2024 gold colored numbers and glittering confetti on a vivid bright red background.

A Year of Legends: Best of 2024 at Dr. Kara Fitzgerald

Functional Medicine for Consumers, Functional Medicine for ProfessionalsLeave a comment

Happy holidays everyone! As you enjoy the festive season, I wanted to take a moment to share with you below some of the highlights from this past year here at Dr. Kara Fitzgerald. It’s been quite a 12 months, and I’ve been so honored by the participation and contributions of those who continue to work so hard to deepen our understanding of functional medicine, epigenetics, and longevity. I would like to call out some notable highlights for me including my conversations with the legendary Drs. Greg Fahy, Janine LaSalle, Artemis Simopoulos, and Vittorio Sebastiano. However, there were so many other heavy-hitters and I encourage you to look back over all the year’s content to see what you may have missed.

GI360 Test Results

Utilizing Advanced Stool Testing to Explore the Impact of Diet on the GI Microbiome

Functional Medicine for Consumers, Functional Medicine for ProfessionalsLeave a comment

Hippocrates is said to have stated “All diseases begin in the gut.” 2000 years later, advancement in gastrointestinal testing, like the GI360™ stool profile from Doctor’s Data, allows medical professionals to ascertain what is in the gut, and how it might be contributing to health and disease. The gastrointestinal tract (GI) is a person’s first line of defense and the largest interface between the outside world and our bodies. The microbial ecosystem in the GI, referred to as the gut microbiome, is partially responsible for maintaining human health and is also associated with various diseases. A healthy gut microbiome needs greens, beans and berries to steer clear of dysbiosis.

happy family

Lead Toxicity: What you need to know for you and your family.

Functional Medicine for Consumers, Functional Medicine for Professionals1 Comment

Since my time in a laboratory at the start of my career in 2006, where I was a contributing author to Laboratory Evaluations for Integrative and Functional Medicine (including principal author on the Nutrient & Toxic Elements chapter), I have had lead on the brain, as it were. Given the fact that the research is pretty clear that ANY lead exposure is a problem (especially in kids and in pregnancy), I pay attention to lead – in all of my patients, in myself and my daughter. In my wider family. I am a firm believer that we need to make, at a minimum, an annual sweep of general toxin status in the body. And when we identify something, move forward with appropriate steps for removal and treatment.

Scientific research

Research & News RoundUp

Functional Medicine for Consumers, Functional Medicine for ProfessionalsLeave a comment

This month, we are sharing short summaries of some of the key research and news pieces that we have been paying attention to. Our focus spans intriguing questions about health and nutrition, from the potential risks of fish oil supplementation to the role of grip strength in aging. We also dive into the effectiveness of different protein sources, the temporary aging effects of pregnancy, and the controversial impact of multivitamins on longevity. These five topics shed light on emerging findings and the need for a nuanced understanding of nutrition and health. Join us as we explore these important insights!

Brain Health 101: How To Nutritionally Support A THRIVING Mind For Years To Come.

Brain Health 101: How To Nutritionally Support A THRIVING Mind For Years To Come

Functional Medicine for Consumers, Functional Medicine for ProfessionalsLeave a comment

If you prioritize your health, you’re likely familiar with the foods and supplements that support muscle growth, heart health, and a robust immune system. But have you considered your brain health? Our cognitive well-being underpins our aspirations, achievements, and life experiences. We all aspire to be among the remarkable few whose minds seem as sharp and vital at age 80 or 90 as they did at 30 or 40. So, how can we start nurturing our brain health today, to maximize supporting for a healthy mind for decades to come?

man hanging from pull-up bar

Grip Strength – Are You Underutilizing This Predictor of Aging and Health?

Functional Medicine for Consumers, Functional Medicine for ProfessionalsLeave a comment

Grip strength declines with age – this is an unwelcome change I’ve noticed even in myself, despite a good, consistent resistance training habit through adulthood. Jars that were completely uneventful for me, I need more effort to open, or resorting to using a jar-opening tool. This is in part, what makes me interested in grip strength.

Video Blog: Does Multivitamin Use Increase Mortality Risk?

Functional Medicine for Consumers, Functional Medicine for Professionals, Research, News & Ideas, Uncategorized1 Comment

Could taking a daily multivitamin actually increase mortality risk (i.e. risk of death)? This video blog takes a deep dive into the problematic research methodology of a 2024 research study on multivitamin use and mortality risk which caused a stir on popular media and news outlets.

pomegranates

Immune Health as You Age: How Urolithin A Is Revolutionizing Longevity

Functional Medicine for Consumers, Functional Medicine for Professionals2 Comments

Often, we only think of our immune system seasonally— as something we need to boost during winter months to bolster our ability to fight colds and flu. However, we should be thinking about our immune health daily as a system in our body that is susceptible to aging, just like our brains, muscles, and other critical organs. As we age, the immune system undergoes significant changes that contribute to increased vulnerability to infections and disease. Even our risk of cancer goes up with age due to a decline in immune system function. Exciting new research involving urolithin A shows a promising new way to target immune aging, offering potential strategies to maintain a more resilient immune system as we grow older.

clock

The Most Affordable Lab-Based Epigenetic Age Tool – The PhenoAge Calculator

Functional Medicine for Consumers, Functional Medicine for ProfessionalsLeave a comment

Biological “clocks” based on epigenetic age have been around for just over a decade. Steve Horvath, a PhD scientist at UCLA launched the field with his original 2013 pan-tissue clock that predicted chronological age with head-turning accuracy. Other researchers subsequently crunched their own epigenetic (DNA methylation) data and applied advanced mathematical models to similarly predict age with their own “clocks”, resulting in a suite of available epigenetic age assessments – each with similarities but also notable differences. Some of these are more widely available for non-researchers to use than others.