Cast of ABC’s “The Revolution”. (L-R) Dr. Jennifer Ashton, Tim Gunn, Ty Pennington, Dr. Tiffanie Davis Henry, Harley Pasternak. Photo courtesy of ABC.
“The Revolution”, ABC Daytime’s new daily talk show, premiers Monday at 2 p.m. ET/1 PT. The show aims to revolutionize the lives of selected participants and viewers through a noted team of experts.
The team consists of therapist and relationship specialist Dr. Tiffanie Davis Henry, celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak, women’s health expert Dr. Jennifer Ashton, style guru Tim Gunn (Project Runway), and design professional Ty Pennington (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition). Instead of focusing on weight loss exclusively, the panel will help women transform all facets of their lives, including weight loss, but also inlcuding mental health, style and home environment.
Each week, viewers will watch the “heroes’” five-month journey unfold.
“Each week we’ll be following the story of a woman we call the hero, and this woman will be going on a five month journey of a personal revolution that she wanted to experience, and letting the cameras follow her story,” Dr. Jennifer Ashton, the women’s health expert on the show, said.
According to Ashton, a segment on the show called “Revolution Three-way” exemplifies how the five experts will be working together to give ready-to-use tips. The segment focuses on one issue or physical body part, which the experts approach in three different ways.
“For example, we did a Revolution Three-way on breasts, and I talked about some of the medical issues that effect breasts, and Harley Pasternak talked about exercises that women can do to help lift their breasts, and Tim Gunn did breast undergarments in terms of fashion,” Ashton said.
While similar shows such as The Biggest Loser appeal mostly to middle-aged viewers, Ashton says The Revolution also appeals to a college audience.
“There’s going to be a lot of good information presented in a fun, entertaining and different way, and I think that what will appeal to college students is that first of all, Ty Pennington and Tim Gunn,” Ashton said jokingly. “They’re big stars that have a gift for helping people and they do it in a very entertaining way. And then all of the other experts have great information and tips that college students will love, and because there’s that aspect of the show with the hero women it will be really inspiring.”
Ashton’s health advice for college students:
Dr. Jennifer Ashton. Photo courtesy of ABC.
Ashton, who works with patients of all ages, shared her health advice for college students with USA TODAY College.
“My three biggest tips for college students, which are equally important, are sleep, nutrition and fitness,” she said.
Ashton explained that of the many college students she knows, not one of them gets enough sleep. She recommends that every student make sleeping at least seven hours each night a priority.
“Even though it’s really hard, I think it’s very important that college students get at least seven hours of sleep every single night, and no—you can’t store it up and just get it on the weekends! It has to be a priority because otherwise, your brain will not function as well, it will be harder for you to study and you’ll get sick more often.”
As for the notoriously unhealthy lifestyle of college students, Ashton recommends eating a colorful diet to ensure getting enough fruits and vegetables.
She also suggests choosing zero-calorie beverages such as water or seltzer.
The third component, fitness, is crucial.
“I always say to my patients that your body needs to move and it needs to sweat and it needs to do that every single day,” Ashton said.
Following Ashton’s plan will result in more proficient studying, less time dealing with sicknesses, and a boost in self-confidence.
Ashton is the author of two women’s health books: The Body Scoop for Girls: A Straight-Talk Guide to a Healthy, Beautiful You, published in December 2009, and Your Body Beautiful: Clockstopping Secrets to Staying Healthy, Strong, and Sexy in Your 30s, 40s, and Beyond, which hit shelves last week.
Her first book, The Body Scoop for Girls, was written with teenagers and college girls in mind. Ashton describes it as, “if your best friend was a gynecologist, all the stuff she would tell you that college girls and high school girls don’t know.”
Ashton was inspired to write this book after having hundreds of conversations with her teenage patients and realizing that they were not getting some very basic health and body information.
Here are 10 health facts from Dr. Ashton’s books that all college women should be aware of:
- Everyone should join the “Over Eighteen Club” – the 40% of all teens in the U.S. who wait until age 18 to have sex. When you’re under 18, you’re more likely to contract a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) than mature women.
- Get calcium now! “Between now and the time you turn 25 is the only chance you’ll ever have to deposit more calcium and make your bones stronger.”
- Emergency contraception, such as Plan B, prevents an estimated 50,000 abortions from occurring each year
- Adolescent girls face the highest risk of sexual violence
- Going completely bare “down there” may increase your risk of contracting an STI. As Dr. Ashton explains, “removing the natural barrier can make it easier to contract certain infections, especially those requiring skin-to-skin contact, like Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and herpes. (Note that there aren’t any official scientific studies to support this, so right now it’s just a theory.) Plus, microscopic nicks in the skin from shaving or waxing may also increase susceptibility to these infections.”
- HPV not only causes cervical cancer, the second leading cause of cancer in women in the US, but it also causes throat cancer
- Smoking one pack of cigarettes a day costs $2,000 a year. As Dr. Ashton points out, “think of all the shoes that could buy you.”
- Marijuana contains more than 400 chemicals — so forget about the “it’s natural” justification for smoking pot.
- More than 50% of all date rapes take place in a house or apartment, and 15% of date rapes take place in dorm rooms or parked cars.
- Girls get drunk faster than boys – females lack an alcohol-digesting enzyme that males have. So, ladies, don’t try to keep up with the guys.
To view the original post, please visit USA TODAY College
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