The effect of a wild-food only diet on the microbiome Original paper

In this case study, a man ate entirely wild foods for 4 weeks. The diet resulted in weight loss and large changes to his gut microbiome.

This Study Summary was published on June 5, 2025.

The study

The participant (age 46) was an experienced forager and a co-author of the study.

During the wild-food diet period, the participant ate chestnuts and acorns (often ground into porridge), as well as greens, fruit, deer meat, and fish. Food was cooked using an open wood fire.

The participants lost 8.8 pounds (4 kg) while on the diet.

While on the diet, the participant’s gut microbiome became more diverse and many bacterial phyla were increased or decreased. In an analysis by the study investigators, the degree of change to the microbiome appeared to be larger than in 2 previous studies in which the participants adopted similar high-fiber, minimally processed diets.[1][2]

Some of the microbiome changes were still present 2 weeks after the diet was ended.

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The results

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    This Study Summary was published on June 5, 2025.

    References

    1. ^Ruggles KV, Wang J, Volkova A, Contreras M, Noya-Alarcon O, Lander O, Caballero H, Dominguez-Bello MGChanges in the Gut Microbiota of Urban Subjects during an Immersion in the Traditional Diet and Lifestyle of a Rainforest Village.mSphere.(2018 Aug 29)
    2. ^Lawrence A David, Corinne F Maurice, Rachel N Carmody, David B Gootenberg, Julie E Button, Benjamin E Wolfe, Alisha V Ling, A Sloan Devlin, Yug Varma, Michael A Fischbach, Sudha B Biddinger, Rachel J Dutton, Peter J TurnbaughDiet rapidly and reproducibly alters the human gut microbiomeNature.(2014 Jan 23)