegar to clean your floors. And so when it comes to practical things, I would say clean up your home.
[00:43:48] Taylor: Mm-hmm. You know, the choices that you can, 'cause you spend a lot of time there, clean up your nutrition and focus on stress and sleep that is so undervalued and underrated. But our bodies restore, we detox, we [00:44:00] repair. Mm-hmm. And we're living such stressful, fast paced lives that like we can't keep up. And so, yeah.
[00:44:06] Taylor: I mean, I know that's really boring, but I always tell people, get back to basics. Clean up your food, clean up your water. You know, sleep more, focus on stress. Sleep stress is not boring. Get outside sleep is awesome. It's, but it's like, you know, the things people wanna overcomplicate it and what product do I do for this?
[00:44:18] Taylor: And there's times and places for that. But like, get back to basics, you know? Mm-hmm. And um, and obviously with my story, like I'm doing a lot more to prevent cancer recurrence 'cause I am cancer free, you know, and I've been healed for a couple years, praise God. But I'm still doing more. So people look to me like, oh, I'm not doing enough.
[00:44:33] Taylor: And it's like, no, I'm doing it because I have a crazy medical history. Mm-hmm. But start somewhere and we don't have to overcomplicate it. But really cleaning up your nutrition, I feel like is so huge. And that will move mountains and you will feel a difference.
[00:44:45] Travis: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I agree. Um, okay, let's talk about insurance, for example.
[00:44:49] Travis: Um, let's talk about insurance. When you went to Mexico, um, and you did this integrative cancer care, I'm guessing that was not covered by [00:45:00] insurance.
[00:45:00] Taylor: No, sadly not. Uh,
[00:45:01] Travis: I deal with insurance companies every day. Mm-hmm. So I could, I already knew the answer to that question. Um, so you had to come up with a means mm-hmm.
[00:45:08] Travis: On your own to do that. And obviously people are in different situations and not everyone either has the money or, you know, I guess you can ask friends and family for donations for something like that, right? But why aren't insurance companies more incentivized to. Prevent problems? Well,
[00:45:22] Taylor: there's a pro for profit model, Uhhuh, you know, and they make money when people are sick.
[00:45:27] Taylor: And so unpopular opinion, but it's true. And I also, people like to focus on providers. Like, ugh, they don't take very much time with me and they don't spend very much time with me. And it's actually, you have to go back to the insurance model because mm-hmm Providers have to see a certain amount of people to make money, to be, you know, to submit for reimbursement.
[00:45:44] Taylor: And so I'm like, and you
[00:45:45] Travis: saw that when you were in the conventional medical world For
[00:45:47] Taylor: sure. And so that's why I actually, the only time I practice was cash pay. Not 'cause I wanna rip people off, not 'cause I'm trying to make huge profits. It's like I cannot. Um, ethically knowing what I know, wanting to help people and get to the root cause, [00:46:00] do that in 15 minutes.
[00:46:01] Taylor: Like I just can't. Yeah. I'd be doing a disservice to people trying to get reimbursed by insurance and so I would only see six to seven patients a day max. When
[00:46:07] Travis: you say 15 minutes per, like, that's dictated by the insurance companies? Yes. They say like, you were this reimbursement. Well,
[00:46:12] Taylor: and it's also like someone could see 10, 15 minute visits, but they're not gonna make money.
[00:46:16] Taylor: So in order for providers to make money, they have to see 20, 40 patients a day. Which then it's just shuffle, shuffle, shuffle, pill for the Ill type model. Um, but yeah, cancer, I mean cancer, sorry. Insurance is not. Paying for health promotion, disease prevention. And so, which is really, really sad. 'cause I feel like ultimately if you thought about it, they'd save money in the end.
[00:46:33] Taylor: If they were intervening and talking about nutrition and incentivizing doctors to do that, then they would not have to rely on their diabetes medication. Mm-hmm. But we're not, we're reactive, we're not proactive. Um, but yeah, people, providers, it's really sad they can't spend the time that they want with patients.
[00:46:47] Travis: Yeah.
[00:46:48] Taylor: Because they have to see a certain amount of patients to make their ends meet and pay their overhead and make money.
[00:46:52] Travis: Yeah. It is a skewed model for sure. You know, one of the trends I'm seeing, which I like, is people being able to use, uh, their HMOs [00:47:00] for some of this stuff. Yeah. Some health and wellness stuff.
