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

Inflammatory Diet and High BMI Increase Risk of Knee Osteoarthritis

We know that an anti-inflammatory diet is linked to improvements in a variety of symptoms and conditions. A new prospective cohort study of nearly 5,000 individuals, over 1200 of whom developed knee osteoarthritis (OA) during the study period, offers excellent data on the impact of this dietary pattern in knee osteoarthritis (OA). Using the data they…

Boost your Vitamin D Levels to Reduce COVID-19 Risk

Vitamin D is a superstar nutrient for supporting the immune system and reducing the risk of a cold, flu and acute respiratory tract infection. Researchers are now linking low vitamin D status (less than 20 ng/mL or 18 pg/mL, respectively) to an increased risk of COVID-19 in a study published this week. Vitamin D levels were tested in nearly 500 patients…

Myocarditis Symptoms in One-Third of Big Ten Athletes Positive for COVID-19

UPDATE: A clarification was issued by Penn State university the doctor was unintentionally citing outdated numbers. “During his discussion with board members, (Sebastianelli) recalled initial preliminary data that had been verbally shared by a colleague on a forthcoming study, which unbeknownst to him at the time had been published at a lower rate,” said Scott Gilbert,…

Eating Too Quickly? You’re Increasing Your Risk for Metabolic Syndrome

You’ve likely heard of the many reasons to eat slowly, including improved digestion, increased satiety, decreased overeating, and even weight loss. But did you know that eating too quickly can contribute to a higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome (MetS)? New research indicates that fast easting speed is significantly associated with increased odds of developing MetS independent…

Natural Fertilizers Tryptophan & Glycine Increase Nutrient Density of Apples

We know that chemical fertilizers are harmful to us and the environment, but are there good alternatives? This new study comes up with an intriguing option! The known effects of chemical fertilizers include an increased risk of cancer, impaired fetal brain development, decreased soil biodiversity, contamination of water sources and contribution to greenhouse gases. In their quest to find healthier fertilizer…

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Sponsored: In Pursuit of Best Practice for Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT)

As a functional medicine clinician and scientist, I absolutely appreciate the deep literature dives my colleagues take. When they come up for air, there is a synthesized body of knowledge that is riveting, satisfying to listen to, trust-worthy and, most importantly, practice changing. Such was my conversation on all things menopausal hormone therapy with Dr. Doreen Saltiel, currently consulting for Precision Analytical (they’re lucky to have her). She spent the bulk of her impressive career as an interventional cardiologist (although confesses she wanted to go into OBGYN) and jumped into integrative and functional medicine after her own “ah-ha” healing journey, involving hormone replacement therapy, relatively early on in her life.

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Addressing Root Causes of Neurodegenerative Diseases with Dr. Dale Bredesen

I very much enjoyed my conversation with Dr. Dale Bredesen – from his story of finding functional medicine (it’ll resonate with many of you, as it did me, I’m sure) to where the ReCODE program is now (pay attention to the large clinical trial now underway and the refinements of Dr. Bredesen’s thinking over the last decade), and the launch of The End of Alzheimer’s Program (a goldmine resource for clinicians and regular folks alike). Links on the podcast show notes page, be sure to check them out. Thanks for listening!