Dr. Kara Fitzgerald | New Frontiers in Functional Medicine, Longevity, Epigenetics

I always appreciate talking to companies who heavily invest their time and dollars into preclinical and clinical science. And Timeline Nutrition, sponsor of this episode, is doing just that with dramatic results. They have figured out how to make a bioidentical Urolithin A, which compelling research has shown positively influences our mitochondrial health, with wide-ranging knock-on effects. In addition, since it relies on microbial formation from the right polyphenols within the gut, those of us without the right dietary precursors, or dysbiotic microbiomes, may not effectively produce it on our own. Please join me in this episode to learn more about the research and clinical applications of Urolithin A. And if you would be so kind, leave us a review and starred rating wherever you listen to New Frontiers! ~ DrKF

Dr. Wahls’ dramatic recovery from progressive, debilitating multiple sclerosis (she was wheelchair-bound at one point and unable to sit upright) using functional medicine principles continues to astound those who learn about it. She kindly returns to New Frontiers in this episode to give us her latest updates and refinements in her approach to healing. Tune in to learn how she weighs the importance of diet vs. supplements vs. e-stim, e-stim dosing strategies that worked for her, and the surprising effects of e-stim on BDNF and depressive symptoms. Dr. Wahls also shares her recommendations for omega-6:omega-3 ratios, cholesterol targets and more. And, if you suffer with multiple sclerosis there’s a chance to screen for one of Dr. Wahls’ upcoming trials. You’re in for a tremendous treat! -DrKF

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

How much do we really know about the microbiome? What does it take to identify new probiotic strains and their associated health benefits? When should we leverage precise single strains and when is it more effective to use synergistic blends? I am grateful to talk again with the brilliant scientist and incredibly courageous entrepreneur, Dr. Colleen Cutcliffe. Colleen has over 20 years experience managing and leading teams in biotech, pharma, and academia — I just love picking her brilliant brain! She completed her postdoc research at Northwestern’s Children’s Memorial Hospital and earned her PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology from Johns Hopkins. In this episode of New Frontiers, we explore novel probiotic strains such as Clostridium buytricum, Clostridium beijerinckii & Anaerobutyricum hallii, discuss their synergy in producing short-chain fatty acids and potential to stimulate satiety-inducing GLP-1, and so much more! I commend Colleen and the team at Pendulum for their dedication to bringing new & challenging science and next-generation probiotics to the world. I sure learned a lot, and am sure you will, too. Let me know with a comment, review, and rating wherever you listen to New Frontiers! ~DrKF

Dr. Michael Roizen is an extraordinarily well-read, well-researched, and experienced physician in the field of longevity medicine. He dates his first interest in the field back to 1979 as head of an intensive care unit, when he recognized that patients who were biologically younger dramatically reduced their risk for post-operative disease and death. Since then, he has worked tirelessly in many ways to help individuals get physically and mentally younger, improving the lives of patients and documenting millions of dollars of savings per year in employee healthcare costs at Cleveland Clinic. In our conversation, he shares his lifestyle-forward approach, one that sits well alongside the Younger You program. Tune in to find out the importance of “posse, purpose, play, and locus of control,” how you can be your own genetic engineer, his take on emerging anti-aging interventions, and much more. As Dr. Roizen reminds us, it’s never too late to start – “until you’re six feet under, it ain’t too late to do this.” -DrKF

Why are we often resistant to tackling stress and preprogrammed thought patterns? It’s a curious phenomenon that occurs even in those of us who really know the central role these psychological factors play in health, disease, and even aging. That’s why I'm thrilled to interview resilience expert Dr. Stephen Sideroff. After all, a full 25% of the bio-age clock we used in our clinical study is driven by epigenetic patterns on stress-related genes. If you’re looking for the right motivation or framework to begin your own journey into stress resilience, or even if you need that next-level exploration of what really makes you tick psychologically and how you can truly optimize your functioning on all levels, you’ll want to hear what Dr. Sideroff has to say. For practitioners, you’ll discover an excellent intervention to add to your functional medicine and healthy aging toolkit. Listen in, and let us know what you think with ratings, reviews, and emails! Thanks so much for your time -- and enjoy! - DrKF

In this New Frontiers in Functional Medicine® podcast, Dr. Tom Fabian delivers a well-justified challenge to our current thinking and a chance to build a more nuanced approach that will improve patient results around the topic of hydrogen sulfide, a compound that we have typically thought of as the “problem child” behind certain difficult SIBO cases. However, there is a LOT more to know about it, such as its ability to convert to potent antioxidant compounds, and its therapeutic roles in cardiovascular and metabolic disorders (diabetes and NAFLD), neurodegenerative disorders, and more. But how do we start to both broaden and nuance our approach to assessing hydrogen sulfide status? And what interventions can not only supply the substrates for beneficial hydrogen sulfide production, but also help achieve that all-important balance between too little and too much. Listen in to find out, and let us know what you think! ~DrKF

Functional medicine providers are well versed in addressing the myriad manifestations of autoimmune disease, but while our success rates are remarkably high, we still aren’t always able to help everyone using current toolsets (labs, sophisticated elimination diets, gut protocols, and so on). Enter Mymee, a digital app and coaching platform that helps plug that gap – this sophisticated tool helps identify elusive trigger foods and lifestyle factors that may still be contributing to an individual’s disease process. Mymee’s work with COVID long-haul patients and the Mount Sinai post-COVID treatment center (long-COVID is highly autoimmune-related) is impressive and especially relevant for clinicians and patients alike. Some fascinating patterns are emerging from their long-COVID patient data that feed directly back into how to approach these cases differently. I am sure you will find this as interesting and useful a conversation as I did! Please review New Frontiers wherever you hear my voice and let us know what you think! ~DrKF

It’s always a pleasure to tap into Dr. Raffaele’s brain, and in this podcast he doesn’t disappoint. In fact, his practical contextualization of where we are with anti-aging medicine might just be one of the smartest you’ve heard yet. What is truly remarkable about Dr. Raffaele is not just his grasp of the field both scientifically and clinically, but his ability to apply a nuanced approach that is tailored to each individual patient. After all, as he eloquently points out, we must first figure out which of the many components of aging needs improvement or correction, then target our approach accordingly. The simplicity of that statement belies his firm grasp of the complex landscape of anti-aging assessments and interventions, as you’ll see. One of the important topics that surfaced in our conversation is the role of telomere length. Dr. Raffaele has been measuring telomeres in study cohorts and in his patient population for well over a decade. Has looked at well over 2,000 telomere length measurements, many of them longitudinally. Not only that, but he has also integrated telomeres alongside other biomarkers of aging, including DNA methylation clocks, and tried-and-true metabolic markers such as lipids. So, if you thought newer approaches to biological age assessment were making telomeres and other assessments redundant, think again. We’re entering a time where we must wrestle with how to incorporate and act on all these important measures. ~DrKF

Jill Sheppard Davenport, a certified nutrition specialist with two decades of experience, shares her insights on the healing powers of broths and tonics. She dives into the importance of superfoods and epinutrients for health and biological age reversal. The discussion includes safe broth-making and the surprising findings on lead contamination levels in bone broths, reassuring listeners about their health benefits. Jill also emphasizes how diet and lifestyle can influence gene expression, paving the way for improved well-being.