Nov212024
2024 gold colored numbers and glittering confetti on a vivid bright red background.

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

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.

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Nov12024
GI360 Test Results

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

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.

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Nov12024
happy family

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

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.

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Oct102024
Scientific research

Research & News RoundUp

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!

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Oct92024
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

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?

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Sep22024
pomegranates

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

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.

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Aug12024
clock

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

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.

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Aug12024
woman doing yoga outside

Valuable Insight into Gut Health from DUTCH Hormone Testing

When seeking health advice, we’ve all heard the recommendation, “start with the gut.” Whether we have high cholesterol or heavy periods, it always somehow comes back to the gut, right? Why is that? Well, it’s probably because the state of our gut affects the health of every organ system in our body, and because of this, a healthier gut tends to improve how we feel and function on a day-to-day basis. Many people only think to use a stool test to evaluate gut health, but the DUTCH Test may also yield valuable insights through its measurement of cortisol, hormone metabolites, and organic acids.

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Jul82024

Video Blog: Interpreting the Latest (Controversial) Research on Fish Oil

  In this 15-minute video blog segment, Dr. Fitzgerald discusses a controversial study on fish oil and cardiovascular disease that was published in the British Medical Journal earlier this year titled Regular use of fish oil supplements and course of cardiovascular diseases: prospective cohort study with former clinic resident Tish Campbell PhD. Find the study full…

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Jul22024
holding up vitamin d capsules under sunlight

Do You Have Enough Vitamin D in Your Younger You Protocol?

Is it time to add a custom dose of vitamin D to your Younger You protocols? A small Younger You study from the UK and the importance of D more broadly suggest YES. Don’t miss thoughts on dosing (and some new data showing inadequacy of many dosing recommendations) towards the end of this article.

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Jul12024

How Hormone Monitors are Changing the Way Providers Care for Women

From changing the way pregnancies are planned to helping women anticipate perimenopause – female hormone trackers are here, and they’re helping clinicians provide better care for patients. This blog will take a closer look at what hormone monitors can do, how to choose the right one for your patients, and how they can help you see improved outcomes in a range of clinical scenarios.

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