[00:47:02] Travis: And HSAs. HSAs, excuse me. I say HMOs. Yeah, HSAs. What do I know? But, uh, so you basically use tax free dollars to, uh, to spend on, uh, things that can help prevent some illnesses or, or treat illnesses, I guess in unconventional ways.
[00:47:17] Taylor: Yeah, it's incredible.
[00:47:18] Travis: Um, and it's sad that all the good stuff is out pocket.
[00:47:21] Taylor: Like even body work. You know, I went and saw an osteopath today and it's like. He was amazing and it was 30 minutes, it wasn't this two hour visit, but he was able to spend the time with me and I would rather pay cash to pay for good quality. Mm-hmm. And that's sad that that's not affordable. 'cause for all the people that do pay for insurance, they're not, you know, insurance is great for emergencies and traumas.
[00:47:40] Taylor: Like being at level one trauma ICU nurse, which I was for a little bit. Mm-hmm. The cost of that and the meds and the level of care and the specialist you need, in your case, you need insurance for that. Or you could be in debt for the rest of your life. You know, if you have a even three week ICU stay. And so I think it's insurance is very helpful for acute emergent situations.
[00:47:59] Taylor: Um, but it's not [00:48:00] very good or Yeah. For health promotion.
[00:48:02] Travis: I agree with that. Um, alright. Taylor Duke's Wellness, so the company, what, what does Taylor Duke's Wellness do now? Are you still seeing patients or?
[00:48:12] Taylor: I retired. Yeah. I tell people I retired getting, and you know what I love and I worked so hard to get to that place and God used it, but mm-hmm.
[00:48:19] Taylor: I got to the point where, you know, we had a huge wait list, which was such a blessing. I hired multiple providers. Mm-hmm. Um, and it was great and we were helping a lot of people and we did help a lot of people, and we still are, but it got to a point where, for me, I was like, I know I'm not going back to patient care.
[00:48:31] Taylor: I gotta take care of myself. Mm-hmm. I wanna be there for my family. Mm-hmm. And if I care for everyone else, it'll be at the expense of me and my family. So I ultimately made the decision to close down my practice and walk away from the wellness center that I founded, which was hard 'cause I was so passionate about it, but God just made it so clear.
[00:48:43] Taylor: Mm-hmm. You, and at this time, I didn't really know what I was gonna do, but I was always passionate about educating and equipping people and empowering them with information. Like before anything. I'm an education based brand. Um, but we've since formulated our own products. And as a mom, I wanna provide healthier versions of things.
[00:48:59] Taylor: So I don't wanna be a [00:49:00] Grinch. I want my kids to drink hot chocolate and lemonade, but I'm not gonna give 'em swissness in country time.
[00:49:04] Travis: Okay.
[00:49:05] Taylor: So we sell supplements and nutritional products now, and it's an online brand.
[00:49:09] Travis: Do you ever, I, I remember when y'all, when we were, uh, hanging out with y'all and you're like, it was you or Ryan, like, yeah, we got this vitamin coming out or something supplement coming out.
[00:49:21] Travis: I was like, oh, that's cool. And I just thought it was gonna be like a multivitamin. And then like bam. It's like electrolytes and protein powders. And we got the sports drinks and we got different, I mean, lots of supplements. Lots of vitamins. Yeah. Like how did, you went from like zero to 60 in this like supplement world it seems like.
[00:49:38] Travis: Um, it's very successful. We love it. Obviously we're big users of a lot of your products. Thanks for your support. The chocolate. I will plug the chocolate protein. It is the best. So good.
[00:49:46] Taylor: It's my favorite chocolate protein
[00:49:47] Travis: ever. You mix that out with a little bit of raw milk if you can get your hands on it and it, I call it the power couple.
[00:49:52] Taylor: I love that
[00:49:54] Travis: we, I have it every morning. Why is raw milk so hard to find, by the way?
[00:49:58] Taylor: Because it's illegal.
[00:49:59] Travis: Yeah. Why is it [00:50:00] illegal?
[00:50:00] Taylor: Don't ask me, ask the people that are making the decisions. It's crazy. Well, actually it got a bad rap when we tried to mass produce milk and get it to people. They pasteurize it.
