Fergus Drennan

What a challenge Fergus has on his hands eating only wild plants for a whole year. Coming from a conservative nutritional perspective, understanding what he has decided to do really excited me from the moment I spoke to him. The amount of passion he has for what he is doing is infectious making you want to be a part of it too. I have had it so easy being able to choose local seasonal foods from farmers markets, organic box schemes or growing it in my own garden but nothing is as exciting as finding and picking your own food in the wild, then turning it into something interesting to eat.

Although having reservations concerning what could be missing from his diet considered over a full year, I have decided to take a look initially at the main food groups, and the acidity of the diet for his first vegan month. The vegan month consists of only eating plant food sources whilst the rest of the year he may decide to eat fish that he has caught or road kill that he has found. I have taken a little nutritional synopsis so that we can better understand how the nutritional elements can effect the way his body performs and how Fergus is feeling on this kind of diet.

His diet is very alkalising, the body prefers to work in an environment that is 70% alkaline and 30% acid however an average person (on an average diet) is generally 80% acid and 20% alkaline which may cause acidic conditions like arthritis. When the body is too acidic it draws the alkaline minerals from the bones and teeth to rebalance the acidity in the body, they then can become weaker over time if the body is left in this acidic state which may cause certain degenerative diseases. Fergus’ diet consists of large amounts of dark green vegetables (fat hen, orac and sea greens) which are very alkaline, nutrient dense, full of antioxidants, electrolytes, salts, minerals and also, in some cases, contain minute quantities of essential fatty acids (EFA’s the super oils omega 3 and 6), which together are anti-inflammatory too. He is eating very little acidic foods for there to be an imbalance as they tend come from animal products, grains, and alcohol.

Emotions like stress can trigger more acidity in the body whereas feelings of being in control and in love bring harmony and alkalinity to the body so this is an area that Fergus may need to work on in the future to keep his body in a good alkaline state.

It is essential for Fergus to include all the vital food groups every day to obtain optimum nutrition these include carbohydrates, fibre, essential fats, protein and water. Let us look at them individually:

Water is essential for providing nutrients to travel around the body for the organs to use and also to remove toxins. Luckily he is getting good quality clean water from a local spring. By drinking a minimum of 1.5 litres each day including the herbal teas, he will keep himself well hydrated.
Fibre is an area that gets so overlooked and is needed to keep the bowels healthy and to clear toxins and old hormone residues out of the body. Fergus’ diet is great for this as it consists of whole grains, fruit and vegetables so he will have no problems going to the toilet 3 times per day which has been discussed and his bowels seem very happy, always a sign of a good diet!

Carbohydrates are an important source of energy. There are two types namely simple and complex. Simple includes white sugar, fruit and fruit juices and complex includes vegetables, whole grains and legumes. A diet should consist of mainly unrefined complex carbohydrates as the whole grains are packed with B vitamins, zinc and selenium, and vegetables contain hugh amounts of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and trace amounts of EFA’s .

Fergus should be eating a minimum of 5 portions of vegetables per day, although I would prefer more, and he is getting sufficient whole grains by making his own acorn and wheat flours. A wild food diet does not include refined simple carbohydrates, which is great as they can produce sudden surges of blood sugar. These surges trigger the hormone insulin to store the sugar as fat or glycogen which then causes a sudden drop in blood sugar in the body. This drop can cause tiredness, poor concentration, weight gain, fatigue, craving for sugar, irritability and depression just to mention a few. Although fruit is an exception as they are packed with vital nutrients and should never be left out of a very restrictive diet. Fergus would be better to eat his fruit with protein which would slow down the effect on blood sugar causing smaller sugar surges and less insulin to be released this would help him to feel fuller for longer and feeling more balanced.  One area he recently spent considerable time on was the collecting of wild cherries. These contain compounds called anthrocyanins which research suggests are anti-inflammatory, they are also contain purines which help to lower uric acid levels and are very alkalising ensuring that Fergus won’t be getting gout anytime soon.

Protein is essential as it can not be stored in the body unlike fat and carbohydrates, and so a constant supply is needed by the body as it helps maintain blood sugar balance, building and repairing of cells, manufacturing hormones and enzymes. With Fergus’ diet his main source of protein has really been his walnuts which he uses for snacks and eats with his main meals when there is no other protein. Some dark green vegetables contain trace amounts however they become easily denatured when cooked.

This is an area that concerned me to start with as it is important to eat a variety of different protein sources due to the varying amounts of nutrients. Vegan diets incorporate other forms of protein such as legumes (beans, and lentils) which Fergus is not able to eat as they do not grow wild and so he can only eat what protein sources are around at the moment. Nevertheless, he does consume a considerable amount of the more high protein varieties of native sea weeds. Even so, protein sources are limited and this makes it very tough for him to keep up a good variety of protein. Once his vegan month ends he will be able to increase the variety of protein which will help with his stress and energy levels.

Fats are important for everyday life functions although some fats are bad for you. The fats to stay clear of are the hydrogenated fats and trans fats found in processed foods. Whilst saturated fats found in animal sources such as dairy and red meat should be eaten in limited quantities as they can cause inflammation and raise cholesterol levels.

Fergus is currently not eating any of these fats which are great for his body however he is lacking monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats (EFAs). Monounsaturated fats keep the arteries supple and the skin smooth, they are not essential as they can be made from saturated fat in the body. They are known as omega 7 sources such as coconut oil, sea buckthorn and palm oil and omega 9 oils sources such as olive, avocado, rapeseed and grape seed oils, cashew, almond and macadamia nut oils.

Fergus is luckily managing to drink pasteurised sea buckthorn juice although when heated at a certain temperature the oils can be lost but he will get something from the drink which is better than not having it at all. I did notice that he is struggling to get a good balance of EFAs which should consist of a ratio of 3:1 of omega 6 to omega 3 oils. These are important for producing energy from our foods, boosting the immune system, preventing the blood from getting sticky this protects us from heart disease, reducing inflammation, and they also increase stamina which is exactly what Fergus needs to continue with this way of eating.

These oils are essential as they need to come from the food we eat and currently his diet is limited in food sources from these groups. He is getting some wheat germ and walnuts – all sources of omega 6 whilst walnuts and dark green leafy vegetables are sustaining him with small quantities of omega 3. As he is only eating like this for one month it should not be too much of a problem however if he was to continue he would most definitely feel the effects of a lack of these oils. Thank goodness for the little hero’s…Walnuts! They have come in very handy for this month as they have been his main source of oils and protein.

An area that needs to be considered whilst in the vegan stage of the diet is the vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is primarily found in meat, dairy and eggs and is absent from plant foods although considerable research has been involved in plant sources such as fermented soya products, algae and seaweeds. This research tends to highlight that the B12 in plant forms is in a form that is unavailable to humans and so can not be relied upon as safe sources. B12 is able to be stored in the liver for up to 3 years if it has been eaten in the diet and so this is not of real concern for Fergus at the moment, when vegan for just one month, but would be something to consider if he abstained for longer than a year. Vitamin B12 is important for the development of red blood cells and maintaining a healthy nervous system.

On the whole Fergus’ diet has not limited him although he has had bouts of hunger, and he can get quite stressed and so a little more protein may be needed in the coming months. This ride has given me more inspiration for my interest in wild foods and nutrition. I look forward to learning and discovering more from Fergus along the way.

I would like to wish Fergus lots of luck in the challenging months ahead and to welcome him back for more facts about nutrition on his wild food forage….happy foraging!