New Frontiers in Functional Medicine® Podcast Sponsors Dr. Kara Fitzgerald is eternally grateful to our sponsors who, by blogging, podcasting and advertising with us, enable me and my team to devote energy and time to writing and publication. This episode is brought to you in partnership with MitoQ, a mitochondrial antioxidant designed to target oxidative…
Cardiovascular disease is the number one threat to healthspan and longevity. But, aging in women doesn’t follow the same trajectory as it does in men. Alongside perimenopause, as the protective effects of estrogen wane, dyslipidemia, metabolic dysregulation, and weight gain arrive in a rush. This transition still catches even our healthiest patients (and their clinicians) off guard. The downstream effects are vast–brain, bone, microbiome, joints, and barriers (including intestinal and endothelial) all become compromised. Cardiovascular risk can skyrocket.
Ferroptosis is an emerging form of cell death that is gaining attention as a key driver of aging and chronic disease. First described by researchers at Columbia University in 2012, more than 20,000 peer-reviewed studies have since explored its role in accelerating aging, as well as the onset and severity of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, and cognitive decline.
This was a particularly meaningful conversation for me. I’ve been referencing Dr. Bill Harris’s work for many years, so it was a real privilege to sit down with him and explore these topics together. What struck me most is the level of precision he brings to an area that many of us have simplified—myself included. We covered a wide range of topics, from the AFib controversy to the vilification of omega-6s to the broader complexity of fatty acid biology. At one point, we shared a moment of humor around how the neat biochemical pathways we’re taught don’t always capture what’s really happening in the body. It’s a perspective that really stayed with me. This is one of those conversations that encourages a more nuanced lens, and I do think it has the potential to shift how you’re thinking about and applying these concepts in practice.
No doubt our regular readers and listeners will have noticed that muscle is having a moment in the healthy aging conversation. In this article, I want to tease out the potential contribution of some additional interventions that we can think about clinically to support muscle health – the amino acid leucine, its derivative HMB (beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate), vitamin D and urolithin A.
This nutrient-dense “megaboost” shot is designed to help vegans and anyone focused on optimal health meet key nutritional needs that can be harder to obtain on a plant-based diet. It features ingredients rich in nutrients that are often under-consumed in these eating patterns. For example, hemp seeds provide a complete amino acid profile, which is key for many body functions, including metabolic health, neurotransmitter and muscle synthesis, and mitochondrial biogenesis. Together with pumpkin seeds, they also supply zinc, an essential mineral for immune function, hormone homeostasis, and healthy gene expression, all of which are important for healthy aging.
It feels like every patient walking into our offices right now is hearing the same message—eat more protein. But maybe the more important question isn’t just how much protein someone is eating, but whether their gut can actually digest and absorb it effectively. Dr. Tom Fabian, Research Specialist at Diagnostic Solutions Laboratory, joins me again to unpack the emerging science around the gut–muscle axis and what it may mean for our patients. And in a moment when so many people are on GLP-1 medications that suppress appetite and slow digestion, that becomes an especially important clinical lens. It’s a fascinating shift in how we think about gut health and muscle resilience. ~DrKF
In this live conversation, Dr. Kara Fitzgerald and Dr. Allison Smith discuss low androgen levels and how they are a common but often underrecognized contributor to fatigue, loss of vitality, decreased lean mass, cognitive changes, and reduced quality of life in midlife men and women. Despite their profound impact on energy, resilience, and aging trajectories, androgens are frequently overlooked or under-assessed in clinical practice. You’ll get a broader understanding of androgen physiology and gain clinically actionable insight into aging, anabolism, and stress adaptation, so you can better identify and address these patterns in your patients.
More and more in practice, we’re working with what I often think of as “tough guts,” patients arriving on increasingly restricted diets, afraid to expand foods because nearly everything seems to trigger symptoms. A big part of our work now is helping rebuild resilience: restoring dietary diversity, supporting the microbiome, and getting people back to eating, and living more fully again. That’s one reason I was so glad to welcome Colleen Cutcliffe back to the podcast. I’ve long admired Pendulum’s philosophy of supporting the microbiome as an ecosystem rather than chasing quick fixes. This conversation really reflects the direction many of us are moving clinically—toward rebuilding function, flexibility, and long-term resilience for our patients. ~DrKF
I was really excited to sit down with Dr. Robert Lustig for this conversation. If you’ve ever thought seriously about sugar, fructose, or metabolic health, his work has probably shaped your thinking in some way. He’s also deeply outspoken, and while we don’t see every issue exactly the same way, I really value conversations like this, especially on the heels of the new USDA dietary guidelines. We talk through what he supports, what gives him pause, and where he thinks the real leverage points actually are, from food policy to ultra-processed foods to the bigger systems driving chronic disease. I didn’t quite know where this conversation would go, but I found it thoughtful, provocative, and grounding, and I think you will too.