Eating foraged food for 3 whole months..!

For the month of April 2025, I'm taking part in a fascinating research project, eating only wild food for 1 month, 3 months if I can make what little I managed to gather in last years scarce autumn stretch that far.. I have volunteered to be part of the ‘Wildbiome 2 Project’, a study to see how an exclusively wild food diet affects our bodies, for a few reasons..

During my talks I often mention how our ancestors ate a more diverse range of wild foods, and how that lack affects us today, so I am now putting this to the test!

This research, led by expert forager Monica Wilde and backed by the Universities of Bradford and Rzeszów, will measure everything from gut health to blood sugar, liver function, and more, exploring the health effects of eating 100% wild food, providing insights into both past diets and the future of wild food for health and food security.

I will also mention that what led me to wanting to do this, was my own health history. All too often when you are chronically unwell, whether it is CFS, PVFS, ME, Long COVID, or autoimmune diseases, you are told "if you ate less of this, and more of that, you would get better'.. Well, I got through to the other side of

chronic fatigue whilst eating sugar and drinking coffee.. however I do still have a small collection of autoimmune diseases I picked up along the way, so yes for my own benefit, but also to be able to better inform my herbal practice and pass on findings to patients - I'm keen to see what changes really happen to the body when you exists on a 'hunter gatherer's diet. However one thing this study has already shown me is what a depleted state our hedgerows, woodlands and rivers are in..

The tests to participate are expensive, as they are using the most reliable methods, so I am aiming to raise £700 to cover the costs of the full medical assessments, if possible, as running a small business and volunteering in several positions has left me with zero spare income/breaking even for the last 6 months, however I do feel this study could lead to some really important health research and real world evidence.

If you’re able to help me to reach this target even with the price of a coffee I’d be incredibly grateful. Your support will make this citizen science study possible.

I will be documenting the diet and it's affects as I go, for any who are interested. The end results for the gut microbiome changes (for good or ill, wish me luck!) will be published later in the year, but the blood tests will be quicker. I currently do have familial hypercholesterolemia and since COVID a dodgy thyroid, so it will be interesting to see how that goes.