[00:50:07] Taylor: 'cause it would preserve it, but we're killing all the nutrients and the enzymes. Yeah. And so, but I will say, I'll, I'll also say you have to test milk. So if you're getting raw milk, you want it to be from someone, like where we get it from, we have a milk dealer, by the way. Mm-hmm. Um, that they test it.
[00:50:20] Taylor: Right. And so, but it doesn't kill all the nutrients. And so I think that raw milk is gonna come back. I, I think it's gonna be less harder to find. Um, but it is unfortunate. It's all the good stuff, you know, like why, why is that illegal? Why is B 17 illegal? It makes you just wonder certain things. Yeah.
[00:50:33] Travis: I have to go to like a special milk drop every two weeks.
[00:50:35] Travis: Something's like, yeah, we got a dealer. We
[00:50:36] Taylor: got a milk dealer.
[00:50:37] Travis: Yeah, I got a milk. That's funny. Um, okay, so let's shift gears of talking about running a business. You and I are both entrepreneurs and. Talk about being an entrepreneur. What have you learned about business? I mean, I'm sure you didn't learn this in medical school, nursing school at TCU, uh, so what's your, what have you learned about business over the years?
[00:50:56] Travis: Td?
[00:50:57] Taylor: God, that's a loaded question. I don't know. Tp, um, [00:51:00] I mean, I've always, I've always been like, looking back, my dad was shocked. He was like, what do you mean you're going to nursing school? Like what Uhhuh, because he saw me more of as a business person. Mm-hmm. Which now I'm using both, but I would always be like doing lemonade stands or crushing up rocks, being like, I have special crystals for sale.
[00:51:15] Taylor: Right. Um, so I think I am entrepreneurial. I didn't realize that till later in life, but man, I think people are, people assume and. Love 'em, love my friends. But they're like owning your own business. You have so much freedom and flexibility. Oh my gosh. No, it's a grind. It never stops. Yeah. Um, but it's so fun, and I especially in be, have it any other way,
[00:51:31] Travis: especi the beginning, especially in the beginning.
[00:51:32] Taylor: Oh, and you're wearing a million hats. People are like, look at where you are now. I'm like, yeah, it's such a blessing, but, well, you should have seen me with a three month old. I would get ready. We have no family here. I'd do childcare at the time. I'd be getting ready, like putting in his stroller, singing him songs.
[00:51:43] Taylor: I mean, it just, yeah. You know, it's, it's not as sexy as people think it is. Mm-hmm. But I think when you're wired this way, there's no other choice. Like, I love the freedom and flexibility that it provides me to be mom. And also have to have boundaries. Yeah. Um, but it's the best. But we also have taken a lot of risks too.
[00:51:59] Taylor: Yeah. You know, and [00:52:00] Ryan calls it calculated risks. Sure. And for me, if I have peace, like people are like, how do you make your decisions? I'm like, honestly, I'm prayerful about it. If I have peace, this that's so far, I didn't even know how to use Excel spreadsheets, so I'm probably not the person to get business advice from.
[00:52:12] Taylor: I feel like I've just been blessed and my business has grown. In insane ways that we never thought. Yeah. Um, but it's hard. It's a grind. You have to wear a lot of different hats in the beginning, but it's worth it, you know?
[00:52:21] Travis: Yeah. And, you know, having that underlying passion for what it is that you're doing takes care of a lot of this.
[00:52:26] Travis: Oh, for sure. And then the rest of you kinda just figure out along the way.
[00:52:28] Taylor: Yeah.
[00:52:29] Travis: Um, but then
[00:52:29] Taylor: it's also like our team, you know, we just hired four more people and we're no longer startup anymore. Like we're, we're actual team with like maternity leave and hr. Yeah. You know, I'm like, handbooks and bol. Oh my gosh.
[00:52:38] Taylor: More people, more problems.
[00:52:40] Travis: It's getting more buttoned up. It's,
[00:52:42] Taylor: it's, it's, but I have a great team and I'm so blessed and I really think like the people you surround yourself with and if they're on board with your mission, it just pushes it forward tenfold. So hire the right people, be willing to take risks.
[00:52:53] Taylor: It's gonna be hard. It's gonna be worth it. That's my
[00:52:55] Travis: advice. Um, and you formally now work with your husband? Mm-hmm. [00:53:00] Right? Is that public knowledge?
