Rabbit reactions

During the last few years of my senior school the biology teacher arranged for the purchase of several rabbits, a hutch and a run. That year every child learnt much about rabbits. One of the many lessons taught was food and digestion and the knowledge I gained stayed with me. Though, in truth, the impact of it didn't really make its mark until recent years.

• Rabbits cannot digest lettuce!

Lettuce is one of the hardest foods for creatures to digest. It was never given to the school rabbits. It was forbidden fruit for the tortoise. Yet man punishes his body by adding it to salad dish after salad dish. Will we ever learn from the animals?

It is alleged that the population of the world, year-on-year is getting fatter. Dieticians and nutritionists tend to come up with the same format for all of mankind to lose the excess pounds and yet it is obvious that it simply doesn't work as many people remain over-weight, others yo-yo - shedding pounds then piling them all back on again often with several others in-toe.

Many people who hang onto excess weight suffer with high amounts of stomach acidity which leads to all sorts of inconvenience from heartburn to indigestion. Diets that are given out to these people will never work as the dieter is not only trying to cut down on their eating they are fighting the pain of tummy acid. Indigestion cures add to the problem but no-one wakes up and sorts out a diet for people with this predicament.

For people who suffer from excess tummy acid it is best to avoid raw foods unless you know that your body can process them without any problems. Before venturing on any diet plan it is best to start a food diary. From the moment you get up in the morning until you go to bed, write down every morsel of food and every drink that you have - in fact, everything that passes through your lips including water. Make notes if you have felt unwell during the day to see if a pattern occurs so that you can hopefully narrow down particular food types that cause your body to experience problems. Indigestion and related problems can strike in many different ways. In some people it attacks as a stabbing pain high in the back, others get surges of pain in the shoulder blades, some feel queasy, others feel dull pains in the middle of their backs quite low down, some will experience headaches, others get a bloating, uncomfortable feeling throughout their stomach and intestines. To lose weight and feel healthy it is important to get to know your body. It is surprising that many people never try to get to know their bodies both inside and out. It is well worth the effort of trying as we have to live with our bodies all our life.

It may come as a surprise to know but it only takes one extra spoonful (a teaspoonful) of food or drink each day to add on a mountain of weight over a short space of time. Sadly, once the weight is there it takes considerably longer to shed it back off again. For those who suffer from acidity it often becomes almost impossible. They will happily stick to a diet and then find that they have to eat something extra that is probably fatty or oily to take away the stomach pains - a small chunk of cheese, a handful of nuts, a digestive biscuit ... all of which undermine any effort they may have put in to lose weight. It is often easier for those who do suffer with this problem to work out how many spoonfuls they eat at each meal time and to reduce the number of spoonfuls gradually until weight begins to come off. Never make the mistake of eating a large breakfast as this stretches the stomach and often brings about excessive acid at lunchtimes. Commercial cereals contain high amounts of sugar and salt so by using them in a diet it is wise never to exceed a teacup of loose cereal and half-a-teacup of milk. Lunches should include oily fish at least twice each week to help to make the skin nice and supple as it struggles to recapture its previous form. Remember that back in early times it was common for people to only eat two meals each day - a mid-morning meal and an evening meal ... so if more meals are required they should really be a portion of these two main meals.