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

_{The Medicine We Don’t Prescribe Enough}

This week in my group chat, we covered it all: Meghan Markle’s launch of As Ever, why it seems everyone is getting a bleph on their lunch break, and—of course—the ever-expanding list of perimenopause symptoms no one warned us about. But nestled between the memes and the rage-texts about tariffs was something bigger: the actual medicine that’s getting us through midlife.

Friendship.

Not the obligatory school-pickup, “we should get coffee” kind. I mean real, ride-or-die, text-you-from-the-floor kind of friendship. The kind of female connection that doesn’t just soothe your soul—it quite literally supports your healthspan.

And the science backs it up.

A 2024 longitudinal study of over 1,200 adults over 45 found that women with more frequent and diverse social interactions experienced better physical health, lower anxiety, and stronger immune function. Despite starting with worse baseline health scores than men, women saw a more dramatic health boost from staying socially connected. In other words, connection may not just be a nice-to-have—it could be a protective factor.

Other studies echo this: strong social ties lower cortisol, reduce inflammatory markers, improve sleep, and are associated with longer healthspans. A major Harvard study even found that having close relationships in midlife is more predictive of long-term health than cholesterol levels.

Read that again.

So while we continue to optimize our hormone therapy, tweak our supplement stacks, and debate the value of contrast therapy, I keep coming back to this: are we missing one of the most obvious—and most effective—tools we have?

The group chat may not look like medicine, but it’s functioning like it. It’s the place where we’re diagnosing ourselves, sharing our best specialist referrals, validating each other’s weird symptoms, and reminding each other that we’re not alone. It's our unofficial clinic—only with memes, dark humor, and no copays.

So the question becomes: how do we, as clinicians, creators, and brands, build wellness models that reach into that space—not to sell, but to support? Can we design care that acknowledges biology and sociology? Hormones and heartbreak?

Because here’s what I’m seeing again and again: women aren’t just looking for symptom relief—they’re looking for meaning, belonging, and mirrors. And maybe the future of wellness isn’t in the next peptide—it’s in the people you can text without explaining yourself first.

Here’s your prescription: schedule the dinner, take the walk, start the group thread if you haven’t already. It’s not just friendship. It’s the infrastructure of your long game.

And it might be the most effective intervention we’ve got.

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

💊 I Spent a Day at the Latest “Longevity Clinic” In Allure’s look at Love.Life—a slick new longevity clinic launched by the former Whole Foods CEO—we get a curated peek into the $610 billion and growing longevity market. It’s the usual lineup: peptides, NAD+ infusions, cold plunges, CGMs—all bundled into a $50K annual membership designed to optimize every biomarker, with a strong dose of wellness-bro energy.

But while the tech-forward tools get the spotlight, a recent Stanford study reminds us that aging doesn’t happen in a slow, steady line. It accelerates—twice. Once around 44, and again at 60. And for women, those shifts are especially sharp: cardiovascular strain, metabolic changes, lipid imbalances, even visible loss in skin and muscle tone. We’re not just aging—we’re actively rewiring.

Which is why high-performance protocols alone can’t be the whole answer. The biology is real—but so is the context we live it in. For women in midlife, longevity has to be about more than lab panels and optimization routines. It has to include emotional safety, connection, community, and a regulated nervous system. Because extending life is one thing—but building one that actually feels good in this season? That’s the real metric.(Allure)

🦠 Research Spotlight: Drug Reduces Mysterious Particle Involved in Heart Attack Risk The New York Times recently spotlighted a little-known genetic factor that could play a big role in heart attack risk: lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a). This sticky, cholesterol-like particle is determined almost entirely by your DNA and doesn’t budge much with diet or exercise. About 1 in 5 people have elevated Lp(a), and it’s increasingly being recognized as a major contributor to premature heart disease—even in people with “normal” cholesterol. What’s new? Scientists are finally developing drugs that target Lp(a) directly, and large-scale clinical trials are underway.

So, why does this matter for women in midlife? Because heart disease is still the No. 1 killer of women, and we’re routinely underdiagnosed. Many women don’t realize their cholesterol panels can look “normal” while hidden risks—like high Lp(a)—go unchecked. Add the hormonal shifts of perimenopause (which increase LDL and inflammation), and you’ve got a perfect storm. If you have a family history of early heart disease or stroke, ask your provider about testing Lp(a). It’s a simple blood test that could reveal a not-so-obvious risk—and help you take the reins on your long game. ❤️‍🔥 (NYT)

😟 🗯️ More Young Females Experiencing Untreated Perimenopause New research confirms what women in their 30s and 40s have been screaming into their group chats: millenopause is real, and we’re not imagining it. This week alone, I’ve heard from younger friends, patients, and colleagues all saying the same thing—“Why didn’t anyone tell us this was perimenopause?”

Despite being the universal on-ramp to menopause, early perimenopause is still routinely dismissed as stress, depression, or just “having young kids.” The result? Years of misdiagnosis and missed opportunities to intervene. (Healthline)

The Group Chat Edit - Send This to Your Besties📲 👯‍♂️ 

🎧 Podcast: Is your belly fat, stress, or burnout actually a hormone issue? According to Dr. Sara Szal (formerly Gottfried), the answer is a resounding yes. In this Diary of a CEO episode, the Harvard-trained doc and bestselling author of The Autoimmune Cure breaks down how midlife hormone changes can silently sabotage your metabolism, sex life, and sanity—and what you can actually do about it. 🧬 🎙️ (The Diary of a CEO):

📖 Read: Swearing is linked with increased pain tolerance and strength Apparently, swearing isn’t just stress relief—it’s strength training and heartbreak therapy. New research shows that dropping a well-placed F-bomb can boost physical power, dull pain, and even ease the sting of rejection (yes, that includes being left out of the group text). So the next time someone tells you to “be more ladylike,” feel free to explain you're just regulating your nervous system 😰 💪 (WaPo)

📲 Wellness Influencer You Can Trust: My dear friend Niro Feliciano is a mom of four, a nationally recognized psychotherapist, and quite possibly the calmest voice you'll ever hear on anxiety, mindset, and modern midlife and motherhood. She’s the bestselling author of This Book Won’t Make You Happy (spoiler: it will make you think), host of the All Things Life podcast, and a go-to expert in national media. Whether she’s breaking down mental health on The Today Show or just helping you survive a Tuesday, Niro has a way of making the complicated feel clear—and the hard stuff feel less lonely. You’ll want her in your corner. 👩‍⚕️ 🫶 

FSH: Facts, Snacks & Hacks ✅ 🥨💡 

✅ Fact: Saffron isn’t just for paella. Clinical trials show that 30mg of saffron extract per day can improve insomnia, sleep quality, and even symptoms of depression in otherwise healthy adults who struggle with sleep. It might just be the most underrated tool in your nighttime routine—and one of the key ingredients in a snack I’ll tell you about below👇️, so keep reading 📖 .

🥨 Snack: These WonderSleep Mushroom Gummies from Plant People come clinician recommended. Formulated with Reishi mushroom, Saffron extract, GABA, Corydalis and Passionflower, they support the calming neurotransmitters that actually matter when you're trying to fall—and stay—asleep. No drowsy hangover, and no melatonin required. 🍄 

💡Hack: If you’ve ever been stuck in prior auth limbo or side-eyed your deductible while waiting on hormone refills, it might be time to go rogue—in the best way. The HRT Club is a cash-pay platform for midlife hormone prescriptions that skips insurance drama entirely. They also carry testosterone—and they’re not weird about dispensing it to women. No side-eye from the pharmacist, just the meds you actually need.⚕️💊