[00:53:01] Taylor: Yeah, he's my CEO. He's your c Actually, I don't know if that's announced, but he's officially newly appointed. CEO.
[00:53:06] Travis: Okay. So he's the boss now. He's running the show.
[00:53:08] Travis: He's the show boss man. Uh, so I mean, you, I know, I know you and Ryan, you guys have always done things together. Yeah. And if, if this was used to just be officially yours, um, and now You'all are sharing it, run it together. So what is it, what is it like now actually running it with him and, and working or working, uh, with him?
[00:53:24] Taylor: Yeah, he's always been at my good voice of reason. My sounding board. Yeah, my prayer buddy. And big decisions. You know, we've always, like you said, you know what it's like, I, you should probably be telling the people what it's like, you know, better than me. But, um, he's always been nice. I ask the
[00:53:35] Travis: questions here too.
[00:53:36] Travis: He's
[00:53:36] Taylor: been on team meetings and stuff. He's always had a good pulses making projections. He's the one that does the Excel spreadsheets. I'm like, I don't know. I feel peace about this. So he is always been involved, but um, the level of time that he is, been able to commit to it and truly like, we're bringing you on your CEO, like.
[00:53:51] Taylor: It's been awesome. We're a few months in, so it's not like, yeah, we started it this way. So there's definitely the, um, baton pass off. I'm not a control freak. I'm the most like type [00:54:00] BCEO really known to man. I also trust my people that I hire, so I'm not Yeah, me too. Yeah. And so when you hire the right people, you don't have to be micromanaging.
[00:54:07] Taylor: Um, but you know, I think it's gonna be definitely a learning curve of like, this is how it's been done and mm-hmm. We've, we're no longer, I think we just had a team meeting for two hours before this podcast and it's, we're no longer startup anymore. Like we're, we're legit. We're a business. Yeah. And so that's where I'm thankful for Ryan because he's coming in getting systems and processes in place.
[00:54:23] Taylor: Mm-hmm. Um, but yeah, I think we both have unique gifts. You know, he got his MBA at SMU and I'm just the medical science nerd that loves to formulate things. Yeah. And so, and I'm the marketing, the face of the brand. Um, but it's been really good. I think something that we're learning is like we are having to dedicate every other week meetings to work like a standing meeting.
[00:54:40] Taylor: It's probably gonna become weekly, if I'm being honest here soon. But really to focus and catch each other up because it's really hard, you know, with the kids and updates and we still do that. Or you know, he's coming to gimme a foot massage at night 'cause I'm trying to relax and he will run something by me or I'll bring something up.
[00:54:52] Taylor: What a guy.
[00:54:53] Travis: What a guy. He's the best. That's my boy Ron.
[00:54:55] Taylor: But it is one of those things that like, it is, we're gonna have to have healthy boundaries, especially [00:55:00] to do this long term.
[00:55:00] Travis: Yeah. So that's the tricky part, right? Like we. Anna and I have been in this world for 10 years or so running PLG together, and people ask about like, work life balance, and I'm just like, what is that mean?
[00:55:12] Travis: There's not a such
[00:55:13] Taylor: a thing.
[00:55:13] Travis: Anna and I are constantly talking about our family and our lives and our business all, it's just all a big hodgepodge of togetherness. I, I don't even know how to describe it. I mean, talk to her throughout the day about, uh, you know, plans for the kids or what, you know, ideas for dinner and stuff like that.
[00:55:29] Travis: And at night we're talking about PLG and people are like, it's supposed to be opposite and like, we don't have that option. Our lives are too crazy. Yeah. You just gotta figure out what, what works for you. Um,
[00:55:36] Taylor: we're on vacation last week, like sitting out, offer letters with HR at Legoland, and I'm just like, this is all we know.
[00:55:41] Taylor: I mean, we do have to have healthy boundaries to protect us in our marriage, you know? Oh, totally. Yeah. But like, it, it definitely is. It's a unique thing and that's where I'm like, it's not always sexy and glamorous. It's hard to take vacations and be fully unplugged. In fact, very hard, you know? Yeah. Not that there's just stuff that comes up, y'all know.
[00:55:56] Travis: Now two members of your leadership team go off on vacation and then [00:56:00] Yeah. Um, alright. Couple more personal questions for you. Yeah. You mentioned homeschool early on in the podcast. So are the Dukes kids, that's, are they destined for homeschooled? That's what we're doing. First time I've ever
[00:56:11] Taylor: shared this publicly, Uhhuh.
