Mt. Taylor Functional Medicine

🌿 MT TAYLOR FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE

🔥 Here’s a question worth asking!

If your A1C continues to climb, your blood sugar remains uncontrolled, and your medications keep increasing…

Are we addressing the underlying causes of your Type 2 diabetes, or are we only managing your blood sugar?

🧬 What about insulin resistance, metabolic dysfunction, nutrition, muscle mass, sleep, stress, and inflammation?

Managing blood sugar is important. Understanding WHY it’s elevated is just as important!

🌿 MT Taylor Functional Medicine
Let’s talk root causes, not just symtoms.

🧠🦠 Your gut, brain, and ability to move are more connected than you might think!

Balance, hopping, and coordination require more than muscle strength. They depend on your brain, nervous system, metabolism, and proprioception—your body’s awareness of where it is in space.

Research links metabolic dysfunction, inflammation, diabetic neuropathy, and changes in the gut microbiome with physical function.

Healthy aging means preserving strength, balance, coordination, independence—and the confidence to keep moving.

💪 Want to support your brain, gut, and movement health? Connect with MT Taylor Functional Medicine today!

I DON’T HUSTLE ANYMORE. I LIVE WITH INTENTION. 💪❤️

I don’t wake up with a nervous stomach anymore. I don’t go all day without fueling my body. I don’t say, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” I don’t jump out of bed and run around like a crazy woman trying to accomplish 25 things at once.

I used to live that way. Not anymore.

What I do now is actually pretty boring. It’s called CONSISTENCY.

🥩 DIET: I fuel my body every single day. That requires meal prepping, planning ahead, and thinking about the week before it even begins. Whether I’m traveling, at the office, or at home, my nutrition doesn’t take a back seat. I plan for it.

😴 REST: Eight hours of sleep. Every single night. No phones, no screens after 7 PM. I’m asleep by 7:30 PM and awake between 3:30 and 4 AM. At home or traveling, my sleep is nonnegotiable.

🏋️‍♀️ EXERCISE: Resistance training five days a week and movement training the other two. Not when I feel like it. Consistently.

🧘‍♀️ STRESS MANAGEMENT: Breathing exercises, meditation, reflection, and intentionally creating space for my nervous system to settle down. These activities have a place on my calendar just like everything else.

💊 SUPPLEMENTATION: I consistently supplement with vitamins and minerals to help fill nutritional gaps that my daily food intake may not completely cover.

That’s my D.R.E.S.S. lifestyle. Diet. Rest. Exercise. Stress Management. Supplementation.

Week after week. Month after month. No magic. No shortcuts. Just consistency.

And you know what? Consistency is actually pretty boring! 😂

But I’ve learned to absolutely LOVE my boring life.

I still manage two businesses. I take care of my home, my yard, the laundry, the vehicles, and everything else life throws at me. The difference is that I no longer sacrifice myself to get everything done.

For too many years, I was overweight, unhappy with my body, and constantly putting everyone else’s needs before my own. I always took the back seat. I always found a way to make myself last.

Not anymore.

At 55, I understand something I didn’t understand at 35 or 45. My time here isn’t guaranteed. My life is already more than halfway over, and if I’m fortunate enough to have another 30 years, I want those years to be healthy, strong, independent, and full of life.

I want my body composition, my muscle mass, my metabolic health, and my laboratory markers to REFLECT the lifestyle I work so hard to maintain.

And yes, I’m proud of myself. It took me a long time to be able to say that.

I’m also incredibly fortunate to work with men and women who are ready to change their lives, and to learn from mentors who have dedicated decades to medicine and human health.

We’re watching a shift in how people think about health. More people are realizing that constantly feeling bloated, belching after meals, having digestive discomfort, headaches, low energy, and feeling miserable in their own bodies shouldn’t simply be accepted as normal.

People want more than just getting through the day. They want to feel GOOD living their lives.

And so do I.

Everybody’s goals are different. Mine aren’t about being perfect. They’re about being consistent.

I no longer glorify being busy, exhausted, stressed, or running myself into the ground.

I don’t hustle anymore.

I have discipline. I have boundaries. I have routines. And most importantly, I finally have a life that I absolutely love.

And if my story motivates even one person to stop putting themselves last, then sharing it is worth it.

