It’s true: getting older is inevitable and our chronological age can only move in one direction. But we also have a biological age, which scientists can measure by assessing how our genes are expressed through epigenetics.
This week on The Dhru Purohit Podcast, Dhru sat down with Dr. Kara Fitzgerald to talk about the exciting new research that shows that our biological age can actually move in reverse and her groundbreaking, clinical trial that proved it’s possible.
Dr. Fitzgerald received her doctorate of naturopathic medicine from the National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon. She has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and is the host of New Frontiers in Functional Medicine podcast. Dr. Fitzgerald is also on faculty at the Institute for Functional Medicine and is an Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner. She regularly lectures internationally for several organizations and is in private practice in Sandy Hook, Connecticut. Her study Potential Reversal of Epigenetic Age Using a Diet and Lifestyle Intervention: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial is the first of its kind to show biological age reversal in humans.
In this episode, we dive into:
- The top three things you can do to age in reverse (6:56)
- Why stress is one of the biggest drives of aging (8:43)
- How much of our genes are set in stone and how much are variable (13:17)
- How epigenetics are involved in cellular aging (18:58)
- DNA methylation and how it powerfully influences epigenetic expression (22:03)
- Zombie cells and aging (32:35)
- What we can learn from the centenarians of Sardinia (41:33)
- Biological age vs. chronological age (45:56)
- Dr. Fitzgerald’s study for aging in reverse, and the protocol followed by the participants (50:41)
- How trauma can impact genetic expression (1:15:34)
Also mentioned in this episode:
- Potential Reversal of Epigenetic Age Using a Diet and Lifestyle Intervention: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial
- Exercise and DNA Methylation and Cancer
- Polyphenols and epigenetics in aging and age-related diseases
- Polyphenols and cancer epigenetics
- 3YY Younger You Program
- Health effects of dietary risks in 195 countries, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017
For more on Dr. Kara Fitzgerald, be sure to follow her on Instagram @drkarafitzgerald, on Facebook @drkarafitzgerald, on Twitter @kfitzgeraldnd, on YouTube @karafitzgeraldnd, and through her website. Get her book, Younger You: Reduce Your Bio Age and Live Longer, Better here. Check out her podcast, New Frontiers in Functional Medicine here.
For more on Dhru Purohit, be sure to follow him on Instagram @dhrupurohit, on Facebook @dhruxpurohit, on Twitter @dhrupurohit, and on YouTube @dhrupurohit. You can also text Dhru at (302) 200-5643 or click here.
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