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
Lyme disease (and co-infections) can be tough to treat. The Lyme spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, has adopted loads of devilishly clever cloaking devices – from thriving in biofilm to existing in pleomorphic forms – to ensure survival despite aggressive treatment. Enter botanical therapy. With or without concurrent antibiotics, botanical combinations are an essential component of the FxMed clinician’s toolkit.
Did you know that one in three Americans has untreated tooth decay?1 One in two has a history of gingivitis? Its worst manifestation, periodontal disease, affects nearly 50% of people over the age of 30 in the United States.2
I had loads of fun taking a tour through the wonderment of DSL GI MAP test today with Tony Hoffman, CEO of DSL (and longtime friend of mine!). DSL’s GI MAP stool test is, as CEO Tony Hoffman states, “a clinician diagnostic tool,” not a microbiome test. Yes, of course the GI MAP looks at the microbiome, but it’s not a broad sweep of the myriad bugs taking up residence.
Consumer Reports Finds Heavy Metals in Fruit Juice
Zinc Deficiency Exacerbates High Blood Pressure
Banned Drugs Found in Meat Samples
Connecting Gum Disease and Alzheimer’s
Ginger microRNAs Trigger Gut-Healing Compounds from L. Rhamnosus
How Pregnenolone May Help Fight Loneliness
Do you drink bone broth? We love bone broth, routinely drink it and recommend it to clients. It’s nourishing, versatile, and contains nutrients that promote gut and joint healing, reduce inflammation, build beautiful skin, bolster immunity, and strengthen muscle mass. Plus, it makes super-tasty soups and stews.
There has long been confusion about how to best monitor estrogen creams and gels. We have also shared in this confusion, but fortunately, the data has now made the situation much clearer. In this blog, you will see the data that has led us to the following conclusions about monitoring transdermal estrogen:
What about medicinal mushrooms? Chances are you’re using them in practice more and more. With the stellar research looking at neurodegenerative diseases, autoimmunity, cognitive decline, cancer and general immune support, their place in our toolkits is well-established.
Dr. Deanna Minich preaches: Eat a rainbow. Why? There are over 700 carotenoids found in plants – all bioactive, and generally pleotropic (ie: they do more than one thing in the body). We don’t need tons of any single carotenoid, and indeed – if anyone recalls the beta carotene smoker study from the early 2000’s, too much of a single compound could arguably be toxic.
Improperly Primed Immune Systems Cause Long-Term Problems Including Cancer
Practical Implementation of Fecal Microbiota Transplants (FMT)
Measuring Circadian Disruptions will Allow us to Better Evaluate Interventions
Essential Oils and Plant Extracts Block Aflatoxin Production
How Ancient Remedies are Changing Modern Medicine
Connecting Choline, Methylation Health and Alzheimer’s Prevention
Mainstream Doctor Laments Poor Nutrition Training on CNN
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is an urgent, often unrecognized concern. It’s the hepatic pandemic of the 21stcentury, and there is NO approved pharmaceutical therapy (the race is on, however…). Fortunately for us, there is MUCH we can do in functional medicine – indeed, our toolkit is powerfully effective in turning around NAFLD and even NASH – the next step progression.
