In a recent podcast interview, a pediatrician friend of mine asked "Wait, who is this mold testing guy you keep talking about?" When I told him about Ben Kunze of Golden Environmental LLC, he was jealous, and rightfully so - there aren't many mold-testers out there who are as good as Ben, as honest as Ben, and who care about the people they serve as much as Ben. We REALLY, REALLY value having him here in Central Illinois, he has also become my friend and occasionally he kicks my butt on the mountain bike trails :)

If you are local, you should call Ben. MOST of my podcast audience is not from Central Illinois, but I still think this episode will be helpful and educational to hear what a GOOD INSPECTOR LOOKS FOR. I just had someone in my practice who had Ben out to her house, he found some really, really important puzzle pieces that needed to be addressed - but her house had been previously inspected and remediated more than once, but she was still experiencing weird health symptoms. She was MAD at the previous inspectors, but she was so grateful for Ben!! Unfortunately, we hear that quite often.

Ben Kunze has a great purpose-driven story. He was intrigued by mold and indoor air testing after a family member was experiencing health concerns that led them to discover mold, and he took on an apprenticeship under Martine Davis, a well-known mold/environmental inspector out of Wisconsin, then began his own testing business, which grew into a full-time job. Since then, Ben has tested over 1000 homes.

When you've inspected 1000 homes, you start to notice trends, patterns, common themes, mistakes, etc - and that is what this episode is all about - what Ben has seen and what YOU should be looking out for in your home. Ben's job is literally to snoop around your whole house - the roof, gutters, windows, plumbing, basement, attic, bathroom, etc. I am embarrassed to admit that Ben has been into places in my house that I have never even been! He spends several hours at each job visually inspecting, taking pictures, measuring humidity levels, and taking lab samples when indicated, and then he provides the results of course, but also gives an EXTENSIVE and DETAILED written report covering everything from lab values that were found to remediation considerations and priorities.

I tell people that Ben has two questions he asks when he's looking at a home/building:

1. If I were water, where would I go?

2. If I were mold, where could I grow?

His knowledge and experience are amazing, his service is amazing, and I've personally seen him impact hundreds of people's lives and their health journeys, and that's the point of this episode - it's a great conversation that covers a lot of important topics, and my hope is that it can be really helpful for someone who is trying to navigate the sometimes-overwhelming world of mold, mold testing, mold remediation, air quality in general, and environmentally-acquired illnesses.

As always leave a rating, a (good) review, or send this to someone you care about!

Michael Rubino is a name I've heard a lot the past few years in the mold and indoor environmental air quality world, which if you've listened to this podcast you know this is something I am also very passionate about. He wrote a book a few years ago called The Mold Medic, an Expert's Guide on Mold Removal that we have on our shelves (someone actually has it checked out right now!), he hosts a podcast called Never Been Sicker, and he's heavily involved with a few great organizations, including:

The Dust Test - one of the best available DIY lab tests for people who are suspicious of mold or want to test their home.....I actually reviewed Dust Test results with an out-of-state client this morning!

Home Cleanse - a nationwide mold and indoor air quality remediation service that can help make this seem less overwhelming, guide the process, connect you with local contractors, but also help make sure that things get done right....which is the most important part!

Change the Air Foundation - Michael is the chair of this foundation, along with a few key partners that we chat about in the podcast, and their mission is to make larger-scale impact on this problem of "air quality" and mold specifically by focusing on research, education and pushing for change from the top down (government) and from the bottom up (resources for YOU to clean YOUR ENVIRONMENT). They have a ton of free educational resources and downloads, and they even have helped push new legislation through improving "mold remediation" standards in my home state of Illinois!

In this podcast we talk in more detail about some of these companies and the things moving and shaking in the mold world, from policy changes to action steps you can take TODAY at home, so listen to the episode and click the links to learn more.

The companies that Michael is involved with tell you a lot about his heart for helping people and his personal mission and purpose - to educate people about the problem(s) we are facing that are associated with our air quality and the various components like mold, mycotoxins, and other indoor environmental allergens, irritants, toxins....and offer people solutions. This aligns so well with my purpose and mission - to educate about the underlying causes, mechanisms, and potential solutions for autoimmunity, in an effort to help relieve suffering - and air quality is one of the most important and most overlooked topics. I hope you enjoy this conversation, I know I did!

As always, please leave a rating, give a (good) review, or send this to someone you care about!

STRESS - we all got it. Haha - - What can you do? Try to understand it more!