[00:56:13] Taylor: Um, we did, you know, we, I um, it's so strange looking back. We've had, you know, God plant seeds in little different seasons and I'll never forget being in the military, there were a lot of families that homeschooled. For those of y'all listening that don't know, my husband, he was a former C one 30 pilot. Um, beginning of our marriage.
[00:56:27] Taylor: We were Air Force family living, stationed in Abilene. And I remember being like, that's the weirdest thing. What do you do if you're homeschooled? Ryan and I both went to public school, you know, great experiences. Life is different this day and age. I don't care what city you're in, it's just different.
[00:56:39] Taylor: Mm-hmm. And um, so there's been little seeds along the way, but I remember some of the. Coolest kids that we interacted with in the military, younger, you know, um, our friends' kids were the most mature wise, could hold adults with cold conversations with adults. You know, would sit at the dinner table, serve us, pray over the meal.
[00:56:55] Taylor: I mean, we were so impressed with them because they also, it wasn't peer segregation, they were around [00:57:00] adults and traveling and learning and Yeah. Um, so I think that seed was planted then, but then it just keeps coming up, you know, for me and I'm like, okay, when there are themes that keep coming up, I gotta press in and pray.
[00:57:10] Taylor: I never thought I'd be the homeschool mom, especially as an entrepreneur. I'm not, and I'm not like a teacher. People will say like, oh yeah, I see that gift in you and your educational, but I'm not, I didn't get my education degree. Yeah. Um, and really ultimately one of the biggest conversations that compelled us to do this is, so a lot of my friends that are entrepreneurial, like the owners of Branch Basics, primarily pure, they actually homeschool and I people in
[00:57:32] Travis: the wellness space Yes.
[00:57:33] Travis: Specifically, yes.
[00:57:34] Taylor: I've seen them model it really, really well. Mm-hmm. Um, because I think homeschool has a stigma and it doesn't have to be like mom teaching them at the kitchen table. It's a lot of life experiences and traveling and. Getting your hands dirty and being kids and playing outside. You know, kids in school these day and age have less outdoor time than prisoners.
[00:57:50] Taylor: Yeah. And that's a sobering statistic. Right. Um, but it was, so I've seen it modeled well, but the ultimate decision for us was, we were with a couple, he's actually played in the NFL for 10 years [00:58:00] and they were at one of the best schools in Detroit when he was with the lions and prestigious Christian school and all the things that you want in a school.
[00:58:06] Taylor: Mm-hmm. And they realized that the bookends of the day, the morning and the evenings were so stressful. It was like, p pack your backpack, get this dah, dah, dah, dah, dah. Yeah. And then it was like, afterschool sports and do your homework and do this. And they were like, man, the two times the day where we get to influence our kids are the most stressful, the bookends of the day.
[00:58:23] Taylor: And they just like, were like, this isn't worth it. And we're also outsourcing precious time with our kids that will never get back to others. Yeah. And so, um, I was like, man, I so resonate with that. And so we are homeschooling.
[00:58:35] Travis: That's super exciting. We
[00:58:36] Taylor: have a co-op. We're not Mama t's not teaching all the time.
[00:58:38] Taylor: Okay.
[00:58:39] Travis: Okay. Will you teach sometimes or? Yeah. It's always the gonna be the
[00:58:42] Taylor: I will. And what we've learned is when kids are, they're going to a co-op twice a week. We have an amazing teacher. She's taught for 30 to 40 years. But when kids are in concentrated learning environments and their learning style is catered to, they don't need as much time and there's a lot of time wasted in schools.
[00:58:55] Taylor: Line up, get your folder out. Oh, quiet at the classroom,
[00:58:57] Travis: right? Yes.
[00:58:58] Taylor: And so, um, [00:59:00] yeah, she was like four hours, twice a week. That's all I need. Four hours, twice
[00:59:03] Travis: week from, from like six to
[00:59:03] Taylor: nine.
[00:59:04] Travis: That blew me away. When, uh, Anna's best friends, uh, from college, they are now homeschooling their kids in Santa. And they're like, yeah, we started at like 9, 9 30 and we're done by like 10 30 or 11.
