Julia’s Wild Biome Month
Julia’s Wild Biome Month
Those of you who follow us on social media may have seen that our Creative Director (and Really Wild Founder), Julia, has decided to embark
on something pretty brave this April…
Since April 1st (an auspicious date to pick!), along with approximately 120 people from across the UK (and a few slightly further abroad), Julia
began her Wild Biome month, eating and drinking using ingredients only from the ‘wild’! The Wild Biome research project challenges participants to
eat this restricted ‘wild’ diet for either 1 or 3 months, with a view to see how ancient ancestral diets affect out gut biome and general health.
The importance of a healthy gut microbiome is becoming more mainstream, with nutritional and scientific research trials giving us a deeper insight
into why the importance of our gut, should not be ‘poo-pooed’!…
What are they testing?
Before and after the project, Wild Biome participants will be testing their gut microbiome, hair, nails and blood etc. to see whether there are any
health impacts from the diet – some are also choosing to log whether they enter a state of ketosis (a metabolic state where the body burns fat,
instead of glucose, for fuel). Partakers are not allowed to eat: butters, oils, dairy, sugar, coffee, tea or alcohol. In addition to this, any flours they
used must be made from acorns, sweet chestnuts, dock seeds etc. and no veg garden/allotment/orchard foods can be used
(or anything else specifically planted, for that matter…).
How is it going so far?
Julia is now just over two weeks into the Wild Biome month and she is doing amazingly! She’s only been having two meals a day (breakfast and
an afternoon main meal), but has been drinking loads of foraged teas in-between, and also snatched at dried feral apple rings that she preserved
in the autumn. Four days into the new regime, Julia logged ‘I have been losing weight each day and began to go into ketosis today,
but otherwise I feel fine’, and continues to be a buzzy busy bee coming into HQ most days and continuing with her writing (and foraging when possible!).
From a close-working colleagues’ point of view, we were all a bit concerned Julia was going to enter ‘hangry‘ mode
(we’ve all been there…myself, most days!), but she’s coping with the restricted diet remarkably well, even when the rest of us happen
to consume a delicious coffee and cake in the same room…. (sorry Julia)!
Julia will be updating us with a self-written blog at the end of her Wild Biome month, however, for now, I thought i’d show you some
of the fantastic and creative WILD dishes that Julia has been concocting, using ingredients like nettles, wild garlic and seaweed!
(scroll through the photos below).
Keep going Julia, the Really Wild team are all very proud of you…you really are, REALLY WILD!
Follow Julia’s day-to-day progress on her personal instagram page HERE.
Written by Abbie
