Jackie's Take: What's on My Mind in Women's Wellness ✍️ 🤔 📰 

Why the Best Clinicians Go First 🥇 

The field of longevity is still being written. Especially when it comes to women’s health, there are no neat playbooks or standardized protocols. Which means the people defining the future of this field, the clinicians you should want in your corner, don’t always play by conventional rules.

That doesn’t mean reckless. The best clinicians know the evidence, respect risk-benefit tradeoffs, and understand when “first, do no harm” should include “first, do something.” But they also go first. They test, they track, they tinker. And then they share.

Becoming the Guinea Pig

I learned this early in my career working at the largest freestanding women’s sexual medicine clinic in the U.S. This was the place that pioneered the now-widespread biopsychosocial model: combining clinical care with coaching and therapy (because that’s what actually drives behavior change).

Being in an environment that was at the forefront of both research and education gave me a comfort level with treatments that many clinicians still shy away from. Testosterone, for example, wasn’t framed as controversial — it was presented as the most abundant female hormone, with decades of evidence supporting its safety and efficacy in women. When you start your career surrounded by that kind of leadership, you learn not to fear the tools that can actually help women, but to use them wisely.

So…when the new non-hormonal drugs for low libido, Addyi and Vyleesi, hit the market, guess who tried them first? We did. I still laugh remembering our clinic team swapping notes on side effects over lunch. (Spoiler: they weren’t the miracle pills headlines promised, but we knew because we tested, not because we waited for our patients to tell us.)

When GLP-1s like semaglutide first started showing up outside of diabetes care, we tried those too. My husband and I were basically an N=2 clinical trial. We lost weight, and it was so early that friends congratulated us on our “discipline” and asked about our workouts, having no idea what was really happening.

That’s the archetype of the longevity clinician: curious, cautious, but willing to go first so patients don’t have to be guinea pigs alone.

The stacks clinicians actually use

Chrissy Farr recently published a fascinating survey of 129 clinicians about their own “longevity stacks,” meaning what supplements, medications, and practices they personally use. The results were telling: most clinicians are far more adventurous with themselves than they are with their patients. Only 25% prescribe longevity medications to patients, but the majority are self-experimenting with trackers, peptides, off-label meds, and more.

The takeaway? Risk tolerance isn’t the same as recklessness. The best clinicians understand the risks deeply, then decide what’s worth trying. And the ones I trust most are the ones who are transparent about what works, what doesn’t, and what still feels like an experiment.

My own “stack”

In the spirit of transparency, and because I believe in building in public, I want to share what I’ve been testing for my own wellness - specifically, the pleasure kind.

Before launching my coaching program, The Longevity Lab, I spent six months treating myself like a study subject. I made an actual spreadsheet (!) and every week I logged not just libido, but sleep quality, nutrition, exercise, alcohol, supplements, medications, HRV alongside the quality and quantity of the sex I was having. What actually moved the needle? What didn’t?

Some takeaways:

• Progesterone improved sleep and made desire less erratic.

• Testosterone therapy (properly dosed) consistently improved arousal, energy, and recovery from workouts.

• Oxytocin had subtle but real effects on connection and bonding.

• Bremelanotide improved blood flow but gave me palpitations (that experimented ended quickly).

• GLP-1 microdosing improved body composition in a way that fed confidence, which fed desire.

• Novelty: fun products like my Foria arousal oil help turn things up a notch. Why have vanilla ice cream when you can make an affogato (know what I mean?😉)

• Lifestyle levers — especially lifting weights and alcohol reduction — mattered as much as anything in a prescription bottle.

It wasn’t perfect, but the process itself was clarifying. Data gave me language for what my body already knew.

Why this matters for you

You don’t need a clinician who only plays it safe, but you also don’t need one who treats you like a test subject without consent. You need someone who is both brave and grounded, willing to go first, track honestly, share transparently, and always put your long-term safety above hype.

That’s the kind of clinician I strive to be. Not because I have all the answers, but because I believe women deserve better than being told to wait ten years for the research to catch up.

Longevity is not just about living longer. It’s about living better, in this season, with clarity and vitality. And that requires clinicians who aren’t afraid to be a few steps ahead.

So the next time you’re wondering what makes a great midlife or longevity clinician, remember this: the best ones go first, so you don’t have to go it alone. 🌺 

The Tea: What's Trending in Women's Wellness & Culture 🍵 📰 

👀 Starbucks Is Adding Protein Drinks to the Menu

Starbucks is rolling out new cold foam lattes later this month with up to 30 grams of protein. It could be a handy way to sneak in more protein, but let’s not pretend it’s a meal replacement, k? The drinks are also likely to be loaded with extra sugar which keeps this from being even close to a true health win. ☕️ (Eating Well)

❤️‍🩹 The Health Risks From Plastics Almost Nobody Knows About

In this feature, phthalates in plastics are spotlighted as hormone disruptors that interfere with endocrine signaling, and the piece does a great job breaking down how that process actually occurs. The takeaway is clear: these exposures don’t just affect fertility and pregnancy, they ripple through our entire hormonal health over the lifespan, from metabolism to mood. (WaPo) 🤔 

🌫️ Everything You Need To Know About Perimenopause & Iron Deficiency

Many women in perimenopause don’t realize that heavy or irregular bleeding can drain iron stores, leaving them with fatigue, brain fog, and irritability. This piece is a good reminder that not every midlife symptom is “just hormones” — it may also be a sign to check your labs for nutrient gaps. 🥩 (Scary Mommy)

Psssssst…. 🖇️ 

There is something important I want you to know.

Traditional medicine treats low libido like it's separate from everything else — prescribe a cream, suggest date nights, call it a day.

But your sexual health is connected to your hormones, energy, sleep, stress response, and metabolic function.

It does not exist in isolation.

That's why my new program treats libido as the sophisticated health indicator it is. Using AI-powered biointelligence, we'll decode what your body is really saying and build a comprehensive restoration plan that addresses root causes, not just symptoms.

In 6 weeks, you'll understand the intricate connections between your sexual health and overall vitality — and have a personal health copilot to maintain both.

Plus, you'll be able to:

1. navigate and understand your own hormone therapy needs with confidence

2. understand your side effects

3. advocate for changes in your treatment plan based on real data

4. Understand and act proactively on your lab work results

5. Know where the line is between DIY and needing to see a provider for an RX

6. Understand the type of provider you need to seek care from

7. Prepare for your provider visit and advocate for treatment

8. Take control of your HRT: auto-adjust your own hormone therapy/medication dosages (within established safeguardrails) based on symptoms --> no more waiting for responses in the portal or checking labs when it's too late.

This AI-powered program is the future of hormone medicine.

Get in on the first cohort, learn to BIOHACK LIKE A GIRL™️ and feel like yourself again in just 6 weeks.👇️ 👇️👇️

The Group Chat Edit 📲 👯‍♂️ 

👀 To Try: “The Microdose” from Woo. One part Coconut Oil, one part Shroom Vibez, this cute set is made for full-body exploration (remember that novelty I mentioned?!)

👂️To Listen: Emma Grede on Mel Robbins Podcast is what she calls “the single best conversation” she has ever recorded. I can’t say I disagree. This one inspires🎧️.

🛍️ To Buy: . I’m always on the lookout for pretty hair ties that can live on my wrist like a cute accessory, do not cause breakage and do not leave a mark. These check all the boxes (see the fancy gold bead)! 👱‍♀️