Fortify Health Insights
In 2026 the American Society of Hematology (ASH) raised the ferritin cutoff for diagnosing iron deficiency. For most adults, including menstruating and pregnant women, it's now 30 ng/mL, and for women with heavy periods 50 ng/mL may be appropriate. If you've been told your iron is "fine" with a ferr...
Written by: Meredith Paci | Functional Health Coach
This one is for any woman who has sat in an exam room and left feeling smaller than when she walked in. It is also for anyone raising a daughter, and anyone who knows or loves a woman who is about to walk into an appointment of her own.
In this w...
Written by: Meredith Paci, Functional Health CoachÂ
You are in your 40's....maybe 43, maybe 49, and maybe even 40. Maybe it was your sleep that sleep broke about eight months ago and you cannot point to why. Maybe it was your ability to cope with all that life is throwing at you. Perhaps it was you...
Written by Sarah Bishop, MS Exercise Science, Functional Health Coach
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Rushing out the door, diving into coffee five minutes after waking, or stressing about the day ahead could all be why your gut feels off.Â
High stress, whether from a lack of routine or one that isn’t supportive, often trigge...
Written by: Meredith Paci, Functional Health CoachÂ
There is a reflex in medicine that sounds responsible, yet arguably, it's not: if it hasn't been proven in a randomized controlled trial, treat it as unproven, full stop, no further reasoning allowed. I understand where the reflex comes from. I re...
Written by: Meredith Paci Functional Health CoachÂ
I was talking to one of my mentees about a client of hers who had this exact experience, and honestly, it still gets me fired up every time I hear it. I find it atrocious.
I told her about a client of mine who had the identical experience. My clie...
Written by Sarah Bishop, MS Exercise Science, Functional Health Coach
A coach in our group mentorship brought us a case. Her client was 45, newly onboarded, and eager to come off hormonal birth control. She had been reading about hormone therapy online and wanted to know where she stood.
That ques...
Written by: Meredith Paci Functional Health Coach
What are you afraid of is a question I come back to often, one I've been asking long before this year. I land on it during any day, week, or season that starts to feel discombobulated, when overwhelm creeps in and I can't even name what I'm overwhel...
Written by Sarah Bishop, MS Exercise Science, Functional Health Coach
Diarrhea… even the word sounds annoying.Â
But chronic or persistent loose stool isn’t just annoying. It can tell us a lot about digestive health, stress, or even your immune system. In this post, we’re breaking down what’s norma...
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 ...
