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

Eggs: Should we eat them, and why is advice still polarized?

Eggs are one of those controversial foods that we were warned against for almost half a century. However, recent years have seen both the American Heart Association and Dietary Guidelines for Americans reverse their restrictions on eggs and dietary cholesterol intake. Rightly so – the evidence didn’t support them, and their redirected emphasis on dietary…

Malani Podcast Cover

Advances in Curcumin Bioavailability and Improved Absorption for Patients

The therapeutic value of curcumin makes it a fabulous recommendation as both a foundational and medicinal supplement. And since finding a preparation that is bioavailable is key to efficacy, affordability, and patient compliance, I’m excited to have Dr. Sonia Malani (on behalf of Integrative Therapeutics) here to talk about the latest advances in curcumin deliverability and why it matters. Join us as Dr. Malani breaks down the progress of curcumin deliverability and the keys to bioavailability in a way that is simple to understand and easy to pass on to our patients in order to help them move away from the ineffective brands that are currently lining the shelves of local markets so they get the therapeutic influence we are hoping for. I know you’ll enjoy this curcumin talk, and learn a ton from this latest research. Thanks for listening! ~DrKF

NFFM Sims podcast website featured image

Optimize Women’s Exercise According to Hormone Levels, with Dr. Stacy Sims

Today we are taking on a revolutionary and provocative topic that can be quite liberating for women – a deep dive into how to optimize exercise training and performance from the perspective of pre/peri/or post-menopausal. This topic is of great importance to me as a cyclist, and I have to say, there’s a lot of nuance in the way we women should approach training depending on our hormones. My guest Dr. Stacy Sims is a huge talent and tremendous gift — listen as we discuss why women need to train differently than men, including specifics about protein intake, fasting, hormone replacement therapy, and what types of training are best depending on where you are in your cycle. Grab a pen, you’re going to want to take notes! ~DrKF

An Interview with Dr. Fitzgerald on her Latest Research Publication and More

Dr. Fitzgerald’s latest research peer-reviewed publication (published March 2023 in the journal Aging) reports on a case series of women who followed a structured version of her 8-week bioage-targeting protocol. Collectively, the participants reduced their biological age by an average of 4.60 years compared to their baseline. In this month’s blog, we pose some key…

Addressing Long-COVID: Data-Driven Learning Model for Practitioners and Patients

As we find ourselves entering this fourth year since the world was first gripped by COVID-19, on an individual and practice level many of us are still grappling with its post-viral after-effects (long COVID). Drs Patrick Hanaway and Kara Parker, as well as my long-time mentor and former IFM CEO Laurie Hofmann, join me on this podcast to share the important work they have been doing in building practitioner tools and training to address this ongoing challenge (check out the links in the show notes). I just really appreciate their doable, data-driven, and continuous-learning approach, as I’m sure you will too. And if you’re working with COVID-19/long COVID patients (as all of us do, or will, at some point), you’ll want to familiarize yourself with their patient registry so that you too can be part of that essential data collection. – DrKF

ripe organic pomegranate fruit on the table

Urolithin A: The Game-Changing Nutrient for Healthy Aging

When a team of scientists from EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, set out to thoroughly study the health benefits of pomegranates, they discovered something truly remarkable – the power of a postbiotic nutrient, Urolithin A (UA) to promote cellular health and longevity. For the past 15 years, Urolithin A has been one of the most well-researched longevity molecules. Over 300 studies, 11 of which are clinical trials, show impressive benefits in UA’s ability to target some of the key biological hallmarks of aging. These same scientists and doctors developed the first and only clinically tested Urolithin A formulation (more on that below!)

The Role of NAD+ in Aging, Chronic Disease, and Epigenetics with Dr. Nichola Conlon

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. nuchido.com/karafitzgerald The Role of NAD+ in Aging, Chronic Disease, and Epigenetics with Dr. Nichola Conlon New Frontiers…

Gut Healing in Aging & Disease: Emerging Roles of the Microbiome and Diet in Intestinal Barrier Regeneration with Tom Fabian, PhD, CNTP

If you’re a practitioner looking to level up your toolkit for regenerating the intestinal barrier and healing the gut, then this interview with Dr. Tom Fabian, PhD is exactly what you need. This fundamental piece of our functional medicine toolkit continues to progress, and today we’re zooming way out from just patching up the gut. Dr. Fabian and I dive into the dynamic nature of the barrier, including its circadian cycle, the role of prebiotics, polyphenols, probiotics, and postbiotics in epithelial regeneration and stem cell proliferation, and useful clinical pearls to assess barrier function using the GI-MAP stool test. So glad to have Tom back on New Frontiers, and Im sure you will be too! Let me know what you think! ~DrKF

Reframing Microbiome Support for Functionality, with Dr. Heather Zwickey

I first met Dr. Heather Zwickey when she was my immunology professor in medical school and made sure to stay in touch with her ever since. Her command of the microbiome literature is frankly unparalleled – and I can always learn more from her and this podcast proves it. Join me in this New Frontiers conversation about the latest perspectives on the microbiome, and a great discussion of all things pre/post and parabiotics. We also get into the rise in autoimmunity conditions post-Covid and ways one can mitigate the risks of these conditions. Smart, timely, and always engaging – I know you’ll think so too. ~DrKF