When it comes to improving your health, it is easy to fall into the trap of waiting.

You might wait until Monday, until life gets less busy, until you have the perfect meal plan or until you feel ready to make a major change. But according to Dr. Jeffrey Pierce, better health does not require a perfect starting point. It begins with the choices available to you today.

In this episode of the NHA Today Podcast, Dr. Stephan Esser sits down with Dr. Pierce, a board-certified family medicine and lifestyle medicine physician, to discuss how everyday habits can influence our long-term health.

Their conversation explores everything from fatty liver disease and testosterone replacement to sleep, plant-based nutrition and gardening. Woven throughout it all is a simple message: start where you are, make changes you can sustain and keep moving forward.

How Much Control Do We Have Over Our Health?

Dr. Pierce has practiced medicine for more than 18 years and has performed global health work in Africa and Latin America. Those experiences have given him a unique perspective on nutrition and chronic disease.

While working in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, he cared for people struggling to get enough calories, protein and essential nutrients. Back in the United States, he encountered a very different form of malnutrition: an abundance of calories and highly processed foods without enough of the foods that support good health.

Despite their differences, both situations can prevent people from reaching their full health potential.

Dr. Pierce believes one of the most important things people can understand is that our genes do not necessarily determine our health destiny. Nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress management, smoking and other lifestyle factors can influence our risk for chronic disease.

That means our everyday choices matter.

Fatty Liver Disease Deserves More Attention

One condition Dr. Pierce believes deserves more attention is fatty liver disease, now also referred to as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD.

Fatty liver occurs when excess fat accumulates inside liver cells. Over time, this can contribute to inflammation, impaired liver function and scarring. Dr. Pierce explains that an estimated one in three American adults may have some degree of fatty liver disease.

Part of the challenge is that many people do not know they have it.

Fatty liver may be discovered unexpectedly during an ultrasound performed for another reason or after abnormal liver tests prompt further investigation. Because it can progress over time, Dr. Pierce stresses the importance of taking the diagnosis seriously and addressing it before more significant liver damage develops.

Four Ways to Address Fatty Liver

The encouraging news is that lifestyle changes can play an important role in addressing fatty liver disease.

Dr. Pierce highlights four approaches:

1. Work toward a healthier body weight.
Even a 5 to 10 percent reduction in body weight may provide benefits for people with fatty liver disease.

2. Emphasize whole plant foods.
Dr. Pierce recommends a low-fat, whole food, plant-based diet centered around vegetables, fruits, beans, lentils, mushrooms, herbs, spices, whole grains, nuts and seeds. This approach can support healthy weight management while providing antioxidants and limiting foods that may promote inflammation and fat deposition in the liver.

3. Move every day.
Exercise may benefit fatty liver even without accompanying weight loss. Regular movement can therefore be valuable regardless of what happens on the scale.

4. Consider meal timing and fasting when appropriate.
Dr. Pierce also discusses research surrounding time-restricted eating and different approaches to fasting as potential additions to nutrition, movement and healthy weight management.

Together, these strategies illustrate one of the broader themes of the conversation. Instead of searching for one magic solution, focus on building healthy habits that work together.

What About Testosterone Replacement?

Testosterone has become a major topic in the growing anti-aging and longevity industry, but Dr. Pierce urges caution before viewing testosterone replacement as a shortcut to better health or vitality.

He explains that supplementation may be appropriate for a relatively small group of men and should involve proper testing and consideration of both potential benefits and risks.

Just as importantly, declining testosterone levels may sometimes be connected to health problems that become more common with age. Rather than assuming aging alone is responsible, Dr. Pierce encourages people to look at their overall health.

Nutrition, physical activity, adequate sleep and prevention of chronic disease can all play a role in supporting health as we age.

Never Underestimate a Good Night’s Sleep

Sleep is another piece of the health puzzle that is easy to overlook.

Dr. Pierce recommends aiming for approximately seven to nine hours of quality, restorative sleep for most people. He discusses evidence connecting fragmented sleep, obstructive sleep apnea and chronically insufficient sleep with lower testosterone levels.

In one trial he references, young healthy men who were limited to five hours of sleep per night experienced lower testosterone levels.

It is another reminder that the fundamentals of health matter. Food and exercise may receive much of the attention, but quality sleep deserves a place alongside them.

Do Not Wait for the Perfect Day

Perhaps the most practical lesson from this episode has nothing to do with a particular disease, food or lab test.

It is simply this: get started.

Dr. Pierce encourages people not to wait until they have everything figured out before improving their health.

Your next meal is another opportunity. Tonight is another opportunity to prioritize sleep. Tomorrow is another opportunity to move your body.

Small changes do not have to remain small forever. The goal is to begin with something manageable and continue building upon it. Over time, those individual choices can add up to a very different lifestyle.

Progress does not require perfection. It requires a starting point.

Growing Your Way to Better Health

For Dr. Pierce, one of the most enjoyable ways to put healthy living into practice is gardening.

His family grows the majority of its own fruits and vegetables, and he describes the garden as his pharmacy, grocery store, gym and meditative space all wrapped into one.

Gardening naturally brings together several components of a healthy lifestyle. It gets you outside and moving, provides access to fresh fruits and vegetables and creates an opportunity to connect more closely with the food you eat.

For someone interested in starting a garden, Dr. Pierce recommends keeping it simple. Grow foods you enjoy and choose plants that thrive in your local growing zone. Local university extension programs and Master Gardener groups can be helpful resources for discovering what grows best in your area.

And if greens are your goal, find one that thrives where you live, whether that is kale, collards, chard or another favorite. Soon, your backyard might be supplying part of tonight’s dinner.

Better Health Starts With Your Next Choice

Better health rarely comes from one dramatic decision.

It is built through the meals we eat, the movement we get, the sleep we prioritize and the choices we make repeatedly over time.

You do not need to have everything figured out before you begin. Choose one thing you can do for your health today. Then build on it tomorrow.

The perfect day may never arrive. Your next opportunity to make a healthier choice already has.

Listen to the Full Episode

Hear the full conversation between Dr. Stephan Esser and Dr. Jeffrey Pierce on the NHA Today Podcast to learn more about fatty liver disease, testosterone, lifestyle medicine, sleep, gardening and how small changes can add up to meaningful improvements in health.

Connect with Dr. Jeffrey Pierce

Book an appointment with Dr. Pierce through Lifestyle Telemedicine:
https://lifestyletelemedicine.com/find-your-doctor/jeffrey-pierce/

Follow Dr. Pierce on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/drjeffpierce/

Connect with the National Health Association

Join the National Health Association:
https://membership.healthscience.org/join-membership?

Learn more about the National Health Association:
https://healthscience.org

Explore upcoming NHA events:
https://healthscience.org/events/