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
Menopause is one of the most significant biological transitions a woman will experience, yet the way we’ve defined and managed it has changed remarkably little over the last century. For many women, the conversation still revolves around hot flashes and the absence of menstrual cycles rather than the profound endocrine shift occurring beneath the surface. But if we instead think of menopause as the onset of physiologic hypogonadism, the entire clinical conversation changes. In this episode, Kelly Casperson, MD, challenges long-held assumptions about hormone therapy, menopause, and women’s health. Together, we explore why outdated interpretations of the Women’s Health Initiative continue to shape medical practice decades later, how the recent removal of the boxed warning on vaginal estrogen represents a turning point in women’s health, and why testosterone deserves a much larger role in the conversation. Kelly also makes a compelling case for reframing menopause through the lens of healthspan medicine, emphasizing patient autonomy, individualized care, and the importance of treating the underlying physiology rather than simply managing symptoms. I think this conversation will fundamentally change the way many clinicians think about menopause, hormone therapy, and aging. Check out the show notes at www.drkarafitzgerald.com/fxmed-podcast/ for all the relevant links and resources. ~DrKF
Muscle is having a moment—and for good reason. As functional medicine clinicians, we recognize that muscle isn’t just about strength or athletic performance. It’s central to metabolic health, resilience, mobility, healthy aging, and longevity. Yet resistance training can still feel intimidating for many of our patients, and even for some of us. That’s one of the reasons I was so excited to sit down with Brad Currier, PhD. Brad was part of the team behind the first major update to the American College of Sports Medicine resistance training guidelines since 2009, and he has a remarkable ability to translate exercise science into practical, evidence-based strategies that clinicians can use immediately. In partnership with Timeline, we also explore the emerging science of Urolithin A and mitochondrial health, including exciting research on muscle function, recovery, and performance across sedentary adults, older individuals, and elite athletes. This is an approachable, practical conversation that I think will change how many of us think about prescribing—and supporting—movement as medicine. ~DrKF
The modern food environment makes post-meal metabolic stress harder than ever to manage, driving prediabetes, insulin resistance, and cardiometabolic disease. While lifestyle changes and GLP-1s help, patients need a sustainable option that fits their lives. SiPore® targets this window locally in the GI tract. Using a patented mesoporous silica, it physically entraps digestive enzymes to slow carb and fat absorption—buffering metabolic stress at the meal itself. Join Dr. Kara Fitzgerald, Dr. Sanjay Bhojraj, and Dr. Eric Johnston to explore the clinical data and practical protocols for this innovative technology.
This was a conversation our team had been looking forward to for a while. We came in with a lot of questions, especially around those chronic, persistent cases that don’t respond the way we expect. Dr. Richard Horowitz, one of the most recognized experts in chronic Lyme disease and complex chronic illness worldwide, did not disappoint. He’s spent decades working with exactly these patients. In this episode, we dig into emerging research around persistent infection and neuroinflammation, including findings that roughly half of his Lyme patients tested positive for biomarkers associated with Alzheimer’s, and what that might mean clinically. He also shares how his MSIDS model connects many of the chronic conditions we see in practice to the same underlying drivers, offering a more systems-based way to approach these cases.
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.
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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.