A healthy lifestyle isn’t something I squeeze into my schedule anymore. It’s the foundation I build my entire life around. ❤️

— Dr. Mashelle Baker
MT Taylor Functional Medicine

🤱🦠 BREAST MILK: THE ORIGINAL FUNCTIONAL FOOD!

Did you know that breast milk does so much more than feed a baby? It helps build the foundation of the gut microbiome, immune system, digestion, and metabolic health!

Breast milk contains beneficial bacteria, antibodies, immune factors, enzymes, and human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) that feed important gut bacteria, especially Bifidobacterium.

🦠 WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

During infancy, breastfeeding helps establish a healthy gut microbial ecosystem. These beneficial bacteria help:

🌱 Break down and ferment nutrients that the baby cannot digest independently.

🛡️ Support immune system development and help protect against certain infections.

🧠 Support communication along the gut-brain axis.

💪 Produce beneficial metabolites that nourish the intestinal lining and support gut barrier function.

🥦 Help establish the foundation for healthy digestion and microbial diversity as children grow.

BUT WHAT IF YOU WERE NEVER BREASTFED?

Here’s what I want you to understand: Your microbiome is NOT permanently damaged because you weren’t breastfed!

At My. Taylor Functional Medicine, we look at the bigger picture.

When we run GI-MAP stool testing, we evaluate important microbial populations, including beneficial commensal bacteria, potential pathogens, and digestive health markers.

And here’s the exciting part: Your microbiome can change throughout your lifetime!

Even if you weren’t breastfed, there are ways to support your gut ecosystem through:

🥩 Nutrient-dense, balanced nutrition

🥦 Diverse, fiber-rich vegetables and other prebiotic foods

🦠 Targeted probiotics when clinically appropriate

🌿 Supporting beneficial commensal bacteria

💧 Supporting digestive function and intestinal health

😴 Quality sleep, movement, and stress management

Breastfeeding provides important early-life advantages, including protection against certain infections, but formula-fed babies can also develop healthy microbiomes and immune systems.

The gut microbiome is a living ecosystem. It responds to how we nourish and care for our bodies throughout life.

Whether you’re 8 years old or 80, it’s never too late to support your gut health!

💚 MT Taylor Functional Medicine

Diet • Rest • Exercise • Stress Management • Supplementation

🎉📚 BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER! I OFFICIALLY HAVE A PUBLISHER! 🎂🥳

There’s something about reaching the halfway point in life that changes your mindset. You raise your standards, set bigger goals, give yourself deadlines, and GET TO WORK!

One of my biggest goals this year was to get my book published!

After countless left turns, right turns, jumping through hoops, and speaking with approximately EIGHT publishers, IT FINALLY HAPPENED! 🎉

I even explored audiobooks, thinking they might be cheaper. HOLY MOLY! 😳 Quotes ranging from $30,000 to $60,000!

But quitting was NEVER an option!

🎂 Just in time for my birthday, I received the news that a publisher accepted my book project! And she’s just as excited about it as I am!

My first publication will be a Mt. Taylor Functional Medicine Workbook, available for anyone to purchase!

It will focus on my D.R.E.S.S. Protocol:

🥗 Diet
😴 Rest
💪 Exercise
🧠 Stress Management
🌿 Supplementation

This workbook is just the beginning! I plan to follow it with a series of books sharing my clinical knowledge, health protocols, personal journey, and the GRIT it takes to push through life’s obstacles.

I’m at an age where I don’t want to talk about what I COULD have done. I want to celebrate what I DID! 💪

Set your goals. Put deadlines on them. Take the left turns, the right turns, and jump through those hoops!

You’re NEVER too old to accomplish something extraordinary!

🎉 Here’s to another birthday, another goal accomplished, and an exciting new chapter for Mt. Taylor Functional Medicicine

At Mt Taylor Functional Medicine, we understand that hormones do not operate in isolation. That’s why we examine the whole system, using saliva testing, rather than relying solely on blood tests.

We evaluate the H.I.D.D.E.N. systems collectively:

🧬 Hormones
🛡️ Immune function
♻️ Detoxification
🦠 Digestion & gut health
⚡ Energy pathways
🧠 Nervous system
🔥 Oxidative stress

Many clients come to us saying, “My blood work appears normal, but I still feel terrible.” This underscores the importance of looking beyond a single serum hormone measurement.

