I’ve been looking for this plant for over 10 yrs.
I have finally found it. It grows throughout europe.
“If you eat a hazel nut size part of it’s harvested tubers then you won’t want to eat for 2 to 3 days. Whole tubers can grow as large as your fist, and they are more potent”. “I’d advise that you mix a selection of the tubers in order to get a balanced mount. Put larger pieces in a pepper mill and then grind onto food or just eat a small piece.” Says Dr Brain Moffat when I had a wonderful and most interesting conversation with him just the other day.
The Romans spoke of it in AD250 as the plant that staved off hunger and gave energy.
many Armies in the UK have clearly marched on it and found that it gave them energy. When crops failed it was literally a life saver.
I’ve now sourced this plant and expect to grow it so that I can do what many ancestors have clearly done for centuries, harvest the tubers in early winter, (late autumn) and then dry them out so that I always have stock.
It tastes like leathery liquorice, Dr B Moffat says. He is and has been researching all the practices carried out many years ago at the site of the Soutra Aisle the medieval hospital in South East Scotland, near to the village of Fala and Gilston on the B6368. It ceretainly dates back to AD 1164. He has evidence of this plant being used to help people along with many other plants to treat illness and for anaesthetics even!
The plant has 100’s of references up until WWI when it seemed to fall into decline and there were few references to it.
I’ve found 2 sources to purchases plants and seeds in the UK, and another nursery can order it in.
– So my plan is to cultivate and try the tubers so it will help me not want to eat at least one day a week.
If I can fine tune it too, on the days (like today by chance) when I have a ‘hungry day’ I’m hoping to fine tune it so I won’t feel hungry until tomorrow.
It has been researched by labs and found to have 60 chemicals. It has been tested with chicks and lambs and all tests proven the animals have less fat, and otherwise the same as they peers, but lighter! All tests done hav never failed but they don’t know yet how it works. He just know that it does. He has tried it for himself too. I’ve asked Strathclyde University for their research and that is being looked into. The National Library of Scotland has links on it’s website to some research on this plant too.
I think it an amazing plant which I hope will help me lost my last half a stone ! 😀

Update : I’ve now been taking this since 18th March 19. Take roughly 1g every 2 to 3 days. (about 5mm cube) that staves off hunger and stops me ‘wanting to snack’ and serve smaller meals with ease. No side effects. I decided that I’d still intend following 2 or 3 meals a day as I wasn’t wanting to starve myself.
What an amazing plant !
To me, although I wanted to still lose weight all I was doing was really like a maintenance diet! I’d just get so hungry (as I’ve reported in the threads elsewhere) I’d ‘need’ to nibble between meals. I struggled either to cook exactly what the menus were from lack of ingredients or for fear of wasting food. I’d have to jiggle some recipies so as not to waste the rest of the baked bean tin etc!
Even nibbling healthy things like nuts /saultanans, and adding veggies to the diet wasn’t really ‘enough’ to lose weight. I was just holding ground. Even my gradual increase in exercise since my ankle injury way back in Oct 17, hasn’t helped me reduce weight.
So this seemed like to perfect solution.
It does taste a tad bitter to start and then goes liquorice (which I love) so great!
Within 10 minutes all hunger pangs are gone totally.
Considering our ancestors used this plant for centuries and it’s easy to buy the plant, and so can harvest our own tubers, what a perfect solution! 🙂
I am utterly thrilled!

Sorry to but in here Aurora. As you say this plant does all the things you say it does and was used to stave off hunger in times of famine. It was famously replaced by people being able to grow potatoes – and we know what that did. However, as Aurora says, this seed contains over 60 different chemicals so be aware if you are on any medication. Because it is newly revived I cannot find any evidence of it affecting particular medicines as this has not yet been researched. A further warning to diabetics, hunger is your warning sign that you need to eat. Aurora, I see you are being sensible and only having small amounts and still making sure you are eating as you dont want to starve yourself. Dr Moffat says he cannot understand why no-one has rediscovered this sooner but he also adds a caution that many people ate poisonous plants in times gone by and to be careful. It is still in the experimental stages.