[00:59:13] Travis: Yeah, with all the curriculum because it's
[00:59:14] Taylor: concentrated. Isn't that nuts? Then
[00:59:16] Travis: they're outside playing and doing stuff with other kids in the neighborhood and who, who do homeschool too. No, I get it.
[00:59:21] Taylor: We're doing museum school too, and then we'll just travel. Like, you know, we might take a field trip to DC and that.
[00:59:25] Taylor: That's, that's school, that's learning. I think we've had to shift our brain of what school looks like and so it's gonna be different, but we're excited. Okay.
[00:59:32] Travis: Well you heard it here first, folks. Taylor Dukes. Ryan Dukes are sitting there, are gonna be homeschooling their children. Is
[00:59:36] Taylor: anyone's surprised?
[00:59:37] Taylor: Probably not.
[00:59:38] Travis: Do you think you'll go the distance or will it be for like, kind of the elementary years and then you'll go into more traditional schools?
[00:59:44] Taylor: I could see us going to school at some point, especially if our boys are athletic and they're social, you know, we're still gonna play sports, we're gonna get exposure to people with museum school.
[00:59:51] Taylor: There's other kids in our co-op that we've created, you know, like they're gonna do sports. So, um, I don't know. I think we'll just let the Lord kind of lead us. And we're one year at a time. I, if I were to stay [01:00:00] right now, I would probably homeschool 'em through middle school and then let them do high school.
[01:00:03] Taylor: Mm-hmm. I don't know. We'll also save a lot of money too. No doubt. We'll spend that money on Euro trips and travel and history and, you know. Yeah. Um, but also just like the worldview is so different this day and age, and who do I want influencing my kids and what do I want them taught? And everything they're learning is like gonna be scripture based and when they do handwriting, it's gonna be, you know, tracing bible verses and writing and looking at history from, you know, how God created the world.
[01:00:25] Taylor: And so I'm really excited for that.
[01:00:27] Travis: Well, your kids are super lucky to have such intentional parents and obviously to live such healthy lifestyles and they're, they're gonna thrive in that environment. Super excited for both the boys. I'm proud and proud of you and Ryan. Of course. Uh, the other thing I'm proud about with you guys is I.
[01:00:42] Travis: Y'all are starting to look kind of crazy, like the Pattersons and leaving the city life
[01:00:47] Taylor: Sure. Are
[01:00:48] Travis: soon and heading out to the country.
[01:00:49] Taylor: Another thing I've never shared either, I mean unless you know me, but not like publicly I've shared this, but yeah, we, it's so funny. Ever since I was diagnosed, I've wanted just a slower pace of life and I can create that and I can say [01:01:00] no to things which I have here in Fort Worth.
[01:01:02] Taylor: Um, I just wanna get off the rat race, you know, and, um, slow down and get our boys outside. And this day and age, like I have so many precious memories. We grew up on some land and had not land a couple acres in Austin, but we had neighbors in a community and we would literally, like, I remember being like, oh, the sun's going down.
[01:01:16] Taylor: It's time to go home. And we had freedom to be kids and explore and we just can't do that. Like, my kid can't ride his bike down the street, he can't even walk across the street to the park. You know, it's so, I want my kids to have that sense of freedom and confidence. And we have boys they need to explore and be adventurous mm-hmm.
[01:01:31] Taylor: And get their hands dirty. So yeah, we're moving to 17 acres and um, we're gonna have animals and. We're gonna do the farm life.
[01:01:37] Travis: Okay. What kind of animals are we talking?
[01:01:39] Taylor: So we're inheriting some Galloway cows, also known as Oreo cows, as well as four mini donkeys.
[01:01:45] Travis: Oh, I didn't know there were donkeys out there.
[01:01:46] Taylor: You didn't. They're many. They're the cutest things you've ever seen.
[01:01:49] Travis: Oh yeah. And I wants many donkeys.
[01:01:50] Taylor: Yep.
[01:01:51] Travis: Hat, you know, donkeys, you saw this the other day. New donkeys, new neighbors. They're big though. They're big donkeys. Hank and Buster.
[01:01:58] Taylor: So cute.
[01:01:59] Travis: And then we got a, a [01:02:00] Longhorn and two cows, uh, sweet little family.
