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

Mark Newman is the founder Precision Analytical and the developer of the DUTCH test, one of the most accurate and patient-friendly measures of sex hormones on the market. The test eliminates the need for multiple types of testing by using dried urine to measure sex hormones, hormone metabolites, and free cortisol. Free cortisol is a key indicator of the health of the HPA axis — and having that measure, alongside a measure of sex hormones and their metabolites, gives providers more information so they can achieve better clinical outcomes. The test can be especially valuable in complex cases. Now, Mark has developed DUTCH Plus with Cortisol Awakening Response and he talks with Dr. Fitzgerald about the new test, testing best practices, and the most cost effective tests for patients.

Miriam Kalamian discusses the use of the ketogenic diet for cancer treatment. She explains how limiting glucose supply to tumor cells through the diet can hinder their growth. The podcast also delves into the challenges of implementing this diet in mainstream practices and emphasizes the importance of monitoring blood sugar and ketones. Additionally, the chapter highlights the significance of passion and continuous learning in managing cancer through a ketogenic diet.

Dr. Terry Wahls was a practicing primary care physician when she was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS. Despite treatment at some of the finest medical institutions in the United States, her health progressively declined until she could no longer walk. When she discovered functional medicine, she made a rapid turnaround. Soon she wasn’t just walking again, she was doing 20-mile bike rides. Today, Dr. Wahls conducts research using variations of her protocol, including intensive directed nutrition, progressive exercise programs, electrical stimulation, and the use of dietary supplements for patients with MS. She conducts her research at the Iowa VA, through the University of Iowa and is supported through grassroots fundraising. In this episode of New Frontiers in Functional Medicine, Dr. Wahls talks with Dr. Fitzgerald about her physical and spiritual transformation — and how other patients with chronic conditions can realize similar results.

I went to school with Dr. Hilary Andrews. She graduated before me, but I recall her then—she had a reputation for brilliance (and was voted class valedictorian, incidentally). Hilary applied that brilliance to childhood health and nutrition, which inevitably included investigation around vaccine safety. Flash forward to current time, Hilary continues to research and lecture extensively on the topic of immunization. She’s developed a number of CE courses available for clinicians. Make no mistake: Dr. Andrews recognizes the profound benefits of immunization-from the virtual elimination of polio, to the exciting work in cancer. However, Dr. Andrews also recognizes among other things, that one immunization schedule does not fit all. And that optimizing baby’s health, including supporting immune system maturation, ensuring nutrient sufficiency, and adequate detoxification capacity, is essential to ensure the safest, most effective response.

Small Intestinal Microbial Overgrowth: A Conversation with Dr. Vincent Pedre, MD IFMCP All microbes, not just bacteria, can contribute to problems in the small intestines. Today more than ever, we see patients with hard-to- treat gut problems. Dr. Pedre brings his own gut healing journey and Functional Medicine background to the table to talk to us about treating patients with SIBO-or as he likes to call it-SIMO, which encompasses microbes beyond bacteria and includes the oft-overlooked fungal piece of the puzzle. Dr. Pedre shares loads of treatment pearls from his gut-centric practice, but reminds us that any protocol must be individualized for the person sitting in front of us.

Dr. Carrie Jones and I went to medical school (National College of Natural Medicine) together. She was a brilliant, awesome friend then, and still is. What a privilege it’s been to watch her grow into the expert she is today. As you’ll see in her bio, Dr. Jones has been focused on women’s health and hormones her entire career which has spanned academia, clinical practice and now as the chief medical officer at Precision Analytical, home of the DUTCH dried urine hormone panel. Given Carrie’s background, she’s uniquely suited to train us on using the DUTCH panel, as she’s literally interpreted thousands of these tests over the years. Her podcast is chock full of Monday morning pearls of the best kind- actionable content I think you’ll appreciate and use immediately.

Dr. Corey Schuler is a man of many talents- an educator as well as a practitioner in integrative and functional medicine. In today’s podcast, Dr. Schuler will be wearing his nutritionist hat as we discuss individually designed elemental diets. Some of the applications we cover will be well-known to practitioners and patients alike. Others don’t have precedent in clinical practice but listen to this expert as he walks you through the critical thinking he calls on to come up with new and novel ways to use elemental diets to heal a number of conditions.

As you probably know, stem cell therapy outside of the research setting is the Wild West. It’s offered everywhere, here and outside of the US (there’s a whole “stem cell tourism trade”). Radical claims are made routinely without much evidence or oversight. Pricing for therapy, and protocols used, vary widely, although anyone (even those participating in research trials) can expect to spend thousands of dollars. Given that my patient has MS, I reached out to Dr. Terry Wahls and asked if she had any insight into a direction for us. She suggested I look into a massive, years-long multi-center clinical trial using stromal vascular fractions (AKA adipose-derived stem cells and growth factors) for a variety of conditions, including MS. The first publication from this study out February 2017, focusing on safety of SVF over 5 years, demonstrated a very low number of adverse events, and significant improvement in pain rating in a variety of musculoskeletal diseases. (N =1524)

In general, I am a fan of IgG food sensitivity testing. While we can in some cases manage just fine using a standard elimination and challenge protocol, IgG testing can benefit patients in a few ways, such as: providing motivating data, individualizing the foods needing to be removed and identify less-common antigenic foods. However, if you are using IgG food sensitivity testing in practice, you’ve no doubt encountered false negatives and positives. (Indeed, you may have abandoned IgG testing for these reasons!) Dr. Brent Dorval, through a rather remarkable epiphany during his post-doctorate work, formed the hypothesis that testing for IgG/food immune complexes, along with the specific complement protein (C3d) that induces the inflammatory response, would increase the reliability of the test considerably. After a number of years of bench and clinical research, Brent finalized the methodology for his assay (now called the FIT Test, offered through KBMO Diagnostics) and the rest is history. Tune into our podcast for an overview on IgG food sensitivity testing (great if you are new to using this laboratory test, or an individual interested in this testing), and specific details about the unique FIT test, including case studies. See the links below for all the info on the FIT Test, including his current publication. Stay tuned for more research in the pipeline!

Functional hypochlorhydria is a condition we see so often, yet Prilosec is a top ten medication: what’s the disconnect? Probiotics: which ones, how much, combo or single strain? What does the research really show probiotics are actually doing? Is there any truth to probiotics colonizing the GI tract? And what about soil-based probiotics, any reason to be jumping on that bandwagon? What is the correct lab test for identifying pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (PEI), and what is the optimal range? Is there any utility to testing fecal fats? What enzymes (vegetarian or animal-based), botanicals and other interventions are appropriate for addressing PEI?