Forager on plant-based diet from West Sussex claims stinging nettles cure his joint pain

Jack Page, 31, claims that eating plants he has foraged has helped to ease his chronic pain - and even helped him to walk again after he was left in a wheelchair.

Stinging nettles eases pain

Jack, a full-time forager and content creator, from Crawley, West Sussex, claims using cleavers - a climbing plant - on his legs helped him to walk again. He now drinks a juice made from it daily for pain management as well as rubbing stinging nettles on his joints.

After attempting to take his own life, in Nov 2020, Jack spent a year in hospital recovering from his injuries and was left in a wheelchair. But now he says that foraging has transformed his life.

They wanted to amputate his leg

He used a plant called comfrey for eight months and claims it helped take his bone growth from 26 per cent to 80 per cent. Jack said: "They wanted to amputate my leg. My legs and bones were not healing. My leg was no good. It was going to disintegrate. I blended it up into a mixture and applied it around the areas. My legs are getting better but I'm still in a lot of pain."

Fungus and nettles on the menu

He eats 70 per cent foraged foods but supplements this with some fish and rice that he buys from the shops. Now, his diet is made up of ‘stinging nettles, cleavers, horsetail, beefsteak fungus and puffball mushrooms’.

After an eczema flare up in early 2023 he claims using cleavers he was able to clear it up. Jack said: "The connection with nature. I'm surprised how healing it is. It helps my mental health too."

Several studies such as Nettle sting for chronic knee pain: a randomised controlled pilot study have shown nettles have reduced patients pain score.