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
An excellent colleague of mine recently had an unpleasant experience when she discovered that every single citation in an article she’d generated using AI and sent over as a potential guest post appeared fine on first glance, but was completely fabricated. Not one existed. Thankfully, our team caught it very quickly and never would have approved it for publication without checking. But I’ll admit: I understand the temptation. Most of us are balancing a dozen spinning plates. If AI can lighten the load, who wouldn’t be leaning in?
The gut and lungs may seem like separate systems, but emerging research shows they are in constant communication through immune pathways, microbial metabolites, and inflammatory signals, a connection known as the Gut–Lung Axis.
Few guests bring the kind of insight and energy that Dr. Carrie Jones does. She’s a dear friend, a brilliant colleague, and truly deserves her title of Queen of Hormones. With more than twenty years in women’s health and endocrinology, she has helped shape how we think about hormone testing and education in functional medicine. In this conversation, we dive into women’s hormones across the lifespan, with an extra focus on perimenopause, and how it ties back to mitochondrial health. Carrie brings humor and clarity to even the most complex topics, dropping clinical pearls along the way. It’s a fascinating and genuinely hopeful discussion you won’t want to miss. ~DrKF
This cranberry sauce strikes the perfect balance of tart and sweet, and it’s far more versatile than just a turkey companion. Try it with pork or beef, spread it on toast instead of jam, swirl it into your morning yogurt bowl, freeze it in ice cube trays for a sparkling seltzer twist, or use it as a glaze for roasted vegetables. There are endless ways to enjoy cranberry sauce!
It really takes courage to completely change course and walk away from a successful hospital medicine career. Dr. Brooke Stubbs did just that after realizing the pace and pressure of her work were costing her health. She found her way to lifestyle medicine, and that shift changed everything about how she practices—and how she lives. In our conversation, Brooke talks about what she’s learned along the way—how to build a concierge practice that actually works, set boundaries, create supportive systems, and price her services in a way that’s fair and sustainable. She also shares how Vibrant’s customizable panels have helped her provide consistent, comprehensive care. I love her honesty about learning through trial and error and her passion for building community. Her story is such a great reminder of what’s possible when we combine science, purpose, and heart in medicine. ~DrKF
In this practitioner spotlight, Dr. Darisa Espinal, naturopathic physician at Dr. Kara Fitzgerald’s New Frontiers Functional Medicine Clinic, shares her journey into functional medicine, the types of patients she supports, and how she integrates longevity medicine and root-cause care to help patients achieve optimal health and vitality. Dr. Espinal, can you share your path to becoming a functional medicine doctor and how your training shaped your approach to patient care?
When I sit down with Sergey Young, I’m always struck by the balance he brings. He’s deeply embedded in the future of longevity science, yet he champions the fundamentals we already know work: nutrition, exercise, sleep, purpose, and medical screening. For me, that’s a powerful reminder that as functional medicine practitioners, we already have the tools to help patients live longer, healthier lives. What excites me in this conversation is how Sergey shows us that the technologies on the horizon, including AI drug discovery, blood-based cancer tests, organ regeneration, and wearables, are making these solutions more affordable, more immediate, and more engaging for our patients. This isn’t just a distant dream. It’s a glimpse of where medicine is heading, and we are well positioned to lead the way. ~DrKF
Hair loss isn’t just cosmetic. It’s a visible marker of aging biology and a profound emotional burden, and I think this is even more true for women. The last time Carolina Reis Oliveira joined me on the podcast, we explored the OS-01 peptide for skin. This time, she’s back to share new research on how it can be applied to hair, not only outperforming minoxidil in clinical trials but also pointing us toward protocols that address stress, hormones, UV exposure, and the scalp microbiome. I love OneSkin’s deep commitment to science and the curiosity that drives their work, which is exactly what allows them to bring discoveries like this forward. This is the kind of science that changes the way we think about both aging and patient care. ~DrKF
Have you ever struggled to understand why some patients just don’t respond as expected, even when you’re following all the usual gut protocols? In this episode, I sat down with Dr. Tom Fabian, who breaks down the latest insights from StoolOMX and GI-MAP testing and shows us how to put them into practice for our most complex cases. We dive into how identifying specific types of inflammation, bile acid patterns, and microbial imbalances can guide more precise interventions, whether it’s introducing fiber, addressing biofilms, or supporting secondary bile acid production. Dr. Fabian makes the science practical, helping us see not just what’s happening in the gut, but what to do about it in real-world clinical settings. ~DrKF
