# 160. Dr. Kara Fitzgerald on Biological Age, Epigenetic Clocks, and the Future of Aging Reversal

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/extend-podcast-with-darshan-shah-md-7064213/160-dr-kara-fitzgerald-on-biological-age-epigenetic-clocks-and-the-future-of-aging-reversal
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/extend-podcast-with-darshan-shah-md-7064213/160-dr-kara-fitzgerald-on-biological-age-epigenetic-clocks-and-the-future-of-aging-reversal.md
Podcast: [Extend Podcast with Darshan Shah, MD](https://stenobird.com/podcast/extend-podcast-with-darshan-shah-md-7064213)
Published: 2026-04-30T09:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://03add746-5496-41d9-bcc9-511a526491e9.libsyn.com/160-dr-kara-fitzgerald-on-biological-age-epigenetic-clocks-and-the-future-of-aging-reversal
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/03add746-5496-41d9-bcc9-511a526491e9/Extend_-_Dr._Kara_Fitzgerald_2.mp3?dest-id=4758622
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/extend-podcast-with-darshan-shah-md-7064213/episodes/160-dr-kara-fitzgerald-on-biological-age-epigenetic-clocks-and-the-future-of-aging-reversal
Duration seconds: 2843

## Resource

Biological aging is no longer just a concept tied to time. It is something we can now measure, track, and influence through data, lifestyle, and targeted interventions that directly impact how our cells function and age. In this episode of Extend, we sit down with Dr. Kara Fitzgerald, functional medicine leader, researcher, and author, to unpack how diet and lifestyle can directly influence epigenetics and biological age. We break down the difference between chronological and biological aging, how epigenetic clocks work across organs and systems, and why aging may be driven by both environmental exposures and deeper programmed mechanisms. We also explore how polyphenols, nutrient-dense diets, and emerging interventions like Yamanaka mimetics may begin to shift the trajectory of aging at the cellular level and open new pathways for extending healthspan and peak performance. Dr. Kara Fitzgerald is a functional medicine physician, researcher, and author of Younger You, known for her pioneering clinical studies demonstrating how targeted nutrition and lifestyle interventions can reverse biological age and reshape long-term health outcomes. What We Discuss: (01:36) Aging, performance, and menopause (05:01) Healthspan vs peak span (08:39) The dark matter of nutrition (11:36) Polyphenols and urolithin A (13:12) Biological age and epigenetics (15:41) Epigenetic clocks and measurement (21:02) Exposomic aging (25:03) Programmed aging (28:20) Yamanaka factors (33:24) Yamanaka mimetics (36:29) Polyphenols and caloric restriction (40:33) Nutrition and biological age reversal Thank You to Our Sponsors: IM8: Try IM8 today with a 30-day money back guarantee. You can get 10% off your first order with code DRSHAH at https://im8health.com/discount/DRSHAH . Momentous: Head to livemomentou…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/extend-podcast-with-darshan-shah-md-7064213/episodes/160-dr-kara-fitzgerald-on-biological-age-epigenetic-clocks-and-the-future-of-aging-reversal/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/extend-podcast-with-darshan-shah-md-7064213/160-dr-kara-fitzgerald-on-biological-age-epigenetic-clocks-and-the-future-of-aging-reversal.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.