Dr. Jen Ashton Shares Her Amazing New ‘Ajenda’ — A Powerful Platform for Women’s Health (EXCLUSIVE)
Plus, learn about the superfood she swears by and her thoughts on Ozempic!
With her warm presence and seemingly endless range of medical knowledge, Dr. Jennifer Ashton is truly one of a kind. The celebrity doctor is well-known for her uplifting segments as chief health and medical correspondent for ABC News and Good Morning America and on top of that, she’s also a bestselling author, an Emmy winner and has a self-title magazine Dr. Jen Ashton.
Now Dr. Jen, as she’s commonly called, is launching the charmingly named “Ajenda,” a new platform that will provide a welcome solution for women searching for optimal healthcare options.
What’s on the Dr. Jen Ashton “Ajenda”?
Dr. Jen Ashton is one of the leading experts on menopause health and the only nationally recognized women’s health specialist credentialed in nutrition and obesity medicine, so she’s powerfully equipped to help women navigate all sorts of health issues geared toward women 40+.
MUST-READ: Dr. Jen Ashton Gets Real About Menopause, Hair Loss and Mental Health Over 50
The first phase of Ajenda is a free weekly newsletter with science-backed facts on menopause, weight loss and women’s health — sent from Dr. Jen straight to your inbox. (You can sign up now at JoinAjenda.com.)
Read on for our exclusive conversation with Dr. Jen that we had for the newest cover of FIRST for Women (on sale now!) — and find out Ajenda has to offer!
FIRST for Women: You’ve said that weight loss for women involves connecting all the dots with sleep, food, exercise and life in general. With this in mind, what are a few ways a woman can get a handle on losing weight without drugs?
Dr. Jen Ashton: I like to refer to weight loss as weight management, which is a more accurate term. That said, the first place I recommend people to look is their sleep habits. I think that it’s very important.
People are not getting the right quality or right amount of sleep and that will affect their weight, whether you want to lose, which is the majority of people, or you want to gain weight, which a very small percentage are trying to do.
Sleep is your foundation, and the average adult should be getting between seven and nine hours. The data in sleep medicine is also pretty clear that more is not better. Those who don’t get enough sleep don’t do well and those who get too much don’t do well.
For me, I do better with 8 ½ hours. Sleep should be consistent each day. It’s not like you can have a random catch-up on the weekends.
FFW: How important is it to reduce one’s stress for losing weight and overall health?
Dr. Jen Ashton: I think it’s important to remember not all stress is negative stress. It can be very positive physically and psychologically, but most of the time when we think stress, we’re not talking about it positively. The first thing is to normalize, acknowledge and be aware of it. Once you do that, it’s kind of like brushing your teeth — it becomes a routine.
FFW: How do you reduce your own stress?
Dr. Jen Ashton: Number one for me is exercise. Exercise has always been important to me. When I don’t exercise, it actually creates more stress. It’s that essential to me. I love weight lifting at the gym.
I also do a Pilates or spin class. I try to meditate. Sometimes I’m a little inconsistent, but I never regret doing it. Meditation is very powerful and effective, and it only takes 20 minutes.
FFW: You’re a recognized expert on women’s health and give advice on many topics. What would you say is the best advice you’ve received over the years as far as your own health is concerned?
Dr. Jen Ashton: The best advice I’m trying to follow is from my son, Alex, who is 25 years old. He has tried to encourage me to do 10 minutes a day of stretching. I think he’s totally right but it’s still on my to-do list.
I’ve learned through the last 25 years that with the kind of life I live, which is stressful and physically and mentally demanding, that I would not be able to do it all if I wasn’t healthy. So I always lean on what I call the trifecta of health: sleep, nutrition and exercise.
FFW: Do you have a go-to healthy snack?
Dr. Jen Ashton: I make a smoothie in the morning. It’s half water, half coconut milk, along with a banana, a giant scoop of fiber (because we never get enough fiber in our foods), a scoop of hydrolyzed collagen powder and a scoop of probiotic powder. I mix that all up and call it my insurance policy on health. I also have coconut unsweetened yogurt topped with berries, hemp seed or granola a few times a week.
FFW: Ozempic is a hot topic for weight loss. The drug has many pros and cons. What are your thoughts on it?
Dr. Jen Ashton: I think that the class of drugs, the GLP-1, are among the best medications in the world. In the population of this country alone, over 60% of adults are overweight or obese and have been for their entire lives.
People tend to look at it as failure or lack of willpower when the science clearly knows that it’s not the case. It’s about time we look at it as a medical condition that should be treated with a combination of medication and behavioral changes.
The drugs are not new and some have been around for over 10 years for treatment of type 2 diabetes. So that’s all the positive side of things, but it’s also important to know they’re not candy, and they do require medical supervision by someone who has knowledge in treating people with these drugs.
MUST-READ: Little-Known Ozempic Side Effect Is Worse for Women over 50: MDs Explain & Advise
FFW: What exactly is the Dr. Jen Ashton Ajenda and how will it benefit women over 40?
Dr. Jen Ashton: I’m very excited about this. For the last five years I’ve been thinking about the areas of medicine that I am certified in, which are women’s health, OB/GYN, obesity medicine and nutrition.
These are arguably the biggest topics in our country right now in terms of health, well-being and longevity. I really want to devote my time and energy to thinking about these topics and talking about them. That’s what Ajenda is.
It’s a digital platform for nutritional gynecology for women over 40. This is a new concept that looks at the role of nutrition and weight as well as hormones — all things that impact women in menopause and peri-menopause.
FFW: Will the Dr. Jen Ashton Ajenda be interactive or focus on your choice of topics?
Dr. Jen Ashton: Both. There’s going to be a free newsletter launching soon and there will be workshops, surveys, videos, questionnaires, blogs and a whole bunch of content. I’m really excited about it all.
Become a part of Ajenda here!
For more FIRST exclusive interviews, click through below!
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