🧪 WHY CHOOSE SALIVA HORMONE TESTING?

While blood testing is useful, it often measures hormones bound to carrier proteins. Saliva testing, on the other hand, captures the unbound, free fraction of specific steroid hormones, providing a clearer picture of their active levels. It also allows collection at multiple times during the day, which is crucial for hormones like cortisol that follow a daily rhythm.

Hormones are just one piece of the puzzle. When clients experience gut dysfunction, brain fog, headaches, inflammation, oxidative stress, poor energy, or immune dysregulation, we investigate how these systems interact.

Our focus isn’t just on whether hormone levels are within range, but on assessing the entire system’s functioning to achieve optimal health.

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🌿 Welcome & Hello! 🌿

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🎀 THE PINK RIBBON IS NOT ENOUGH. 🎀

Every October, corporations turn products pink—food, cosmetics, clothing, household products and more. But before buying something because it has a pink ribbon, ask where the money actually goes and how much is being donated.

I want the conversation to go beyond awareness. We need to talk about the environments we live in every day: ultra-processed foods, poor-quality ingredients, cosmetics and personal-care products, household cleaners, environmental exposures, metabolic health, excess body fat, inactivity and loss of muscle.

Instead of simply buying pink, let’s invest in what supports health:

🥩🥦 Eat nutrient-dense whole foods
🏋️‍♀️ Build and preserve muscle
😴 Prioritize sleep and recovery
❤️ Improve metabolic health
🧴 Be informed about products used on the body
🏡 Advocate for healthier environments
🔬 Support credible prevention and cancer research

🎀 Awareness matters—but awareness should lead to action.

Don’t just wear the ribbon. Ask questions. Follow the money. Demand better research, better products, and a healthier world.

— Dr. Mashelle Baker
MT Taylor Functional Medicine

⚡ What is ATP?

ATP stands for adenosine triphosphate. 🧬⚡

It is often called the energy currency of the cell. ATP isn’t energy itself in the same sense that food contains chemical energy; rather, it is a small molecule that cells continually produce and use to transfer usable chemical energy to cellular processes. 🔋

🧠❤️💪 Who makes ATP?

The key point is that ATP is not made by one organ. Nearly every cell in your body makes its own ATP because ATP is needed right where cellular work is happening.

🧠 Your brain makes ATP.
❤️ Your heart makes ATP.
💪 Your skeletal muscles make ATP.
🫁 Your organs and tissues make ATP.
🛡️ Your immune cells make and use ATP.

Most ATP is generated through cellular respiration, particularly within the mitochondria—the structures often described as the powerhouses of our cells. 🔬⚡

🥩🥑🍠 Nutrients from carbohydrates and fats—and, when needed, amino acids—are metabolized through pathways including the citric acid cycle and electron transport chain.

🫁 Oxygen is critical for high-output mitochondrial ATP production.

ATP can also be produced outside the mitochondria. Glycolysis occurs in the cytosol, and red blood cells—which do not have mitochondria—generate ATP through glycolysis.

🔄 What does your body do with ATP?

Think of ATP as a rapidly recycled cellular energy-transfer system.

ADP + phosphate → ATP 🔋 → cellular work ⚡ → ADP + phosphate → ATP again

Your body is continually rebuilding and using ATP according to cellular demand.

❤️ Heart: ATP powers continuous contraction, relaxation, and calcium handling.

💪 Muscle: ATP is required for muscle contraction, calcium cycling, and recovery.

🧠 Brain: ATP helps maintain ion gradients, electrical signaling, neurotransmission, and cellular housekeeping.

🛡️ Immune system: Immune cells require ATP to carry out energy-dependent functions.

🧬 Cellular maintenance: ATP supports active transport, protein synthesis, biosynthesis, and many processes involved in cellular and DNA maintenance and repair.

⚡ MT Taylor Functional Medicine Clinical Pearl

“ATP is not something produced by one organ and distributed throughout the body. Your cells continually manufacture ATP where energy is needed. From the electrical activity of the brain 🧠 to every heartbeat ❤️ and muscle contraction 💪, ATP provides the immediate energy-transfer currency that allows cellular work to occur. The mitochondria 🔬 are central to this process, continually converting energy from nutrients into ATP to meet the demands of the cell.”

— Dr. Mashelle Baker
MT Taylor Functional 🌿 Medicine