[01:02:02] Travis: They just had their first baby boy and, and moved out there. Uh, so we're super, the kids are super excited to have a little baby out there. Uh, and the animals of course. But yeah. I didn't realize y'all are getting four donkeys.
[01:02:11] Taylor: Yeah. Yeah. Well there were three and then mama just had her baby. His name is Banks.
[01:02:14] Taylor: He's the newest member of the fam. Technically not yet. We haven't signed our contract, but it's pretty official. Um, but it's been a God thing. It's been off market. The family that actually were moving to their house, they homeschooled and um, it's served their family really well. They had a boy and a girl, and the boy has a barn and he could do woodworking.
[01:02:29] Taylor: I think he actually had a business. I didn't hear that directly from them. Um, but he Oh, that's so cool. Able to do that. Cool. And so, yeah, so, and just to like, our boys love helping you probably know that with your boys. Yeah. They love doing things and so. It's not like monotonous chores. It's like, Hey, can you go grab that?
[01:02:41] Taylor: Like, we have a chicken coop. We, I haven't promised chickens yet. We'll probably get 'em, we'll probably be like y'all, but we need to learn the lay of the land first. Yeah. And writers already, like, I can't wait to get my power wheels and drive down to my John Deere green and load up the eggs in the basket and bring 'em up.
[01:02:54] Taylor: You know, they just love that. And they, they do well when they're given tasks and so we're just excited for that. And we're only 15 [01:03:00] minutes from, you know, central market. So we're still not super far out in the boonies. Correct. We have our access to our grocery stores and
[01:03:06] Travis: not gonna be completely Amish.
[01:03:07] Taylor: No.
[01:03:08] Travis: Uh, just a little bit, uh, advice on the chickens. Do not, do not let your kids name the chickens.
[01:03:13] Taylor: Yeah, I heard they get kind of, that's been eaten and it's a thing That's some sad
[01:03:16] Travis: moments at the Paterson House. Poor Elsa.
[01:03:19] Taylor: Yeah. RIP
[01:03:20] Travis: the Elsa chicken. Um, anyway, it, life, you know, life goes on circle of life. It's been good learning opportunities.
[01:03:27] Travis: You know, we, we've been out in the country for. Five years now, I guess, since Covid. Uh, and it's, it's been awesome. Obviously you guys come out and, and run around and, um, y'all were also our
[01:03:36] Taylor: inspo.
[01:03:37] Travis: No,
[01:03:37] Taylor: yeah, you were, we loved y'all's life out there.
[01:03:39] Travis: Oh, it's, it's been a blessing to us. You know, I will say we feel the pull the temptations of modern life and conveniences and if we lived in the city, we could get to this restaurant a lot faster and at different, um, social events or, or whatever it is.
[01:03:54] Travis: And so we feel that kind of tug. Mm-hmm. Um, but we've always managed to resist it and we're pretty, uh, strong in the [01:04:00] idea of, of staying out there and keeping that plea piece of land on our families, um, for Yeah.
[01:04:04] Taylor: Uh, '
[01:04:04] Travis: cause it just, it'll become a part of you. Yeah. And obviously I'm excited for you and Ryan to embrace that and, um, and see you guys out there farming those cows.
[01:04:13] Travis: And
[01:04:14] Taylor: I know my new, my new family members,
[01:04:15] Travis: I don't know what you do with mini donkeys, but other than just kind of hang out,
[01:04:17] Taylor: they're kind of like just big dogs and friendly and they graze the land and we'll see. We'll learn those. Keep coats away. Yeah. Do they? Mm-hmm. I don't know.
[01:04:25] Travis: Yeah. To protect the chickens.
[01:04:26] Travis: Okay. Smart. We got, see, I have a lot to
[01:04:28] Taylor: learn.
[01:04:29] Travis: Well, Taylor, uh, you're great. Obviously appreciate, uh, you know, what you've, what you've shared with us today, your time here. I know bright lights, uh, aren't your favorite as we talked about. I wish we could have done this podcast outside.
[01:04:41] Taylor: No. Lighting's everything.
[01:04:41] Taylor: This is amazing. Uh,
[01:04:43] Travis: yeah, no, this is really cool. Um, but thanks for coming on and I look forward to seeing you soon.
[01:04:48] Taylor: Thanks for having me, tp. I appreciate it. This was fun.
[01:04:51] Travis: All right, let's get outta here.