I see all kinds of "stress-related" cases - autoimmune disease flares, stress-related gut flares, "adrenal fatigue" symptoms, being "easily triggered by trivial stimuli" like noises, lights, motion, even toxins, viruses, food triggers - - it's all "stress" in some regard. In this episode I talk about stress, and more specifically, I go into deeper detail about the mechanisms of stress chemistry - - not just cortisol, the most famous stress hormone, but also other components of stress - the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system, the HPA axis and adrenals, other stress hormones like neurotensin, neurotransmitters like epinephrine aka adrenaline, dopamine beta hydroxylase and other genetics, and the available functional testing and natural solutions, the pros and cons, my clinical thought processes, and really just rant on about stress for 45 minutes. I hope this helps someone manage their "stress chemistry" better!

OK SO - - in 2025, I am starting to do a new thing on the podcast called "Dr. Taylor Talks About _____" in an effort to just make more content and share more of my opinions, views, and interpretations. I hate to say this, but I've developed a certain amount of expertise and when I share my viewpoint(s), people tend to value my opinion, so I want to share my thoughts more regularly on common topics. My opinion is not always right, it's usually open-minded and subject to change, but I like talking about my views, how I have come to those views, the evidence and the way that I see it, and people think it's very helpful, which is my only goal, and it helps them navigate their health journey.

These episodes will not really be that much different than before, but this is the first "episode" of Dr. Taylor Talks About ____, and what a better topic than: SOCIAL MEDIA AND ONLINE HEALTH ADVICE - is it a gift, or is it a curse?

Today's health and wellness landscape is seriously getting pretty crazy with Instagram, Youtube, TikTok, podcasts, etc. Everybody coming in to my office is basically regurgitating their newsfeed to me - - I think I have parasites! Can we test for heavy metals? I started taking Shilajit and Collagen and Zeolites and Hydrogen Water because they sound so amazing, but I still feel like crap! I looove having these super-educated people in my practice, but if you are coming to me for advice, why don't you ask ME what you should do instead of trying internet trends? ALL of these trends are things I know a lot about and tools that I sometimes use. But MOST OF IT is not what I would suggest you do for yourself, your symptoms, or your family.

All of this increased "wellness" exposure through social media is great because it is shining a light on my profession, shining a light on the issues with environmental toxins or pharmaceuticals, and shining a light on natural options to support human physiology - but it also muddies the waters and makes it hard to know what YOU NEED - and that's all I care about. In this episode I rant on all of these things - marketing, miracle cures, big accounts, social media experts, podcast superstars, trendy supplements and hot topics, and how to navigate this and sift through the INFO to find what you actually need.

This podcast is another GREAT conversation with my friend Pejman (the other doctor K, haha) that we recorded recently. I also put this on our Youtube channel, but here is the audio. It's a long conversation, but we could have easily kept going!!

I think Dr. Pejman Katiraei is an amazing doctor, educator, and he has become my friend who I love having discussions with. He is a pediatrician, and when you listen to him talk you can immediately hear how much he cares for these poor children and families that he sees suffering from ADHD, OCD, PANS/PANDAS, autism, anxiety/depression, failure to thrive, early puberty, etc - he obviously has a big heart for these kids. He is a great question-asker, always asking the question - "WHY?" Why are these kids' brains inflamed? Why are their guts a wreck? Why are they folate or D3 deficient? Why are their mitochondria dysfunctional?

The question of WHY often leads an inquiring mind upstream to root causes like MOLD TOXICITY and MYCOTOXIN EXPOSURE. Mold toxicity is so prevalent today and yet so often overlooked in these kids - and in adults too, which is more my client population, but I work with kids as well. Both of us have come to this conclusion separately - by asking WHY it has led both of us to spend the last decade plus learning more about the science, evidence, mechanisms, and strategies to understand, detect, and correct mold-related illness, which we have both applied in practice with great success, even though we don't always use the same strategies. In this video we talk about a TON of stuff, including labs, supplements, gut health, LPS, heavy metals, parasites, and many other important topics, and I think this will be really helpful especially for a parent trying to solve their child's (or their own) health puzzle.

Let's face it - being in pain sucks. That's kind of part of it, right?? So obviously people with pain, especially chronic pain, want some relief. That's why pain is a leading cause of disability, and pain management is a multi-billion dollar-per-year industry. But WHY WOULD SOMEONE BE IN PAIN IN THE FIRST PLACE??? That's what a functional medicine approach looks at!

