“You don’t have to inject a GLP‑1 drug to support satiety. With the right fiber-rich foods, greens, whole grains, and a few simple spices, you can help your body make and release more of its own GLP‑1—while actually getting healthier in the process.” 

 

What happens when a lifestyle medicine doctor also happens to grow most of his family’s food?

In this episode of the Green Glow Lifestyle Podcast, Kylie sits down with Dr. Jeffrey Pierce, a board-certified family and lifestyle medicine physician with 18+ years of experience and a deep passion for food-as-medicine and edible gardening. Dr. Pierce practices with Lifestyle Telemedicine, helping patients reverse or improve conditions like diabetes, hypertension, fatty liver disease, and obesity through whole-food, plant-based nutrition, movement, sleep, stress management, and community.

He shares how his early work in global health—caring for families facing HIV, tuberculosis, and severe malnutrition in Africa and Latin America—reshaped his understanding of what “real” medicine looks like. Back in the U.S., frustrated by 15-minute visits and endless prescription refills, he pivoted into lifestyle medicine and longer, more meaningful visits where patients learn how to get to the root causes of their health issues.

You’ll hear how Dr. Pierce:

• Uses lifestyle medicine to help patients achieve sustainable plant-based weight loss, not just chase a number on the scale.


• Explains “natural GLP-1 support” with his memorable two G’s and three C’s—simple, everyday foods and spices that help with satiety and cravings.


• Leads group “food is medicine” visits for pregnant and postpartum patients, where groceries are delivered to their homes and they cook along live on Zoom.


• Thinks about prevention at key life stages—from preconception and pregnancy through perimenopause and beyond.


• Fell in love with gardening, now growing multiple fruit trees, vegetables, mushrooms, and more, and how this living garden serves his family’s health, microbiome, and mental well-being.


• Helped create The Edible Garden: Quick Start Guide for the Plantrician Project to make growing your own food less intimidating and more joyful.

If you’ve ever wondered how to make plant-based eating feel sustainable, how to support weight loss without white-knuckle dieting, or how to start even a tiny edible garden for yourself or your family, this conversation is packed with practical ideas and a whole lot of hope.

Resources & Links

Dr. Jeffrey Pierce & Lifestyle Telemedicine

• Dr. Jeffrey Pierce’s Lifestyle Telemedicine profile
  
  https://lifestyletelemedicine.com/find-your-doctor/jeffrey-pierce/


• Dr. Pierce’s personal website (blog, garden, resources):
  
  https://jeffpiercemd.com/


• Lifestyle Telemedicine (practice home):
  
  https://lifestyletelemedicine.com

Edible gardening & quick-start support

• Plantrician Project Quick Start Guides (plant-based, kids, potlucks, and edible garden guides):
  
  https://plantricianproject.org


• California Rare Fruit Growers (for listeners interested in unusual varieties, grafting, and fruit trees):
  
  https://crfg.org

Books & evidence-based lifestyle medicine

• Your Body in Balance by Neal Barnard, MD (hormones, menopause, endometriosis)
  
  https://www.pcrm.org/your-body-in-balance


• Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) – https://www.pcrm.org


• NutritionFacts.org – research-based videos and articles
  
  https://nutritionfacts.org

Food-as-medicine programs & pregnancy

• Food-as-Medicine style group visits through Dr. Pierce’s county program 
  
  
  • Live, virtual group visits for pregnant and postpartum women
  
  
  • Delivered groceries + cook-along classes + lifestyle Q&A with a physician
  
  
  
  



• American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) – background on lifestyle medicine training & board certification:
  
  https://lifestylemedicine.org

Documentaries & inspiration

• The Biggest Little Farm (and its sequel) – regenerative, diversified farm story and soil-health inspiration:
  
  https://www.biggestlittlefarmmovie.com

Tools & ideas mentioned

• Natural GLP‑1 support – “two G’s and three C’s”:
  
  
  • Greens: especially leafy greens with thylakoids (e.g., spinach, other dark leafy greens)
  
  
  • Groats: intact whole grains like barley, oat groats, wheat berries, rye berries, farro, spelt, 
  
  
  • Cinnamon
  
  
  • Curcumin (turmeric’s active compound)
  
  
  • Cayenne
  
  
  
  



• Indoor / small-space options:
  
  
  • Sprouting (e.g., broccoli sprouts, beans, lentils) on the counter
  
  
  • Herb pots or small fruit trees in containers
  
  
  • Vertical planters or wall-mounted systems for greens
  
  
  
  



• Composting options:
  
  
  • Traditional backyard compost & leaf mulching
  
  
  • Worm composting (vermicompost)
  
  
  • Electric indoor composters (like Mill and similar devices) for kitchen scraps