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

covid data

Data Emerge on “Long” COVID Characteristics and Risk Factors

Long COVID is now recognized as a post-viral syndrome of chronic debilitating symptoms that can last for months. Similar post-viral syndromes that have been observed follow other infections such as influenza, pneumonia, Epstein-Barr virus, and HIV. New data from a recent study by Kings College London of 4 million individuals in the United Kingdom indicates that: It’s relatively…

Female feet on the scales with inscription help

Navigating Obesity in Immune Dysfunction

Everyone’s awareness about comorbidities, especially overweight and obesity, is heightened due to COVID-19. And in two recent WebMD polls, up to 47% of women and 55% of men report gaining weight during the lockdown – no surprise there – but this may imply patients may be more interested in achieving weight loss goals as part of their overall health care than in previous times. Except we know conventional weight loss programs that lead to a calorie deficit are woefully inadequate (even counterproductive), leading to poor resistance to infection and malnutrition, as Corey Schuler from Integrative Therapeutics explains in this blog below. Read on to learn about the immunometabolic changes brought about in obesity, how to counter them, and I for one, am super grateful Corey relays this encouraging fact: losing just 5% of body mass leads to significant benefits.

Dr. Tom Podcast cover

Best Tests and Treatment for Remediating Environmental Impacts and Optimizing Brain Health with Dr. Tom O’Bryan

There’s no better person to have on New Frontiers to talk about the underlying mechanisms that activate an immune response than Dr. Tom O’Bryan, a foremost expert in understanding wheat sensitivity and the development of autoimmune conditions and cognitive dysfunction. What a pleasure to talk to! Settle in: this is a great, fun, and informative podcast covering all the way back to Tom’s first exposure to EMF in 1978 to the hundreds of pounds of toxins we are all exposed to daily. We cover brain health (of course!) and Tom shares which labs he uses and why, how to interpret them, and the interventions he’s using to help fix his patients’ brains. Clinicians: you’re sure to grasp great insight to share with your patients, and we (practitioners or not!) can all learn A TON about food sensitivity and autoimmunity with this master teacher and clinician. Would appreciate you sharing, commenting, and rating – wherever you listen to New Frontiers! Thank you! ~DrKF

pregnant-stress

Maternal Psychological Stress During Pregnancy May Lead to Asthma in Children

Children whose mothers had anxiety and depression during pregnancy may have an increased risk of developing asthma at 10 years of age, according to a new prospective cohort study of over 4000 children. Results showed a 46-91% increased risk of asthma and lower lung function in children whose mothers experienced stress or depression while pregnant. Paternal stress…

The Perfect Pumpkin and Breast Cancer: An Ode to Autumn and Functional Medicine

by Melissa Parker   As part of Breast Cancer Awareness month, one of our clinic’s nutritionists, Melissa Parker, MS CNS CDN, bravely and graciously shares her own story, highlighting the differing options she was offered for breast cancer treatment and why she chose to include the functional medicine (FM) path. Her experience shows just how…

Winter Squash Soup

Winter Squash Soup

Yes, you can eat your methylation nutrients! This delicious burger is rich in methylation amino acids (methionine, cysteine, taurine), as well as B vitamins, betaine, choline and zinc, cofactors for homocysteine metabolism and necessary for forming methionine and the all-important methyl donor, SAMe

Young beautiful woman sleeping in her bed at night

Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Using Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy as a Part of a FxMed Approach to Treatment

Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a condition affecting up to 22 million Americans and close to 1 billion people worldwide.

This condition can have serious impacts on overall health and has been shown to be a contributing factor to:

heart disease
diabetes
stroke
cognitive decline
weight gain
daytime fatigue
anxiety
depression
chronic pain
teeth grinding
and chronic headaches

There are a variety of treatment options available to manage Obstructive Sleep Apnea including Positive Airway Pressure devices (the most common being CPAP), dental mandibular advancement appliances, and various surgeries, but there are also functional treatment approaches that can target the underlying causes of the disease.  

lyme-disease

New Diagnostic Test Suggests Chronic Lyme Disease Associated with Altered Gut Microbiome

Over 800,000 Americans suffer from chronic Lyme disease and experience associated symptoms such as malaise, neurological disorders, cardiac complications, and arthritis. Lyme disease is often treated with antibiotics, however 10-20% of Lyme patients develop posttreatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS). A study published in the American Society for Microbiology proposes a new way to diagnose PTLDS via gut…