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

Top Tips for Laboratory Testing in Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE)

Introduction to Tongue Nutrient Diagnosis in Functional Medicine

“Red, raw tongue; red, raw gut.” —Jeghers, New England Journal of Medicine, 1942. In 1942 it was understood that what was happening in the gut was often reflected in the tongue. A red, irritated tongue was thought to mirror a red, irritated gut. This was seen in B-vitamin deficiencies, glossitis and ileitis. Simply correcting the B deficiency…

Cass Nelson-Dooley, MS

Comparing the Oral and Colon Microbiomes-Abstract

Commentary From Cass Nelson-Dooley (Podcast on Oral Microbiome): This a great study about the Human Microbiome Project comparing microbes through ALL points of the GI tract. It revealed some interesting things about normal, healthy subjects. For instance, they have oral bacterial pathogens, but no disease! This finding disputes the one bug-one disease paradigm (Koch’s Postulates). …

Nutrition Physical Exam: Tongue & Nails Suggest Gut Health

Two of the most useful — and often overlooked — components of the nutrition physical exam are the tongue and fingernails. Together, abnormal findings can often be sourced to gut. In this blog, I’m presenting a case where tongue and nails were extremely useful in providing clear treatment direction. Next month, I’ll give some additional…

Episode 3 The Oral Microbiome An Underappreciated Part of Gut Health with Dr. Kara Fitzgerald and Cass Nelson-Dooley, MS

Episode 3: The Oral Microbiome: An Underappreciated Part of Gut Health with Dr. Kara Fitzgerald and Cass Nelson-Dooley, MS

Dr. Kara Fitzgerald & Cass Nelson-Dooley The oral microbiome is an important part of the gut microbiome and tending to its balance should a routine part of any good “gut protocol.”  Indeed, dysbiosis of the oral microbiome (and a leaky oral mucosa) might be key underlying imbalances in pathogenesis of systemic diseases, including autoimmune (IBD,…