There is a bumper crop of wild rabbits in Anchorage this summer. Not a day goes by where I don’t see at least half a dozen scampering about, chowing down on all the weeds and wild flowers, pulling a frozen position in the middle of the road so as not to be seen. Yeah – I get where the phrase “dumb bunny” came from. Little hopping geniuses these critters. Yet I have to say they aren’t so dumb as to not know how to survive in the wild. Sure, it’s mostly instinct and adaptation, yet I can’t help but wonder if the rabbit diet of lots of greens – dandy lions in particular, is not a fantastic secret that keeps them so healthy and active. And satisfied.
An eye to the wild kingdom that survives and thrives might give us, the superior human population, some pointers to being healthy and active. I know you can eat dandy lion leaves and they are reportedly loaded with amazing green stuff that beats spinach, kale and the like. Whole Foods sells them in the produce department. I have yet to try them even though my yard is covered in them. Maybe one day. More interesting to me is how these rabbits eat just enough. Only what they need. I mean seriously, these furry hoppers have a non-ending smorgasbord of green meals growing all over the place, yet I have never seen an overweight rabbit. It’s like they have a meal, then hop to the next feeding place (hopping burns a lot of calories – try jump rope), and commence to the next meal. Or maybe a nap. Or maybe well planned raid on someone’s garden. I admit I have not seen all this happen in a sequence but I feel pretty sure that this is how they roll (hop).
What if we only ate what we needed? How would we look and feel if we had to walk, run, hop, skip to every meal? If we ate only good, nutritional food, what would our health status be? Would we ever even need to go to the doctor? I would say rarely. Would we be super healthy people who rarely get sick compared to our junk food, non-active friends? I would say yes. Seems so simple. The cure for chronic disease and a boatload of other ailments is right at our fingertips. Yours and mine. It’s all in what we choose. Because indeed and in fact and in every way, we ARE what we eat. I’ll take being a dandy lion any day over a supersized side of fries.
