A Year of Foraging and the Impact on Gut Microbiome

Exploring the Gut Microbiome

We now know that a human being is not an individual entity, but rather a culture of thousands of species of bacteria and yeast as well as viruses. We can’t survive without this interconnected culture of species. We are this culture, as much as that goes against our individualist mental framework. This year, I am foraging 100 percent of my food and medicine and tracking my gut microbiome changes throughout with great interest.

“The gut microbiome is the complex and diverse microbial community that helps our digestive systems with nutrient production, immune support, energy and mood levels, and inflammation control. A balanced microbiome comes from a diverse diet, good sleep and exercise habits, stress care, and fiber-rich foods. When the gut microbiome is out of balance, it can cause low immune system responses, inflammation, and other imbalances within the body.”

My Microbiome During the Year of Foraging All of My Food

I’m very grateful to my colleagues at Tiny Health for supporting me with this exploration. They have provided me with the test kits to track my microbiome free of charge. They, too, are interested in seeing the results and are grateful for me sharing that they exist with those who are on this journey with me. Tiny Health provides at-home microbiome test kits and also provides educational resources and research surrounding gut health.

Based on their head of science’s recommendation, we chose the following timeline to capture changes. They believe this timeline will give the most meaningful results and be a great way to showcase significant shifts in the foraging journey.

July 2025 — Baseline three months before year of foraging begins.
October 2025 — Baseline day before year of foraging begins, having eaten a substantial amount of foraged foods over previous three months.
March 20, 2026 — six-month mark / halfway point on 100 percent foraged diet.
October 8, 2026 — report on a full year, 100 percent foraged diet and its impact on gut health.

I chose to add one more test in January, as is shown below.

The following are the results of my tests so far this year. To see the detailed report, you can click on each link. In the near future, I will have a conversation with the team at Tiny Health to analyze the results so far and will update this information. I will also be having a conversation with Monica Wilde at The Wildbiome Project.

July 18th, 2025 — Baseline three months before the year of foraging began.
October 8th, 2025 — Baseline the day before the year of foraging began. Over the last three months, I had been eating a substantial amount of foraged foods, so this will also show changes from that transition.
January 2nd, 2026 — Day 86. I added this test because my diet will substantially change in Florida and I wanted to see these changes. This was two days before I left for Florida.
March 29th, 2026 — Day 173. Approximately the halfway point of the year. This coincided with the completion of my tour in Florida and the southern US.

Upcoming:

October 8, 2026 — Day 365. Report on the year of foraging and its impact on gut health

Although I find interest in my personal microbiome changes from a year of eating only food I forage, The Wildbiome Project is a resource that I’m even more excited to share with you to explore the gut microbiome. Learn about them below.

Resources

The Wild Biome Project

“The Wildbiome Project is a series of citizen-science studies on the effects of eating only wild food. This includes effects on the human body, our gut microbiome and, from the data we collect, we can also look at areas such as the sustainability of foraging, or its role in areas such as farming diversification and food biosecurity. So far, over 100 foragers have taken part and they are collaborating with the University of Bradford in publishing their 2025 results.” Follow them on Instagram at @wildbiomeproject. Find out more about The Wildbiome Project and their results here.

Mastering the Microbiome: A Master Class in Gut Health on the Rich Roll Podcast

TinyHealth Recommended education:

30 Plants a Week: How eating a wide variety of plant foods each week supports a more diverse and resilient gut microbiome
Digestive Health And Your Microbiome: Keys to Whole Body Wellness
The Gut Barrier: A Living Fortress Microbes Build, Defend, and Repair
Adult Page: Their adult page includes visuals and soundbites for general microbiome and testing benefits.

Below I outline the changes in my diet between tests. These notes are based on the questions asked in the questionnaire.

Changes in diet 3/29/26 since last microbiome check.

Fruit was way down for the last month as I had run out of fruit. Fresh greens were way up for a majority of this time, especially the last month. Starchy vegetables way up because of wild yams. Wild rice way down for last two months as I replaced that with wild yams. Coconuts and green banana flour were new foods, and coconuts were a substantial portion of my diet.

Red meat and fish were way down for the few weeks before as I had run out. Raccoon was a new meat. Much less venison overall, and a higher amount of fish during my whole time in Florida. Very little fish for the last few weeks though. Fermented foods likely increased over the last month. Very substantial increase in onion. The number of unique plants may have been higher during this time, since I had the Florida plants plus what I brought from Wisconsin.

Note: I selected increase in garlic on the form, but it was actually onion.

Once starting to eat wild yams in Florida, I had much more gas and bloating, sometimes severe with stomachaches. I got fairly sick in Florida (cold/flu-like) which lasted about a week. My stool has been much more loose lately now that I am eating a lot more greens.

Changes in diet 1/3/26 since last microbiome check.

Three months into the year of foraging my digestion has improved. Very little gas or bloating or diarrhea. Very rarely an upset stomach. My poop is generally solid on most days, rather than in the past when it had usually been much softer. My body feels very strong and solid. Very rarely a headache. Right now, my body and my stomach/gut are feeling about as solid as they ever have in my adult life. I have been concerned whether I’m getting enough fiber, eating much fewer vegetables than usual. I do often think that my heart is racing and sometimes beating irregularly. Often when I wake up my heart seems to be beating faster/stronger than usual.

Calculated having about 28 plants per week plus mushrooms

Not having many leafy greens or vegetables