Rabbit (Farmed, Whole)

Food · Protein · Food, Typed Supps

A very lean white meat — high in protein, but famously too lean to eat as your only food.

Stage by stage

Intake (Chewing begins breakdown): Chewing breaks the very lean muscle fibres apart to start digestion.
Stomach (Protein digestion starts): Stomach acid and enzymes begin splitting the protein into peptides.
Small intestine (Amino acids & B12 absorbed): Amino acids and B12 are absorbed here, with B12 needing intrinsic factor from the stomach.
Muscle tissue (Built into muscle protein): Amino acids are used to repair and build muscle tissue.

Timing

Best with a source of fat or carbohydrate — rabbit is lean enough that relying on it alone has a documented history of causing illness.

Time to effect

Days: Amino acids from a protein-rich meal are used for muscle repair within about 1 to 2 days.

Allergens

None of the fourteen major allergens. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.

Eating patterns

Fits: Keto, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Halal, Kosher, Low-FODMAP.

Satiety

205 on the satiety index, where white bread is 100 — very high. Modelled from the Holt et al. (1995) measurements.

Environmental footprint

9.9 kg CO2e and 660 litres of freshwater per kg, matched to "Poultry meat" in Poore & Nemecek (2018), Science 360.

Cost band

Mid — roughly £11 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.

Key nutrients

Lean complete protein
Vitamin B12
Selenium

Nutrition per 100g

Calories: 112.8
Protein: 23.2g
Carbohydrate: 0g
of which sugars: 0g
Fat: 2.1g
of which saturated: 0.8g
Fibre: 0g
Sodium: 53mg

Food vs. supplement

A 100g serving supplies over twice the adult RDA for B12 in its natural, directly usable form, plus roughly 23g of complete protein for under 115 calories.

Kitchen tip

Because it is so lean, rabbit dries out fast if overcooked — braise it slowly in liquid, or cook lean cuts quickly and briefly like chicken breast.

Common myth

“You can never eat too much lean protein.” In reality: “Rabbit starvation” is a real, historically documented illness from eating only very lean meat like rabbit — too much protein without enough fat or carbohydrate overwhelms the body’s capacity to process it.