Rabbit food. The phrase brings to mind lettuce and carrots, takes-forever-to-chew salads, and foods that taste like straw. But eating like a rabbit doesn’t have to be boring, bland, or restrictive. “Eating like a rabbit” doesn’t mean that you should only eat foods that rabbits can; I just want to introduce some basic concepts that can help you build a diet that’s right for you.
Rabbits Eat Their Greens
Rabbits are vegans. But eating like a rabbit doesn’t mean that you have to be a vegan or even a vegetarian. No matter what philosophy you subscribe to, there’s one thing we can all do: eat more veggies. Especially the leafy green ones. Find ways to eat a wide variety of plants at *every* meal (breakfast, too!) and as snacks. Most vegetables (especially green ones) have a low impact on blood sugar, provide fiber, nutrients, phytonutrients, and antioxidants that help reduce inflammation in the body.
Rabbits Eat Lots of Fiber
Rabbits have very sensitive digestive tracts and need high amounts of fiber in their diets. If a person doesn’t get enough fiber for a couple days they may get constipated, but if a rabbit gets constipated, their digestive tract will shut down and they can die within 24 hours. (Gastric stasis is the #1 killer of domesticated rabbits.) If we “eat like a rabbit,” it means treating fiber as a vital dietary component that your life depends on. Because it does. Fiber is responsible for so many things–not just keeping you “regular.” Fiber is responsible for flushing oxidized cholesterol and damaging waste materials out of your bloodstream. Think damaged fats, heavy metals, byproducts of metabolism and other free-radicals that bounce around in your blood and cause damage to your arterial wall. When arteries are damaged, the body uses cholesterol to repair the arterial wall. Keep damaging your arterial walls, cholesterol keeps trying to fix the damage. If inflammatory conditions continue, you end up with thick layers of cholesterol on the arterial wall and that’s how you end up with atherosclerosis and heart disease. Fiber prevents all of that from happening by clearing out those damaging free-radicals and excess cholesterol. Fiber also slows the absorption of sugar in to the bloodstream, helping to stabilize blood glucose and keep you feeling fuller longer. It is recommended that the average-sized male needs 31 to 38 grams of fiber a day, and women need around 25. At least 3 of those grams should be soluble fiber (the kind that’s able to get in to your bloodstream.) (Source)(Source)(Source)(Source)(Source)(Source)
Rabbits Watch their Sugar
A rabbit will greedily grab a piece of fruit from your hand, but rabbits should only have a limited amount of fruit. That’s because the sugars ferment in the gut; too much and digestion is slowed, leading to deathly gastric stasis. We too should eat less sugar. Excess dietary sugar can lead to weight gain, inflammation, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome. (Source)(Source)(Source)(Source)(Source) This goes not just for processed sugars but other sources of natural sugars like honey, fruit juices, and high amounts of dried fruits.
Rabbits Limit Their Processed Carbs
Rabbits have to be careful with processed carbs, sugars, and grains, too, as they can slow digestion to deadly levels. Too many carbohydrates can also be harmful to us, being shown to cause fat-depositing insulin spikes, cause toxicity in the liver, and lead to inflammation and metabolic syndrome. Some studies suggest that certain grains can impair the wall of the gut, causing leaky gut syndrome, which leads to allergies and other immune system issues. (Source)(Source)(Source)(Source)
Bottom Line
“Eating Like a Rabbit” is basically one simple, easy-to-follow rule: eat more vegetables! At every meal. Fill up on broccoli, green beans, cauliflower, kale and zucchini. If you don’t already, find a way to love salads. I’m here to help, too! It doesn’t have to be bland or boring or unsatisfying. Visit our recipes section for help with great ideas for adding more vegetables to your diet so you too can “eat like a rabbit.”