Hi sunshine-girl, thanks for replying! 🙂
Yes of course caution is always sensible.
But tatties came in a lot later than AD250 with the Romans and it was used until WWI – as per recorded. Although another record shows that on the Orkney Islands it almost went extint when crops failed in the early 1920’s! However by 1950 it was making a recovery. 🙂
The research that I am finding proves it works – they just haven’t found out how, nor have they yet to record any side-effects.
But caution is always very wise. And hence why I’ve started very slowly. I know I’m sesnsitive to drugs so it made perfect sense to me and because I only need ‘enough’ to stave off hunger pangs.
Today I went to the physio and weighed myself and I’m finally broken the 9st barrier! Now 8st 12lbs and that was after a coffee too! (56.6kg & 14lbs per stone).
I am just so thrilled. The slow burn energy it gives to is really interesting.
And it can also reduce (I’ve read) reduce intoxiciation from alcohol!
I can still feel ‘nibble-ish’ so for diabetics maybe that could work ? And I can fairly quickly feel ‘full’ with a ‘standard’ meal which are smaller than former standard meals. But if diabetics get into pre-diabetic status then just a little nibblish might help.
I do find it fascinating.
I’ve found a chap too now that has a book about it so hoping to get a copy of that later this month when we expect to meet up. 🙂
I think by my sorting out most of my weight issue with good sensible eating first could be important but the psychology of not having all those hunger pangs is really helping me and makes it so easy not to snack or think about the next meal! 🙂

Hi Aurora, I am not saying it doesn’t work. The fact that it does is great and well worth looking into and trying if you are overweight and have trouble with hunger pangs or just cant resist nibbling. For a diabetic, not eating will not put us into pre-diabetic state and not feeling hungry in the normal way would mean we are not warn us that our blood glucose is dropping too low. For me hunger is the first sign that I need to eat and not eating can send me into a hypo. Getting to pre-diabetes is a long a drawn out process of controlling BG levels over months in some cases and years in mine. It doesn’t happen by missing out a few snacks.

Again, no disrespect to what you have posted. For the overweight this might well be a god send and I am sure the commercial / pharmaceutical world will eventually cash in. But anyone with any medical problems should always be careful and consider their condition and medications.

Hi sunshine-girl 🙂
Yep I totally get what you’re saying.
I’m still learning about it. I’m not disagreeing with you. 🙂
I’m taking ‘just enough’ to do what I need.
But if one took a tiny but like pepper, (ground up after drying), to stave of each instance of hunger pangs as they occur, then pehaps you can allow the hunger to still indicate ‘need’ but then use tiny amounts to fend off eating any more than absolutely necessary?
🙂 Just a thought?
I saw an auto ‘diabeties-check’ App the other day on a food / diabetic / health program showing one can check at any time one wishes, what the levels are! 🙂 Plus when it picks up high levels it can be set to warn you too ! 🙂
Just trying to think of ways the Heath Pea might help people with diabeties & struggling with weight loss. 🙂
It’s a learning curve as to it’s many uses. I’ve not yet tried to infuse some in water, nor cooked with it yet either. 🙂 All options are possible without losing it’s ability! 🙂
Business wise, there are people who’ve tried to get things started but so far (as far I’m aware) still trying to get it cultivated in massive scales first.
Maybe I’ll try smaller amounts as I feel hungry?
I’m hoping to get in more plants with tubers very soon so then I can experiment further.
I’ve made a facebook page with most of the information that I’m finding, at Heath Pea – Lathryus Linifolius. 🙂

Hi sunshine_girl,
I’ve thought about what you’ve said with diabeties issues and I think, like me if you only take the Heath Pea in small amounts, I can feel ‘nibblish’ which would potentially indicate ‘drops’ perhaps.
Not being diabetic (although I worried I was heading that way), would obviously require research, but since they are still (from what I have found) working out the best propogation practices, there’s more to do.
For me the psychology of not ‘feeling desperate to eat’ and just a ‘nibblish feeling’ is good.
Sadly I overdid Easter after a friend gave me and egg – which I wish I’d not eaten! Then visits from a relative and then another friend, and I’d got in bread and did have 3 slices with some gifted Cherry jam. I felt so terribly guilty after, although it was very tasty and enjoyable. But I think that’s me done for toast for many more months.
My sis has got the ‘healthy food’ choices and amounts down to a tea, but she’s a good 25yrs ahead of me! So I hope I can in time get it so ingraned in me it becomes natural to ‘food pick’ the tasty bits without overdoing it! All in good time I guess.
It was interesting to ‘have a moment’ though and know that I can regain control, pretty easily. But clearly put back my weight loss by a month I reckon! It wasn’t worth it but a lesson learned! 🙁 🙂

Dear Aurora!
I have found information about Heath Pea and I’m very interested in for weight loss (for personal use).

From your post around one year passed. What is your result after using it now? Does it really helped you to lose weight? If yes, how much?
Thank you in advance!!
Best regards.

Hello! I see that it has been 2 years since you started your journey with Heath Pea, and I just stumbled across it while reading 50 facts on Scotland (I am heading there next year finally) and was very curious on it and on trying to purchase seeds and plants to see if I can grow them where I live, they are beautiful flowers and has useful health benefits as I am working on being more self-sustaining rather than going out and purchasing food I can grow. Any help in that department would be wonderful!
Thank you!