Dr Natalie Crawford

period products, your cycle shouldn't cause you any stress in your life.

You should just roll with it, right?

And so that's when I'm like, when is it a problem?

Bleed through your clothes.

You should be able to sleep through the night.

You should be able to get through an athletic performance.

You should be able to do X, Y, and Z. Now, when we do start measuring, and you should not be anemic.

So I'm not waiting till anemia.

Anemia is low red blood cell count.

you know, to the point where your performance is affected, your ability to carry oxygen is affected.

So the red blood cells are what carries oxygen in our bodies.

And women who have heavy periods, however that's defined,

can lead to anemia.

But the first thing that we notice is their ferritin is dropping.

That's the first sign.

My daughter, we just had some blood work done.

She was feeling a little fatigued.

And her ferritin and iron saturations were really low.

And I was like, talk to me about your peer.

Turns out she's not eating a lot of iron-rich foods.