Aspen Health

10/02/2026

Someone asks me about GLP-1 agonist medications almost every week.
Before I can answer, I usually have to explain what GLP-1 even is. Most people have heard the name and never been told what it does.
It's a hormone. You already make it. Every time you eat, your gut releases it. It slows your stomach down, helps your insulin work, and tells your brain you've had enough. Then it's gone within minutes.
The medications are that same hormone, rebuilt to last days instead of minutes. That's the trick.
So the more interesting question is what happens when you get better at making your own. I wrote a full blog post on the best ways to naturally boost your own GLP-1 hormone. See full write up on the new blog post here: https://aspen.health/blog or Link in bio.

09/07/2026

Your smartwatch is accurate about some things and close to guessing about others — and nobody tells you which is which.

Here's the short version from the research:

Trust it: resting heart rate, step count, and irregular rhythm alerts. If your watch ever tells you it detected AFib, don't wait — call your doctor.

Be skeptical: sleep stages. Your device knows whether you were asleep. It's much shakier on whether that was deep sleep or REM, and it usually overestimates how much you slept.

Mostly ignore: calories burned. It's the least reliable number on the whole dashboard.

The finding that actually matters, though, isn't about accuracy. Studies show wearables used on their own barely move blood pressure or cholesterol. But when the data gets reviewed with a clinician, patients saw real drops in blood pressure, waist size, and LDL.

The device isn't the plan. It's the starting point.

One more habit worth building: watch the month, not the night. A single bad recovery score is just a bad night.

Full breakdown, with references, at https://aspen.health/blog

08/02/2026

Your annual physical isn't a bad thing. It's just not enough. 🩺

Real prevention comes down to three things: catching problems early, staying current on the right testing, and — the biggest one — consistent lifestyle guidance and accountability. That last piece only happens with regular check-ins, not a once-a-year visit.

That's the whole idea behind Aspen Health. Direct primary care means I see you often enough to actually help you stay on track.

Read more on the blog 👉 www.aspen.health/blog

07/02/2026

Read full blog post here: https://www.aspen.health/blog/hsa-direct-primary-care-princeton-nj

11/09/2021

6 Factors Affecting Immune Health.
See the latest blog post at https://aspen.health/blog

11/09/2021

6 Factors Affecting Immune Health

The most productive way to significantly reduce your chance of complications related to an infection is to support your own immune system directly through daily healthy habits. If you focus on a comprehensive approach to supporting your immune system, you will be that much stronger and able to withs

08/10/2021

The Slowest Eater Wins The Race

The topic of chewing and fast eating comes up frequently in my medical practice, so this post is to remind us all about the benefits of slow, mindful eating. For as long as I can remember, I have been a relatively slow eater, and I was often told this which made me feel like I was eating the wrong

05/17/2021

Check out this easy recipe.

If you are thinking to yourself, “what is an artichoke?” then this one is for you. If you are already familiar with this delicious vegetable and are looking for a simple way to prepare it, read on. Artichokes are the immature bud of a thistle and are considered (by at least by myself) the aardva...

05/10/2021

05/09/2021

Hello, and welcome to Aspen Health’s blog. I am Dr. Jay Benson, the founder and practicing physician at Aspen Health. This is the first of many posts where I will discuss important health topics and even share recipes and other useful information. I wanted to share a little about myself and the h