Kara Fitzgerald, ND, received her doctor of naturopathic medicine degree from the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon. She completed the first Counsel on Naturopathic Medicine-accredited post-doctorate position in nutritional biochemistry and laboratory science at Metametrix Clinical Laboratory under the direction of Richard Lord, PhD. Her residency was completed at Progressive Medical Center, a large, integrative medical practice in Atlanta, Georgia.
Dr. Fitzgerald is the lead author and editor of Case Studies in Integrative and Functional Medicine and is a contributing author to Laboratory Evaluations for Integrative and Functional Medicine and the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM)’s Textbook for Functional Medicine. With the Helfgott Research Institute, Dr. Fitzgerald is actively engaged in clinical research on the DNA methylome using a diet and lifestyle intervention developed in her practice. The first publication from the study focuses on reversal of biological aging and was published 04-12-2021 in the journal Aging. She has published a consumer book titled Younger You as well as a companion cookbook, Better Broths and Healing Tonics and has an application-based Younger You Program, based on the study.
Dr. Fitzgerald is on the faculty at IFM, is an IFM Certified Practitioner and lectures globally on functional medicine. She runs a Functional Nutrition Residency program, and maintains a podcast series, New Frontiers in Functional Medicine and an active blog on her website, www.drkarafitzgerald.com. Her clinical practice is in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.
Additional publications
Why are we often resistant to tackling stress and preprogrammed thought patterns? It’s a curious phenomenon that occurs even in those of us who really know the central role these psychological factors play in health, disease, and even aging. That’s why it’s one of the important topics I address with resilience expert Dr. Stephen Sideroff in this episode of New Frontiers. After all, a full 25 percent of the bio-age clock we used in our clinical study is driven by epigenetic patterns on stress-related genes. That means how we handle stress is intricately interwoven into how well we age biologically.
This might just have been our most exciting year yet here at Dr. Kara Fitzgerald! With the launch of three books through major publishing houses, authored by my team and myself, we have barely had a moment to touch ground. Yet, delivering high value content in the functional medicine and longevity space, across all channels,…
I always appreciate a well-justified challenge to our current thinking and a chance to build a more nuanced approach that will improve patient results. And in this month’s New Frontiers in Functional Medicine® podcast, Dr. Tom Fabian delivers just that with a fascinating topic of hydrogen sulfide: a compound we clinicians typically think of as the “problem child” behind certain difficult SIBO cases. However, there is a LOT more to know about it, such as its ability to convert to potent antioxidant compounds, and its therapeutic roles in cardiovascular and metabolic disorders (diabetes and NAFLD), neurodegenerative disorders, and more.
Metabolomics testing provides a window into a wide range of physiological processes that can be disrupted in illness and corrected with diet, nutrition, and lifestyle interventions. When combining metabolic markers with stool testing, a more complete picture of a patient’s metabolic and immune systems emerges.
Functional medicine providers are well versed in addressing the myriad manifestations of autoimmune disease, but while our success rates are remarkably high, we still aren’t always able to help everyone using current toolsets (labs, sophisticated elimination diets, gut protocols, and so on). Enter Mymee, a digital app and coaching platform that helps plug that gap – this sophisticated tool helps identify elusive trigger foods and lifestyle factors that may still be contributing to an individual’s disease process. Mymee’s work with COVID long-haul patients and the Mount Sinai post-COVID treatment center (long-COVID is highly autoimmune-related) is impressive and especially relevant for clinicians and patients alike. Some fascinating patterns are emerging from their long-COVID patient data that feed directly back into how to approach these cases differently. I am sure you will find this as interesting and useful a conversation as I did! Please review New Frontiers wherever you hear my voice and let us know what you think! ~DrKf
How Much Should We Eat For Optimal Health & Longevity? Plus my thoughts on combining with Younger You epinutrient targets About a month ago, I podcasted with Valter Longo, PhD, a highly respected scientist and director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California. Of course, our conversation hit on protein, something…
It’s always a pleasure to tap into Dr. Raffaele’s brain, and in this podcast he doesn’t disappoint. In fact, his practical contextualization of where we are with anti-aging medicine might just be one of the smartest you’ve heard yet. What is truly remarkable about Dr. Raffaele is not just his grasp of the field both scientifically and clinically, but his ability to apply a nuanced approach that is tailored to each individual patient. After all, as he eloquently points out, we must first figure out which of the many components of aging needs improvement or correction, then target our approach accordingly. The simplicity of that statement belies his firm grasp of the complex landscape of anti-aging assessments and interventions, as you’ll see.
I am always excited to share new and practical ways to bring Younger You principles to your dinner table and/or clinical practice. And this podcast is especially exciting where Jill Sheppard Davenport and I dive into using broths and tonics as health-promoting and healing foods. Yes, these have been part of our natural medicine toolbox for eons, but today we discuss a new spin on this ancient medicine and turn up the volume on superfood and epinutrient ingredients for their myriad health benefits, including bio age reversal properties.
Are we getting enough nutrients from our diet? And why do nutrient deficiencies persist even in those of us who are putting a lot of attention to what we’re eating? Join me and Chris Kresser as we dive into all things nutrient insufficiencies on this episode of New Frontiers. Chris is the founder of the Kresser Institute and the co-founder of the California Center for Functional Medicine. He’s the bestselling author of The Paleo Cure and Unconventional Medicine and a highly respected clinician in our space. We talk about the inadequacies of RDAs, the latest statistics on nutrient insufficiencies, the importance of nutrient bioavailability and nutrient synergy and why taking supplements on top of a really poor diet is not going to help. We also marvel at the wonders of magnesium, the interplay between vitamins D, K2 and A, and calcium plus so much more! It is a conversation filled with clinical pearls and practical implications, so get ready to take notes and tune in! ~DrKF
The function of the digestive tract is essential for proper function of almost every biological system in the body. Hormone metabolism and endocrinology is no exception to this rule. In fact, the connection is so strong with estrogen, that there is a term to describe it in the literature – the estrobolome.
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