A single mother who found her passion in hunting only eats meat – because she claims to be allergic to fruits and vegetables.
Colette Crick, 43, from Bedfordview in South Africa, says she was ill for much of her childhood while eating a typical diet. However, she says most of this faded away when she started to follow a high-protein diet at 18.
Her issues reemerged years later when Colette decided to have a baby, and started to eat a more balanced diet – it was then that she sent her hair for DNA testing.
This revealed she had a sensitivity to salicylate, a natural chemical made by plants to protect against pests and disease.
She returned to her high-protein diet, and later decided to hunt for the meat herself.
Colette, who is mother to Colt, nine, and Cody, 11, has said her youngest son has the same sensitivity, and she will one day teach him to follow the same lifestyle.
Colette Crick, 43, from Bedfordview in South Africa, says she was ill for much of her childhood while eating a typical die
The mother-of-two has insisted most of her illness faded away when she started to follow a high-protein diet at 18 – and now hunts for her own food
‘My advice to someone who wants to start hunting their own food is to give it a go,’ Colette said.
‘I believe venison is the new vegan. At least when I know the apocalypse happens, I’ll be able to fend for myself.’
Colette first started hunting in 2019, when she decided she wanted her meat to be free-range and hormone-free – and the only way to ensure that is to hunt it herself.
Soon, she bought a bow and arrow and began training for her new hobby. She practised her archery skills for a full year before making her first kill to build her strength and accuracy. The first animal she hunted when she felt she was ready was a warthog.
Colette first started hunting in 2019, when she decided she wanted her meat to be free-range and hormone-free – and the only way to ensure that is to hunt it herself
Colette, who is mother to Colt, nine, and Cody, 11, has since said her youngest son has the same sensitivity, and she will one day teach him to follow the same lifestyle
The mother-of-two uses the skills she has learnt over the years of her unusual diet to prepare the meat she kills
Colette first started hunting in 2019, when she decided she wanted her meat to be free-range and hormone-free – and the only way to ensure that is to hunt it herself
She said: ‘I chose a bow and arrow because firearms put us at such as huge advantage that it almost doesn’t seem like hunting to me.’
She says she’s received mostly positive comments like ‘you are an inspiration and ‘when the apocalypse happens I want you with me’ but has had a few ugly responses like ‘you should be ashamed of yourself for murdering animals’.
The ingredient in fruits and vegetables that can cause an
A salicylate allergy is a reaction that happens when you come in contact with salicylates, salicylic acid, or related chemicals.
Salicylates are found in plants. They’re a natural ingredient in many fruits, vegetables, and spices.
Symptoms can include:
Asthma-like symptoms, such as wheezing and trouble breathing
Headaches
Nasal congestion
Changes in skin color
Itching, skin rash, or hives
Swelling of the hands, feet, and face
Stomach pain or upset
Eczema
Nasal polyps
Runny nose
Intestinal inflammation
Diarrhea
Colitis
Colette says hunting is her passion and she adores being a part of nature and the circle of life.
‘My family are all very supportive and impressed and my kids are proud of their mummy,’ said Colette.
‘When your health is failing, you get bleak and desperate.
‘It was when I was at my rock bottom that I found the DNA hair analysis company and sent them hair samples, even though I was sceptical,’ she said.
‘I got hives, eczema, sinusitis, sore throat, mood swings, anxiety, indigestion and insomnia.
‘I literally cried tears of laughter when I researched what salicylate sensitivity was. Everything I was doing to be healthy was poisoning my body.
‘I was making fruit and vegetable smoothies, eating coconut oil and lots of avocados and raw fruits and vegetables, all of which were highly toxic to me. I can’t consume tea, coffee, or even pepper.’
‘The moment I stopped eating the culprits and went back to a high protein diet, my health turned around in a matter of days.
‘My friends who are vegan or staunchly into free-range farming got me thinking about where my meat was coming from.
‘The best way to ensure my meat was truly free-range and hormone-free was to hunt it myself. I also felt like I owed it to the animals I was consuming to have the stomach to see the process through. If I couldn’t do the whole thing, did I deserve to eat the animals?’
Colette said the ‘moment’ she stopped eating typically healthy foods, she felt much better.
‘I felt bow hunting was the most non-invasive way to hunt with no loud bangs to stress the animals out or meat spoilage,’ she said.
Collette, pictured, now believes ‘venison is the new vegan’ and says ‘when the apocalypse happens’ she will be able to ‘fend for herself’
‘I’ve now been hunting for two years but I only hunt when my freezer is running low on meat and I only kill what I plan to eat.
‘I would say 90 per cent of the meat I eat is from hunting and I hunt about five animals a year.’
Her son Colt has the same sensitivity, and Collette explained how she would love to teach him to hunt when he is strong enough to do so.
She said: ‘It’s much harder to bow hunt than rifle hunt. If I was a rifle hunter I would have taken him with me already.
‘He has to build up his draw weight to hunt ethically with a bow.’
Soon, she bought a bow and arrow and began training for her new hobby. The mother-of-two practised for a year before making her first kill: a warthog (pictured)
‘On a usual day hunting, you wake up at about four am and throw on all your layers. You can’t wear anything scented like face creams or deodorant or the animals will pick up on it,’ said Colette.
‘I head out before the sun rises and once I get to the hide I don’t like to leave again. If you need to pee, you have to pee in a bottle!
‘If you are lucky and make a kill you first go and check if the arrow passed through. Then you track the blood trail and hopefully find your animal.
‘The animal I most enjoyed hunting is an impala as they’re very challenging to hunt – the biggest animal I’ve successfully hunted is a one-hundred-and-ten-pound impala.
‘I find the skinning, butchering and cooking to be hard work but rewarding. I love to cook so that part is very rewarding.
‘My advice to someone who wants to start hunting their own food is to give it a go. I believe venison is the new vegan. At least when I know the apocalypse happens, I’ll be able to fend for myself.’
The mother-of-two practised with her bow for a year before making her first kill: a warthog (pictured, while out hunting)
The mother-of-two now hunts, skins, cleans and prepares the meat entirely herself (pictured)
