Fortify Health Insights
Written by: Meredith Paci Functional Health CoachÂ
A reader wrote in via our anonymous form "Ask Fortify here." with a question:
Last year I had a hysterectomy with one ovary removed due to stage 3 deep infiltrating endometriosis, along with complete surgical removal of all endo including a bowel ...
Written by: Meredith Paci Functional Health Coach
This is part two. There is a two-part series here answering a reader question submitted through our anonymous form. If you have not read part one, [it's linked here]. It discusses the nuts and bolts of evidence on estradiol, progesterone, and testos...
Written by Sarah Bishop, MS Exercise Science, Functional Health Coach
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Iron deficiency is common, especially in active females. You may have personally experienced the impacts in not just your training, but everyday life of iron deficiency or anemia (which aren't the same and I will explain more ...
Written by: Meredith Paci | Functional Health Coach
AÂ female in her late thirties wrote into the anonymous question form asking two things: what are the actual benefits of hormone therapy (menopausal hormone therapy and TRT), and what delivery methods are available?
Before I get into the answers, ...
Written by: Meredith Paci | Functional Health Coach
If you have been following us for any length of time, none of this will shock you. But it should sharpen how you think about it.
On May 12th, 2026, PCOS was formally renamed to PMOS, Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome. Published in The Lanc...
Written by Sarah Bishop, MS Exercise Science, Functional Health Coach
Although creatine is one of the most widely researched sports supplements out there, there is still a lot of confusion and myths around its use.
Ironically, despite the overwhelming evidence supporting its benefits, women especi...
Written by: Meredith Paci | Functional Health CoachÂ
If you've been following along, you probably already know where my head has been.
When I flew to be with my father earlier this year, after the traffic light, after the diagnosis, after all of it, one of the many things that hit me hard was not ...
Written by: Meredith Paci, Functional Health Coach
H. pylori is a common yet potentially troublesome and harmful bacteria. Testing for H. pylori involves several methods, each with its own advantages and limitations. Today, we will review several common testing methods, limitations to each, who ord...
Written by: Meredith Paci, Functional Health Coach
There is a phrase I have heard for years. From families, from friends, from well-meaning professionals who should know better.
"Well, he hasn't wandered off yet."
As if that is the line. As if a grown man (or woman) standing confused on the shoul...
Written by Sarah Bishop, MS Exercise Science, Functional Health Coach
Struggling to reduce your caffeine? Maybe it’s not a discipline thing
Fatigue can stem from digestive dysfunction, nutrient deficiencies, cortisol dysregulation , hormone imbalances ….Just to name a few things.
It can also be t...
Written by: Meredith Paci
My father was diagnosed with vascular dementia February 14th 2026. I watched risk factors go unaddressed for years and it changed how I think about everything I do in this practice, how I educate, how I show up for every person I support, and why the work we do at Fortify ...
Written by: Meredith Paci and Sarah Bishop
The holidays are back, and yes, we are absolutely inviting you to have fun with this. Think less perfection, more “this is our kitchen and we’re rolling with it.” Some traditions stay, some get remixed, and some become their own thing entirely. That mix is...
