EAT WILD, TAKE A MULTIVITAMIN…

Have you been following the Wildbiome Project?  It’s an extraordinary Citizen Science experiment revealing what happens to the body when we forego all ‘bought’ food and eat only wild food, as our ancestors once did.  As someone fascinated by how the body responds (to everything, from sleeplessness to movement to landscape and, yes, to food… ), I’ve been riveted.

Especially given that I’ve been eating an abundance of foraged food recently: wild garlic, dandelion leaves and nettle tops mostly. The founder of the Wildbiome project (ethnobotanist and forager, Mo Wilde) had already run a ‘wild eating’ pilot in 2023, involving 24 people. This project found that only eating wild food improved gut microbiome diversity, reversed diabetes (in a diabetic), lowered inflammatory markers, reduced blood pressure (in those with high blood pressure) and resulted in weight loss where participants were overweight. Participants also reported increased energy levels, better sleep quality, and improved mood.

A more extensive study is now underway. You can read more here, and donate or volunteer should you wish.

In all honesty, I’ve no desire to spend my life foraging, preserving and eating wild food (although I’ve huge respect for those that do, particularly when it’s in the name of science).  But what can we learn from this? And can a spot of wild food help us age well?

Well, yes.  Let’s take the superfood and common weed, stinging nettles, as an example. I’m quoting here from a scientific study: ‘The antioxidant activity of [nettles] is the crucial factor supporting its anti-cancer, anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory properties… [nettles have been found] to be protective in different organs, including the brain, liver, lungs, kidney, ovary, and uterus.’

A study published last year, went further, finding the leaves of nettles ‘rich in phenolic acids amino acids, saturated fatty acids, carotenoids, and organic acids.’ This is in addition to the flavonoids identified in earlier studies: rutin, luteolin, and quercetin, giving nettles their ‘anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties.’ In this study researchers speculated that regular consumption of nettles could benefit auto-immune inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, rhinitis, and rheumatism. Other studies have found nettles beneficial for heart health. Meanwhile, new studies highlight the menopausal benefits of nettles, with researchers noting that they ‘lessen the severity of hormonal shift…likely due to the coagulant effect and to the presence of hormone-like molecules.’  Jeepers!  A miracle plant!

In fact, over 80 scientific papers were recently retrieved by scientists wanting to re-examine the properties of stinging nettles. It appears that all parts of the plant contain alchemical properties, including the roots and seeds. But I’ll be sticking with the leaves for now.

The latest studies examine the neuroprotective effects of nettles. I should point out that some of these studies are on rodents, not humans. However, mounting evidence suggests that nettles can improve memory. Researchers attribute this to the abundance of the flavonoid rutin, (known to improve cognition) and to the nettle’s ability to help our central nervous system deal with stress.  Somehow, nettles appear to ameliorate the symptoms of chronic stress.

Interestingly, the consumption of nettles is magnified when, for example, participants do exercise, or take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.  Which is to say that the compounds in nettles also have plentiful synergistic properties.

Exercise or resistance training in combination with nettle consumption appears to be richly age-defying, with multiple rats reversing memory loss and cognitive impairment.  As one study noted: ‘Nettles and resistance training may be effective in controlling premature aging and memory impairment.’

A study out last week identified a lack of Vitamin K as a cause of accelerated ageing, particularly in the brain.  Well, nettles can help. They’re considered one of our best sources of Vitamin K (also important for healthy blood clotting and bone health), with a single cup of freshly boiled, steeped, or dried stinging nettles providing nearly 600% of our recommended allowance.

As a plant with powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties, I’d suggest we all tuck into a regular bowl of nettle soup (my freezer is now full of the stuff, recipes below). Nettles are best gathered in the spring, before they get too big. Avoid polluted and doggy areas, and take only the tips (I use rubber gloves and a pair of scissors).  They taste quite earthy, so blend them with other flavours, which is why I like them in soups and curries. I think they go well with spices like cumin, for example. But if you really don’t like the taste, use fewer nettles. Personally, I rather like the flavour.

To make Age Well rocket fuel, add a bunch of wild garlic leaves (best in April and May, like nettles) to your concoction.  These too are powerhouses of nutrition: antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and rich in multiple bioactive compounds, according to studies.

No nettles to hand? You can always buy nettle tea online.  No doubt there will be nettle supplements soon.  In the meantime, they’re readily available in our fields and forests, and they’re free! But not for much longer, by the end of May they’re usually past their prime: never eat nettles once they’ve flowered…

And before I sign off with a recipe, keep taking those multivitamins. A new study of 950 people aged 70 and over, finds that a daily multivitamin delays ageing:

“Significant slowing of biological aging in the multivitamin [group] compared with the placebo, with an average of about 10%-20% slower aging with daily multivitamin use over the 2 years of the intervention. This equated to about 4 months of aging that seemed to be averted or prevented [by a multivitamin],” wrote the researcher.  Such a simple and inexpensive thing to do.

There are still a couple of places left on my 30-minute walking-improvement masterclasses in Central London next week (Thursday 8 May).  Learn how to improve your gait, posture, breath and footwork for the best possible walking experience, by signing up here.

In the meantime, happy foraging.  And if you’re currently foraging for an ingredient I’ve not covered here, please do let us know in the comments box – thank you!

Annabel

BLUEPRINT FOR NETTLE SOUP

Also check previous nettle recipes here and here.

• 2 onions
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• A pinch of chili flakes
• 1 tin of butter beans
• 1 litre of chicken stock
• As many nettle tops as you want, but a plastic bag’s worth will work
• Single cream (if you want, otherwise leave this out)

Quickly saute the chopped onions and celery in a little olive oil with the cumin and chili.  Add the butter beans and chicken stock, and bring to the boil.  Add the washed nettle tops, and let them wilt  right down.  After five minutes of simmering, leave to cool before blending in a liquidizer.

This recipe is just a blueprint really.  I’ve made it with peas (or potatoes) instead of butter beans, leeks instead of onions, or with a handful of wild garlic. Sometimes I add some milk.  A really good chicken stock adds considerably to the flavour but will also provide collagen – of which more to follow (soon).