Why Rabbit's White Meat is Good for Everyone

We hear or know that there are dark (or red) meats and white meats.

Some animals have dark (or red) meats because more myoglobin, which is very rich in pigmented protein, are stored in the animals' muscles and cells. The muscles provide consistent energy for long period of activity such as standing, walking or jumping especially those animals pastured in open areas. The more myoglobin there is in the animals' muscles and cells, the darker or redder the meat. Examples of dark (or red) meats are: all beef, all ducks, all lamb, some chickens and some turkeys.

Some animals have white meats because their muscles and cells contain less pigmented myoglobin protein. These animals are kept in cages, thus their movements are restricted. They can not stand, walk or jump for a long period of time. Examples of white meats are: all domesticated rabbit, all pork, some chickens and some turkeys.

Nutrition Comparison of White and Dark (Red) Meats

Rabbit meat	Beef meat	Turkey meat
Duck meat	Chicken meat

The chart below presents the nutrition values of 100 grams of white rabbit meat, white and dark chicken meats, white pork meat, dark beef meat, white and dark turkey meats, and dark duck meat.

R-WM-Rabbit White Meat; C-WM-Chicken White Meat; C-DM-Chicken Dark Meat, P-WM-Pork White Meat; B-DM-Beef Dark Meat; T-WM-Turkey White Meat; T-DM-Turkey Dark Meat; D-DM–Duck Dark Meat
Nutrients	Unit	R-WM 100 grams (1)	C-WM 100 grams (2)	C-DM 100 grams (3)	P-WM 100 grams (4)
PROXIMATES
Water	g	72.82	68.60	75.99	56.87
Energy	kcal	136	186	125	304
Protein	g	20.05	20.27	20.08	15.03
Total lipid (fat)	g	5.55	11.07	4.31	26.54
Carbohydrate, by difference	g	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Fiber, total dietary	g	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
MINERALS
Calcium, Ca	mg	13	11	12	315
Iron, Fe	mg	1.57	0.79	1.03	4.25
Magnesium, Mg	mg	19	23	23	16
Phosphorus, P	mg	213	163	162	200
Potassium, K	mg	330	204	222	298
Sodium, Na	mg	41	65	85	50
Zinc, Zn	mg	1.57	0.93	2.00	2.44
VITAMINS
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid	mg	0.0	0.0	3.1	0.7
Thiamine	mg	0.100	0.059	0.077	0.697
Riboflavin	mg	0.150	0.086	0.184	0.201
Niacin	mg	7.270	8.908	6.246	3.171
Vitamin B-6	mg	0.500	0.480	0.330	0.370
Folate, DFE	µg	8	4	10	3
Vitamin B-12	µg	7.16	0.34	0.36	0.58
Vitamin A, RAE	µg	0	30	22	3
Vitamin A, IU	IU	0	99	72	10
LIPIDS
Fatty acids, total saturated	g	1.660	3.160	1.100	9.820
Fatty acids, total monounsaturated	g	1.500	4.520	1.340	12.260
Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated	g	1.080	2.340	1.070	2.440
Cholesterol	mg	57	67	80	77
Nutrients	Unit	R-WM 100 grams (1)	C-WM 100 grams (2)	C-DM 100 grams (3)	P-WM 100 grams (4)

R-WM-Rabbit White Meat; C-WM-Chicken White Meat; C-DM-Chicken Dark Meat, P-WM-Pork White Meat; B-DM-Beef Dark Meat; T-WM-Turkey White Meat; T-DM-Turkey Dark Meat; D-DM–Duck Dark Meat
Nutrients	Unit	B-DM 100 grams (5)	T-WM 100 grams (6)	T-DM 100 grams (7)	D-DM 100 grams (8)
PROXIMATES
Water	g	59.39	70.68	71.10	48.50
Energy	kcal	276	161	161	404
Protein	g	14.97	21.96	19.81	11.49
Total lipid (fat)	g	23.52	7.43	8.97	39.34
Carbohydrate, by difference	g	0.00	0.13	0.13	0.00
Fiber, total dietary	g	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
MINERALS
Calcium, Ca	mg	485	11	11	11
Iron, Fe	mg	5.67	0.75	1.00	2.40
Magnesium, Mg	mg	17	25	22	15
Phosphorus, P	mg	324	188	166	139
Potassium, K	mg	277	223	208	209
Sodium, Na	mg	57	105	113	63
Zinc, Zn	mg	3.58	1.25	2.32	1.36
VITAMINS
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid	mg	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.8
Thiamine	mg	0.020	0.038	0.055	0.197
Riboflavin	mg	0.033	0.139	0.229	0.210
Niacin	mg	0.722	8.968	5.378	3.934
Vitamin B-6	mg	0.082	0.711	0.391	0.190
Folate, DFE	µg	1	7	6	13
Vitamin B-12	µg	0.73	0.67	1.84	0.25
Vitamin A, RAE	µg	0	19	26	50
Vitamin A, IU	IU	0	62	86	168
LIPIDS
Fatty acids, total saturated	g	11.780	1.899	2.413	13.220
Fatty acids, total monounsaturated	g	8.440	2.431	3.091	18.690
Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated	g	0.760	1.952	2.443	5.080
Cholesterol	mg	209	67	87	76
Nutrients	Unit	B-DM 100 grams (5)	T-WM 100 grams (6)	T-DM 100 grams (7)	D-DM 100 grams (8)
R-WM-Rabbit White Meat; C-WM-Chicken White Meat; C-DM-Chicken Dark Meat, P-WM-Pork White Meat; B-DM-Beef Dark Meat; T-WM-Turkey White Meat; T-DM-Turkey Dark Meat; D-DM–Duck Dark Meat

(1) Rabbit domesticated, composite of cuts, raw

(2) Chicken, broilers or fryers, light meat, meat and skin, raw

(3) Chicken, broilers or fryers, dark meat, meat only, raw

(4) Pork, fresh, variety meats and by-products, mechanically separated, raw

(5) Beef, variety meats and by-products, mechanically separated beef, raw

(6) Turkey from whole, light meat, meat and skin, raw

(7) Turkey, dark meat, meat and skin, raw

(8) Duck, domesticated, meat and skin, raw

Source:  United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 27

Go for Rabbit's White Meat and Avoid Dark (Red) Meat

People are encouraged to eat white meats, instead of dark (red) meats, to minimize exposure to health problems. Rabbit's white meat is good for your body and health because it is rich in protein, phosphorus, potassium, thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12. It is low in total lipids (fat), sodium, fatty acids (total saturated) and cholesterol.

Some medical studies found that regular consumption of dark (red) meats is hazardous to one's health. Eating a lot of dark (red) meats results to increased risk of heart disease, hypertension, high cholesterol and triglycerides, diabetes, colon cancer, bowel cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, bladder cancer, obesity and other diseases.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Source: Images and some text from Wikipedia.org under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License