Pain has many mechanisms, and as a chiropractor I have seen and successfully treated a lot of pain. In fact, I probably saw more straight-up "pain" in my former practice doing more musculoskeletal work, and chiropractic care is great for pain relief and much more. Nowadays, I see pain from other causes like autoimmune diseases, and see great success by taking a functional medicine approach to pain.

Pain can have many forms - it can be from wear-and-tear and old age, injuries, autoimmune inflammation, it can be exacerbated by overuse, stress, food sensitivities, anything that can drive inflammation - or it may be "unexplained". It can be called shooting pain, burning pain, stabbing pain, growing pains, osteoarthritis, "bone-on-bone", numbness, tingling, neuropathy, bone pain, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, muscle pain, soreness, mixed-connective tissue disease, fibromyalgia.....you may be told you have "degeneration", or "inflammation", a "pinched nerve", or you may be told "everything looks normal". There are a lot of possibilities!

The point is that there are many mechanisms to pain, and a functional medicine approach considers all the possible root causes, then we look deeper to evaluate the mechanisms, then we develop strategies to control the root source of pain.

That's what this podcast is all about - - how you can determine a bit more about your "pain" by evaluating the mechanisms, looking at lab tests, looking for and eliminating triggers, decreasing you inflammation by following different dietary and supplement protocols to not only get you out of pain in the short-term, but also decrease your pain in the LONG-TERM by addressing the real root cause(s).

Genetic testing is fascinating, but I have a love-hate relationship with it as a practitioner. It is very trendy in the functional medicine/health world, and I think this makes sense - - so many people are trying to figure out WHY they feel a certain way or have certain symptoms, and testing can absolutely help answer some of the "why" questions.

BUT - - genetics doesn't always answer these questions, and in many cases can muddy the waters even more. I have seen TONS of people come to me with genetic reports who aren't any better off than before they tested their genetics, and are perhaps even more confused. One gene might say you NEED methyl B vitamins, while another gene might say AVOID methyl B vitamins. I have seen TONS of people who are taking certain supplements like methyl-folate for their MTHFR mutation, but they don't respond well to it and it's actually making them worse. I have seen TONS of people who spent a lot of money on genetic reports, or on "customized" supplements based on their genes, and still haven't found the good results that they were hoping for.

Does this mean it's worthless? Absolutely not, I have run TONS of genetic tests on myself and have found it very worth it, it's just not the whole story.

In this podcast, I dive deeper into these opinions of mine, which aren't necessarily PRO or CON, they are just the PROS and the CONS from what I have seen working with chronic and complex clients over the past 10+ years. I talk about the books I've read, people I've followed online, the tests I've run, I talk about the most famous genes (MTHFR and gang), the most important genes for autoimmunity, mold toxicity, etc, and I talk about definitions of genomics, alleles, SNPs, and a little bit of everything "genetic", which hopefully can help YOU make some better sense of genetic testing and how you can use this tool while solving YOUR health puzzle!

We have A LOT of pregnant clients in our office right now, it's honestly crazy. Many of these women have diagnosed autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto's or Rheumatoid Arthritis. Some of them have "undiagnosed autoimmunity", like positive ANA tests, but they have no "diagnosis" - - yet. Some don't have any autoimmune diagnoses, but they have Lyme disease or mold toxicity.....and yet others with no diagnoses who just came in for management of specific symptoms like migraines, bloating, or anxiety.

There is no special "formula" for pregnant women with autoimmunity - - we want to make sure you aren't deficient on any vitamins, minerals, or nutrients, we want to avoid toxins, we want to eat anti-inflammatory, we want to exercise, we want to minimize stress.......good advice for any pregnant woman.

The concern is that autoimmunity is known to flare around pregnancy., often presenting as an increase in inflammatory symptoms postpartum. We don't want that!!

This episode is filled with my knowledge and opinions around pregnancy that I have developed over the years of working with pregnant patients as well as my own experiences as a parent. In this episode, I talk about my wife and I's experience(s) with miscarriages, with hospital births vs. home births, with twins vs. singletons, with V or no-V, and our personal decisions and how we made those decisions. I also talk about all the important stuff like prenatal vitamins, genetics, methylation, and more.

As always I don't claim to have all the answers, but I hope my expertise, my opinions, and my thought processes help someone as they are trying to make these decisions for themselves, or I hope they help someone have a happier, healthier pregnancy!