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
All SCFAs have wide-ranging therapeutic benefits, but in this article we’ll focus on butyrate as a therapeutic agent for gut and brain health. Butyrate is the food for the colonocytes, the thin layer of cells that comprises the lining of the large intestine. Within the intestinal environment, it protects and supports the mucosa, gut motility, and the commensal bacteria of the colon. Although butyrate is largely present in the gut, it can also have effects on the brain via the gut-brain axis, as well as by lowering inflammation, stabilizing DNA structure, and sequestering harmful metabolic by-products like ammonia.
Within the realm of functional medicine, we are quite successful at restoring some order to this cacophonous symphony of chronic illness, and getting our patients better to an extent. However, there is a final piece – a missing piece, if you will – and my guest today, Ashok Gupta, shares how neuroplasticity affected his own healing journey of chronic fatigue syndrome and why this final piece is integral to restoring optimal health. Ashok is a speaker, filmmaker, and health practitioner who created a program for retraining the brain using interventions to facilitate neuroplasticity. In this episode of New Frontiers, we discuss neuroplasticity dysfunction, how to rewire the brain’s survival response, and so much more. Folks, this conversation goes well beyond the patient-physician encounter and explores the depths of our homes, our communities, and how we experience the world around us. Stay tuned, leave us a comment, and subscribe to stay up to date on our latest content! ~DrKF
Have you ever looked at serum hormone levels and scratched your head, wondering why there was such a difference between your patient’s clinical signs and the numbers on the report? Felt unsure whether to look at bioavailable hormone markers or their metabolites? Not surprisingly, when it comes to endocrinological health, there are just as many questions as hormones (and there are over 50!). My guest in this podcast, Dr. Lylen Ferris, gives us very clear and user-friendly guidance on appropriate hormone testing, interpreting results from different specimens and, most excitingly, using novel biomarkers, such as allopregnanolone. Having completed her naturopathic residency with Dr. Kimberly Windstar, and after years of teaching and mentoring medical students on gynecology and women’s health, Dr. Ferris has plenty of brilliant clinical pearls to share with us! Please share, comment, and leave us a starred review if you wouldn’t mind! Thank you!
Living in Sandy Hook, practicing medicine in Sandy Hook, my life – and the lives of all of us here – continue to be influenced by the 12/14/12 mass shooting. The day it happened, despite not losing a child in the tragedy, I was gutted, locked in grief. I also remember thinking that it couldn’t…
A versatile dish that can easily be prepared for breakfast or lunch, featuring watercress, which contains a high amount of the bioactive chemical, phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC).
Since the time of mapping out the genome in 2000, we’ve continued to connect the dots between generational experiences, particularly trauma and in utero exposures, and the development of health and disease. We’ve seen, for instance, from survivors of the Dutch Hunger Winter or the Holocaust, epigenetic changes that are passed on to future generations. My guest in this podcast, best-selling author and former journalist Judith Finlayson, discusses the fascinating history the led to our current understanding of epigenetic expression. She shares research from her book, You Are What Your Grandparents Ate: What You Need to Know About Nutrition, Experience, Epigenetics and the Origins of Chronic Disease, and dives into the dietary and lifestyle choices she prioritizes to support optimal genetic expression. Listen, learn, and leave a review/rating wherever you’re listening to New Frontiers!
For all of us here at the clinic, functional medicine is a calling. It’s a desire to do better for our patients, to pursue optimal health (whatever that means for each individual), and to meaningfully address many of our society’s significant health burdens.
Are you looking for a fresh take on the quintessential American summer favorite – the burger? This gluten and dairy-free vegetarian version accompanied by pickled red onion won’t disappoint.
There has been a lot of published research lately around the role of our skin’s microbiome on overall immune health as well as the impact bacterial dysbiosis has on different diseases. The bacteria Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes) — one of the most abundant strains of bacteria in most people’s facial microbiome — has long been associated with acne lesions. But, how does acne occur and how does our microbiome impact it?
I am always eager to learn from other clinicians about how they approach complex patients and layer various healing modalities into the therapeutic encounter. My guest today, Dr. Bruce Hoffman MD, has combined his passion in integrative medicine with psychiatry to explore cellular health to best guide his patient’s health journey. Dr. Hoffman is based in Calgary, Canada at the Hoffman Centre for Integrative Medicine and the Brain Center of Alberta. He’s an IFM-certified functional medicine practitioner, board-certified in anti-aging and regenerative medicine (Shoemaker’s mold protocol), a certified Ayurvedic practitioner (Bredesen’s ReCODE treatment), certified as a family constellation therapy specialist, (ILADS for Lyme and co-infections), and trained in Chinese medicine, to name just a few of his substantial specialties. He knows his stuff. Tune in for this thought-provoking conversation as we explore the role the psyche plays in disease and healing, including clinical pearls, interventions, and effective supplementation. Listen, share, and leave a starred rating, if you wouldn’t mind! Thanks for listening.
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Dr. Kara Fitzgerald, ND
Dr. Fitzgerald is an internationally-recognized expert clinician, as well as nationally-bestselling author, who is actively engaged in clinical research on epigenetics and longevity using a diet and lifestyle intervention developed in her research and practice.
She has published two clinical studies on the potential bioage-reversing effects of an 8-week DNA methylation-supportive diet and lifestyle in middle-aged men and women in the journal Aging. She continues to lead the conversation around interventions for healthy aging and their extensive potential in improving individual and population level disease burdens, while also providing evidence-based and practical advice that cuts through the hype.
Dr. Fitzgerald is on faculty at the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM), is an IFM Certified Practitioner, and lectures globally on functional medicine, longevity, and epigenetics to practitioners and consumers.
She maintains an award-nominated podcast series ranked in the top 1% of global podcasts by Listen Score, New Frontiers in Functional Medicine, and an active blog and Clinic Immersion webinar series through her website, www.drkarafitzgerald.com.
