Romilly Hodges, CNS CKNS CDN IFMCP mBANT CNHC, is a clinical nutritionist and Programs Director for Dr. Kara Fitzgerald. Romilly has written peer-reviewed publications, book contributions and many online articles. She is the author of the book Immune Resilience; The Breakthrough Plan to Protect Your Body and Fight Disease published in 2022 by Avery, a division of Penguin Random House. She has contributed to professional training courses and supervised practice programs for functional medicine and nutrition professionals. Romilly has also worked in clinical research, including designing the study diet for the first-of-its-kind epigenetic diet study run through the National University of Natural Medicine, as well as follow-up clinical research. She currently serves on the Board of the Accreditation Council for Nutrition Professional Education. We have both the opportunity and responsibility to change the trajectory of chronic disease through targeted, personalized nutrition, lifestyle and environmental interventions.

New and Notable Studies Using Epigenetic Biological Age Clocks

This blog was written by Romilly Hodges MS CNS CDN IFMCP   Last month I was honored to be invited to speak at the American Nutrition Association annual summit on the topic Targeting Biological Age with Diet and Lifestyle. Not only was it a much-appreciated opportunity to connect face-to-face with colleagues, but it was also…

hands holding lectin-filled beans

Surprise! 5 Potential Benefits of Lectins

Have you wondered whether you should be avoiding lectins? Some consumer health sites caution about the potential negative effects of these natural food compounds, but (as often is the case) there is more to understand. In this article, you’ll learn about 5 potential benefits of lectins and how to decide whether you should be including…

bacteria shown in small intestine

SIBO – How to Avoid the Recovery Trap and Unlock Healing

Digestive complaints are common and can significantly impact quality of life. Not only that but they can also often be dismissed by conventional medical thinking or swept into the bucket of irritable bowel syndrome without much relief offered. In functional medicine, restoring gut health and balance is right at the core of what we do.…

Healthy food

Why We Need to Evolve the Evidence Base for Personalized Nutrition and Functional Medicine

I deeply appreciate this important topic brought to us by Dr. Michelle Barrow as she answers questions put to her by our Nutrition Programs Director, Romilly Hodges. This exchange was prompted by Dr. Barrow’s recent peer-reviewed publication – Transforming Personalized Nutrition Practice – a worthwhile read which came across Romilly’s desk earlier this year. After all, personalized nutrition is a core component of the Functional Medicine toolkit. As a profession (of both functional medicine and personalized nutrition practitioners), we need take steps to bridge the gap between currently-accepted evidence models and what is actually needed to support our practice. We need to ask the hard questions; and take the steps to build a better model. It’s something I have proposed before, and I am absolutely delighted to continue to champion. – DrKF

Th17

A Few Surprises About Ketogenic Diets and Their Effects on the Microbiota and Th17

As you know, here at drkarafitzgerald.com we like to push the boundaries of what we know, and sometimes this means being a little contrarian. In this blog, our Nutrition Director, Romilly Hodges CNS takes us on a tour of some of the emerging research on Th17 prompted by a new paper in the journal Cell, that postulated a reduction in Bifidobacteria may mediate some of the benefits of a ketogenic diet for epilepsy by reducing Th17.